Steamflooding Cold Lake oil reservoirs through a bottomwater zone: A scaled physical model study

Journal Article · Sat May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · SPE Reservoir Engineering (Society of Petroleum Engineers); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2118/21772-PA· OSTI ID:6314289

Nasr, T N; Pierce, G E ^[1]

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1. Alberta Research Council, Edmonton (Canada)

A series of experiments was conducted in one-eighth of a five-spot-pattern, high-pressure, scaled physical model to evaluate the potential of steamflooding oil-sand reservoirs through a bottomwater zone in Cold Lake, Alberta. During the experiments, steam was injected into the bottomwater zone at a constant rate until steam breakthrough occurred at the production well. The steam injection rate then was reduced to limit steam production. Results demonstrate that the process is influenced by the steam injection flow rate because of the important role played by gravity override. Increasing the steam injection rate beyond an optimum value results in decreased oil/steam ratios (OSR's) and reduced final oil recovery because steam channels to the production well. A delay in oil production was noticed in all experiments. A moving-heat-source, gravity-override, analytical model was used to investigate the mechanisms of reservoir heating in the presence of steam-gravity override. In addition, the thermal efficiency of the process, determined from the experiments and extrapolated to field conditions, was compared with prediction from Prats' thermal efficiency model. Prats' model predicted the measured thermal efficiency reasonably well at lower injection rates. As the injection rate increased, however, larger differences between Prats' model and the experiments were noticed.

• OSTI ID: 6314289
• Journal Information: SPE Reservoir Engineering (Society of Petroleum Engineers); (United States), Journal Name: SPE Reservoir Engineering (Society of Petroleum Engineers); (United States) Vol. 8:2; ISSN 0885-9248; ISSN SREEEF
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300 -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040401* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- In Situ Methods
True & Modified
ALBERTA
CANADA
COLD LAKE DEPOSIT
DATA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INFORMATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL SAND DEPOSITS
OIL WELLS
PETROLEUM
RESERVOIR ROCK
SCALE MODELS
STEAM INJECTION
STIMULATION
STRUCTURAL MODELS
SWEEP EFFICIENCY
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
THERMAL RECOVERY
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS