CA2703319A1 - Operating wells in groups in solvent-dominated recovery processes - Google Patents
Operating wells in groups in solvent-dominated recovery processes Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2703319A1 CA2703319A1 CA2703319A CA2703319A CA2703319A1 CA 2703319 A1 CA2703319 A1 CA 2703319A1 CA 2703319 A CA2703319 A CA 2703319A CA 2703319 A CA2703319 A CA 2703319A CA 2703319 A1 CA2703319 A1 CA 2703319A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- wells
- injection
- well
- production
- groups
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 238000011084 recovery Methods 0.000 title abstract 4
- 239000002904 solvent Substances 0.000 claims abstract 10
- 125000004122 cyclic group Chemical group 0.000 claims abstract 2
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims 41
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 claims 21
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 claims 21
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 claims 19
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 claims 12
- ATUOYWHBWRKTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Propane Chemical compound CCC ATUOYWHBWRKTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 4
- 229930195733 hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 claims 4
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 claims 4
- 230000000977 initiatory effect Effects 0.000 claims 3
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims 3
- OFBQJSOFQDEBGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N n-pentane Natural products CCCCC OFBQJSOFQDEBGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 3
- CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon dioxide Chemical compound O=C=O CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 2
- 230000003993 interaction Effects 0.000 claims 2
- 239000001294 propane Substances 0.000 claims 2
- 239000004215 Carbon black (E152) Substances 0.000 claims 1
- OTMSDBZUPAUEDD-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ethane Chemical compound CC OTMSDBZUPAUEDD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 1
- 239000001273 butane Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 229910002092 carbon dioxide Inorganic materials 0.000 claims 1
- 239000001569 carbon dioxide Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 238000011065 in-situ storage Methods 0.000 claims 1
- IJDNQMDRQITEOD-UHFFFAOYSA-N n-butane Chemical compound CCCC IJDNQMDRQITEOD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 1
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/16—Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons
- E21B43/166—Injecting a gaseous medium; Injecting a gaseous medium and a liquid medium
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/30—Specific pattern of wells, e.g. optimising the spacing of wells
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Geology (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
- Production Of Liquid Hydrocarbon Mixture For Refining Petroleum (AREA)
- Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)
Abstract
To recover oil, including viscous oil, from an underground reservoir, a cyclic solvent-dominated recovery process may be used. A viscosity reducing solvent is injected, and oil and solvent are produced. Unlike steam-dominated recovery processes, solvent-dominated recovery processes cause viscous fingering which should be controlled. To control viscous fingering, operational synchronization is used within groups and not between adjacent groups.
Claims (39)
1. A method of operating a cyclic solvent-dominated process for recovering hydrocarbons from an underground reservoir through a set of wells divided into groups of wells, the method comprising:
(a) initiating and subsequently halting injection, into one of the groups of wells, of an amount of a viscosity reducing solvent;
(b) initiating and subsequently halting production, from the one of the groups of wells, of at least a fraction of the solvent and the hydrocarbons from the reservoir, and (c) cyclically repeating steps (a) and (b) for the groups of wells;
wherein:
each of the groups comprises two or more wells and no well is common between two groups; and wells of the same group are operated substantially in-synch.
(a) initiating and subsequently halting injection, into one of the groups of wells, of an amount of a viscosity reducing solvent;
(b) initiating and subsequently halting production, from the one of the groups of wells, of at least a fraction of the solvent and the hydrocarbons from the reservoir, and (c) cyclically repeating steps (a) and (b) for the groups of wells;
wherein:
each of the groups comprises two or more wells and no well is common between two groups; and wells of the same group are operated substantially in-synch.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wells of the same group undergo opposite flow operation of injection or production for less than 10% of fluid flow on a mass basis.
3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the wells of the same group undergo opposite flow operation of injection or production for less than 5% of fluid flow on a mass basis.
4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wells of the same group undergo opposite flow operation of injection or production for less than 1% of fluid flow on a mass basis.
5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein for at least 80% of fluid flow on a mass basis a single well of at least one group undergoes injection and production while remaining wells within the at least one group are idle.
6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a single well of at least one of group undergoes injection and production while remaining wells within the at least one group are idle.
7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wells of the same group undergo the same flow operation of injection or production for more than 80% of fluid flow on a mass basis.
8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wells of the same group undergo the same flow operation of injection or production for more than 90%
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wells of the same group undergo the same flow operation of injection or production for more than 95% of fluid flow on a mass basis.
10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein more than 80% of the wells of the same group undergo the same flow operation of injection or production for more than 80% of an operational time period.
11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4 and 7 to 10, wherein all wells of the same group undergo the same flow operation of injection or production for more than 80% of an operational time period.
12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein adjacent well groups are operated substantially out-of-synch.
