WO2011071588A1 - Procédé de commande d'injection de solvant pour assister la récupération d'hydrocarbures à partir d'un réservoir souterrain - Google Patents

Procédé de commande d'injection de solvant pour assister la récupération d'hydrocarbures à partir d'un réservoir souterrain Download PDF

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WO2011071588A1
WO2011071588A1 PCT/US2010/051644 US2010051644W WO2011071588A1 WO 2011071588 A1 WO2011071588 A1 WO 2011071588A1 US 2010051644 W US2010051644 W US 2010051644W WO 2011071588 A1 WO2011071588 A1 WO 2011071588A1
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Prior art keywords
solvent
injection
pressure
reservoir
production
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PCT/US2010/051644
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English (en)
Inventor
Jean-Pierre Lebel
Thomas J. Boone
Adam S. Coutee
Matthew A. Dawson
Owen J. Hehmeyer
Robert D. Kaminsky
Rahman Khaledi
Ivan J. Kosik
Mori Kwan
Robert Chick Wattenbarger
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Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company
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Priority to US13/510,823 priority Critical patent/US20120325467A1/en
Publication of WO2011071588A1 publication Critical patent/WO2011071588A1/fr

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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

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to in- situ viscous recovery of hydrocarbons. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of a cyclic solvent-dominated recovery process (CSDRP) to recover in-situ hydrocarbons including bitumen.
  • CDRP cyclic solvent-dominated recovery process
  • SDRPs solvent-dominated recovery processes
  • CSDRP solvent-dominated recovery processes
  • a CSDRP is typically, but not necessarily, a non-thermal recovery method that uses a solvent to mobilize viscous oil by cycles of injection and production.
  • Solvent-dominated means that the injectant comprises greater than 50% by mass of solvent or that greater than 50% of the produced oil's viscosity reduction is obtained by chemical solvation rather than by thermal means.
  • One possible laboratory method for roughly comparing the relative contribution of heat and dilution to the viscosity reduction obtained in a proposed oil recovery process is to compare the viscosity obtained by diluting an oil sample with a solvent to the viscosity reduction obtained by heating the sample.
  • a viscosity-reducing solvent is injected through a well into a subterranean viscous-oil reservoir, causing the pressure to increase.
  • the pressure is lowered and reduced- viscosity oil is produced to the surface through the same well through which the solvent was injected.
  • Multiple cycles of injection and production are used.
  • a well may not undergo cycles of injection and production, but only cycles of injection or only cycles of production.
  • CSDRPs may be particularly attractive for thinner or lower-oil-saturation reservoirs. In such reservoirs, thermal methods utilizing heat to reduce viscous oil viscosity may be inefficient due to excessive heat loss to the overburden and/or underburden and/or reservoir with low oil content.
  • the family of processes within the Lim et al. references describe embodiments of a particular SDRP that is also a cyclic solvent-dominated recovery process (CSDRP). These processes relate to the recovery of heavy oil and bitumen from subterranean reservoirs using cyclic injection of a solvent in the liquid state which vaporizes upon production.
  • CSPTM processes The family of processes within the Lim et al. references may be referred to as CSPTM processes.
  • FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram based on Canadian Patent No. 2,349,234 (Lim et al.), one CSPTM process embodiment is described as a single well method for cyclic solvent stimulation, the single well preferably having a horizontal wellbore portion and a perforated liner section.
  • a vertical wellbore (1) driven through overburden (2) into reservoir (3) is connected to a horizontal wellbore portion (4).
  • the horizontal wellbore portion (4) comprises a perforated liner section (5) and an inner bore (6).
  • the horizontal wellbore portion comprises a downhole pump (7).
  • solvent or viscosified solvent is driven down and diverted through the perforated liner section (5) where it percolates into reservoir (3) and penetrates reservoir material to yield a reservoir penetration zone (8).
  • Oil dissolved in the solvent or viscosified solvent flows into the well and is pumped by downhole pump through an inner bore (6) through a motor at the wellhead (9) to a production tank (10) where oil and solvent are separated and the solvent is recycled.
  • embodiments of the instant invention relate to: the particular volume of solvent and non-solvent fluid injected in each cycle, the timing of the switch from production to injection, the injection pressure to be used, the production pressure to be used, and to middle and late life operation, all in a CSDRP.
  • the present invention provides a method of controlling a cyclic solvent injection and production process to aid recovery of hydrocarbons from an underground reservoir, the method comprising: (a) injecting a volume of fluid comprising greater than 50 mass % of a viscosity-reducing solvent into an injection well completed in the underground reservoir; (b) halting injection into the injection well and subsequently producing at least a fraction of the solvent and the hydrocarbon from the reservoir through a production well; (c) halting production through the production well; and (d) subsequently repeating the cycle of steps (a) to (c); wherein, in at least one subsequent cycle, the in situ volume of fluid injected in step (a) is equal to a net in situ volume of fluids produced from the production well in an immediately preceding cycle plus an additional in situ volume of fluid.
