Physical modelling of the electromagnetic heating of oil sand and other earth-type and biological materials

Vermeulen, F.E.; Chute, F. S.; Cervenan, M. R.

doi:10.1109/ceej.1979.6593932

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…EM heating for in-situ production of bitumen reservoirs can be divided into three different groups: low-frequency heating (also called electrical heating-two main types are ohmic and resistive heating), medium-frequency heating (i.e., inductive heating), and high-frequency heating [i.e., radio frequency (RF) and microwave (MW) heating] (Bogdanov et al 2011;Wacker et al 2011). Electrical heating with low-frequency alternating current (AC) [either 50 or 60 Hz, the urban and commercial power frequency; lower frequencies, such as 0.1 Hz, have also been applied to the electrodes in some cases (Vermeulen and Chute 1983)] for the recovery of bitumen has been studied since the early 1970s (Chute et al 1978;Vermeulen et al 1979Vermeulen et al , 1988Vermeulen and Chute 1983;Hiebert et al 1986;Vermeulen 2000, 2007;Vermeulen and McGee 2000). The technology has evolved as an additional technology to SAGD.…”

Section: Em-sagd Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Induced Thermal Pressurization in Clearwater Shale Caprock in Electromagnetic Steam-Assisted Gravity-Drainage Projects

2013

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Inductive methods, such as electromagnetic steam-assisted gravity drainage (EM-SAGD), have been identified as technically and economically feasible recovery methods for shallow oil-sands reservoirs with overburdens of more than 30 m (Koolman et al. 2008). However, in EM-SAGD projects, the caprock overlying oil-sands reservoirs is also electromagnetically heated along with the bitumen reservoir. Because permeability is low in Alberta thermal-project caprock formations (i.e., the Clearwater shale formation in the Athabasca deposit and the Colorado shale formation in the Cold Lake deposit), the pore pressure resulting from the thermal expansion of pore fluids may not be balanced with the fluid loss caused by flow and the fluid-volume changes resulting from pore dilation. In extreme cases, the water boils, and the pore pressure increases dramatically as a result of the phase change in the water, which causes profound effective-stress reduction. After this condition is established, pore pressure increases can lead to shear failure of the caprock, the creation of microcracks and hydraulic fractures, and subsequent caprock integrity failure. It is typically believed that low-permeability caprocks impede the transmission of pore pressure from the reservoir, making them more resistant to shear failure (Collins 2005(Collins , 2007. In cases of induced thermal pressurization, low-permeability caprocks are not always more resistant. In this study, analytical solutions are obtained for temperature and pore-pressure rises caused by the constant EM heating rate of the caprock. These analytical solutions show that pore-pressure increases from EM heating depend on the permeability and compressibility of the caprock formation. For stiff or low-compressibility media, thermal pressurization can cause fluid pressures to approach hydrostatic pressure, and shear strength to approach zero for low-cohesive-strength units of the caprock (units of the caprock with high silt and sand percentage) and sections of the caprock with pre-existing fractures with no cohesion. IntroductionOf Canada's 179 billion bbl of oil reserves, Alberta's oil sand contains 170.4 billion bbl of those oil reserves (Government of Alberta 2011, 2012, and with the recent increase in demand, tremendous efforts are being made to develop bitumen reservoirs in the coming decades. SAGD is one successful thermal-recovery technique applied to the oil sands of Alberta, Canada. Approximately 80% of the oil sands are recoverable through in-situ production (i.e., they lie at a depth of 75 to 750 m with an average seam thickness of less than 20 m), with only 20% recoverable by mining (i.e., they lie at a depth of 75 m or less with an average seam thickness of 32 m) (Vermeulen and Chute 1983; Government of Alberta 2008).

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Section: Em-sagd Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Induced Thermal Pressurization in Clearwater Shale Caprock in Electromagnetic Steam-Assisted Gravity-Drainage Projects

2013

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“…The current is forced to flow through the reservoir and return to the power-conditioning unit through the ground return system. The connate water is heated by electrical losses and the remaining fluids and rock are heated by thermal conduction (12) . The heated depth can be 3 -5 m (13) .…”

Section: Electrical Heatingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field Test of Electrical Heating With Horizontal And Vertical Wells

