Economic feasibility of steam drive in light oil reservoirs. Final report
Technical Report
·
OSTI ID:5953453
This study has been performed to investigate effects of certain reservoir parameters upon economic feasibility of steam distillation drive in light oil reservoirs. Previous investigations have shown that steam injection into light oil reservoirs would result in high oil recovery due to very good sweep efficiency and low residual oil saturation. The model used included viscous and gravitational forces, as well as compositional and thermal effects, which influence multi-phase flow of steam, water, oil and gas in porous media. Economic feasibility of steam distillation drive in a light oil reservoir depends upon permeability of the reservoir rock, crude oil composition, steam injection rate, well pattern and spacing, and magnitude of the start-up costs. The presence of a free gas saturation or a high water saturation is not detrimental to steam distillation drive as long as sufficient quantities of distillable oil are present in the reservoir. Steam overriding is not severe in light oil reservoirs, and very good vertical sweeps are possible in homogeneous, thin, and slightly dipping sandstone reservoirs. The total cost of fuel, production expenses, and operating expenses can vary from $7 per stock tank barrel of produced oil for close well spacings to $12 per stock tank barrel of produced oil for wider well spacings. The present worth of oil recovered by steam flooding a light oil reservoir with a 50% oil saturation can range from $50,000 per acre before taxes in widely spaced wells in low permeability formations with low yield oil to $250,000 per acre before taxes in close well spacings in highly permeable formations containing high yield oil. If all injection wells and some production wells must be drilled, the present worth of a steam distillation drive project will be reduced by about 20%. These results are based on 50-foot thick reservoirs from 500 to 2000 feet deep and well spacings from 1-1/4 acres to 5 acres.
- Research Organization:
- INTERCOMP Resource Development and Engineering, Inc., Houston, TX (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5953453
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/BC/00044-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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