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic of a CSPTM process in accordance Canadian Patent No.
  • Fig. 2 is a flow chart depicting a strategy for the operation of a CSDRP in accordance with a disclosed embodiment
  • Figs. 3a, 3b, and 3c show flow charts depicting sub-schemes of the strategy shown in Fig. 2 in accordance with a disclosed embodiment
  • Fig. 4 is a graph of pore volume versus pressure, illustrating dilation
  • Fig. 5 is a flow chart depicting fracturing of the reservoir on injection in accordance with a disclosed embodiment
  • Fig. 6 is a flow chart depicting certain CSDRP production steps in accordance with a disclosed embodiment
  • Fig. 7 is a flow chart depicting recovery subsequent to a CSDRP in accordance with a disclosed embodiment
  • Fig. 8 is a chart showing bottom-hole pressure as a function of time based on reservoir simulation results.
  • viscous oil as used herein means a hydrocarbon, or mixture of hydrocarbons, that occurs naturally and that has a viscosity of at least 10 cP (centipoise) at initial reservoir conditions. Viscous oil includes oils generally defined as “heavy oil” or “bitumen”. Bitumen is classified as an extra heavy oil, with an API gravity of about 10° or less, referring to its gravity as measured in degrees on the American Petroleum Institute (API) Scale. Heavy oil has an API gravity in the range of about 22.3° to about 10°. The terms viscous oil, heavy oil, and bitumen are used interchangeably herein since they may be extracted using similar processes.
  • in situ is a Latin phrase for "in the place” and, in the context of hydrocarbon recovery, refers generally to a subsurface hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir.
  • in situ temperature means the temperature within the reservoir.
  • an in situ oil recovery technique is one that recovers oil from a reservoir within the earth.
  • formation refers to a subterranean body of rock that is distinct and continuous.
  • the terms “reservoir” and “formation” may be used interchangeably.
  • a reservoir accommodates the injected solvent and non-solvent fluid by compressing the pore fluids and, more importantly in some embodiments, by dilating the reservoir pore space when sufficient injection pressure is applied.
  • Pore dilation is a particularly effective mechanism for permitting solvent to enter into reservoirs filled with viscous oils when the reservoir comprises largely unconsolidated sand grains. Injected solvent fingers into the oil sands and mixes with the viscous oil to yield a reduced viscosity mixture with significantly higher mobility than the native viscous oil.
  • the primary mixing mechanism is thought to be dispersive mixing, not diffusion.
  • injected fluid in each cycle replaces the volume of previously recovered fluid and then adds sufficient additional fluid to contact previously uncontacted viscous oil.
  • the injected fluid comprises greater than 50% by mass of solvent.
  • the volume of produced oil should be above a minimum threshold to economically justify continuing operations.
  • the oil should also be recovered in an efficient manner.
  • One measure of the efficiency of a CSDRP is the ratio of produced oil volume to injected solvent volume over a time interval, called the OISR (produced Oil to Injected Solvent Ratio).
  • the time interval is one complete injection/production cycle.
  • the time interval may be from the beginning of first injection to the present or some other time interval. When the ratio falls below a certain threshold, further solvent injection may become uneconomic, indicating the solvent should be injected into a different well operating at a higher OISR.
  • the exact OISR threshold depends on the relative price of viscous oil and solvent, among other factors. If either the oil production rate or the OISR becomes too low, the CSDRP may be discontinued. Even if oil rates are high and the solvent use is efficient, it is also important to recover as much of the injected solvent as possible if it has economic value. The remaining solvent may be recovered by producing to a low pressure to vaporize the solvent in the reservoir to aid its recovery. One measure of solvent recovery is the percentage of solvent recovered divided by the total injected. In addition, rather than abandoning the well, another recovery process may be initiated. To maximize the economic return of a producing oil well, it is desirable to maintain an economic oil production rate and OISR as long as possible and then recover as much of the solvent as possible.
  • the OISR is one measure of solvent efficiency.
  • solvent efficiency there are a multitude of other measures of solvent efficiency, such as the inverse of the OISR, or measures of solvent efficiency on a temporal basis that is different from the temporal basis discussed in this disclosure.
  • Solvent recovery percentage is just one measure of solvent recovery. Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are many other measures of solvent recovery, such as the percentage loss, volume of unrecovered solvent per volume of recovered oil, or its inverse, the volume of produced oil to volume of lost solvent ratio (OLSR).
