Evaluation of the Bottom Water Reservoir VAPEX Process

Experimental and numerical investigations into the effect of heterogeneities on the recovery of heavy oil by VAPour EXtraction (VAPEX)

“…VAPEX is suitable for thin, shallow, low permeability reservoirs or those underlain by aquifers, since these can result in excessive heat loss and thus poor recovery efficiency for thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), methods [14,16,29,30]. CO 2 based solvents have been shown experimentally to be more productive than methane and ethane based solvents [17,31].…”

“…Frauenfeld et al meanwhile, tested the impact of sand lenses and layering, as well as bottom aquifers [29]. Their physical model was constructed from a field scale reservoir model applying Pujol and Boberg's gravity and diffusion scaling criteria [41].…”