Experimental Study on the Solvent-Assisted Steam Gravity Drainage Process in Extra-heavy Oil Reservoirs

doi:10.19657/j.geoscience.1000-8527.2018.06.09

Abstract

Abstract:

Based on an extra-heavy oil reservoir in China, experiments of Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) were carried out with a two-dimensional apparatus. We present new findings on the effects of solvents on the characteristics of steam chamber development, production rate and oil recovery. Our results show that liquid and gaseous components in the solvent co-exist in the oil reservoir. The mass quantity of the gaseous components was higher when higher concentration of solvent was injected. The gaseous components in the reservoir are accumulated in the top of the reservoir, reducing the heat loss and improving the conformity of the steam chamber shape in the vertical plane. Solvent-assisted SAGD has greatly improved the peak oil rate with proper concentration. Energy consumption per unit oil production in the low concentration solvent assisted SAGD process is significantly lower than that in the pure SAGD process. This study shows that solvent-assisted SAGD has great potential in recovering extra-heavy oil reservoirs.

Key words: extra-heavy oil reservoir, solvent, Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), steam chamber, oil recovery

CLC Number:

TE33
TE345

WANG Liangang, SHI Lanxiang, YUAN Zhe, LI Xiuluan, LIU Pengcheng. Experimental Study on the Solvent-Assisted Steam Gravity Drainage Process in Extra-heavy Oil Reservoirs[J]. Geoscience, 2018, 32(06): 1203-1211.

Figures/Tables 14

Fig.1 Viscosity-temperature curve of the heavy oil sample

Fig.2 Mole fraction of the mixed-solvent components

Fig.3 Schematic diagram of the experimental model

Fig.4 Schematic diagram of the temperature sensor distribution

Table 1 Physical parameters of the model

项目	孔隙体积/cm³	孔隙度/%	渗透率/μm²	初始含油饱和度
SAGD	5 910	31.85	120	0.926
低浓度溶剂辅助SAGD	6 110	32.6	120	0.959
高浓度溶剂辅助SAGD	5 879	31.7	120	0.942

Table 2 Injection parameters in the production period of SAGD experiments

项目	注入压力/MPa	注入温度/℃	蒸汽注入速率/(g/h)	溶剂注入速率/(g/h)	溶剂质量分数
SAGD	0.5	159	2.02×10³	/	/
低浓度溶剂辅助SAGD	0.5	159	2.06×10³	297.6	0.125 2
高浓度溶剂辅助SAGD	0.5	159	2.04×10³	1 188.8	0.356 5

Fig.5 Total injection and production amount of C3-C8 under two different concentration conditions

Fig.6 Gas phase production amount of C1-C8 in the low-concentration experiment

Fig.7 Gas phase production amount of C1-C8 in high-concentration experiment

Fig.8 Contrast of the temperature profiles of the overlying rock

Fig.9 Change of the temperature profile of the model with time

Fig.10 Curves of the oil production

Fig.11 Comparison of the oil recovery

Table 3 Energy consumed per unit of produced oil

实验	单位原油能耗/(kJ/kg)
SAGD	26 400
低浓度溶剂辅助SAGD	20 098
高浓度溶剂辅助SAGD	22 576

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