Field scale applicability and efficiency analysis of Steam-Over-Solvent Injection in Fractured Reservoirs (SOS-FR) method for heavy oil recovery

Heavy oil recovery from fractured carbonates is a real challenge, yet no proven technology exists as an efficient solution. Reservoir heating is generally inevitable and steam injection is the only effective way to heat heavy-matrix oil in such reservoirs using the steam distributed through fracture network. We propose a new method minimizing heat needed for efficient heavy oil recovery from oil-wet fractured rocks by adding solvent component. Efficiency is a critical issue in this process due to potentially high cost of the process. A new technique we proposed previously called Steam-Over-Solvent in Fractured Reservoirs (SOS-FR) consists of a cyclic injection of steam and solvent in the following manner: Phase-1: Steam injection to heat up the matrix and recover oil mainly by thermal expansion, Phase-2: Solvent injection to produce matrix oil through diffusion-imbibition-drainage processes, and Phase-3: Steam injection to retrieve the injected solvent and recover more heavy oil. Laboratory scale static and dynamic experiments had shown that, under very unfavorable conditions (oil-wet matrix, 4000cp crude), oil recovery at the end of Phase-3 was around 85-90% OOIP with 80-85% solvent retrieval (Al-Bahlani and Babadagli, 2008,2009a). In this paper, the experimental results obtained earlier were matched to a single matrix/single fracture numerical model and parameters needed for field scale simulation (matrix-fracture thermal diffusion, solvent diffusion and dispersion coefficients) were obtained (Al-Bahlani and Babadagli, 2009b). Using the data obtained through matching, field scale simulations were performed for efficiency analysis and to identify the optimal injection schemes (soaking time for cyclic and injection rate for continuous injection) and durations, and surface steam quality. Specific conclusions as to how to apply this technique efficiently in the field considering the cost of the process were reported. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.