Improvement of SAGD by N2 Injection in Oil Sand Reservoir with Thief Zone

doi:10.12972/ksmer.2013.50.2.252

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2013 Vol.50, Issue 2 Preview Page Next Page

Research Paper

Improvement of SAGD by N2 Injection in Oil Sand Reservoir with Thief Zone 열유실층이 있는 오일샌드 유전에서 질소주입을 통한 SAGD 기법의 효율 개선: 최영락 · 정승필 · 유재훈
Youngrak Choi, SeungPil Jung and Jaehoon Yoo

30 April 2013. pp. 252-263

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Abstract

Thief zone is defined as top gas or water formations in a bitumen reservoir. It can cause a significant heat loss and result in the less production efficiency during SAGD process by obstructing growth of heated chamber. Furthermore, it can reduce recovery factor due to melted bitumen flow to thief zones. This paper suggests a SAGD with N2 injection for more efficient method rather than conventional LP-SAGD method in oil sand reservoir with thief zones. Injected gas enables a steam chamber not to be communicated with thief zones. This study analyzes production performance of the SAGD with N2 injection method comparing to conventional LP-SAGD method by reservoir simulations. It improved oil productions compared to the conventional LP-SAGD by increasing cumulative oil production and decreasing cSOR. In conclusions, the suggested method shows a commercial potential to develop an oil sand reservoir.

Keywords

Oil sand

N₂ injection

SAGD

Thief zone

열유실층은 비튜멘층 상부에 존재하는 가스층 또는 대수층을 말한다. 열유실층은 SAGD 공법에서 주입한 증기의 유출통로로 작용하여 스팀챔버의 효과적인 형성을 방해하고 경제성을 악화시킨다. 뿐만 아니라 증기에 의해 녹은 비튜멘이 열유실층을 따라 흘러나감으로써 회수율을 감소시키기도 한다. 이 연구에서는 열유실층이 있는 오일샌드 유전에서 기존 SAGD 공법의 효율을 향상시키기 위해 질소를 주입하여 열유실층을 차단하는 질소주입 SAGD 공법을 제시하였다. 이 공법의 생산성을 평가하기 위하여 전산시뮬레이션을 수행하였으며 기존의 LP-SAGD 결과와 비교분석하였다. 그 결과 질소주입 SAGD 공법은 LP-SAGD에 비해 누적 오일생산량을 증가시켰으며, 누적 증기오일비는 감소시켰다. 이를 통해 기존의 공법으로 상업적 생산이 불가능한 열유실층을 포함한 오일샌드 유전에서 질소주입 SAGD 공법의 가능성을 확인하였다.

키워드

오일샌드

질소주입

증기배유공법(SAGD)

