CA2251157C - Process for sequentially applying sagd to adjacent sections of a petroleum reservoir - Google Patents

Process for sequentially applying sagd to adjacent sections of a petroleum reservoir Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2251157C
CA2251157C CA002251157A CA2251157A CA2251157C CA 2251157 C CA2251157 C CA 2251157C CA 002251157 A CA002251157 A CA 002251157A CA 2251157 A CA2251157 A CA 2251157A CA 2251157 C CA2251157 C CA 2251157C
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Canada
Prior art keywords
section
steam
reservoir
oil
production
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Expired - Lifetime
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CA002251157A
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French (fr)
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CA2251157A1 (en
Inventor
William Keith Good
Rick W. Luhning
Kenneth E. Kisman
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ALBERTA INNOVATES - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT SOLUTIONS
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Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority
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Priority to CA002251157A priority Critical patent/CA2251157C/en
Priority to PCT/CA1999/000996 priority patent/WO2000025002A1/en
Priority to EP99952188A priority patent/EP1125037A1/en
Publication of CA2251157A1 publication Critical patent/CA2251157A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA2251157C publication Critical patent/CA2251157C/en
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Classifications

    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21BEARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B43/00Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
    • E21B43/16Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons
    • E21B43/24Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons using heat, e.g. steam injection
    • E21B43/2406Steam assisted gravity drainage [SAGD]
    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21BEARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B43/00Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
    • E21B43/16Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons
    • E21B43/24Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons using heat, e.g. steam injection
    • E21B43/2406Steam assisted gravity drainage [SAGD]
    • E21B43/2408SAGD in combination with other methods

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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)
  • Chemical And Physical Treatments For Wood And The Like (AREA)

Abstract

Steam assisted gravity drainage ("SAGD") is practised in a first section of a reservoir containing heavy oil. When production becomes uneconomic, steam injection into the first section is terminated. Non-condensible gas is then injected into the section to pressurize it and production of residual oil and steam condensate is continued. Concurrently with pressurization, SAGD is practised in an adjacent reservoir section. As a result, some of the residual oil in the first section is recovered and steam loss from the second section to the first section is minimized.

Description

2 This invention relates to recovering heavy oil from an underground
3 reservoir using a staged process involving, in the first stage, steam assisted
4 gravity drainage, and in the second stage, non-condensible gas injection and reservoir pressurization.

