KR20090126949A - Physical simulation apparatus for recovery of extra-heavy oil or heavy oil deposits underground - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A recovery process simulator of constant oil components buried in underground is provided to perform investigation about recovery process development of heavy crude oil efficiently with consecutive measurements of oil components, and to reduce manufacturing cost. CONSTITUTION: A recovery process simulator of constant oil components buried in underground includes a supply and distribution unit(10), an oil send model unit(11), a fixed temperature cooling unit(12), and a production unit(13). The supply and distribution unit supplies steam or high pressure air. The oil send model unit is connected with the supply and distribution unit. The fixed temperature cooling unit is connected with the oil send unit. The recovery process simulator further includes an oil cut unit(14), a fixed temperature maintaining unit(15), and an impurity separation/refinement unit.

Description

Physical simulation apparatus for recovery of extra-heavy oil or heavy oil deposits underground}

The present invention relates to a physical simulation test apparatus for the study of the recovery process of oil components such as super heavy oil and heavy oil buried underground, more specifically, it is possible to continuously calculate the real-time oil components in a simple way, geological underground The present invention relates to a simulation apparatus that can effectively simulate the characteristics, and can efficiently conduct recovery process characteristics research of ultra heavy oil and heavy oil such as an oil sand.

With the influence of modernization and industrialization around the world, the energy problem used has emerged as the most important problem.

In particular, due to the recent rise in oil prices, the importance of abundant and cheaper energy sources, rather than existing oil resources, is being highlighted.

An oil sand is a material containing bitumen, a kind of ultra heavy oil, which is usually in sand, and is usually a useful resource for removing sand and extracting and upgrading only bitumen ingredients. Synthetic Crude Oil (SCO) can be obtained.

These oil sands are abundant in reserve, which enables the supply of raw materials at low prices and stable supply of crude oil by securing related technologies and blocks.

The technology related to oil sands is Canada's most advanced technology, and its facilities are mainly concentrated in the province of Canada alberta.

Current methods of extracting oil sand include mining, stem assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), and cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), but ① costly investment for mining and extraction, and ② extracted costs 2) lowering the viscosity of Toman, ③ emissions of carbon dioxide from the use of huge amounts of natural gas, ④ problems of wastewater remaining in heavy oil, ⑤ restoration of damaged natural forests after mining, ⑥ for the manufacture of quality synthetic resources and petrochemical products. It is pointed out that the problem is the development of the upgrading technology of Beatman.

Table 1 below compares the costs, supply prices, and recovery rates required for the production of bitumen from oil sands using various technologies. The typical recovery processes currently used are CSS and SAGD, which are commercially used. While the production cost is low and the recovery rate is low, the recent technology shows excellent recovery rate and relatively high production cost.

However, in the deep recovery process of the oil sands, the equipment and equipment cost is very expensive, and once installed, it is difficult to reinstall it again. Therefore, advanced countries such as Canada are currently using two methods for the study of the new recovery process.

First, numerical simulation using a computer program such as STARS is widely used.

In the case of these numerical calculations, it is difficult to consider all the geological factors, so scale down the underground reservoir to create a physical model, and then inject real steam into the physical simulation experiment apparatus. Is a very important part of research.

However, in the case of the physical simulation apparatus, the design of the apparatus is very difficult, and its operation also has a difficult problem.

Therefore, with the exception of a few Canadian companies and schools, it is almost impossible to design and operate such a device. Even in the case of current devices, steam quality measurement, continuous oil content measurement, and precise geological underground Copying is difficult.

In addition, there is a problem that it is very difficult to simulate the recovery process of the underground in the process such as steam / solvent / additive injection that is currently being developed.

Therefore, the present invention has been devised in view of the above points, in order to recover the oil components (super-heavy oil and heavy oil) buried underground ① part of generating steam and high-pressure / high-temperature air and measuring the characteristics of the generated steam, ② Part of distributing steam properly, ③ Part of which simulates geological environment of underground, ④ Part of cooling steam / oil component / sand, etc. ⑤ Quantitatively quantifying flow of oil component in cooled fluid By implementing a new type of physical simulation method that includes measuring part, ⑥ obtained steam / oil component / sand collecting part, real-time oil component under simpler and more realistic conditions than the previous physical simulation method It is possible to effectively simulate the successive calculations and the geological characteristics of the underground and thus super heavy oil and heavy oil from oil sands. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a physical simulation test apparatus for the study of recovery process of oil components buried underground which can conduct research on development of recovery process more efficiently.