열유실층

References

Aherne, A.L. and Birrel, G.E., 2002, “Observations Relating to Non-Condensable Gasses in a Vapour Chamber: Phase B of the Dover Project,” paper SPE 79023 presented at the 2002 SPE International Thermal Operations and Heavy Oil Symposium and International Horizontal Well Technology Conference, Calgary, Alberta, November 4-7.
Albert, A., Good, W.K. and Rezk, C., 1997, Possible Effect of Gas Caps on SAGD Performance, Alberta Energy, Alberta, Canada.
Alturki, A.A., Gates, I.D. and Maini, B.B., 2010, “Co-Injection of Noncondensable Gas Improves ES-SAGD Performance in Shallow Oil Sands Reservoirs with a Small Top Water Zone,” SPE 137092 presented at the Canadian Unconventional Resources & International Petroleum Conference, Calgary, Alberta, October 19-21.
Alturki, A., Gates, I.D. and Maini, B., 2011, “On SAGD in Oil Sands Reservoirs with No Caprock and Top Water Zone,” SPE 137234 J. of Canadian Petroleum, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 21-33.
BP, 2013.3.1, www.bp.com.
Butler, R., 1997, Thermal Recovery of Oil and Bitumen, GravDrain Inc, Calgary, Alberta.
Butler, R., 1999, “The Steam and Gas Push (SAGP),” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 54-61.
Canbolat, S., Akin, S. and Kovscek, A. R., 2002, “A Study of Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Performance in the Presence of Noncondensable Gases,” SPE 75130 presented at the 2002 SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 13-17.
Chung, S., 2010, On the Study of a SAGP Optimization to Minimize Invasion Effect of Water from Top Water Zone, MS Thesis, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Chung, S.H., Min, B.H., Park, C., Kang, J.M. and Kam, D.S., 2011, “Operation Strategy of Steam and Gas Push in the Presence of Top Water Thief Zone,” presented at 73^rd EAGE Conference and Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2011, Vienna, Austria, May 23-26.
Doan, L.T., Baird, H., Doan, Q.T. and Farouq Ali, S.M., 1999, “An Investigation of the Steam-Assisted Gravity-Drainage Process in the Presence of a Water Leg,” paper SPE 56545 presented at the 1999 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, Texas, October 3-6.
Ito, Y., Ichikawa, M. and Hirata, T., 2001, “The Effect of Gas Injection on Oil Recovery During SAGD Projects,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 38-43.
Jiang, Q., Butler, R. and Yee, C.T., 2000, “The Steam and Gas Push (SAGP)-2: Mechanism Analysis and Physical Model Testing,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp 52-61.
Kam, D., Min, B., Chung, S., Park, C., Kang, J., Kim, J., Jang, I. and Choi, Y., 2009, “Optimization of Steam Injection Pressure in SAGD Using Artificial Neural Network,” J. of the Korean Society of Geosystem Engineering, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 143-150.
Kisman, K.E. and Yeung, K.C., 1995, “Numerical Study of the SAGD Process in the Burnt Lake Oil Sands Lease,” paper SPE 30276 presented at the International Heavy Oil Symposium, Calgary, Canada, June 19-21.
Kisman, K.E., 2003, “Artificial Lift, A Major Unresolved Issue in SAGD,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 42, No. 8, pp. 39-45.
Law, D.H.S., Nasr, T.N. and Good, W.K., 2003a, “Lab-Scale Numerical Simulation of SAGD Process in the Presence of Top Thief Zones: A Mechanistic Study,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 29-35.
Law, D.H.S., Nasr, T.N. and Good, W.K., 2003b, “Field-Scale Numerical Simulation of SAGD Process With Top-Water Thief Zone,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 42, No. 8, pp. 32-38.
Li, P. and Chalaturnyk, R.J., 2007, “Gas-Over-Bitumen Geometry and Its SAGD Performance Analysis With Coupled Reservoir Geomechanical Simulation,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 42-49.
Mohebati, M.H., Maini, B.B. and Harding, T.G., 2010, “Optimization of Hydrocarbon Additives With Steam in SAGD for Three Major Canadian Oil Sands Deposits,” SPE 138151 presented at the Canadian Unconventional Resources & International Petroleum Conference, Calgary, Alberta, October 19-21.
Nasr, T.N. and Ayodele, O.R., 2005, “Thermal Techniques for the Recovery of Heavy Oil and Bitumen,” paper SPE 97488 presented at the 2005 SPE International Improved Oil Recovery Conference in Asia Pacific, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 5-6.
Nasr, T.N., Law, D.H.S., Beaulieu, G., Golebeck, H., Korpany, G. and Good, W.K., 2003, “SAGD Application In Gas Cap and Top Water Oil Reservoir,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol 42, No 1, pp. 32-38.
Peterson, J.A., Riva, D.T., Connelly, M.E., Solanki, S.C. and Edmunds, N.R., 2009, “Conducting SAGD in Shoreface Oil Sands with Associated Basal Water,” Proceedings of the Canadian International Petroleum Conference, Calgary, Alberta, June 16-18.
Singhal, A.K., Ito, Y. and Kasraie, M., 1998, “Screening and Design Criteria for Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Projects,” SPE 50410, presented at SPE International Conference on Horizontal Well Technology, Calgary, Canada, November 1-4.
Shin, H. and Choe, J., 2009, “Shale Barrier Effects on the SAGD Performance,” SPE 95754, presented at SPE/EAGE Reservoir Characterization and Simulation Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 19-21.
Thimm, H.F., 2005, “Low Pressure SAGD Operations,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 44, No. 9, pp. 58-61.
Uwiera-Gartner, M.M.E., Carlson, M.R. and Palmgren, C.T.S., 2011, “Pseudo-Component, Thermal, Reservoir Simulation Study of a Proposed, Low Pressure, Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Pilot Project In Northeast Alberta,” presented at the Canadian Unconventional Resources Conference, Calgary, Alberta, November 15-17.

Information

Publisher :The Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers
Publisher(Ko) :한국자원공학회
Journal Title :Journal of the Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers
Journal Title(Ko) :한국자원공학회지
Volume : 50
No :2
Pages :252-263
DOI :https://doi.org/10.12972/ksmer.2013.50.2.252

[1] Aherne, A.L. and Birrel, G.E., 2002, “Observations Relating to Non-Condensable Gasses in a Vapour Chamber: Phase B of the Dover Project,” paper SPE 79023 presented at the 2002 SPE International Thermal Operations and Heavy Oil Symposium and International Horizontal Well Technology Conference, Calgary, Alberta, November 4-7.

[2] Albert, A., Good, W.K. and Rezk, C., 1997, Possible Effect of Gas Caps on SAGD Performance, Alberta Energy, Alberta, Canada.

[3] Alturki, A.A., Gates, I.D. and Maini, B.B., 2010, “Co-Injection of Noncondensable Gas Improves ES-SAGD Performance in Shallow Oil Sands Reservoirs with a Small Top Water Zone,” SPE 137092 presented at the Canadian Unconventional Resources & International Petroleum Conference, Calgary, Alberta, October 19-21.

[4] Alturki, A., Gates, I.D. and Maini, B., 2011, “On SAGD in Oil Sands Reservoirs with No Caprock and Top Water Zone,” SPE 137234 J. of Canadian Petroleum, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 21-33.