  • the solvent may be a light, but condensable, hydrocarbon or mixture of hydrocarbons comprising ethane, propane, or butane.
  • Additional injectants may include CO 2 , natural gas, C3+ hydrocarbons, ketones, and alcohols.
  • Non-solvent co-injectants may include steam, hot water, or hydrate inhibitors.
  • Viscosifiers may be useful in adjusting solvent viscosity to reach desired injection pressures at available pump rates and may include diesel, viscous oil, bitumen, or diluent. Viscosiners may also act as solvents and therefore may provide flow assurance near the wellbore and in the surface facilities in the event of asphaltene precipitation or solvent vaporization during shut-in periods. Carbon dioxide or hydrocarbon mixtures comprising carbon dioxide may also be desirable to use as a solvent.
  • the solvent comprises greater than 50% C2-C5 hydrocarbons on a mass basis.
  • the solvent is primarily propane, optionally with diluent when it is desirable to adjust the properties of the injectant to improve performance.
  • wells may be subjected to compositions other than these main solvents to improve well pattern performance, for example C0 2 flooding of a mature operation.
  • the solvent is injected into the well at a pressure in the underground reservoir above a liquid/vapor phase change pressure such that at least 25 mass % of the solvent enters the reservoir in the liquid phase.
  • a liquid/vapor phase change pressure such that at least 25 mass % of the solvent enters the reservoir in the liquid phase.
  • at least 50, 70, or even 90 mass % of the solvent may enter the reservoir in the liquid phase.
  • Injection as a liquid may be preferred for achieving high pressures because pore dilation at high pressures is thought to be a particularly effective mechanism for permitting solvent to enter into reservoirs filled with viscous oils when the reservoir comprises largely unconsolidated sand grains.
  • Injection as a liquid also may allow higher overall injection rates than injection as a gas.
  • the solvent volume is injected into the well at rates and pressures such that immediately after halting injection into the injection well at least 25 mass % of the injected solvent is in a liquid state in the underground reservoir.
  • Injection as a vapor may be preferred in order to enable more uniform solvent distribution along a horizontal well.
  • Downhole pressure gauges and/or reservoir simulation may be used to estimate the phase of the solvent and other co- injectants at downhole conditions and in the reservoir.
  • a reservoir simulation is carried out using a reservoir simulator, a software program for mathematically modeling the phase and flow behavior of fluids in an underground reservoir.
  • a reservoir simulator a software program for mathematically modeling the phase and flow behavior of fluids in an underground reservoir.
  • Those skilled in the art understand how to use a reservoir simulator to determine if 25% of the injectant would be in the liquid phase immediately after halting injection.
  • Those skilled in the art may rely on measurements recorded using a downhole pressure gauge in order to increase the accuracy of a reservoir simulator. Alternatively, the downhole pressure gauge measurements may be used to directly make the determination without the use of reservoir simulation.
  • a CSDRP is predominantly a non-thermal process in that heat is not used principally to reduce the viscosity of the viscous oil, the use of heat is not excluded. Heating may be beneficial to improve performance, improve process start-up or provide flow assurance during production. For start-up, low-level heating (for example, less than 100 C) may be appropriate. Low-level heating of the solvent prior to injection may also be performed to prevent hydrate formation in tubulars and in the reservoir. Heating to higher temperatures may benefit recovery.
  • Injection of a solvent-containing fluid into a well is the first step of a CSDRP and the rates and volumes of injected fluid are an integral part of any CSDRP.
  • CSDRP injection rates may have considerable flexibility to either reduce and/or increase injection rate depending on specific reservoir conditions, in particular the level of reservoir depletion. Rate flexibility allows the operator to optimize the distribution of solvent among wells in order to balance field injection/production volumes and surface gathering system constraints.
  • Three non-limiting options for determining the volume of solvent-containing injectant to inject are: a purely volume-based approach, a hybrid volume and pressure approach, and a purely pressure- based approach. Each of these three approaches are described below and referred to as Al, A2, and A3.
  • Al Volume -Based Determination of Injection Volume
  • One method of managing fluid injection in a CSDRP is for the volume injected during a cycle to equal the net reservoir voidage resulting from previous injection and production cycles plus an additional volume, for example approximately 2-15%, or approximately 3-8% of the pore volume (PV) of the reservoir volume associated with the well pattern.
  • the volume may be represented by:
  • One way to approximate the net in situ volume of fluids produced is to determine the total volume of non-solvent liquid hydrocarbon fractions and aqueous fractions produced minus the net injectant fractions produced. For example, in the case where 100% of the injectant is solvent and the reservoir contains only oil and water, an equation that represents the net in situ volume of fluids produced is,
  • Fluid volume may be calculated at in situ conditions, which take into account reservoir temperatures and pressures.