In order to achieve the above object, the physical simulation test apparatus provided in the present invention is connected to a supply and distribution unit for generating steam or high-pressure air and supplying the same, and to simulate the underground geological environment. An oil sand model unit including heavy oil and heavy oil, a constant temperature cooling unit connected to the oil sand model unit side and cooling the generated steam / oil component / sand, and a steam / oil component obtained after cooling connected to the constant temperature cooling unit side It is characterized in that it consists of a form including a production unit for collecting / sand.

Here, the physical simulation apparatus is installed between the constant temperature cooling unit and the production unit, the oil cut unit for quantitatively measuring the flow rate of the oil component in the cooled fluid, connected to the production unit side installed steam or high-pressure air is applied It is preferable to further include a constant pressure maintaining unit for maintaining a constant pressure in the production unit so as not to escape immediately, an impurity separation / purification unit for separating / purifying residual sand components in the oil component discharged from the production unit.

In particular, the physical simulation test apparatus may include a means for enabling the change and combustion of the gas supplied therein for the evaluation of various processes SAGD, ES-SAGD, VAPEX, THAI, etc. according to the change of the model. .

The present invention provides an effective physical simulation test apparatus for the development of the recovery technology of ultra-heavy oil and heavy oil buried underground, and thus has the effect of enabling the development of optimal recovery technology according to the underground storage.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of enabling the development of a more efficient recovery process, the development of a new recovery process through the provision of the physical simulation experiment apparatus.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a physical simulation experiment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the physical simulation test apparatus is a device for physical simulation experiments on the recovery process of oil components such as super heavy oil and heavy oil buried underground, and the available pressure is about 100 to 500 kpa. The temperature is about 50 ~ 300 ℃, and it is made by injecting high pressure steam, steam + solvent, air of high temperature and high pressure, etc. to recover oil components effectively from the oil sand model modeled on the underground heavy oil and heavy oil. .

The physical simulation apparatus may be applied to effectively simulate the process of SAGD, ES-SAGD, VAPEX, THAI, etc., which is an ultra heavy oil recovery process.

The physical simulation apparatus includes steam or hot air at high pressure and a part for supplying it, a portion of the steam or hot air at a high pressure distribution, and a geological environment of the underground to contain super heavy oil and heavy oil. Model (oil sand) part, the part where the generated steam / oil component / sand, etc. are cooled, the part that quantitatively measures the flow rate of the oil component in the cooled fluid (steam / oil component / sand, etc.), the obtained steam / oil component / Part where the sand is collected, a part that separates / purifies the oil component from the oil and the residual Forth mixture, and the like.

This physical simulation tester can precisely adjust the pressure inside the entire tester to improve the accuracy of future simulations and to mix the mixture of steam and solvent, and change various processes such as AGD, ES-SAGD, VAPEX, THAI according to the model change. It is possible to change the gas supplied to the inside and to burn in order to enable evaluation of the back.

Looking at this in more detail as follows.

The supply and distribution unit 10 of the physical simulation test apparatus is a part that generates and supplies steam or high temperature and high pressure air.

The supply and distribution unit 10 includes a steam generator 17 and a plurality of valves 18 in the case of supplying steam, and a water supply capable of water supply and flow rate measurement on the inlet side of the stem generator 17. Unit 19 may be connected to supply water required for steam generation, and a plurality of valves 18 are installed on a line extending from the discharge side, and at this time, the oil sand model unit may be branched into several lines. It is connected to (11) side.

Accordingly, the high temperature and high pressure steam supplied from the supply and distribution unit 10 side can be supplied to the oil sand model unit 11 side.

In addition, the supply and distribution unit 10 can generate steam and continuously measure the characteristics of the generated steam.

The measurement of the steam is very important, in the actual oil recovery process, if the characteristics of the steam is not maintained close to 100%, water and the like flows along with the steam is a problem that the recovery of ultra-heavy oil is lowered.