[5] BP, 2013.3.1, www.bp.com.

[6] Butler, R., 1997, Thermal Recovery of Oil and Bitumen, GravDrain Inc, Calgary, Alberta.

[7] Butler, R., 1999, “The Steam and Gas Push (SAGP),” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 54-61.

[8] Canbolat, S., Akin, S. and Kovscek, A. R., 2002, “A Study of Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Performance in the Presence of Noncondensable Gases,” SPE 75130 presented at the 2002 SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 13-17.

[9] Chung, S., 2010, On the Study of a SAGP Optimization to Minimize Invasion Effect of Water from Top Water Zone, MS Thesis, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

[10] Chung, S.H., Min, B.H., Park, C., Kang, J.M. and Kam, D.S., 2011, “Operation Strategy of Steam and Gas Push in the Presence of Top Water Thief Zone,” presented at 73^rd EAGE Conference and Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2011, Vienna, Austria, May 23-26.

[11] Doan, L.T., Baird, H., Doan, Q.T. and Farouq Ali, S.M., 1999, “An Investigation of the Steam-Assisted Gravity-Drainage Process in the Presence of a Water Leg,” paper SPE 56545 presented at the 1999 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, Texas, October 3-6.

[12] Ito, Y., Ichikawa, M. and Hirata, T., 2001, “The Effect of Gas Injection on Oil Recovery During SAGD Projects,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 38-43.

[13] Jiang, Q., Butler, R. and Yee, C.T., 2000, “The Steam and Gas Push (SAGP)-2: Mechanism Analysis and Physical Model Testing,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp 52-61.

[14] Kam, D., Min, B., Chung, S., Park, C., Kang, J., Kim, J., Jang, I. and Choi, Y., 2009, “Optimization of Steam Injection Pressure in SAGD Using Artificial Neural Network,” J. of the Korean Society of Geosystem Engineering, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 143-150.

[15] Kisman, K.E. and Yeung, K.C., 1995, “Numerical Study of the SAGD Process in the Burnt Lake Oil Sands Lease,” paper SPE 30276 presented at the International Heavy Oil Symposium, Calgary, Canada, June 19-21.

[16] Kisman, K.E., 2003, “Artificial Lift, A Major Unresolved Issue in SAGD,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 42, No. 8, pp. 39-45.

[17] Law, D.H.S., Nasr, T.N. and Good, W.K., 2003a, “Lab-Scale Numerical Simulation of SAGD Process in the Presence of Top Thief Zones: A Mechanistic Study,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 29-35.

[18] Law, D.H.S., Nasr, T.N. and Good, W.K., 2003b, “Field-Scale Numerical Simulation of SAGD Process With Top-Water Thief Zone,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 42, No. 8, pp. 32-38.

[19] Li, P. and Chalaturnyk, R.J., 2007, “Gas-Over-Bitumen Geometry and Its SAGD Performance Analysis With Coupled Reservoir Geomechanical Simulation,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 42-49.

[20] Mohebati, M.H., Maini, B.B. and Harding, T.G., 2010, “Optimization of Hydrocarbon Additives With Steam in SAGD for Three Major Canadian Oil Sands Deposits,” SPE 138151 presented at the Canadian Unconventional Resources & International Petroleum Conference, Calgary, Alberta, October 19-21.

[21] Nasr, T.N. and Ayodele, O.R., 2005, “Thermal Techniques for the Recovery of Heavy Oil and Bitumen,” paper SPE 97488 presented at the 2005 SPE International Improved Oil Recovery Conference in Asia Pacific, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 5-6.

[22] Nasr, T.N., Law, D.H.S., Beaulieu, G., Golebeck, H., Korpany, G. and Good, W.K., 2003, “SAGD Application In Gas Cap and Top Water Oil Reservoir,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol 42, No 1, pp. 32-38.

[23] Peterson, J.A., Riva, D.T., Connelly, M.E., Solanki, S.C. and Edmunds, N.R., 2009, “Conducting SAGD in Shoreface Oil Sands with Associated Basal Water,” Proceedings of the Canadian International Petroleum Conference, Calgary, Alberta, June 16-18.

[24] Singhal, A.K., Ito, Y. and Kasraie, M., 1998, “Screening and Design Criteria for Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Projects,” SPE 50410, presented at SPE International Conference on Horizontal Well Technology, Calgary, Canada, November 1-4.

[25] Shin, H. and Choe, J., 2009, “Shale Barrier Effects on the SAGD Performance,” SPE 95754, presented at SPE/EAGE Reservoir Characterization and Simulation Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 19-21.

[26] Thimm, H.F., 2005, “Low Pressure SAGD Operations,” J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 44, No. 9, pp. 58-61.

[27] Uwiera-Gartner, M.M.E., Carlson, M.R. and Palmgren, C.T.S., 2011, “Pseudo-Component, Thermal, Reservoir Simulation Study of a Proposed, Low Pressure, Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Pilot Project In Northeast Alberta,” presented at the Canadian Unconventional Resources Conference, Calgary, Alberta, November 15-17.

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