  • the "pore volume of the reservoir" is defined by an inferred drainage radius region around the well which is approximately equal to the distance that solvent fingers are expected to travel during the injection cycle (for example, about 30-200m).
  • Such a distance may be estimated by reservoir surveillance activities, reservoir simulation or reference to prior field trials.
  • the pore volume may be estimated by direct calculation using the estimated distance, and injection ceased when the associated injection volume (2-15% PV) has been reached.
  • a threshold pressure which must be obtained before injecting a predetermined volume, for example also equal to approximately 2-15%, or approximately 3-8%, of the pore volume.
  • An alternative to a volume-based scheme is one based on pressure measurements.
  • the solvent injection continues until an approximately predetermined time after the injection pressure during a cycle first passes from less than to greater than a designated threshold injection pressure. In some cases, it may be desirable to continue injection past the threshold pressure for only a minimal amount of time. In other cases, it may be desirable to stop injection once the threshold pressure is met.
  • the designated threshold injection pressure is a pressure close to but below fracture pressure, for example above 90% of fracture pressure, or above 80% of fracture pressure, or above 95% of fracture pressure. In one embodiment, the threshold injection pressure is a pressure within 1 MPa of, and below, the fracture pressure.
  • fracture pressure is the pressure at which injection fluids will cause the formation to fracture.
  • the threshold injection pressure be above the dilation pressure of the formation.
  • dilation pressure refers to the onset of in-elastic dilation, the yielding of the geo-materials, or the onset of non-linear elastic deformation.
  • geomechanical formation dilation means the tendency of a geomechanical formation to dilate as the pore pressure is raised towards the formation minimum in- situ stress, typically by injecting a liquid or a gas.
  • Fig. 4 illustrates reservoir dilation in the elastic compressibility (400) and the dilation compressibility (401) regimes. As illustrated in Fig.
  • the change of pore volume (porosity) with change in pressure markedly increases.
  • This pressure may be referred to as the dilation pressure, although strictly speaking dilation occurs above and below the dilation pressure, albeit at a lower level when below the dilation pressure. If the pressure is subsequently reduced after dilation, the pore volume may decrease along a path (402) that is different from the path followed when pressure was rising.
  • the formation in situ stress can be determined in a well test in which water is injected into the formation at high rates while bottom-hole pressure response is recorded. Alternatively, the stress may be measured during the first cycle injection of solvent. Analysis of the pressure response would reveal the conditions at which formation failure occurs (the pressure at which the in situ stress is exceeded).
  • Pore fluid compression means compression of a pore fluid by pressure. In the field, the operator can obtain pore fluid compression by multiplying pressure increase by fluid compressibility, which is a fluid property measurable in laboratory tests by procedures well known to those skilled in the art. Pore dilation refers to dilation of pores in rock or soil.
  • the threshold pressure may also be desirable for the threshold pressure to be close to or at the fracture pressure or be below the dilation pressure, depending on the specific reservoir characteristics and overall depletion plan. The benefits of reaching facture pressure or being below dilation pressure are discussed below.
  • Fig. 2 provides an outline of a process according to one aspect of the instant invention and Figs. 3a, 3b, and 3c provide additional details of three sub-schemes thereof.
  • solid lines represent the process steps of one embodiment and dashed lines represent the process steps of alternative embodiments.
  • fluid injection into a well is initiated (202). Injection continues and the bottomhole pressure gradually rises. Then, one of the three options (Al , A2, or A3) are used to determine the volume of fluid to inject. In a CSDRP, the injected volume of fluid contains greater than 50% by mass solvent.
  • the fluid volume (204) is the approximate net in situ volume of fluids produced in a previous cycle or cycles.
  • an additional volume of solvent is injected (208) (e.g. about 2-15% or about 3-8% of PV as described above) or injection continues for an additional amount of time (210), after which injection is ceased (212).
  • a soak period (214) of a flexible duration depending on overall depletion plan before production begins. If the oil rate is not too low (218) and if the gas rate is not too high (220), production continues. If the oil rate is too low (218) or if the gas rate is too high (220), production is stopped (222) and an assessment is made as to whether the next cycle will be economic (224). If the next cycle will be economic, another cycle begins with fluid injection (202). If the next cycle will not be economic, additional oil may be recovered by other means (226), described below. Alternatively, the well may be produced at the lowest achievable (blowdown) pressure (228), and an assessment is made as to whether continued production will be economic (230).