13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein wells of adjacent well groups undergo opposite flow operation of injection or production for more than 10%
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein wells of adjacent well groups undergo opposite flow operation of injection or production for more than 25%
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein wells of adjacent well groups undergo opposite flow operation of injection or production for more than 50%
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
16. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein wells of adjacent well groups undergo opposite flow operation of injection or production for more than 75%
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein wells of adjacent well groups undergo opposite flow operation of injection or production for more than 90%
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
of fluid flow on a mass basis.
18. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein immediately after halting injection of the solvent, at least 25 mass % of the injected solvent is in a liquid state in the reservoir.
19. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein at least 25 mass % of the solvent in step (a) enters the reservoir as a liquid.
20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein at least 50 mass % of the solvent in step (a) enters the reservoir as a liquid.
21. The method of any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein each well within the set of wells is oriented within 30° of horizontal within the underground reservoir.
22. The method of any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein, within the underground reservoir, the wells in the set are arranged within 20° of a common horizontal straight line.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the single common straight line is within 20° of a maximum horizontal stress direction within the reservoir.
24. The method of any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein for at least 25% of the time period between injecting and subsequently halting injection for a group of wells, an adjacent group of wells has at least one well producing; and for at least 25% of the time period between producing and subsequently halting producing for a group of wells, an adjacent group of wells has at least one well injecting.
25. The method of any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein for at least 50% of the time period between injecting and subsequently halting injection for a group of wells, an adjacent group of wells has at least one well producing; and for at least 50% of the time period between producing and subsequently halting producing for a group of wells, an adjacent group of wells has at least one well injecting.
26. The method of any one of claims 1 to 25, wherein the well groups are separated by buffer zones for limiting well-to-well interaction, wherein buffer zones contain no flowing wells.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the buffer zones constitute no more than one third of a sum of an area of the groups.
28. The method of claim 26, wherein the buffer zones constitute no more than 10% of a sum of an area of the groups.
29. The method of any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein two wells are separated by an infill well used for increasing hydrocarbon production prior to and/or during operation.
30. The method of any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein two wells are separated by an infill well for increasing reservoir pressure prior to and/or during operation, for limiting well-to-well interaction.
31. The method of claim 29 or 30, wherein water is injected into the infill well.
32. The method of any one of claims 26 to 28, wherein at least certain buffer zones are geological buffer zones.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the geological buffer zones are channel boundaries.
34. The method of any one of claims 1 to 33, wherein each group comprises a single row of wells.
35. The method of any one of claims 1 to 34, wherein the hydrocarbons are a viscous oil having an in situ viscosity of greater than 10 cP at initial reservoir conditions.
36. The method of any one of claims 1 to 35, wherein a common wellbore is used for both the injection and the production.
37. The method of any one of claims 1 to 36, wherein an idle period exists subsequent to halting injection and prior to initiating production.
38. The method of any one of claims 1 to 37, wherein the solvent comprises ethane, propane, butane, pentane, carbon dioxide, or a combination thereof.
39. The method of any one of claims 1 to 38, wherein the solvent comprises greater than 50 mass % propane.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2703319A CA2703319C (en) | 2010-05-05 | 2010-05-05 | Operating wells in groups in solvent-dominated recovery processes |
| US13/074,825 US20110272152A1 (en) | 2010-05-05 | 2011-03-29 | Operating Wells In Groups In Solvent-Dominated Recovery Processes |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2703319A CA2703319C (en) | 2010-05-05 | 2010-05-05 | Operating wells in groups in solvent-dominated recovery processes |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2703319A1 true CA2703319A1 (en) | 2011-11-05 |
| CA2703319C CA2703319C (en) | 2012-06-12 |
Family
ID=44900839
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2703319A Active CA2703319C (en) | 2010-05-05 | 2010-05-05 | Operating wells in groups in solvent-dominated recovery processes |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US20110272152A1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2703319C (en) |