8 Steam assisted gravity drainage ("SAGD") is a process first proposed 9 by R. M. Butler and later developed and tested at the Underground Test Facility ("UTF") of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority 11 ("ROSTRA"). The SAGD process was originally developed for use in heavy 12 oil or bitumen containing reservoirs, (hereinafter collectively referred to as 13 'heavy oil reservoirs'), such as the Athabasca oil sands. The process, as 14 practised at the UTF, involved:
~ Drilling a pair of horizontal wells close to the base of the reservoir 16 containing the heavy oil. One well was directly above the other in 17 relatively close, co-extensive, spaced apart, parallel relationship.
18 The wells were spaced apart 5 - 7 meters and extended in parallel 19 horizontal relationship through several hundred meters of the oil pay or reservoir;
21 ~ Then establishing fluid communication between the wells so that 22 fluid could move through the span of formation between them. This 23 was done by circulating steam through each of the wells to produce 24 a pair of "hot fingers". The span between the wells warmed by conduction until the contained oil was sufficiently heated so that it 1 could be driven by steam pressure from one well to the other. The 2 viscous oil in the span was replaced with steam and the wells were 3 then ready for production;
4 ~ Then converting to SAGD production. More particularly, the upper well was used to inject steam and the lower well was used to 6 produce a product mixture of heated oil and condensed water. The 7 production well was operated under steam trap control. That is, the 8 production well was throttled to maintain the production temperature 9 below the saturated steam temperature corresponding to the production pressure. Otherwise stated, the fluids being produced at 11 the production interval should be at undersaturated or "subcooled"
12 condition. (Subcool = steam temperature corresponding to the 13 measured producing production pressure - measured temperature.) 14 This was done to ensure a column of liquid over the production well, to minimize "short-circuiting" by injected steam into the production 16 well. The injected steam began to form an upwardly enlarging 17 steam chamber in the reservoir. The chamber extended along the 18 length of the horizontal portions of the well pair. Oil that had 19 originally filled the chamber sand was heated, to mobilize it, and drained, along with condensed water, down to the production well, 21 through which they were removed. The chamber was thus filled 22 with steam and was permeable to liquid flow. Newly injected steam 23 moved through the chamber and supplied heat to its peripheral 24 surface, thereby enlarging the chamber upwardly and outwardly as 1 the oil was mobilized and drained together with the condensed 2 water down to the production well.
3 This process is described in greater detail in Canadian patent 1,304,287 4 (Edmunds, Haston and Cordell).
The process was shown to be commercially viable and is now being 6 tested by several oil companies in a significant number of pilot projects.
7 Now, the operation of a single pair of wells practising SAGD has a finite 8 life. When the upwardly enlarging steam chamber reaches the overlying, cold 9 overburden, it can no longer expand upwardly and heat begins to be lost to the overburden. If two well pairs are being operated side by side, their 11 laterally expanding chambers will eventually contact along their side edges 12 and further oil-producing lateral expansion comes to a halt as well. As a 13 result, oil production rate begins to drop off. As a consequence of these two 14 occurrences, the steam/oil ratio ("SOR") begins to rise and continued SAGD
operation with the pair eventually becomes uneconomic.
16 If one considers two side-by-side SAGD well pairs which have been 17 produced to "maturity", as just described, it will be found that a ridge of 18 unheated oil is left between the well pairs. It is of course desirable to 19 minimize this loss of unrecovered oil.
In Canadian patent 2,015,460 (Kisman), assigned to the present 21 assignee, there is described a technique for limiting the escape of steam into 22 a thief zone. For example, if steam is being injected into a relatively 23 undepleted reservoir section and there is a nearby more depleted reservoir 24 section, forming a low pressure sink, there is a likelihood that pressurized steam will migrate from the undepleted section into the more depleted section 1 - which is an undesired result. One wants to confine the steam to the 2 relatively undepleted section where there is lots of oil to be heated, mobilized 3 and produced. The Kisman patent teaches injecting a non-condensible gas, 4 such as natural gas, into the more depleted section to raise its pressure and equalize it with the pressure in the relatively undepleted section. By this 6 means, the loss of steam from the one section to the other can be curtailed or 7 minimized.
8 The Kisman patent further teaches that pressurizing the more depleted 9 section with natural gas has been characterized by an increase in production rate from that section, if the production well penetrating the section is 11 produced during pressurization.

14 In accordance with the present invention, a novel process is provided for producing adjacent sections of an underground reservoir containing heavy 16 oil. Each section is penetrated by one or more wells completed for SAGD
17 operation, preferably one or more pairs of horizontal injection and production 18 wells. The process comprises:
19 (a) injecting steam into the first section of the reservoir to practice SAGD and produce contained oil, until the steamloil ratio rises 21 sufficiently so that further production by SAGD from the section 22 is substantially uneconomic;
23 (b) then reducing or terminating steam injection into the first section 24 and injecting non-condensible gas into the section to maintain it pressurized;
5 1 (c) continuing to produce oil from the first section while it is 2 pressurized; and 3 (d) concurrently with step (c), injecting steam into the adjacent 4 second section to practice SAGD therein and produce contained oil;
6 (e) while preferably maintaining the first section pressurized to
7 substantially the same pressure as exists in the second section
8 during step (d).
9 Steps (b) and (c) constitute a post-steam wind-down of oil production from the first section. Over time, oil production rate will drop off during wind-11 down and eventually it will again become uneconomic to justify continuing to 12 produce the first section. However it may still be desirable to continue 13 maintaining pressurization in the first section to limit steam loss from the 14 second section.
The process provides a strategy for sequentially producing adjacent 16 sections across the reservoir. It takes advantage of gas pressurization to 17 prevent steam leakage from a less depleted section undergoing SAGD to a 18 mature, more depleted section. It also maximizes production from each 19 section by subjecting it to sequential SAGD and pressurization production stages.
{ ET049043. DOC;1 }6 2 In accordance with the best mode of the process known to the 3 applicants, it comprises:

4 (a) directionally drilling one or more pairs of wells from ground surface into a reservoir first section, to provide generally parallel, 6 horizontal, co-extensive, spaced apart, upper and lower well 7 portions extending through the section, and completing the wells 8 for SAGD production;

9 (b) establishing fluid communication between the injection and production wells of each pair by circulating steam through both 11 wells, to heat the span between the wells by heat conduction, 12 and then displacing and draining the oil in the span by injecting 13 steam through the upper injection well and opening the lower 14 production well for production;

(c) practising SAGD in the reservoir first section by injecting steam 16 through the injection wells and producing the produced heated 17 oil and condensed water through the production wells while 18 operating said production wells under steam trap control;

19 (d) preparing a second adjoining section of the reservoir for SAGD

production by carrying out the provision of wells and establishing 21 fluid communication between the wells of each pair as in steps 22 (a) and (b);

1 (e) terminating or reducing steam injection into the reservoir first 2 section injection wells and initiating natural gas injection through 3 said injection wells to increase the pressure in the reservoir first 4 section to about the anticipated steam injection pressure in the reservoir second section and maintaining the pressure at about 6 this level while simultaneously producing residual heated oil and 7 steam condensate through the production wells under steam 8 trap control; and 9 (f) concurrently with step (e), practising SAGD in the reservoir second section.
11 In connection with practising steam trap control with wells extending 12 down from ground surface and having riser and horizontal production 13 sections, it is preferred to operate as follows:
14 ~ measuring the downhole temperature at the injection and production wells of an operating pair, using thermocouples;
16 ~ establishing the temperature differential between the two wells and 17 throttling the production well to maintain the differential at a 18 generally constant value (say 7°);
19 ~ monitoring for significant surges in vapour production rate at the ground surface production separator and for surges in steam 21 injection rate; and 22 ~ adjusting throttling to minimize the surges.
23 Otherwise stated, a generally constant liquid rate at the wellhead is 24 maintained and the bottomhole production temperature is allowed to vary within a limited range.

1 The invention is characterized by the following advantages:
2 ~ additional oil is recovered from the mature wells during the gas 3 pressurization stage, while simultaneously reducing steam leakage 4 from the second reservoir section;
~ use is made of the residual heat left in the mature reservoir section;
6 and 7 ~ a finite steam-producing plant can be applied in sequence to a 8 plurality of adjacent sections of the reservoir, without severe steam 9 loss from a section undergoing SAGD to an adjacent depleted section.

Claims (3)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN
EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS
FOLLOWS:
1. A method for recovering heavy oil from an underground reservoir, comprising:
(a) injecting steam and producing heated oil and steam condensate using steam assisted gravity drainage in a first section of the reservoir;
(b) preparing an adjoining section of the reservoir;
(c) terminating or reducing steam injection into the reservoir first section;
(d) injecting steam and producing heated oil and steam condensate using steam assisted gravity drainage in an adjacent second section of the reservoir; and (e) concurrently with step (d), injecting a non-condensible gas into the first section to pressurize it and producing residual oil and steam condensate from said first section.
2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the first section is pressurized in step (e) to a pressure about equal with the steam injection pressure in step (d).
3. In a method for recovering heavy oil from an underground reservoir wherein a first section of the reservoir is at least partially depleted and an adjoining second section is less depleted, and wherein injected fluid can move from one section to the other, and wherein a non condensible gas is injected into the first section while steam is injected into the second section so that the pressure in the two sections of reservoir is about equal, the improvement comprising:
the first section has been depleted by practising steam assisted gravity drainage using one or more horizontal pairs of injection and production wells;
practising steam assisted gravity drainage in the second section using one or more horizontal pairs or injection and production wells by injecting steam through the injection wells and producing oil and steam condensate through the production walls;
and concurrently injecting the non-condensible gas through the injection wells of the first section while maintaining the pressure in the two sections of reservoir about equal.
CA002251157A 1998-10-26 1998-10-26 Process for sequentially applying sagd to adjacent sections of a petroleum reservoir Expired - Lifetime CA2251157C (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002251157A CA2251157C (en) 1998-10-26 1998-10-26 Process for sequentially applying sagd to adjacent sections of a petroleum reservoir
PCT/CA1999/000996 WO2000025002A1 (en) 1998-10-26 1999-10-26 Process for sequentially applying sagd to adjacent sections of a petroleum reservoir
EP99952188A EP1125037A1 (en) 1998-10-26 1999-10-26 Process for sequentially applying sagd to adjacent sections of a petroleum reservoir

