Methods of enhancing fluid communication in oil sands

Conference · Sun Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1984 · Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6594686

Tam, E S; Edmunds, N R; Redford, D A

Effective steamflooding of oil sands requires fluid communication between injectors and producers. Such a communication path can be developed through a naturally occurring zone of low bitumen saturation. If a water sand with little or no bitumen saturation is encountered, high injectivity can be achieved and a steamflood can be carried out immediately. With zones having mobile water and some bitumen as well, special enhancement processes are required to prevent tar banking when steam is injected which is common in steam drive processes where cold bitumen is displaced ahead of a steam front. One way to prevent tar banking is to heat the mobility zones slowly with hot water so that hot bitumen will be displaced when steam drive is initiated. Depending upon the nature of the mobility zones, the efficiency of the enhancement process might be improved by the use of solvents such as naphtha or synthetic crudes.

• Research Organization: Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority
• OSTI ID: 6594686
• Report Number(s): CONF-8304162-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States) Journal Volume: SPE/DOE 12659
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040300* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Drilling
Fracturing & Mining
BITUMENS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBON DIOXIDE INJECTION
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLOW RATE
FLUID INJECTION
FLUID INJECTION PROCESSES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HOT-WATER PROCESSES
MATERIALS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
OIL SANDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
RECOVERY
STEAM SOAK PROCESSES
TAR