McGee

Vermeulen

Yu³

1999

Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology

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The purpose of this paper is to report on the field test results of the Texaco Canada Petroleum Inc. (TEXCAN) and the Alberta Department of Energy (ADOE, formally AOSTRA), Electrical Horizontal Well Project in the Lloydminster heavy oil area. Two vertical wells (15D-25-56-2W4 and 13C-30-56-1W4) and one horizontal well (16D-25-56-2W4) were connected electrically and heated. 48Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology FIGURE 3: A conceptual representation of the electrical heating system for heating a combination of vertical and horizontal wells. FIGURE 4: An example IQ Curve for operating the system of wells.trode requires a strategy based on the input current and production flow-rate. This operating strategy is defined using the IQ curve (Current, I, vs. Flow-rate, Q) for the well. Figure 4 shows a theoretical IQ curve for well 15D. This curve is derived from numerical simulation calculations using a computer program called TETRAD (14) . Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology FIGURE 8: Production response of Well 13C during the vertical well test. FIGURE 9: Temperature and resistance response of Well 13C during the vertical well test. FIGURE 10: Production response of Well 15D during the horizontal well test.

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“…Electrical heating of the Alberta oil sands for the recovery of bitumen has been studied since the early 1970's (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) . The technology has evolved as an additional technology to SAGD and surface mining.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These effects assist in Abstract Electrical heating of the Alberta oil sands for the recovery of bitumen has been studied since the early 1970's (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) . Raising the temperature of the host formation reduces the bitumen viscosity allowing the near solid material at original temperature to flow as a liquid.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mechanisms of Electrical Heating For the Recovery of Bitumen From Oil Sands

McGee¹,

Vermeulen

2007

Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology

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IntroductionOil sands are a mixture of sand, bitumen and water. The bitumen is defined as oil that is less than 10 API and will not flow to a well in its naturally occurring state. The Alberta Energy & Utilities Board (AEUB) estimates that given current technology, over 300 billion barrels are expected to be recovered from the Alberta oil sands. There are presently two techniques used to produce bitumen; open pit mining and in situ thermal recovery, which involves drilling wells and injecting steam to heat the bitumen allowing it to flow and be produced from a well. Of the in situ methods now used, steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is the most promising, having the advantages of lower energy requirements and higher recovery factors over other steam injection methods.In situ thermal recovery methods as applied in oil sand deposits have the common objective of accelerating the hydrocarbon recovery process. Raising the temperature of the host formation reduces the bitumen viscosity allowing the near solid material at original temperature to flow as a liquid. These effects assist in AbstractElectrical heating of the Alberta oil sands for the recovery of bitumen has been studied since the early 1970's (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) . The technology has evolved as an additional technology to SAGD and surface mining. This paper describes the heat and mass transfer mechanisms associated with a specific application of electrical heating, the Electro-Thermal Dynamic Stripping Process (ET-DSP™), for the production of bitumen from the oil sands.Given that heat is created in the oil sand as a current flows through the connate water and that initially all the fluids are immobile, the end result is a pressure and temperature distribution that is characteristic of an electrical heating process. To effectively recover the heated bitumen from the oil sand requires an understanding of the heat and mass transfer mechanisms associated with the pressure and temperature distribution, as well as gravity forces. The electrical heating process changes as the oil sand increases in temperature and the bitumen is produced. This results in a dynamic process whereby the heat, mass and electromagnetic fields are strongly coupled and in a transient state throughout the entire recovery process.The dominant mechanisms of the electrical heating recovery process are presented in terms of fundamental equations and solved numerically. A 3D quasi-harmonic finite element electromagnetic model is coupled to the mass and energy equations and solved in time. A recovery strategy based on an understanding of the recovery mechanisms is presented in terms of electrode spacing, duration of heating, energy supply and favourable operating requirements.sweeping much of the bitumen from the formation when driving agents are externally injected or when autogenous processes, such as gravity drainage, come into play.Transferring electromagnetic energy to the deposit is proving to be an effective means of supplying the necessary heat. In the electro-thermal process, electromagne...

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Physical modelling of the electromagnetic heating of oil sand and other earth-type and biological materials

Cited by 15 publications

References 9 publications

Evaluation of Induced Thermal Pressurization in Clearwater Shale Caprock in Electromagnetic Steam-Assisted Gravity-Drainage Projects

Evaluation of Induced Thermal Pressurization in Clearwater Shale Caprock in Electromagnetic Steam-Assisted Gravity-Drainage Projects

Field Test of Electrical Heating With Horizontal And Vertical Wells

The Mechanisms of Electrical Heating For the Recovery of Bitumen From Oil Sands

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