In addition, in order to measure the characteristics of the steam, as much as possible the temperature measuring device 28 is attached to the part for producing steam by applying heat from the supply and distribution unit 10 for supplying steam, By measuring the temperature change, the part where the temperature rises past the flat surface can be measured as 100% of the steam characteristics.

In addition, in order to improve the steam characteristics, it is possible to improve the steam characteristics by using two or more heaters to which steam is generally applied, and using a feedback method of recovering and resupplying water.

In addition, in the case of the supply and distribution unit 10 may be supplied with an additional high pressure organic solvent together with steam.

For example, the supply and distribution unit 10 may be provided with means for additionally adding an organic solvent such as propane, butane, pentane, hexane, nonane, decane, kerosene, naphtha or a mixture thereof during steam supply. In this case, a function of continuously adjusting the pressure of the solvent according to the pressure of the steam may be added to minimize the pressure difference between the solvent and the steam from the steam generator.

In this case, the line for additionally supplying the solvent may be connected to the line portion immediately before the line where steam is generated and branched, and in order to control the pressure of the solvent, a device for pressurizing the solvent is required. have.

The oil sand model unit 11 of the physical simulation apparatus is a model part containing super heavy oil and heavy oil by simulating underground geological environment.

The oil sand model unit 11 includes a cylinder type model 20 and a plurality of valves 18 for receiving sand, ultra heavy oil, heavy oil, and the like, and the lower side portion of the cylinder type model 20 is supplied and distributed. One line extending from the unit 10 side is connected to receive steam and the like, and the other line extending from the discharge side of the lower end is branched from the supply and distribution unit 10 side. The amount and pressure of steam and the like provided to the cylinder type model 20 side may be appropriately adjusted using the amount of steam and the like discharged through the line.

Accordingly, when the high-temperature, high-pressure steam or the like is supplied to the cylinder type model 20, the super heavy oil and heavy oil of the underground geological environment, which are simulated inside the steam and the like, and the sand react with the steam / oil component / sand. The back may be produced in one fluid form and sent to a constant temperature cooling system 12, described below, via a line.

On the other hand, in the case of the oil sand model unit 11, it is possible to replace the appropriate model to enable evaluation of various processes, AGD, ES-SAGD, VAPEX, THAI, etc. It is also possible to change and burn.

Here, SAGD is the simplest recovery process using only steam, and ES-SAGD is a process of maximizing energy efficiency of steam by using a combination of steam and a solvent.

In this case, a high recovery rate and high energy efficiency can be obtained when applied to actual recovery.

In addition, VAPEX is a method of recovering the bitumen by vaporizing only the solvent and injecting it into the basement, which has the advantage of very high energy efficiency and very high recovery rate, but has a disadvantage in that solvent recovery is difficult in actual process application.

In addition, the THAI process is a process of burning super heavy oil by injecting hot air into the basement, and giving liquidity to and recovering the remaining super heavy oil as heat generated therein.

In particular, internal combustion reactions such as THAI do not inject steam, but supply hot high-pressure air, which directly supplies the high-pressure air without the injection of water and the steam generator 17 of the distribution unit 10. Connected to the side to generate hot high-pressure air, which can be supplied to the cylinder type model 20 side of the oil sand model unit 12.

The constant temperature cooling unit 12 of the physical simulation apparatus is a part for cooling the steam / oil component / sand generated in the oil sand model unit 11, and is installed in line with the cooler 21 for heat exchange. Valve 18, and a plurality of valves 18, water tanks, and the like, for providing cooling water.

In the constant temperature cooling unit 12, the cooling is performed at a temperature at which the difference in density between the produced water and the super heavy oil is maximized, for example, about 40 to 60 ° C, and the amount of cooling water applied to the outside is controlled. .

Accordingly, steam / oil components / sands introduced through the upper portion of the cooler 21 are cooled by heat exchange with the coolant, and the cooled fluid proceeds to a subsequent process through the discharge side line of the cooler 21. do.

The physical simulation test apparatus includes an oil cut unit 14 for quantitatively measuring the flow rate of the oil component in the cooled fluid.

The oil cut unit 14 is installed between the constant temperature cooling unit 12 and the production unit 13, and includes a flow control valve 25, a volume flow meter 26 and the like.