  • the well may be suspended or abandoned (232). If it will be economic, production at blowdown pressure is continued or reused as per the specific depletion plan (i.e. recompleted to different hydrocarbon interval or converted to an alternative service such as dedicated injection or disposal). Production at blowdown pressure is continued if deemed to be economic (228).
  • the threshold pressure may also be desirable in some situations for the threshold pressure to be about equal to the fracture pressure or be below the dilation pressure.
  • fluid injection is initiated (502) until the injection pressure reaches the threshold pressure, which is the fracture pressure (504).
  • an additional predetermined volume of fluid for example, 2-15% or 3-8% of the pore volume (PV) is injected (506).
  • fluid is injected for a predetermined time period (508), for example, 0-21 days, or 5- 10 days, or about 7 days. How fast to inject the solvent-containing fluid
  • the injection rate need not be constant during the injection of the volume. In certain reservoir conditions affecting the fluid injectivity, tailoring the injection rate throughout the cycle volume may enhance solvent conformance.
  • the solvent injection rate may be tailored to the specific reservoir where a CSDRP is being implemented, depending on reservoir thickness, spacing of wells, geomechanical properties, level of reservoir depletion, etc.
  • the deliberate oscillation of injection rate above and below some predetermined value may enable some degree of solvent conformance control.
  • a CSDRP operation with a high solvent injection rate in a thick reservoir may result in poor solvent conformance vertically throughout the pay zone.
  • the injected solvent would be largely confined to a thin, areally extensive conformance region. If so confined, the injected solvent may be under-running a significant amount of the oil column and thereby promoting early well-to-well communication, which is deleterious to production. If a thin conformance layer or well-to-well communication is observed, reducing the solvent injection rate during the current or future injection cycles may promote vertical conformance of injected solvent.
  • This technique of oscillating injection rate may be particularly beneficial for reservoirs with poor vertical permeability, where the natural tendency for predominantly horizontal conformance may be further exacerbated by aggressive solvent injection. Decreasing the solvent injection rate increases the likelihood of oil confined in low permeability rock to become mobilized by injected solvent. In addition to recovering the oil, this may also increase the overall transmissibility of fluids within the low permeability rock. Conversely, continued aggressive injection may force injected solvent to mobilize oil in predominantly high permeability rock which has already been swept.
  • Another example of accomplishing conformance control is controlling injection rate in relation to the onset of fracturing. High injection rates after fracturing promote the distribution of solvent in a relatively thin, extensive layer. Lower rates favor a more spherical injection.
  • CSDRP performance is expected to be relatively unaffected by short production cycle and/or large delays in solvent injection; this offers the operator significant depletion plan flexibility.
  • CSDRP operation cycle length can be adapted to unusual market conditions such as commodity price fluctuations in order to maximize economic performance.
  • a low oil rate criterion is used, production is halted when the oil production rate falls to a specified percentage of the average rate obtained during a cycle, for example a value between 60% and 90%.
  • a cutoff generally allows production of the majority of mobilized heavy oil from cyclic solvent injection and halts the production when the rate is about equal to or somewhat below the expected average rate over the next cycle, resulting in minimum oil production deferral.
  • This is shown in scheme 3b of Fig. 3, where the current oil rate is measured (307), and the average daily rate obtained during the cycle is recorded (308) and using these values, the ratio of current oil rate to average rate is calculated (310). If the ratio is below a cutoff ratio (312 and 313), the oil rate is too low (314), and production may be stopped.
  • production may be halted if the current oil rate falls to less than a predetermined percentage (e.g. 30%>, or 20 to 40%) of the maximum oil rate for the cycle.
  • a predetermined percentage e.g. 30%>, or 20 to 40%
  • CDOR is the total oil produced during an injection/production cycle divided by the number of days since injection began.
  • the oil rate is too low (314) based on the oil measurement (307), production may be stopped.
  • gravity is often a significant mechanism for moving oil towards the well. Processes with significant contribution from gravity are often slow and production for a lengthy period of time at a low rate may be necessary, especially in later cycles.
  • an absolute rate cutoff (314) could be low, especially in later cycles.
  • Production at low pressure may cause excessive gas-phase production and cause difficulties in artificial lift performance and/or production gathering facilities operation.
  • High gas rates may significantly degrade oil recovery performance and efficient use of injected solvent.
  • the production may also be halted due to the produced gas rate or an estimated downhole gas rate exceeding a specified value.
  • a gas to oil ratio (GOR) is computed (320).
  • GOR gas to oil ratio
  • An artificial lift and/or surface facility gas handling capacity is determined (322) and is compared with the computed GOR (320) on the same basis, such as downhole or surface conditions. If the GOR is higher than the handling capacity (324), the gas rate is too high (326) and the production phase of the cycle is stopped.
