Viiscosity of Gas-saturated Bitumen

Jacobs, F.A.; Donnelly, J.K.; Stanislav, J.F.

doi:10.2118/80-04-03

Cited by 42 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…An example is Chuang et al, where the CO2 solubility, oil swelling factor and viscosity for 4 different CO2 saturated heavy crude oils were measured and correlated at different temperatures and pressures [4]. Similar studies can also be found in [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. In addition, the viscosity of CO2 and alkane diluted crude oil was reported by Li et al [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Rheology and Phase Behavior of Carbon Dioxide and Crude Oil Mixtures

Crawshaw

Trusler

et al. 2016

Energy Fuels

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KEYWORDSRheology, phase behavior, heavy crude oil, carbon dioxide, viscosity, non-Newtonian fluid ABSTRACTThe rheology of Zuata heavy crude oil, saturated with carbon dioxide, was studied at a temperature of 50 °C and pressures up to 220 bar. Observations of phase behavior were also reported and used to interpret the rheological data. The crude oil is very viscous and non-Newtonian at ambient pressure, but when brought into equilibrium with CO2 the non-Newtonian behavior was weakened and eventually disappeared at high CO2 pressures. When diluted with 10 wt% and 30 wt% toluene, the diluted crude oils and their mixtures with CO2 behaved as Newtonian fluids. The CO2 saturated mixture of the crude oil samples showed an exponential decrease in viscosity with increasing CO2 pressure, but an increase in viscosity at higher pressures. Observing through a view cell, the CO2 dissolution caused a swelling effect on the original crude. When saturated with CO2, the swelling effect also occurred on the 10 wt% diluted crude oil, but the volume of the oil rich phase was 2 decreased at higher pressures. However, for the 30 wt% diluted crude oil, a second liquid phase was observed on top of the oil rich phase, at pressures higher than the CO2 critical point. The mixture viscosity was inversely proportional to the CO2 solubility.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Rheology and Phase Behavior of Carbon Dioxide and Crude Oil Mixtures

Crawshaw

Trusler

et al. 2016

Energy Fuels

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“…The viscosity of the Athabasca bitumen was measured at atmospheric pressure for temperatures from 115 to 147°C, as shown in Table 3. The data are compared with viscosities reported by Jacobs (25) for another Athabasca bitumen sample in Figure 4. The sample in this work is less viscous, but both samples show the same trend with temperature.…”

Section: Athabasca Bitumenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phase Behaviour and Physical Property Measurements for VAPEX Solvents: Part I. Propane and Athabasca Bitumen

Badamchizadeh

Yarranton

Svrcek

et al. 2009

Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology

111

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The saturation pressure and solubility of propane in Athabasca bitumen, as well as the liquid phase densities and viscosities, were measured for temperatures from 10 to 50 °C. Equilibration proved challenging for this fluid mixture and required some experimental modifications that are discussed. Only liquid and liquid-vapour phase regions were observed at propane contents below 20 wt%. A second liquid phase appeared to have formed at higher propane contents. The saturation pressures, where only a single dense phase formed, ranged from 600 to 1,600 kPa and these were fitted with a modification to Raoult's law. Viscosities less than 210 mPa.s were obtained at a propane content of 15.6 wt%. All of the viscosity data of the liquid phase were predicted from the propane and bitumen viscosities using the Lobe mixing rule. Introduction The worldwide original oil-in-place (OOIP) of heavy oil and bitumen is estimated to be approximately 6 trillion barrels. A major part of these resources are in Canada (~36%) and Venezuela (~27%)(1). In Canada, steam-based methods are often employed to improve heavy oil recovery. However, the industry is starting to seek alternatives to these methods because they are energy intensive and are drawing heavily on the available water supply. Solvent-based recovery methods are a potential alternative capable of providing high recovery factors without substantial water requirements(2, 3). One option is the vapour extraction method (VAPEX), which is a solvent-based analogue of the Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process(4–7). VAPEX is implemented with a pair of horizontal wells: a production well at the bottom of the reservoir and a solvent injection well located directly above the production well(5), as shown in Figure 1. The vapourized solvent is injected through the injection well and a chamber of solvent vapour forms around the well. At the walls of the chamber, the solvent diffuses into a surface layer of the heavy oil and dramatically reduces its viscosity. The diluted oil layer is then mobile enough to drain down, under the influence of gravity, into the production well. VAPEX performance depends on the viscosity and density of the liquid phase that forms at the edge of the solvent chamber. In order to design and optimize VAPEX and other solvent-based processes, it is critical to be able to determine the diffusivity of the solvent in the heavy oil, identify the phases that form in the solvent and heavy oil mixtures at various temperatures and pressures, and determine the density and viscosity of the liquid phase. Other solvent-based processes (steam and solvent injection for heavy oil recovery and solvent extraction of oil sands) require similar data. Most research on VAPEX has focused on physical model experiments with light alkane solvents; particularly mixtures of methane and propane(3). However, mixtures of carbon dioxide and propane may be a more viable option. Currently, carbon dioxide is expensive, but costs are expected to decrease if environmental incentives to sequester carbon dioxide are introduced. Carbon dioxide may also be a better VAPEX solvent than methane because it is more soluble in heavy oil and reduces the viscosity more(8).

