EP2025862A1 - Procédé pour l'amélioration de la récupération de pétrole brut lourd par la combustion in situ en présence d'aquifères forts - Google Patents

Procédé pour l'amélioration de la récupération de pétrole brut lourd par la combustion in situ en présence d'aquifères forts Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2025862A1
EP2025862A1 EP07114511A EP07114511A EP2025862A1 EP 2025862 A1 EP2025862 A1 EP 2025862A1 EP 07114511 A EP07114511 A EP 07114511A EP 07114511 A EP07114511 A EP 07114511A EP 2025862 A1 EP2025862 A1 EP 2025862A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
crude oil
containing formation
production well
water
oxidant
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP07114511A
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German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
David Richard Brooks
Johan Jacobus Van Dorp
Carlos Alberto Glandt
Albert Hendrik De Zwart
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
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Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV filed Critical Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
Priority to EP07114511A priority Critical patent/EP2025862A1/fr
Publication of EP2025862A1 publication Critical patent/EP2025862A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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    • 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
    • E21B43/24—Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons using heat, e.g. steam injection
    • E21B43/243—Combustion in situ
    • 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
    • E21B43/305—Specific pattern of wells, e.g. optimising the spacing of wells comprising at least one inclined or horizontal well
    • 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
    • E21B43/32—Preventing gas- or water-coning phenomena, i.e. the formation of a conical column of gas or water around wells

Definitions

  • ISC In-Situ Combustion
  • In-Situ Combustion air is injected into an oil-bearing formation to burn a fraction of the oil and generate steam and hot gases to heat the rock and fluids downstream of the combustion zone and drive the oil to the producers . Because of the much lower density of air compared with the density of both oil and water present in the reservoir, air overrides the oil column resulting in very poor sweep efficiency. For this reason In-Situ Combustion has been applied in relatively thin and dipping formations where gravity drainage of the heated oil can contribute to production.
  • European Patent 1112956 introduced a method of injecting a lower-than-oil density fluid, such as air to displace and burn oil in the upper section of an oil-bearing reservoir and injecting a higher-than-oil density fluid, such as water, in the lower part of the reservoir to displace the fluids in an upward direction.
  • a lower-than-oil density fluid such as air to displace and burn oil in the upper section of an oil-bearing reservoir
  • a higher-than-oil density fluid such as water
  • Oil reservoirs with strong bottom aquifers are typically developed with horizontal wells or vertical wells both drilled or perforated at the top of the oil column.
  • oil reservoirs with more than 20 meters of oil column and strong bottom aquifers the recovery of a process consisting of injection of air at the top of the oil column will be severely compromised by a) early oxygen breakthrough at horizontal producers drilled next to the water-oil contact, or b) by air override at producers completed or drilled at the upper part of the oil column.
  • a new method is required to use ISC in relatively thick oil formations with strong aquifers to increase recovery efficiency.
  • ISC In-Situ Combustion
  • a method for enhancing recovery of crude oil from a crude oil containing formation which overlies a water containing formation comprising:
  • oxidant injection is terminated when the combustion front approaches the inflow zone of the crude oil production well so that the fluid pressure of the water in the water containing formation (also called aquifer) sweeps the heated oil to the inflow zone of the crude oil production well.
  • the viscosity of said at least substantial fraction of crude oil in the crude oil containing formation is reduced to less than 50 centipoise (50 cP, or 0.05 Pa.s), more preferably to less than 30 centipoise (30 cP or 0.03 Pa.s), most preferably to less than 10 centipoise (10 cP or 0.01 Pa.s).
  • This invention provides an In-Situ Combustion (ISC) method to significantly increase the oil recovery from oil-bearing reservoirs with in-situ oil viscosities ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand centipoises (cP) and with strong bottom aquifers.
  • ISC In-Situ Combustion
  • ISC is applied after a first production phase is completed of an aquifer-assisted production utilizing production wells drilled or perforated at the top of a crude oil containing formation 1 as shown in FIG 1 .
  • the total height H may typically be between 20 and 60 m.
  • the optimum vertical location h of the inflow zone of the production well 5 in the oil column depends amongst others, on the initial oil viscosity, aquifer strength and production schedules. In most crude oil containing formations h will be between 0.2 and 0.5 H, preferably between 0.3 and 0.4 H above the water oil contact (WOC), measured when ISC enhanced crude oil production commences and before the water oil contact (WOC) starts to rise due to the ISC enhanced production of crude oil from the crude oil containing formation 1.
  • WOC water oil contact
  • a second phase consisting of an ISC process is then commenced.
  • the method of this invention intends to heat the crude oil containing formation 1 such that the viscosity of at least a substantial fraction of crude oil in the region of the crude oil containing formation 1 between the burned zone and the water containing formation, or aquifer, 2 is reduced to such a level that fractional flow of water into the producer zone from the water containing formation 2 through the crude oil is significantly reduced and the fractional flow of lower-viscosity oil significantly increased over the non-ISC case.
  • Numerical simulation models of the method according to the present invention provide examples of the viscosity reduction effect due to the deployment of the heat bank by ISC.
  • FIG. 2 is one of such examples and clearly illustrates the reduction of oil viscosity from around 300 cP in the area close to the Water-Oil Contact WOC to a range between 2 to 10 cP in the center part of the oil column or reservoir 1.
  • a reservoir 1 with an oil bearing column with oil viscosities in the few hundred to few thousand centipoises range and a strong aquifer is developed by drilling long horizontal wells at the top of the oil column or reservoir 1.
  • reference numeral 1 represents the oil column or reservoir
  • reference numeral 2 the underlying aquifer
  • reference numerals 3 and 4 two horizontal crude oil production wells or producers that have a substantially horizontal inflow region drilled at the top of the oil column
  • reference numeral 5 the horizontal producer which is located at a height of about 1/3 of the height H of the crude oil column above the initial Water Oil Contact (WOC).
  • WOC Water Oil Contact
  • the horizontal distance between two adjacent horizontal producer wells 3,4 varies from case to case but it is typically up to a few hundred meters.
  • one infill producer as 5 in FIG. 1 , is drilled closer to the Water Oil Contact (WOC) than to the top 6 of the reservoir or oil column 1 so that a significant amount of heat can be rapidly deployed in the middle and upper sections of the reservoir 1.
  • WOC Water Oil Contact
  • the aquifer 2 is used to sweep the oil through the heated zone towards the producers, wherein the viscosity of the heated crude oil is sufficiently low so that water fractional flow into the producer 5 is significantly reduced.
  • the Fast Heat Deployment employing the ISC concept according to the invention may also be carried out with vertical wells.
  • the vertical wells may be placed on production until the water cut renders the well uneconomic.
  • a vertical infill producer is then drilled and perforated closer to the water-oil contact WOC than to the top 6 of the crude oil reservoir 1.
  • One or more of the initial aquifer assisted production phase producer wells 3,4 may be converted into injectors or two new injectors may be drilled in their vicinity to inject air at high rates to result in a high-temperature oxidation process.
  • a generic reservoir model was used to prove the viability of the production method according to the invention.
  • Computer simulations further indicate that high oil recovery factors can be obtained in reservoirs with strong bottom aquifers, which use top injectors (horizontal or vertical) flanked by horizontal producers closer to the water-oil contact.
  • Computer simulations further confirm the experimental evidence that air injectivity at high injection rates results in combustion of the burning fuel in the so called high temperature oxidation mode that is continued until the oxygen concentration in the produced gas is above a safety limit of 3 to 5 mole%, above which air injection is either stopped or reduced to avoid exceeding this limit.
  • Crude oil in the unheated formation may have a viscosity between 200 and 2000 centipoises and the water in the aquifer may have a viscosity of between 0.4 and 1 centipoises.
  • Computer simulations also indicate that it is relevant to reduce the viscosity of the crude oil in the region between the air injection wells 3 and 4 and the crude oil production well 5 in order to enhance oil production and to reduce fractional flow of water and that the crude oil containing formation 1 should preferably be heated such that the viscosity of at least a substantial fraction of the crude oil in the region between the air injection wells 3,4 and the oil producer 5 is less than 50 centipoise (50 cP, or 0.05 Pa.s), more preferably to less than 30 centipoise (30 cP or 0.03 Pa.s), most preferably to less than 10 centipoise (10 cP or 0.01 Pa.s) such that the difference between the viscosities and mobility ratios of crude oil and water is significantly reduced.
  • 50 centipoise 50 centipoise
  • 30 centipoise 30 centipoise
  • 10 centipoise 10 centipoise

