Numerical simulation of steam-assisted gravity drainage using paired horizontal wells

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

OSTI ID:269577

Law, D H.S.; Nasr, T N ^[1]

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1. Alberta Research Council, Edmonton (Canada)

This paper describes the numerical simulation of a steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) experiment with paired horizontal wells conducted at the Alberta Research Council (ARC) using a scaled physical model. The objectives of the numerical study were to determine the most adequate way of modelling lab-scale horizontal wells and production enthalpy control (steam trap); to validate the numerical model for the SAGD process; and to evaluate the impact of different pre-heating strategies on the performance of the SAGD process. The numerical study demonstrated that the horizontal wells used in the SAGD experiment can be reasonably simulated using a novel {open_quotes}gridblock representation approach{close_quotes} as compared to the conventional {open_quotes}source/sink well approach{close_quotes} and the more comprehensive {open_quotes}discretized wellbore approach.{close_quotes} A novel concept had also been developed to model the production enthalpy control. The concept can be approximated by using a bottomhole pressure constraint for both the injection and production wells, coupled with a maximum steam production rate constraint for the production well.

• OSTI ID: 269577
• Report Number(s): CONF-9502114--Vol.1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
HEAT LOSSES
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
OIL WELLS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PRODUCTION
SIMULATION
STEAM INJECTION
THERMAL RECOVERY
VISCOSITY