  • Cyclic injection-production may be halted due to a criterion of the oil rate falling below a specified absolute level indicative of an insufficient rate to be economic. Or, cyclic injection-production may cease if the produced oil to injected solvent ratio (OISR) for the cycle is too low.
  • Fig. 3a illustrates the steps for determining if another cycle should be started using the OISR-based criterion. The volume of oil produced over a cycle (302) and the volume of solvent injected over a cycle (303) are measured, and using these measurements, the OISR is calculated (304).
  • the calculated OISR is compared with an economic OISR value (305) and an assessment is made as to whether the next cycle will be economic (306). If it is determined that another cycle would not be economic, all further injection of solvent ceases and any remaining solvent in the reservoir is partially recovered by allowing the production pressure to decrease to much lower levels (e.g., 100-300 kPa), typically termed the abandonment pressure (228, see Figure 2). Even at abandonment pressure, eventually the oil rate is uneconomic and the well may be permanently shut in or suspended (232, see Figure 2).
  • a well typically produces at a bottomhole pressure low enough to result in solvent vaporization and the formation of a secondary gas cap.
  • low pressures may not be preferred, especially in early cycles.
  • solvent vaporization may necessitate increased facilities costs to handle the produced gas as well as necessitate complex solvent management strategies to efficiently satisfy the highly dynamic solvent requirements.
  • solvent blends may introduce additional facilities and operational complexities due to their tendency to enter the reservoir at low pressures and as a multi-phase fluid.
  • solvent vaporization may result in hydrate formation in some reservoirs, requiring the injected solvent to be heated prior to injection.
  • a second aspect of the invention is a method of injecting solvent into an underground reservoir in a liquid state and producing at a bottomhole pressure above the bubble point of the injected solvent.
  • Producing at bottomhole pressures above the bubble point of the solvent results primarily in the production of the viscous oil and the solvent in the liquid phase, potentially eliminating, or reducing, the need for additional costs associated with gas handling facilities. Since operating at production pressures above the solvent bubble point does not create as large of a pressure drop as operating below the bubble point, it is may be preferred to operate at a higher cycle frequency to maintain acceptable recovery rates of the viscous oil.
  • a well's production rate may be constrained by facility design and artificial lift capacity. If the well is producing at lower than its maximum production rate, the producing pressure may be progressively lowered until it reaches some minimum threshold pressure or the maximum design production capacity is achieved.
  • the bottomhole pressure of the well may be controlled by means of choking flow to keep the bottomhole pressure above a specified producing pressure, for example, 300-1000 kPa.
  • the minimum producing pressure controls whether or not the produced fluid is produced primarily as a liquid or primarily as a gas. In one embodiment, the minimum pressure is less than the vapor pressure of the produced fluid, causing the production of a principally gaseous fluid. In an alternative embodiment, the minimum pressure is above the vapor pressure of the produced fluid, causing the produced fluid to be produced primarily as a liquid.
  • Figure 6 illustrates an example of a production process.
  • the production rate is measured (602). As per decision points (604) and (606), if the measured production rate is less than the maximum production rate, and the producing pressure is greater than a minimum pressure, the producing pressure is decreased (608). If the measured production rate is less than the maximum production rate, but the producing pressure is already at the minimum pressure, production is continued (610). Also, if the measured production rate is at the maximum production rate, production is also continued (610).
  • the first few cycles of a producing oil well may strongly impact the profitability of a well. Key to good performance during the first few cycles is achieving high injection rates while maintaining good distribution of solvent.
  • One approach to increasing injectivity is to inject solvent at extremely high pressure, even close to or at fracture pressure, in order to achieve high rates.
  • Any multiwell cyclic solvent-dominated process may suffer from well-to-well communication due to increased difficulty in optimizing conformance due to increasing network of interconnected pathways comprised of high mobility fluids at low reservoir pressure.
  • Well-to-well communication can be detected via reservoir surveillance, for example a sudden loss of pressure at an injection well or an unexplained rise in pressure at a producing well or unusual cycle production volumes indicating fluid migration between wells and/or patterns of wells. After detection, one well can be converted to a permanent injection well and the communicating well can be converted to a permanent production well.
  • the solvent is supplied at a near-constant rate and injected at pressures above (liquid) or below the bubble point pressure of the hydrocarbon solvent.
  • Solvent flooding in the liquid phase suffers from higher total solvent cost because of higher total injection rates, but can potentially achieve higher oil production rates as well.
  • the reservoir is already partially depleted from CSDRP it is more preferable that the follow-up solvent flood use vapor-phase injection in order to obtain better solvent efficiency whilst minimizing solvent cost.
  • Figure 7 illustrates the conversion of a cyclic process to a non-cyclic process using a solvent-flood example.
