Strategies for field application of foams in heavy oil reservoirs

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:269550

Isaacs, E E; Ivory, J; Law, D H.S. ^[1]

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1. Alberta Research Council, Edmonton (Canada)

Steam-based processes in heavy oil reservoirs that are not stabilized by gravity have poor vertical and areal conformance. This is because gases are more mobile within the pore space than liquids and steam tends to override or channel through oil in a formation. The steam-foam process which consists of adding surfactant with or without non-condensible gas to the injected steam, was developed to improve the sweep efficiency of steam drive and cyclic steam processes. The foam-forming components injected with the steam stabilize the liquid lamellae and cause some of the steam to exist as a discontinuous phase. The steam mobility (gas relative permeability) is thereby reduced resulting in an increased pressure gradient in the steam-swept region, to divert steam to the unheated interval and displace the heated oil better. The propagation of surfactant in the reservoir is determined by its thermal stability, adsorption, precipitation, and oil partitioning behaviour. The propagation of the foam is determined by the mechanisms that generate and destroyfoam in the reservoir, including gas and liquid velocities, condensation and evaporation, non-condensible gas, and the presence of oil. Strategies were developed to minimize the chemical requirements for generating effective steam-foams. Economic steam-foam processes requires that surfactant losses are minimized, foam propagation and foam stability is maximized at surfactant concentrations lower than has hereto been used in the field. This paper, based on laboratory finding and field experience, discusses the important considerations which affect the efficient application of steam-foam in the field.

• OSTI ID: 269550
• Report Number(s): CONF-9502114--Vol.1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
FOAMS
OIL WELLS
PETROLEUM
STEAM INJECTION
SURFACTANTS
THERMAL RECOVERY
USES