Solvent Screening Study for a Post CHOPS Cyclic Solvent Injection Pilot

Anderson, Mark L; Badamchizadeh, Amin; Kantzas, Apostolos; Bryan, Jon

doi:10.2118/195802-ms

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In addition, ethane is able to extract more heavy oil at supercritical conditions than subcritical conditions. Anderson et al [33] conducted several oil sands core flood experiments to assess different solvents for potential use in CSI field trials. The tested solvents included various blends such as methane/propane, carbon dioxide/propane, methane/ethane, pure ethane, and nitrogen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ethane-Based CSI Process and Two Types of Flooding Process as a Hybrid Method for Enhancing Heavy Oil Recovery

Li,

Du,

Wang

et al. 2024

Energies

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Combining multiple secondary oil recovery (SOR)/enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods can be an effective way to maximize oil recovery from heavy oil reservoirs; however, previous studies typically focus on single methods. In order to optimize the combined process of ethane-based cyclic solvent injection (CSI) and water/nanoparticle-solution flooding, a comprehensive understanding of the impact of injection pressure, water, and nanoparticles on CSI performance is crucial. This study aims to provide such understanding through experimental evaluation, advancing the knowledge of EOR methods for heavy oil recovery. Three approaches (an ethane-based CSI process, water flooding, and nanoparticle-solution flooding) were applied through a cylindrical sandpack model with a length of 95.0 cm and a diameter of 3.8 cm. Test 1 conducted an ethane-based CSI process only. Test 2 conducted a combination approach of CSI–water flooding–CSI–nanoparticle-solution flooding–CSI. Specifically, the injection pressure of the first CSI phase in Test 2 was gradually increased from 3500 to 5500 kPa. The second and the third CSI phases had the same injection pressure as Test 1 at 5500 kPa. The CSI process ceased once the oil recovery was less than 0.5% of the original oil in place (OOIP) in a single cycle. Results show that the ethane-based CSI process is sensitive to injection pressure. A high injection pressure is crucial for optimal oil recovery. The first CSI phase in Test 2, where the injection pressure was increased gradually, resulted in a 2.9% lower oil recovery and five times as much ethane consumption compared to Test 1, which applied a high injection pressure. It was also found that water flooding improved the oil recovery in the CSI process. In Test 2, the oil recovery factor of the second CSI phase increased by 57% after the water flooding process, which is likely due to the formation of water channels and a dispersed oil phase that increased the contact area between ethane and oil. Although the nanoparticle-solution flooding only had 0.3% oil recovery, after that the third CSI phase stimulated another 10.8% of OOIP even when the water saturation achieved more than 65%. This demonstrated that the addition of nanoparticles can maintain the stability of the foam and enhance the transfer of ethane to the heavy oil. Finally, Test 2 reached a total oil recovery factor of 76.1% on a lab scale, an increase of 45% compared to the single EOR method, which proved the combination process is an efficient method to develop a heavy oil field.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ethane-Based CSI Process and Two Types of Flooding Process as a Hybrid Method for Enhancing Heavy Oil Recovery

Li,

Du,

Wang

et al. 2024

Energies

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Experimental Study of Heavy Oil Recovery Mechanisms during Cyclic Solvent Injection Processes

2020

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Summary The cyclic solvent injection (CSI) process has recently shown to be a promising method for enhanced heavy oil recovery in Canada. Laboratory testing is often run before development of field pilots to assess the effect of parameters, such as solvent choice and process conditions, on the CSI response. However, differences between laboratory results vs. field applications have been observed. CSI laboratory studies work for only two to three cycles due to low incremental oil in subsequent cycles, whereas field pilots continue for years over multiple cycles. This experimental study is intended to capture the production mechanisms responsible for heavy oil production in CSI. Primary production and CSI tests were conducted using sandpack models saturated with live heavy oil of 9530 mPa·s viscosity. The experiments were conducted in horizontal and vertical mode injection at high- and low-pressure depletion rates using two solvent mixtures of CH4 and C3H8. The sandpacks were scanned after every cycle to analyze the evolution of gas and oil saturations using computed tomography (CT). Three cores were used to study the effect of several parameters: gravity forces, pressure depletion rate, solvent composition, and initial oil saturation on the performance of CSI processes. CSI cycles run after primary production in horizontal systems produced negligible incremental oil for both slow and fast drawdown rates due to the large void space and high free gas saturation inhibiting the pressure buildup to push the solvent-diluted oil. These CSI experiments were only initially successful in dead oil systems, in which the initial oil saturation was higher and appropriate pressure gradient was generated through fast depletion rates. During the vertical alignment, CSI cycles exhibited higher incremental oil recovery per cycle. Slow depletion cycles were more efficient in terms of pressure and incremental recovery per cycle; however, faster depletion cycles performed better as a function of time. These results are more in line with the repeated recoveries measured over multiple cycles in field CSI pilot studies. More volume of diluted oil was drained out of the core when the solvent mixture with higher propane (C3H8) content was injected. These results demonstrate the importance of gravity drainage in the CSI process and its significance on successful oil recovery rates. This study illustrates the limitations of previous horizontal laboratory tests and shows an improved test configuration for modeling and prediction of the improved response observed in CSI pilots.

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Selection of Effective Solvents – Universal Modification of Presently Available Enhanced Oil Recovery Methods and Oil Production Stimulation Processes

Litvin¹,

Terentiyev²,

Gornov³

et al. 2020

Day 2 Tue, October 27, 2020

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The paper presents various modified technologies to enhance oil production and to stimulate the inflow of high-viscosity oil, based on a combination of the traditional approach and the use of solvents. The results of laboratory experiments to study the effects of 29 solvents reagents on high-viscosity oil samples from 5 different objects are presented. Based on the analysis of the obtained laboratory data, basic recommendations are formulated to increase the efficiency of extraction of high-viscosity oil using solvents. In order to determine the potential for modifying oil recovery enhancement and well stimulation methods by adding solvents to their process, a comparative hydrodynamic modeling of 3 treatment options for the bottom-hole zone and subsequent assessment of their economic effect were carried out.

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Solvent Screening Study for a Post CHOPS Cyclic Solvent Injection Pilot

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

An Ethane-Based CSI Process and Two Types of Flooding Process as a Hybrid Method for Enhancing Heavy Oil Recovery

An Ethane-Based CSI Process and Two Types of Flooding Process as a Hybrid Method for Enhancing Heavy Oil Recovery

Experimental Study of Heavy Oil Recovery Mechanisms during Cyclic Solvent Injection Processes

Selection of Effective Solvents – Universal Modification of Presently Available Enhanced Oil Recovery Methods and Oil Production Stimulation Processes

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