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002251157A CA2251157C (en) 1998-10-26 1998-10-26 Process for sequentially applying sagd to adjacent sections of a petroleum reservoir

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2251157A1 CA2251157A1 (en) 2000-04-26
CA2251157C true CA2251157C (en) 2003-05-27

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CA002251157A Expired - Lifetime CA2251157C (en) 1998-10-26 1998-10-26 Process for sequentially applying sagd to adjacent sections of a petroleum reservoir

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EP (1) EP1125037A1 (en)
CA (1) CA2251157C (en)
WO (1) WO2000025002A1 (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN104265253B (en) * 2014-08-06 2017-01-11 中国石油天然气股份有限公司 Method for exploiting heavy oil reservoir by adopting SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage)

Families Citing this family (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA2351148C (en) 2001-06-21 2008-07-29 John Nenniger Method and apparatus for stimulating heavy oil production
CA2549614C (en) * 2006-06-07 2014-11-25 N-Solv Corporation Methods and apparatuses for sagd hydrocarbon production
CA2552482C (en) 2006-07-19 2015-02-24 N-Solv Corporation Methods and apparatuses for enhanced in situ hydrocarbon production
CN101122224B (en) * 2006-08-11 2010-07-28 中国石油天然气股份有限公司 Gravity-assisted steam flooding exploitation method for heavy layer common heavy oil reservoir
US7909094B2 (en) 2007-07-06 2011-03-22 Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. Oscillating fluid flow in a wellbore
CA2631977C (en) 2008-05-22 2009-06-16 Gokhan Coskuner In situ thermal process for recovering oil from oil sands
US9551207B2 (en) 2011-05-19 2017-01-24 Jason Swist Pressure assisted oil recovery
CN102268983B (en) * 2011-06-23 2015-03-25 李剑 Mixed mining method capable of improving recovery ratio of thick oil in shallow oil reservoir
CA2762451C (en) 2011-12-16 2019-02-26 Imperial Oil Resources Limited Method and system for lifting fluids from a reservoir
CA2780670C (en) 2012-06-22 2017-10-31 Imperial Oil Resources Limited Improving recovery from a subsurface hydrocarbon reservoir
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

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1463444A (en) * 1975-06-13 1977-02-02
US4166504A (en) * 1978-08-24 1979-09-04 Texaco Inc. High vertical conformance steam drive oil recovery method
US4903768A (en) * 1989-01-03 1990-02-27 Mobil Oil Corporation Method for profile control of enhanced oil recovery
CA2015460C (en) * 1990-04-26 1993-12-14 Kenneth Edwin Kisman Process for confining steam injected into a heavy oil reservoir
CA2055549C (en) * 1991-11-14 2002-07-23 Tee Sing Ong Recovering hydrocarbons from tar sand or heavy oil reservoirs

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN104265253B (en) * 2014-08-06 2017-01-11 中国石油天然气股份有限公司 Method for exploiting heavy oil reservoir by adopting SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage)

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Publication number Publication date
CA2251157A1 (en) 2000-04-26
WO2000025002A1 (en) 2000-05-04
EP1125037A1 (en) 2001-08-22

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