Pore-level Investigation of Heavy Oil Recovery Using Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)

Mohammadzadeh, O.; Chatzis, I.

doi:10.3997/2214-4609-pdb.151.iptc13403

Cited by 6 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The viscous drag between gas and draining liquid in the steam chamber has been investigated by Canas et al and Nasr et al The third term is the additional drag applied to the oil by the flowing water. Here, K row accounts for flow coupling and we call it oil–water coupling term, and δ * is the dimensionless thickness of transition zone . The concept of coupling term has been discussed for two‐phase and three‐phase systems.…”

Section: Extension Of Butler's Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Appendix B, we use the experimental data of Dehghanpour et al to approximate a range for K row . The value of δ * is selected to be 0.1 based on the analytical model of He et al and experiments of Mohammadzadeh et al…”

Section: Numerical Examplementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, simulations of Sharma et al show that water mobility is substantially higher than oil mobility at the chamber edge. Furthermore, micromodel experiments of Mohammadzadeh et al demonstrate the simultaneous flow of steam, condensate, and oil in the mobilised region. Based on these arguments and recent three‐phase gravity drainage experiments, we extend Butler's model by including the effect of water drainage on the steam chamber rise and in turn the oil production rate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An approach to model three‐phase flow coupling during steam chamber rise

Murtaza

Dehghanpour

2013

Can J Chem Eng

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During steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process, a steam chamber forms due to continuous steam injection. This chamber first moves upward to the top of the reservoir and then spreads sideways. The upward chamber displacement is one of the key factors for optimising the steam injection rate. It is necessary to determine the accurate chamber rise velocity for predicting the oil recovery rate. Recent experiments show that oil flow is coupled to water flow during three‐phase gravity drainage in water‐wet systems. In this paper, we argue that this type of flow coupling can be significant in SAGD operations. We extend Butler's [Butler, J. Can. Petrol. Technol. 1987, 26, 70] and Gotawala and Gates [Gotawala and Gates, Can. J. Chem. Eng. 2008, 86, 1011] analytic models for the rise of interfering steam chambers to account for three‐phase flow and flow coupling. We also show the importance of flow coupling by solving a simple numerical example. We observe that by including three‐phase drainage and the flow coupling at the steam finger edge, the vertical rise velocity of a steam chamber increases. Moreover, the rise velocity is very sensitive to the coupling term introduced in the new models. Even a small value of the coupling term increases the rise velocity significantly. Furthermore, we compare the model predictions with the values measured in six fields.

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Section: Extension Of Butler's Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Numerical Examplementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An approach to model three‐phase flow coupling during steam chamber rise

Murtaza

Dehghanpour

2013

Can J Chem Eng

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“…The injection of the solvents with the steam in the steam-based recovery methods is aimed at improving the propagation of the steam chamber in the reservoir, leading to a higher oil recovery factor (RF). However, a high fraction of the in situ oil precipitates out during the paraffinic solvent-assisted SAGD processes in heavy oil-bearing reservoirs because asphaltenes are insoluble in these solvents. − The precipitation and deposition of asphaltenes not only alter the wettability of the reservoir rock pores to oil-wet but also have the potential to block the pore throats, resulting in a detrimental formation damage and a high residual oil saturation. On the other hand, the separation of the paraffinic solvents from the produced oil in the surface facilities for recycling is energy-intensive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the degree of impurities in the recovered SHS needs to be monitored to assess the performance of the recycled SHSs. Interfacial tension (IFT) and elasticity measurements are reported to be effective methods for evaluating the level of impurities in fluids. ,, …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dimethylcyclohexylamine Switchable Solvent Interactions with Asphaltenes toward Viscosity Reduction and in Situ Upgrading of Heavy Oils

