A number of publications (Valbuena, 2009;Haroun, 2008;Schoofs, 2010;Meshal, 2009) have shown the application and also the relevance of heat management in steamflooding projects. This concept is based on the understanding of the process phases and the identification of energy requirements at each phase, which leads to avoid the loss of energy. Based on field experience at Duri (Ziegler, 1993) and Kern River (Gael, 1994) is easy to recognize that the best strategy varies according to the particular characteristics of the reservoir.In Colombia there are some reservoirs with presence of interbedded shale and a long history of steam cycles stimulation, thereby research using numerical simulation to determine the best scenarios for steam flooding implementation was conducted. A deep analysis taking into consideration, injection rate, well spacing, selective injection strings technology, partial interval completion as a strategy of delaying the steam breakthrough in the production well and finally, strategies of heat management such as periodic reduction of the injection rate and scheduled shutdown of injection well were evaluated.The final results showed eight possible implementation scenarios that later will be compared from an economic perspective to identify the ideal scenario for field implementation. Simulation results showed that high injection rate (700 BWE/day-well) in patterns of 2.5 acres produced the highest incremental production, yielding an accumulation of about two million of oil barrels over a period of 10 years. Unfortunately, this production is associated with a high cumulative steam oil ratio (cSOR) near to 13. The best strategy to reduce cSOR was the periodic reduction of injection rate reaching a cSOR ratio of 11. The time of evaluation of the project was identified as one of the most influential parameters for the establishment of the heat management strategy.
It nitrogen injection has been proven as a competitive alternative forvolatile oil reservoirs lately found in Piedemonte area of Colombia, takinginto account the reservoir fluid nature and the reservoir conditions. Alaboratory study was carried out by the authors in the Enhanced Oil RecoveryLaboratory of Colombian Petroleum Institute. Three corefloods were carried out using Berea sandstone and volatile oilsamples from the Piedemonte area and nitrogen as displacing agent. One of thesecorefloods was conducted in a long Coreflooding apparatus, and the other ones, in a short Coreflooding apparatus connected with a slim tube in a order toachieve miscibility conditions. The main variable studied was the flow rate, which represents three different flow regimes. The scaling criteria taken was adimensionless group, which relates viscous and gravity forces, called gravitynumber. Displacement efficiencies determined were around 50%, 65% and 80% for eachone the tests. The results of these corefloods were compared to determine thebest scheme of nitrogen injection. Results have successfully confirmed theeffectiveness of nitrogen as displacing agent for this kind of oils and thebetter swept efficiency given by the equilibrium between the governingforces. Introduction The volatile oil reservoirs lately found in the Piedemonte area of Colombiaare quite complex not only in geology but in the fluids composition also. Thatis why, several analyses have been done to select the best explotation, production and commercialization strategy. Reservoirs in Piedemonte area are more than 15000 ft deep, with pressuresand temperatures greater than 5500 psi and 250°F. Thermodynamic and phasesbehavior of this reservoirs are also unique in the world. Fluids behavior have a great importance in the hydrocarbons volumeestimation and therefore in the field development. There is gas reinjection inthe field to keep the initial reservoir pressure, in an effurt to maintain asingle phase fluid and to improve the recovery. Reinjection gas come from afirst stage separator with high methane content. When observing different studies, made by investigators of world-widerecognition in the area of volatile oil deposits, that propose the nitrogeninjection like an alternative able to compete with the gas reinjection in thistype of deposits, since the characteristics that favor the reinjection of thegas are also propitious for the nitrogen injection, the investigation groupdecided to orient its efforts in the investigation with nitrogen as a new formof profitable operation. The replacement of the natural gas by nitrogen as injection gas bringsadvantages that are according to the plans of economic development of thecountry. A series of displacements were doneto investigate and to quantify the effectof phases behavior and porous media on the efficiency of sweeping withnitrogen. An overhaul about experiences of operation with nitrogen in differentoil fields including the facilities required for a project of nitrogeninjection, was initially done.
Because of its petrochemical processes Barrancabermeja refinery produces a considerable amount of flue gas daily. TheLlanito oil field has an original oil volume of 314 million barrels (MBls) and it has produced 37.9 MBls up to December 2009, which corresponds to a recovery factor of only 12%, being really low for 50 years of exploitation.The application of an enhanced oil recovery process represents an alternative for improving the final recovery factor. The availability of sources (Water, gas, chemicals, steam, etc) and the reservoir characterization dictate the feasibility of the project according to a study carried out. An environmentally undesirable by-product resulting from refining processes such as flue gas (Nitrogen + CO 2 ) becomes important when used as raw material in the secondary or tertiary recovery of oil which affects the increase in production and the final recovery of hydrocarbons.This study evaluated experimentally the effect of the injection of the Barrancabermeja refinery´s flue gas as an enhanced oil recovery method applied to B Sandstone of the Llanito oil field. The volume of the refinery´s flue gas was characterizated and calculated; a study of fluid-fluid interaction was carried out between the flue gas and petroleum at reservoir conditions. The interaction between reservoir fluid and the porous media was evaluated and the best flue gas injection mechanism was determined in order to increase the recovery factor for the B sands of Llanito oil field. In addition to increase the final recovery factor, the study aims to reducing flue gas emissions and consequent environmental benefit.
In the design phase of a pilot project for Enhanced Oil Recovery, more commonly referred as EOR, is important the prediction of the results by either numerical simulation or analytical modeling. Those tools are useful for the determination of the minimum conditions necessary for the implementation of the recovery method as well as to determine the feasibility of the project.The more complexity degree of the process the more accurate the fluid model require. For example, to represent the steam injection process, any viscosity curve representing the behavior of known relative permeability curves with temperature is enough. Moreover, Enhanced Oil Recovery-EOR methods as in situ combustion, gas injection or miscible solvent injection (alone or assisted vapor) fluid require a more complex model representing all consistently appropriate physical-chemical changes that occur in the crude blend with a foreign agent.The development of a numerical model of fluid to represent of injection processes of steam assisted with solvent. This model requires a previous experimental evaluation, which should include PVT characterization of solvent and oil, viscosity curves and miscibility conditions. Once they are developed in the lab tests, it should load the information obtained in a fluid modeling software, where the dead oil, live oil, blend live oil and solvent must be adjusted using equations of state. In this case, the equation of state that best represents the behavior of heavy oil and solvent is Peng Robinson. The most important matching parameters are: critical temperature and critical pressure, although it should be given special treatment with the binary interaction coefficients. Finally be obtain the equilibrium constants and viscosity tables, maintaining minimum allowable error of less than 5% compared to the laboratory data, which is important to reduce the uncertainty associated with the behavior of fluids. This paper presents a detailed methodology to represent numerically the behavior of fluids in a steam injection process enhanced with solvent in heavy oil reservoirs, applied to a Colombian field.
To mitigate climate change, the execution of large-scale projects is necessary. The 20-year projected scenarios show that all actions that are technically viable are required, including some that have to be executed with significant financial assistance from the Government. Global warming generated by the increase in Greenhouse Gases (GHG) is one of the most serious environmental, social and economic threats currently facing the planet, therefore it is essential that each individual, organization or country, is involved in a broader conversation about the importance of planning and taking a strategic approach to combat it. This research, accompanied by analytical work, allowed documenting one of the possibilities of capturing GHG, which could be synergized with an important project such as the development of Colombia's source rock hydrocarbon resources. An economically viable option that can continue its planing stage and be included in the technical options that can be adopted in the future, not only because of the reduction in emissions that it generates, at the same time, the promise of interesting value it can generate a great impact.
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