Mechanism investigation of steam flooding heavy oil by comprehensive molecular characterization

Steam flooding is a widely used technique to enhance oil recovery of heavy oil.Thermal viscosity reduction and distillation effect are considered as two main displacement mechanisms in steam flooding process.However,the molecular composition understanding and contribution for oil production are still unclear.In this study,the composition analysis of the heavy oil was investigated in the core scale steam flooding process with the temperature from 120 to 280℃.The crude oil,produced oils and residual oils were characterized comprehensively by gas chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry.It is found that steam flooding preferentially extracts aromatics and remains more resins in the residual oil.Viscosity reduction is the dominant mechanism when steam is injected at a low temperature.Large molecular heteroatoms with high carbon number and high double bond equivalent(DBE)are eluted into the produced oil,while compounds with low carbon number and low DBE are remained in the residual oil.As the steam temperature rises,the increased distillation effect results in the extraction of light hydrocarbons from the residual oil to the produced oil.More small heteroatoms with low carbon number and low DBE enter into the produced oil,especially in the none water cut stage.The compositional difference of produced oils is characterized in DBE versus carbon number distribution of the N and O containing compound classes.This work uses a variety of composition analysis methods to clarify the steam flooding mechanism and provides a novel understanding of steam flooding mechanisms with various temperatures and production stages from the molecular perspective.

Steam Flooding after Steam Soak in Heavy Oil Reservoirs through Extended-reach Horizontal Wells

This paper presents a new development scheme of simultaneous injection and production in a single horizontal well drilled for developing small block reservoirs or offshore reservoirs. It is possible to set special packers within the long completion horizontal interval to establish an injection zone and a production zone. This method can also be used in steam flooding after steam soak through a horizontal well. Simulation results showed that it was desirable to start steam flooding after six steam soaking cycles and at this time the oil/steam ratio was 0.25 and oil recovery efficiency was 23.48%. Steam flooding performance was affected by separation interval and steam injection rate. Reservoir numerical simulation indicated that maximum oil recovery would be achieved at a separation section of 40-50 m at steam injection rate of 100-180 t/d; and the larger the steam injection rate, the greater the water cut and pressure difference between injection zone and production zone. A steam injection rate of 120 t/d was suitable for steam flooding under practical injection-production conditions. All the results could be useful for the guidance of steam flooding projects.

Analyzing the effect of steam quality and injection temperature on the performance of steam flooding

The heavy oil reservoirs are currently mainly targeted by thermal enhanced oil recovery technologies,particularly,steam flooding.Steam flooding is carried out by introducing heat into the reservoir to unlock the recovery of heavy oil by reducing oil viscosity.Several investigations were carried out to improve oil recovery by steam flooding.Most recently,high steam flooding is reported as an effective approach to improve recovery in high pressure heavy oil reservoirs.The oil recovery from steam flooding is sub-stantially affected by the steam quality and injection temperature.In this study,an attempt was made to look into the integration of parameters,i.e.steam quality and injection temperature upon steam flooding on oil recovery by using a simulation approach via ECLIPSE.The results obtained indicated that high temperature along with the moderate value of steam quality gives the best result regarding oil recovery for steam flooding in an economical way.

Study of steam heat transfer enhanced by CO_(2) and chemical agents: In heavy oil production

Steam flooding with the assistance of carbon dioxide (CO_(2)) and chemicals is an effective approach for enhancing super heavy oil recovery. However, the promotion and application of CO_(2) and chemical agent-assisted steam flooding technology have been restricted by the current lack of research on the synergistic effect of CO_(2) and chemical agents on enhanced steam flooding heat transfer. The novel experiments on CO_(2)–chemicals cooperate affected steam condensation and seepage were conducted by adding CO_(2) and two chemicals (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the betaine temperature-salt resistant foaming agent ZK-05200).According to the experimental findings, a “film” formed on the heat-transfer medium surface following the co-injection of CO_(2) and the chemical to impede the steam heat transfer, reducing the heat transfer efficiency of steam, heat flux and condensation heat transfer coefficient. The steam seepage experiment revealed that the temperature at the back end of the sandpack model was dramatically raised by 3.5–12.8 °C by adding CO_(2) and chemical agents, achieving the goal of driving deep-formation heavy oil. The combined effect of CO_(2) and SDS was the most effective for improving steam heat transfer, the steam heat loss was reduced by 6.2%, the steam condensation cycle was prolonged by 1.3 times, the condensation heat transfer coefficient was decreased by 15.5%, and the heavy oil recovery was enhanced by 9.82%. Theoretical recommendations are offered in this study for improving the CO_(2)–chemical-assisted steam flooding technique.