2019

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Because of the ever-increasing depletion rate of conventional oil resources, it is essential to design processes for heavy oil recovery from petroleum reservoirs. Heavy oils contain high quantities of large molecules, such as asphaltenes, giving rise to high viscosities during production. Solvent extraction processes are capable candidates for heavy oil recovery; however, the separation of conventional solvents is energy-intensive. Therefore, a solvent with not only a high capacity for heavy oil dissolution but also an easy and environmentally friendly separation is in demand. In this work, the N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine switchable hydrophilicity solvent (SHS) was employed for viscosity reduction and upgrading of heavy oils. Optimum weight ratios of the SHS were added to three different dead heavy oil samples with 11.33 to 17.54 °API and a corresponding room-temperature viscosity of more than 4287.0 to 3365.4 cp. To shed light on the interactions of the SHS with asphaltenes, the solvent was also added to heavy oil model solutions of asphaltenes in toluene. The solutions containing the solvent and the recovered oil were exposed to pressurized CO2 in the presence of deionized water to switch the hydrophilicity of the solvent to water-miscible and separate the recovered oil. The thus-obtained aqueous solution was then warmed up to 65 °C in the presence of N2 gas bubbling through the liquid to switch the solvent hydrophilicity to water-immiscible form and recover the SHS. Results indicate that more than 52 wt % of the oils are recovered at the optimum solvent-to-oil ratio (SOR). The heavier the oil, the higher the optimum SOR is, resulting in the viscosity reductions of more than 70%. Dynamic light scattering shows that the size of asphaltene aggregates becomes smaller and considerably uniform by the SHS, indicating weakening of the asphaltene self-association interactions. Dynamic interfacial tension measurements calibrate the amount of impurity in the recovered SHS.

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Efficiency Improvement of Heavy-Oil Recovery by Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Injection Using New Generation Chemicals

Huang

Babadagli

2020

Energy Fuels

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SAGD (steam-assisted gravity drainage) has been proven as an effective technology to enhance heavy oil/bitumen recovery. The main shortcoming of this method is its inefficiency, a result of high water and energy consumption. As a solution to SAGD efficiency improvement, we propose the addition of chemicals resulting in higher recovery and reduced steam consumption. The objective of this paper is to screen new generation chemicals as additives and study the mechanisms and optimum injection strategies. This screening was achieved through Hele-Shaw-type macroscopic visual experiments. We previously screened a wide variety of chemical additives for steam flooding. As a continuation of this work, these chemicals were tested for SAGD conditions using a new visual experimental design where the optimal injection strategies were identified, eventually providing a reference for the selection of chemical additives for field applications. Eleven conventional and new generation chemical additives (heptane, biodiesel, dimethyl ether, LTS-18, Tween 80, Span 80, Novelfroth 190, ionic liquid [BMMMIM BF4], silicon dioxide nanoparticle, DES 9, and DES 11) were selected based on both their strong thermal stability and enhanced oil recovery capability. The recovery improvement mechanisms for the different chemical additives and different injection strategies were identified through flow characteristics, emulsifying ability, viscosity reduction capability, and wettability alteration. Simultaneously, the mechanisms were studied from a macro perspective via analyzing areal sweep efficiency and microscopic oil displacement efficiency together with observing the images acquired during the process. Three different injection strategies were applied for each chemical: (1) chemicals were injected at the beginning, (2) in the middle, and (3) at the end of the steam injection. The chemical additives played different roles in recovery improvement, and different chemical addition strategies yielded different mechanisms. Heptane exhibited extraordinary characteristics with maximum “steam saving” (34.52%) when the middle injection strategy was applied, and maximum ultimate oil recovery (64.75%) was obtained for the end injection strategy due to the ability to reduce the viscosity of heavy oil by dissolving around the chamber edge. Steamflooding with Novelfroth 190 showed an excellent performance for the middle and end injection strategies because of its ability to develop rapid oil drainage “channels”. The addition of surfactant LST-18 presented the ability to improve the EOR by forming emulsions. Additionally, the distributions of the steam chamber in the Hele-Shaw cell were different because of the changed flow characteristics when the same chemical additive was injected at different times, thus showing the ability to reduce viscosity and form emulsions with different strengths.

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Pore-level Investigation of Heavy Oil Recovery Using Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)

Cited by 6 publications

References 23 publications

An approach to model three‐phase flow coupling during steam chamber rise

An approach to model three‐phase flow coupling during steam chamber rise

Dimethylcyclohexylamine Switchable Solvent Interactions with Asphaltenes toward Viscosity Reduction and in Situ Upgrading of Heavy Oils

Efficiency Improvement of Heavy-Oil Recovery by Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Injection Using New Generation Chemicals

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