Families Citing this family (11)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA2741916C (en) * | 2011-06-02 | 2013-10-22 | Imperial Oil Resources Limited | Integration of viscous oil recovery processes |
| US9739125B2 (en) * | 2014-12-18 | 2017-08-22 | Chevron U.S.A. Inc. | Method for upgrading in situ heavy oil |
| US10572611B2 (en) | 2016-04-29 | 2020-02-25 | Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company | Method and system for characterizing fractures in a subsurface region |
| US10712472B2 (en) | 2016-04-29 | 2020-07-14 | Exxonmobil Upstresm Research Company | Method and system for forming and using a subsurface model in hydrocarbon operations |
| US10846447B2 (en) | 2016-04-29 | 2020-11-24 | Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company | Method and system for stacking fracture prediction |
| CA2972203C (en) | 2017-06-29 | 2018-07-17 | Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company | Chasing solvent for enhanced recovery processes |
| CA2974712C (en) | 2017-07-27 | 2018-09-25 | Imperial Oil Resources Limited | Enhanced methods for recovering viscous hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation as a follow-up to thermal recovery processes |
| CA2978157C (en) | 2017-08-31 | 2018-10-16 | Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company | Thermal recovery methods for recovering viscous hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation |
| CA2983541C (en) | 2017-10-24 | 2019-01-22 | Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company | Systems and methods for dynamic liquid level monitoring and control |
| US11773704B2 (en) | 2020-01-24 | 2023-10-03 | Xuebing Fu | Methods for tight oil production through secondary recovery using spaced producer and injector wellbores |
| CN113847002B (en) * | 2021-09-29 | 2023-03-31 | 中国石油大学(北京) | Method for artificially inducing constructed oil and gas reservoir to generate gas cap oil displacement |
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| US3074481A (en) * | 1959-09-25 | 1963-01-22 | Union Oil Co | Method for the improvement of areal sweep during secondary recovery |
| US3113616A (en) * | 1960-03-09 | 1963-12-10 | Continental Oil Co | Method of uniform secondary recovery |
| US3113617A (en) * | 1960-09-21 | 1963-12-10 | Monsanto Chemicals | Secondary recovery technique |
| US3113618A (en) * | 1962-09-26 | 1963-12-10 | Monsanto Chemicals | Secondary recovery technique |
| US3253652A (en) * | 1963-06-24 | 1966-05-31 | Socony Mobil Oil Co Inc | Recovery method for petroleum oil |
| US3330345A (en) * | 1964-10-05 | 1967-07-11 | Gulf Research Development Co | Miscible drive secondary oil recovery process |
| US3347313A (en) * | 1964-11-13 | 1967-10-17 | Shell Oil Co | Steam drive with viscous volatile buffer |
| US3319712A (en) * | 1965-04-06 | 1967-05-16 | Union Oil Co | Secondary oil recovery method |
| US3400761A (en) * | 1965-12-27 | 1968-09-10 | Hunt Oil Company | Use of fluid flow barriers in the secondary recovery of oil |
| US3380525A (en) * | 1966-06-28 | 1968-04-30 | Texaco Inc | 7-well delta pattern for secondary recovery |
| US3438439A (en) * | 1967-05-29 | 1969-04-15 | Pan American Petroleum Corp | Method for plugging formations by production of sulfur therein |
| US3623552A (en) * | 1969-11-13 | 1971-11-30 | Cities Service Oil Co | Recovery of oil by low-pressure miscible gas injection |
| US3954141A (en) * | 1973-10-15 | 1976-05-04 | Texaco Inc. | Multiple solvent heavy oil recovery method |
| US4166503A (en) * | 1978-08-24 | 1979-09-04 | Texaco Inc. | High vertical conformance steam drive oil recovery method |
| US4166501A (en) * | 1978-08-24 | 1979-09-04 | Texaco Inc. | High vertical conformance steam drive oil recovery method |
| US4321966A (en) * | 1980-04-17 | 1982-03-30 | Texaco Inc. | High vertical conformance steam drive oil recovery method |
| US4324291A (en) * | 1980-04-28 | 1982-04-13 | Texaco Inc. | Viscous oil recovery method |
| US4513819A (en) * | 1984-02-27 | 1985-04-30 | Mobil Oil Corporation | Cyclic solvent assisted steam injection process for recovery of viscous oil |
| US4645003A (en) * | 1985-12-23 | 1987-02-24 | Texaco Inc. | Patterns of horizontal and vertical wells for improving oil recovery efficiency |
| US4637461A (en) * | 1985-12-30 | 1987-01-20 | Texaco Inc. | Patterns of vertical and horizontal wells for improving oil recovery efficiency |
| US4683948A (en) * | 1986-05-23 | 1987-08-04 | Atlantic Richfield Company | Enhanced oil recovery process employing carbon dioxide |
| US4733726A (en) * | 1987-03-27 | 1988-03-29 | Mobil Oil Corporation | Method of improving the areal sweep efficiency of a steam flood oil recovery process |
| US4785882A (en) * | 1987-06-24 | 1988-11-22 | Mobil Oil Corporation | Enhanced hydrocarbon recovery |
| US4819724A (en) * | 1987-09-03 | 1989-04-11 | Texaco Inc. | Modified push/pull flood process for hydrocarbon recovery |
| US4986352A (en) * | 1989-09-28 | 1991-01-22 | Mobil Oil Corporation | Intermittent steam injection |
| US5400430A (en) * | 1990-10-01 | 1995-03-21 | Nenniger; John E. | Method for injection well stimulation |
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| US5803171A (en) * | 1995-09-29 | 1998-09-08 | Amoco Corporation | Modified continuous drive drainage process |
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| WO2005000747A2 (en) * | 2003-06-25 | 2005-01-06 | Rhodia Chimie | Tagged scale inhibiting polymers, compositions comprising the same, and method for preventing or controlling scale formation |
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-
2010
- 2010-05-05 CA CA2703319A patent/CA2703319C/en active Active
-
2011
- 2011-03-29 US US13/074,825 patent/US20110272152A1/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2703319C (en) | 2012-06-12 |
| US20110272152A1 (en) | 2011-11-10 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request |