Quantitative description of steam channels after steam flooding

Steam channeling is one of the main barriers for EOR after steam flooding.In order to enhance the oil recovery in steam flooded reservoirs,steam channel volumes should be precisely known.In this paper,a set of methods has been established in order to study steam channeling quantitatively by using dynamic data.Firstly,steam channeling wells are identified through curves of watercut and temperature.Then,considering the hysteresis phenomenon,channeling relations are identified with the correlation coefficients between injection wells and production wells under different conditions.Lastly,an analytic model,in which steam condensation,pressure and temperature are considered,is established to calculate the steam channel volumes.A production well named L31615 in some block in Henan Oilfield in China is systematically analyzed by using the method established.The whole block is further analyzed,and the distribution map of steam channels and the steam channel volumes are obtained.The results show that steam channeling does not only occur inside a well group,but also sometimes occurs between wells in different well groups.The calculation of the steam channel volumes provides a theoretical basis for bringing a remedial action like plugging into operation.

Organic bases as additives for steam-assisted gravity drainage

Steam-assisted gravity drainage(SAGD)is a mature technology for bitumen recovery from oil sands.However,it is an energy-intensive process that requires large amounts of steam to heat and mobilize bitumen.The purpose of this work is to develop ways to enhance SAGD performance through the use of organic base additives.The research is approached from three focus areas that supplement and guide each other:characterization tests,sand-pack floods,and computational simulation.A number of key mechanisms for enhancing oil recovery were identified,high-temperature additive characterization tests were developed,and promising alkalis were tested in porous media.Simulation was employed to history-match sandpack flood production data,in order to demonstrate the effect of an additive on the oil–water relative permeability.Based on these results,it was concluded that oxygenated organic bases had the most potential for improving bitumen recovery through reducing the oil–water interfacial tension(IFT)by increasing the pH of the system.These organic bases favorably modify the interfacial energies between the immiscible oil–water phases and enable them to flow easily through the porous media during production.Sand-pack flood tests have successfully demonstrated a 10%–15%improvement in bitumen recovery,over baseline,in the presence of IFT-reducing additives.Simulation results further showed that an IFT reduction had a positive impact on SAGD performance.This work demonstrates the potential of organic bases to improve not only SAGD,but other steam injection processes.Furthermore,a number of experimental methods were developed,tried,and tested during the course of this work.

Enhanced heavy and extra heavy oil recovery:Current status and new trends

Due to the increased demand for energy resources these days,especially due to the Russian-Ukrainian war,the focus of the major countries is turning strongly towards improving oil production,especially heavy and extra heavy oil,which represents 40%of the world oil reserve.Steam-based and thermal(EOR)procedures are promising techniques for recovering heavy oil reservoirs,but they suffer from a sequence of problems and complications that arise after long-term application.These complications comprise steam breakthrough,steam overlap,and steam/rock interactions.This research presents the currently applied techniques to maximize the productivity of heavy oil,such as steam injection,cyclic steam stimulation,in-situ combustion,and steam-assisted gravity drainage.Thermal technologies face numerous obstacles,as they are energy and water-intensive processes that are not environmentally friendly.The research also presents future trends in energy-saving and environmentally friendly techniques that enhance heavy oil recovery through vapor extraction(VAPEX)steam-solvent hybrid techniques,electromagnetic energy,sonication,and nanotechnology.The findings of this review reported that all the presented techniques focus on how to reduce the oil viscosity and in-situ upgrade the crude oil properties.In turn,these enhance both the productivity rate and oil recovery and minimize the production cost.This article can be considered a comprehensive review of thermal recovery methods in heavy and extra-heavy oil,in addition to screening criteria used for each method.

Accumulation conditions and key exploration&development technologies of heavy oil in Huanxiling oilfield in Liaohe depression,Bohai Bay Basin

The Huanxiling oilfield is located in the southern part of the western slope of the western sag in Liaohe depression.The west side of this oilfield is connected with two sets of high-quality source rocks of Member 3 and Member 4 of Shahejie Formation in Qingshui sub-sag.The oilfield has fan delta,turbidite fan and other types of reservoirs,it also has cap rock of thick mudstone in Member 3 and Member 4 of Shahejie Formation.Under background of the warped basement,the warped fault-block draped compound trap zone are developed,which includes nine types of trap.From perspective of hydrocarbon accumulation,the slope of this area has always been the target area for hydrocarbon migration and accumulation.Inclusion analysis shows that there are multiple stages of hydrocarbon charging in this area,and the main reservoir forming period is the sedimentary period of Member 3 of Shahejie Formation and the sedimentary period of Dongying Formation.High-quality source-reservoir-cap conditions ensure large-scale hydrocarbon accumulation in this area.Based on the theory of compound hydrocarbon accumulation,many types of oil and gas reservoirs,including light oil reservoir and heavy oil reservoir,have been found in this area,with total reserves of 500 million tons.In view of the oilfield characterized by large reservoir burial span,multiple oil-bearing strata,strong heterogeneity and various types of oils,multi-batch seismic data processing&interpretation technology and thin reservoir inversion technology based on geological model are established in the preliminary exploration period,steam-flooding physical simulation technology of heavy oil,oil-reservoir fine description technology of thermal recovery heavy oil,steam huff and puff technology of ordinary heavy oil and steam-flooding technology of mid-deep buried heavy oil are developed in the development period,and technologies such as separate-layer injection,selective injection,sand control and lifting of heavy oil are matched and improved.These technology series provides technical guarantee for efficient exploration and development of Huanxiling oilfield.