The oil cut unit 14 has the following differences from the conventional physical simulation experiment apparatus.

For example, the conventional physical simulation test apparatus was a method of calculating the oil component in a relatively complex method of precipitating the obtained super heavy oil / water and the like, and separating the same, but the physical simulation test apparatus provided in the present invention is characterized by The volumetric flow rate per hour is calculated and the flow rate of the oil component per hour is measured using the following equations (1), (2) and (3) through the calculation of the density.

For example, by calculating the hourly mass flow rate (v _m ) and the hourly volume flow rate (v) of the obtained fluid, the density (d _mea ) is obtained from the following equation (1),

d _mea = v _m / v --- (1)

From this, the amount of oil contained in the density curve with temperature is continuously calculated.

This below to measure the density (d _o) put the value takes the value of the previously measured or document, the second heavy oil / water density (d _mea) from the model simulation apparatus of the density of water (d _w), and second heavy oil at a certain temperature Equation (2)

x _o = (d _mea -d _w ) / (d _o -d _w ) --- (2)

Here, x _o is the volume fraction of the ultra heavy oil component, and the amount of super heavy oil (V _o ) obtained therefrom can be obtained by the following equation (3).

V _o = x _o vt --- (3)

Where t is the measurement time.

In order to determine the amount of this continuous heavy oil, an instrument capable of measuring the mass flow rate per hour, such as a Coriolio meter, can be used.

The physical simulation apparatus includes a constant pressure maintaining unit 15 which serves to keep the pressure in the production unit 13 constant.

The constant pressure maintaining unit 15 is a portion that is connected to the production unit 13 side and functions to prevent the steam or high-pressure air from coming out immediately, the air tank 26, the regulator 27, a plurality of valves (18) and the like.

Accordingly, in the constant pressure maintaining unit 15, the internal pressure of the production unit 13 is always maintained at a constant pressure, for example, using the regulator 27 for adjusting the amount of air supplied from the high pressure air tank 26. By maintaining at a pressure about 5 to 10 kPa lower than the supply pressure of the supply and distribution unit 10, it is possible to prevent steam or high pressure air from escaping immediately.

The production unit 13 of the physical simulation apparatus is a part for collecting steam / oil components / sands obtained through a cooling process and includes a producer cylinder 22 and a plurality of valves 18.

The discharge side of the producer cylinder 22 is provided with two lines, an upper line for discharging the oil component and the remaining sand component and a lower line for discharging the by-product including other water.

Accordingly, when the fluid having undergone the cooling process is collected in the producer cylinder 11, the fluid may be separated into an oil component, a residual sand component, and other by-products, and then proceed to a subsequent process through each discharge line. .

Here, the cooled steam / oil component / sand is first separated by applying centrifugal force, using water specific gravity to separate water and oil components / sand, and dissolving oil components and sand using solvents and the like. It can be separated using Filtration.

In particular, a separation method of minimizing the interfacial adhesion with oil components, water, and sand by applying a specific chemical substance, that is, a surfactant or a basic substance, may be applied in this separation process.

On the other hand, since the residual sand component is mixed in the oil component discharged from the production unit 12 side, the quality of the oil may be degraded, so the residual sand component needs to be separated / removed.

For this purpose, the physical simulation test apparatus includes an impurity separation / ablation unit 16 as shown in FIG.

Accordingly, a mixture of oil and residual sand, and a diluent (for example, an organic solvent such as naphtha, C5-C6 mixture, etc.) are simultaneously supplied to the lower end of the cylinder 23.

At this time, the introduction of the diluent is to facilitate the flow of the liquid mixture, and to effect separation effectively.

The liquid mixture passing through the lower end of the cylinder 23 filled with about 50% of water passes through the water layer and separates / removes the organic (oil) component to the upper part and the sand component to the lower part, thereby providing a final oil quality. You can get

Therefore, the overall process flow of the physical simulation apparatus configured as described above is as follows.

First, heat is applied to heat the steam to the desired level of properties.

At this time, the valve is opened and steam is injected into the cylinder type model 20 which is a model reactor.

In order to prevent a sudden heat supply, the environment of the oil sand model unit 11 may be pre-applied by applying high pressure water or temperature in advance.