  • a solvent flood is one kind of SDRP.
  • the pressure and production performance of the wells is monitored (702). If extensive communication is detected among wells (704), the recovery process is converted (706) to a continuous solvent injection, known as a solvent flood.
  • the solvent flood producer in order to build pressure above dilation pressure, is periodically shut-in (710).
  • the role of injector and producer is periodically reversed (708) in order to improve sweep.
  • injection rates in a solvent flood are flexible and may either be reduced or increased without much detriment.
  • a low injection rate may improve flood performance of a highly connected well by minimizing solvent breakthrough volumes at adjacent wells.
  • High injection rates may be used to stimulate injectors with poor communication.
  • High injection rates may also be used to overwhelm established communication pathways by rapidly filling the near well drainage region, enabling solvent to contact bypassed oil prior to excessive leak off to adjacent depleted reservoir.
  • a high injection rate could accelerate reservoir pressure build up after solvent injection system downtime.
  • a two-dimensional reservoir simulation model was built with geological and geomechanical properties representative of shallow in-situ bitumen deposits (11° API).
  • the solvent was modeled as propane.
  • a CSDRP was simulated using a model according to the cycle strategy outlined in Fig. 2, with the option for a pore volume-based strategy (option Al).
  • the cycles were terminated when the oil rate reached an absolute minimum production rate.
  • the injection continued until the injected volume equaled the voidage plus 5% of the pattern volume.
  • Computer simulation showed that excellent conformance was obtained using this strategy.
  • the propane was well distributed, and contacted enough bitumen to produce oil-rich fluid whilst being contained in the effective drainage radius of the well to facilitate sufficient solvent recovery.
  • a non-optimized comparison case in which production was allowed to continue to a rate that is too low recovered only half as much oil as the optimized case before reaching the OIS cutoff for permanent well shut-in.
  • a three-dimensional reservoir simulation model was built with similar properties to the 2D model.
  • a CSDRP was simulated using the model according to the cycle strategy outlined in Fig. 2 and the pressure-based option (option A3) that is not reliant upon knowledge of the pore volume.
  • the cycles were terminated when the oil rate reached an absolute minimum rate, and was not terminated based on gas production or rate decline as a percent of maximum rate criterion.
  • the absolute cutoff rate corresponded to 30-35% of the maximum oil rate obtained during a cycle.
  • Other simulations showed that a cutoff of 30-40% was optimal, and a percent-of-maximum criterion was also acceptable as a cycle strategy.
  • Using a percentage of the average rate obtained to-date during the cycle may be a more practical cycle cutoff for field operations.
  • the injection continued for a predetermined time of 7 days past the time when the bottomhole pressure reached pressure just below the minimum in-situ stress pressure. Excellent finger formation was obtained using the strategy.
  • the bottomhole -producing pressure of the well is between 500 and 1500 kPa. These values are specific to a reservoir in Cold Lake, Alberta, and are based on depth, reservoir temperature, and injectant composition. The particular choice of bottomhole pressure is depth, reservoir temperature, and injectant composition dependant.
  • Fig. 8 shows a simulated example of a pressure profile (800) for a well produced using a CSDRP. The pressure was held just under the fracture pressure (801) for 7 days and was produced until the pressure fell to the minimum production pressure (802) of 1500 kPa and the oil rate fell to a low absolute level.
  • Table 1 outlines the operating ranges for CSDRPs of some embodiments. The present invention is not intended to be limited by such operating ranges.
  • Table 1 Operating Ranges for a CSDRP. volume plus 2-15% of threshold, 2-15% (or 3-8%) of estimated pattern pore volume; estimated pore volume.
  • Injectant Main solvent (>50 mass%)
  • C 2 - Main solvent (>50 mass%) is composition, C5.
  • wells may be propane (C 3 ).
  • injectant Additional injectants may Only diluent, and only when composition, include CO2 (up to about 30%), needed to achieve adequate additive C 3 +, viscosifiers (e.g. diesel, injection pressure.
  • CO2 up to about 30%
  • viscosifiers e.g. diesel
  • Injection rate 0.1 to 10 m3/day per meter of 0.2 to 2 m3/day per meter of completed well length rate completed well length (rate expressed as volumes of liquid expressed as volumes of liquid solvent at reservoir conditions). solvent at reservoir conditions).
  • Rates may also be designed to allow for limited or controlled fracture extent, at fracture pressure or desired solvent conformance depending on reservoir properties.
  • Threshold Any pressure above initial A pressure between 90% and pressure reservoir pressure. 100% of fracture pressure.
  • Well length As long of a horizontal well as 500m - 1500m (commercial well).