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  • 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)
EP07114511A 2007-08-17 2007-08-17 Procédé pour l'amélioration de la récupération de pétrole brut lourd par la combustion in situ en présence d'aquifères forts Withdrawn EP2025862A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP07114511A EP2025862A1 (fr) 2007-08-17 2007-08-17 Procédé pour l'amélioration de la récupération de pétrole brut lourd par la combustion in situ en présence d'aquifères forts

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP07114511A EP2025862A1 (fr) 2007-08-17 2007-08-17 Procédé pour l'amélioration de la récupération de pétrole brut lourd par la combustion in situ en présence d'aquifères forts

Publications (1)

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EP2025862A1 true EP2025862A1 (fr) 2009-02-18

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN115726751A (zh) * 2021-09-02 2023-03-03 中国石油天然气股份有限公司 一种判断火驱油藏燃烧方向及状态的方法

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3517744A (en) * 1968-11-14 1970-06-30 Texaco Inc Hydrocarbon production by in-situ combustion and natural water drive
FR2676091A1 (fr) * 1991-05-02 1992-11-06 Inst Francais Du Petrole Methode pour stimuler par un fluide chaud une zone productrice d'effluents adjacente a une zone aquifere.
US5244041A (en) * 1991-04-26 1993-09-14 Institut Francais Du Petrole Method for stimulating an effluent-producing zone adjoining an aquifer by lateral sweeping with a displacement fluid
US5273111A (en) * 1991-07-03 1993-12-28 Amoco Corporation Laterally and vertically staggered horizontal well hydrocarbon recovery method
WO1997012119A1 (fr) * 1995-09-29 1997-04-03 Amoco Corporation Procede modifie de drainage a commande continue
US5860475A (en) * 1994-04-28 1999-01-19 Amoco Corporation Mixed well steam drive drainage process

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3517744A (en) * 1968-11-14 1970-06-30 Texaco Inc Hydrocarbon production by in-situ combustion and natural water drive
US5244041A (en) * 1991-04-26 1993-09-14 Institut Francais Du Petrole Method for stimulating an effluent-producing zone adjoining an aquifer by lateral sweeping with a displacement fluid
FR2676091A1 (fr) * 1991-05-02 1992-11-06 Inst Francais Du Petrole Methode pour stimuler par un fluide chaud une zone productrice d'effluents adjacente a une zone aquifere.
US5273111A (en) * 1991-07-03 1993-12-28 Amoco Corporation Laterally and vertically staggered horizontal well hydrocarbon recovery method
US5860475A (en) * 1994-04-28 1999-01-19 Amoco Corporation Mixed well steam drive drainage process
WO1997012119A1 (fr) * 1995-09-29 1997-04-03 Amoco Corporation Procede modifie de drainage a commande continue

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN115726751A (zh) * 2021-09-02 2023-03-03 中国石油天然气股份有限公司 一种判断火驱油藏燃烧方向及状态的方法

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