When steam is injected into the cylinder type model 20 by the supply of steam, steam, oil components, and sand are released, which is cooled to a desired temperature in the constant temperature cooling unit 12.

The fluid thus cooled is measured for mass flow rate and volume flow rate in the oil cut unit 14, and the fluid thus processed is accumulated in the product cylinder 22.

During this experiment, the constant pressure holding unit 15 allows the steam injection pressure to be maintained at a constant pressure difference.

In addition, when the product cylinder 22 is filled with steam is discharged through the valve.

In this case, the valve may be designed to be automatically discharged when the product cylinder 22 is filled with steam.

This process continuously measures the output of steam and enables effective simulation.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a physical simulation experiment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the oil component separation / purification unit in the physical simulation experiment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: supply and distribution unit 11: oil sand model unit

12: constant temperature cooling unit 13: production unit

14: oil cut unit 15: static pressure holding unit

16 impurity separation / purification unit 17 steam generator

18: valve 19: water supply unit

20: cylinder type model 21: cooler

22: cylinder cylinder 23: cylinder

24: volume flow meter 25: flow control valve

26: air tank 27: regulator

28: temperature measuring instrument

Claims (11)

In the recovery process simulation apparatus of the oil component buried underground, Oil and sand model that is connected to the supply and distribution unit 10 for generating steam or high pressure air and supplying it, and including super heavy oil and heavy oil for simulating underground geological environment. A unit 11, a constant temperature cooling unit 12 connected to the oil sand model unit 11 side and cooling the generated steam / oil component / sand, and a cooling unit 12 connected to the constant temperature cooling unit 12 side after cooling And a production unit (13) for collecting the obtained steam / oil component / sand. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the supply and distribution unit 10 includes means for generating steam and continuously measuring the characteristics of steam when supplying steam. . The process of claim 1 or 2, wherein the supply and distribution unit (10) comprises means for supplying a high pressure organic solvent together when supplying steam. The method according to claim 3, wherein the organic solvent supplied from the organic solvent supply means is any one selected from propane, butane, pentane, hexane, nonane, decane, kerosene, naphtha, or a mixture of at least two thereof, characterized in that Apparatus for simulating recovery of oil components buried underground. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the supply and distribution unit 10 is buried underground, characterized in that it is possible to continuously adjust the pressure of the solvent in accordance with the pressure of the steam in order to minimize the pressure difference between the steam and the solvent Apparatus for simulating recovery of oil components. The oil cut unit 14 of claim 1, further comprising an oil cut unit 14 connected between the constant temperature cooling unit 12 and the production unit 13 and quantitatively measuring the flow rate of the oil component in the cooled fluid. Apparatus for simulating recovery of oil components buried underground. The method according to claim 6, wherein the oil cut unit 14 calculates the mass flow rate per hour and the volume flow rate per hour, and through the calculation of the density from the following equations (1), (2) and (3) Apparatus for recovering the oil component stored in the basement, characterized in that for measuring the flow rate of the oil component per hour using. d _mea = v _m / v --- (1) v _m : mass flow rate per hour v: volumetric flow rate per hour d _mea : density x _o = (d _mea -d _w ) / (d _o -d _w ) --- (2) x _o : Volume fraction of super heavy oil component d _w : Density of water d _o : Density of super heavy oil V _o = x _o vt --- (3) t: measurement time Vo: amount of super heavy oil The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a constant pressure maintaining unit (15) connected to the production unit (13) and maintaining a constant pressure in the production unit so that the applied steam or high pressure air does not escape immediately. Apparatus for simulating recovery of oil components buried underground. The oil buried underground according to claim 8, characterized in that the constant pressure uni unit (15) maintains a constant pressure in the production unit at a pressure about 5-10 kPa lower than the supply pressure of the supply and distribution unit (10). Recovery process simulation apparatus of a component. The process of claim 1, further comprising an impurity separation / purification unit (16) for separating / purifying residual sand components in the oil components discharged from the production unit (13). Simulation device. The method of claim 1, wherein the oil sand model unit 11 is to simulate the recovery process of oil components buried underground, characterized in that the evaluation by applying any one model selected from SAGD, ES-SAGD, VAPEX, THAI Device.

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