  • the range of the A low pressure below the vapor producing MPP should be, on the low pressure of the main solvent, pressure (MPP) end, a pressure significantly ensuring vaporization, or, in the below the vapor pressure, limited vaporization scheme, a ensuring vaporization; and, on high pressure above the vapor the high-end, a high pressure pressure.
  • MPP main solvent
  • 0.5 MPa (low) - 1.5 MPa pressure At 500m depth with pure near the native reservoir propane, 0.5 MPa (low) - 1.5 MPa pressure. For example, perhaps (high), values that bound the 800 0.1 MPa - 5 MPa, depending kPa vapor pressure of propane. on depth and mode of operation
  • an optimal hydrocarbon flow continuous strategy is one that limits gas or intermittent) by primary production and maximizes liquid production against from a horizontal well.
  • embodiments may be formed by combining two or more parameters and, for brevity and clarity, each of these combinations will not be individually listed.
  • diluent means a liquid compound that can be used to dilute the solvent and can be used to manipulate the viscosity of any resulting solvent-bitumen mixture.
  • the diluent is typically a viscous hydrocarbon liquid, especially a C4 to C20 hydrocarbon, or mixture thereof, is commonly locally produced and is typically used to thin bitumen to pipeline specifications. Pentane, hexane, and heptane are commonly components of such diluents. Bitumen itself can be used to modify the viscosity of the injected fluid, often in conjunction with ethane solvent.
  • the diluent may have an average initial boiling point close to the boiling point of pentane (36°C) or hexane (69°C) though the average boiling point (defined further below) may change with reuse as the mix changes (some of the solvent originating among the recovered viscous oil fractions).
  • more than 50% by weight of the diluent has an average boiling point lower than the boiling point of decane (174°C). More preferably, more than 75% by weight, especially more than 80% by weight, and particularly more than 90%> by weight of the diluent, has an average boiling point between the boiling point of pentane and the boiling point of decane.
  • the diluent has an average boiling point close to the boiling point of hexane (69°C) or heptane (98°C), or even water (100°C).
  • more than 50%> by weight of the diluent (particularly more than 75%) or 80%> by weight and especially more than 90% by weight) has a boiling point between the boiling points of pentane and decane.
  • more than 50% by weight of the diluent has a boiling point between the boiling points of hexane (69°C) and nonane (151°C), particularly between the boiling points of heptane (98°C) and octane (126°C).
  • boiling point of the diluent we mean the boiling point of the diluent remaining after half (by weight) of a starting amount of diluent has been boiled off as defined by ASTM D 2887 (1997), for example.
  • the average boiling point can be determined by gas chromatographic methods or more tediously by distillation. Boiling points are defined as the boiling points at atmospheric pressure.

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Abstract

Cette invention concerne un procédé de mise en œuvre d'un processus de récupération cyclique par apport de solvant (CSDRP) pour récupérer du pétrole visqueux à partir d'un réservoir souterrain dudit pétrole visqueux. Le procédé cyclique d'injection de solvant consiste à utiliser un puits d'injection pour injecter un solvant réduisant la viscosité dans un réservoir souterrain de pétrole visqueux. Du pétrole à viscosité réduite est produit en surface en utilisant le même puits utilisé pour injecter le solvant. Le procédé consistant à injecter du solvant et produire un mélange de solvant/pétrole visqueux en alternance à travers le même puits se répète sur une série de cycles jusqu'à ce qu'il ne soit plus rentable de procéder à ces cycles supplémentaires. Certains aspects de l'invention concernent le volume particulier de solvant injecté à chaque cycle, le moment de passage de la production à l'injection, la pression d'injection à utiliser, la pression de production à utiliser et le fonctionnement en milieu et en fin de vie du réservoir.
PCT/US2010/051644 2009-12-09 2010-10-06 Procédé de commande d'injection de solvant pour assister la récupération d'hydrocarbures à partir d'un réservoir souterrain WO2011071588A1 (fr)

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CA2688392A CA2688392A1 (fr) 2009-12-09 2009-12-09 Procede de regulation de l'injection d'un solvant pour aider a l'extraction d'hydrocarbures d'un reservoir souterrain
CA2,688,392 2009-12-09

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US20140034305A1 (en) * 2011-04-27 2014-02-06 Matthew A. Dawson Method of Enhancing the Effectiveness of a Cyclic Solvent Injection Process to Recover Hydrocarbons

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RU2498054C1 (ru) * 2012-03-23 2013-11-10 Открытое акционерное общество "Татнефть" имени В.Д. Шашина Способ разработки нефтяных месторождений с поддержанием уровня добычи нефти с помощью форсированного режима на завершающей стадии

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