Experimental and Numerical Study of Vapor Extraction Process (VAPEX) in Heavy Oil Fractured Reservoir

Rahnema, H.; Kharrat, R.; Rostami, Behzad

doi:10.2118/2008-116

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…This may be due to the sudden increase in the solvent production rate, and the change from single‐phase to two‐phase production. The same issue has been addressed by several researchers in simulating the VAPEX process . They have reported that this difference after the solvent breakthrough can be more noticeable when the distance between the injector and producer increases.…”

Section: Numerical Simulationmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…The same issue has been addressed by several researchers in simulating the VAPEX process. [28][29][30] They have reported that this difference after the solvent breakthrough can be more noticeable when the distance between the injector and producer increases. Xu et al [28] found that the entire-grid oil dilution by the numerical simulator can be another reason for this discrepancy; in the experiments the solvent may find a path between the injector and producer, and therefore dilution takes place along this path.…”

Section: History Matchingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comprehensive experimental study and numerical simulation of vapour extraction (VAPEX) process in heavy oil systems

Mohammadpoor

Torabi

2015

Can J Chem Eng

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There are significant heavy oil and bitumen resources in Canada. Global energy demand is rising while environmental constraints make heavy oil recovery more challenging. Therefore, looking for an economically viable and environmentally-friendly heavy oil recovery technique is essential. Recently, solvent-based heavy oil recovery techniques (i.e., VAPEX) have attracted attention due to their economic and environmental advantages over thermal methods. In this research, an extensive experimental and numerical simulation study on the VAPEX technique was carried out to provide more in-depth information about key parameters which affect the ultimate performance of the VAPEX process. For this purpose, VAPEX experiments were conducted in two large-scale physical models and various solvents were utilized. PVT experiments were also carried out, and CMG's STARS TM was used for numerical simulation studies and to history-match the experimental results. Image analysis of the VAPEX chamber evolution showed that the highest sweep efficiency was observed after injecting propane, followed by butane, a propane/carbon dioxide mixture, a propane/methane mixture, carbon dioxide, and methane. The experiments were simulated numerically, and satisfactory history-matching results were achieved. The major difference between the experimental and simulation results was observed after the first breakthrough of the solvent. In addition, the results showed that injection and production well configurations significantly affected the recovery performance of the process. A longer distance between the injection and production wells alongside the drainage height will increase the production rate in VAPEX.

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Section: Numerical Simulationmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: History Matchingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive experimental study and numerical simulation of vapour extraction (VAPEX) process in heavy oil systems

Mohammadpoor

Torabi

2015

Can J Chem Eng

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“…The method conducted via a pair of horizontal wells, which are positioned with an appropriate vertical distance inside the reservoir (Rahnema et al 2008). A gaseous solvent mixture injected through the upper well and the solvent gradually dissolved in the heavy oil and oil viscosity reduction is provided.…”

Section: Fracture Design and Analysis Software Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A gaseous solvent mixture injected through the upper well and the solvent gradually dissolved in the heavy oil and oil viscosity reduction is provided. The solvent diluted heavy oil drained to the lower production well by gravity (Rahnema et al 2008).…”

Section: Fracture Design and Analysis Software Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient Use of Data Analytics in Optimization of Hydraulic Fracturing in Unconventional Reservoirs

Temizel¹,

Purwar

Abdullayev

et al. 2015

Day 2 Tue, November 10, 2015

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Hydraulic fracturing operations affect reservoir flow dynamics and increase production in unconventional tight reservoirs. The control of fracture growth and geometry presents challenges in formations in which the boundary lithologies are not highly stressed in comparison to the pay zone, thus failing to prevent the upward migration of fractures. Several factors influence the growth and geometry of fractures, including reservoir, wellbore, and fluid/proppant parameters. Successful results require a thorough knowledge of reservoir parameters, including stress distribution and the appropriate use of corresponding wellbore components and fluid/proppant. The success of a hydraulic fracturing treatment is highly correlated with control of the created fracture geometry.This paper discusses a study in which a numerical fracture model is used to design the fractures in a tight oil reservoir. Fracture treatment designs include the selection of fracturing fluids, additives, proppant materials, injection rate, pumping schedule, and fracture dimensions. Using the fracture model, a statistically representative synthetic set of data is generated for each parameter to build data-driven models.The performance of the data-driven models is validated by comparing the results to a numerical model, and considering the significance of parameters, including size, number, location, phasing angle of perforations, fluid and proppant type, rock strength, porosity, and permeability on the fracture design optimization using various fracture models. Data-driven predictive models are generated by using neural networks (NN) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms. Optimum values of model parameters are also investigated.The SVM and NN models are used to optimize the fracturing treatments per well, and are evaluated based on accuracy and computational complexity. Based on the performances of the models, model parameters are adjusted to obtain fit-for-purpose well-based hydraulic fracturing models.

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“…Vapex process has been extensively studied using laboratory experiments. The main limitation is the low oil production compared to other thermal recovery processes [1,3,18,19]. Viscosity reduction mechanism in Vapex is based on mass diffusion process which is lower than thermal diffusion by orders of magnitudes which cause significant lower oil dilation and consequently lower oil production rate [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Study of Single Well Vapor Extraction Process

Rahnema

McMillan

et al. 2016

Journal of Petroleum Engineering

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Vapor extraction (Vapex) is an emerging technology to produce heavy oil and bitumen from subsurface formations. Single well (SW) Vapex technique uses the same concept of Vapex process but only with one horizontal well. In this process solvent is injected from the toe of the horizontal well with oil production at the heel section. The main advantage of SW-Vapex process lies in the economic saving and applicability in problematic reservoirs, where drilling of two horizontal wells is impractical. The performance of SW-Vapex seems to be comparable with dual horizontal Vapex process using proper optimization schemes. This study is grouped into two sections: (i) a screening study of early time operating performance of SW-Vapex and (ii) a sensitivity analysis of the effect of the reservoir and well completion parameters. Simulation results show that solvent injection rate can be optimized to improve oil production rate. Higher injection rates may not necessarily lead to increase in production. This study confirms that SW-Vapex process is very ineffective in reservoirs with high oil viscosity (more than 1,500 cp) and thin formations (less than 10 m).

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Experimental and Numerical Study of Vapor Extraction Process (VAPEX) in Heavy Oil Fractured Reservoir

Cited by 23 publications

References 0 publications

Comprehensive experimental study and numerical simulation of vapour extraction (VAPEX) process in heavy oil systems

Comprehensive experimental study and numerical simulation of vapour extraction (VAPEX) process in heavy oil systems

Efficient Use of Data Analytics in Optimization of Hydraulic Fracturing in Unconventional Reservoirs

Numerical Study of Single Well Vapor Extraction Process

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