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“…Consequently, there have been several literatures devoted to this particular area, especially the effect of temperature and pressure on the viscosity. Jacobs et al (1980) studied the viscosity of gas-saturated Athabasca bitumen and came up with several relationships between viscosity and temperature of carbon-dioxide-, methane-, and nitrogen-saturated bitumen. Khan et al (1984), on the other hand, evaluated viscosity models for gas-free Athabasca bitumen experimentally.…”

Section: Reservoir Simulation Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Simulation Study and Economic Analysis of Thermal Recovery Processes in Athabasca Reservoirs

Iyogun

Chen

2018

SPE Western Regional Meeting

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Simulation studies of three thermal recovery processes used in Athabasca reservoirs have been carried out for a 10-year production period. The recovery processes studied are Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), Fast-SAGD, and Expanding Solvent-SAGD (ES-SAGD). Normal pentane (n-C5) was the solvent of choice used in ES-SAGD simulations with its molar concentration varied from 2% to 5.9%. The main objective of this study is to conduct an economic analysis of the three recovery processes with the goal of determining the most economically viable process. The economic indicator that will be assessed to ascertain the most viable recovery process is their Net Present Value (NPV.) 2D simulation studies based on homogeneous Athabasca reservoirs have been performed. Results obtained show that of the three recovery processes, Fast-SAGD had the lowest cumulative oil produced, followed by SAGD and ES-SAGD, the highest. The cumulative oil produced also increased with increasing molar concentration of n-C5. Furthermore, it was shown that as expected, the CSOR of ES-SAGD was the lowest of them while that of Fast-SAGD was the highest. The CSOR of the ES-SAGD processes reduced as the concentration of the n-C5 increased. The economic analysis showed that of the three recovery processes, ES-SAGD is the most economically viable process. Furthermore, the effect of solvent on the viability of ES-SAGD over the other recovery processes is dependent on the price regime of pentane. In this analysis, two extreme price regimes were chosen and the result showed that for a low price regime, varying the molar ratios of n-C5 had a significant effect on the NPV up to a point before its effect diminishes. In fact, increasing the molar concentration of n-C5 from 2% to 3.76% significantly increased the NPV while further increasing it from 3.76% to 4% and thereafter to 5.9% had no noticeable effect. However, it seems that increasing it from 3.76% to 5.9% had a diminishing effect especially after the 3-year period. iii Nevertheless, the significant NPV improvement ES-SAGD has over SAGD and Fast-SAGD diminishes once the price regime of pentane is more than 3 times that of oil. In fact, this high price regime showed that 5.9% molar concentration of n-C5 is no longer more viable than the SAGD counterpart. There is still some benefit up till about 4% molar concentration of n-C5 but this benefit is greatly diminished. In conclusion, ES-SAGD has been shown to be the best recovery process for Athabasca reservoirs based on economics but further research is needed to evaluate the molar concentration that will provide the most economic benefit for a real Athabasca reservoir. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to first and foremost appreciate God and Dr. John Chen for this opportunity. The profound effort of Dr. Chen in supervising this work and providing the necessary training required to get the job done is greatly appreciated and acknowledged. My wife, Beverly Iyogun and my sons, Jeffrey, Jadon, Justin, and Joey Iyogun are very much appreciated. I could not have do...

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Viiscosity of Gas-saturated Bitumen

Cited by 42 publications

References 0 publications

Rheology and Phase Behavior of Carbon Dioxide and Crude Oil Mixtures

Rheology and Phase Behavior of Carbon Dioxide and Crude Oil Mixtures

Phase Behaviour and Physical Property Measurements for VAPEX Solvents: Part I. Propane and Athabasca Bitumen

Comparative Simulation Study and Economic Analysis of Thermal Recovery Processes in Athabasca Reservoirs

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