New Production Technologies - James Peak · New Production Technologies New Production Technologies...
Transcript of New Production Technologies - James Peak · New Production Technologies New Production Technologies...
New Production Technologies
New Production Technologies
New Production TechnologiesNew Production Technologies
Maurice B. DusseaultUniversity of Waterloo
Waterloo Ontario Canada
SPE Distinguished Lecture Series – 2002-2003
SPE DISTINGUISHED LECTURER SERIESis funded principally
through a grant of the
SPE FOUNDATIONThe Society gratefully acknowledges
those companies that support the programby allowing their professionals
to participate as Lecturers.
And special thanks to The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical,and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) for their contribution to the program.
New Production Technologies
New Production TechnologiesNew Production Technologies
CHOPS (Cold Heavy Oil Prod. w. Sand)PPT (Pressure Pulsing Techniques)GAD (Gravity Assisted Drainage)
IGI (Inert Gas Injection)SAGD (Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage)VAPEX (Vapor-Assisted Petr. EXtraction)
Hybrids of these will be used Projects will use them in “phases”
New Production Technologies
The Coming Revolution Will:The Coming Revolution Will:
Allow much higher oil recovery from all types of oil reservoirs Allow us to re-enter old fields and recover much of the oil left behindPermit economic recovery of more viscous oils (μ > 100 cP in situ)Extend recoverable reserves of world oil dramatically
New Production Technologies
World ReservesWorld Reserves
Currently, 90% of production is from conventional oilHeavy oil and bitumen are growing rapidlyCanada and Venezuela together have >35% of the non-conventional oil reserves in sands
Extra Heavy and Bitumen
55%
ConventionalOil - 30%
Heavy Oil15%
Conventional <100 cPHeavy Oil 100 – 10000 cPBitumen >10,000 cP
World Oil in Place
New Production Technologies
Future of Conventional OilFuture of Conventional Oil
2001 predictions:Demand +1.5%/yr Less replacement World production peaks in ~2006-2008Middle East now at 30%, 50% by 2011
Q- BB/yr
20
~29-31
Conventional Oil Prediction in RedTotal Need Prediction in Blue Dots
2006-
1978 2008
Campbell and LaherrèreMarch 1998 Scientific American, p. 78 ff
Heavy oil, bitumen, & other sources
New Production Technologies
Viscous Oil Technology Viscous Oil Technology -- 19851985
Only CSS was commercially viable, and only in the very best reservoirs (> 25 m, uniform, homogenous)
Isaacs, 1998CyclicSteam
Stimulation
Horizontalwells
Verticalwells
Thermal
X X
X
Non-thermal
New Production Technologies
Technology Status Technology Status -- 20022002
Commercial technologies have emerged in all categories
Modified afterIsaacs, 1998
CyclicSteam
Stimulation
Horizontalwells
Verticalwells
Thermal
SAGDCold Flow
IGI(VAPEX?)
CHOPSPPT
Non-thermal
New Production Technologies
Technology DriversTechnology Drivers
Better understanding of the physicsBetter equipment
Progressing cavity pumpsCoiled tubing drilling and workovers
Horizontal wells Improved monitoring technologiesBetter waste handling and disposalCanadian heavy oil and tar sands worketc…
New Production Technologies
Alberta Bitumen ProductionAlberta Bitumen Production
2.2 MB/day
0.75 MB/day
Courtesy: Alberta EUB
New Production Technologies
Horizontal Wells (Cold)Horizontal Wells (Cold)
Large numbers of horizontal wells have been drilled in Canada since 1990Applications in many technologies
Direct “cold production” of oilInert Gas InjectionThermal processes (SAGD, drive, …)WAG, various IOR configurations
But, the biggest use ultimately may be gravity assisted drainage
New Production Technologies
The The ““OldOld”” TechnologiesTechnologies
New Production Technologies
The The ““OldOld”” TechnologiesTechnologies
Cyclic steam stimulationSteam drive (many variations)Pressure-driven (Δp) processes
High p water floods, solvents…Pressure-driven combustion processes
Wet or dry, forward or reverse, air or O2
All these processes suffer fromAdvective instability (Δp & μ instabilities)Poor recovery, heat cost, well problems
New Production Technologies
Steam Drive ProcessesSteam Drive Processes
Air or hot water in
Production row
Sectional view
•Gravity override•Bypassed oil
•Poor recovery•High heat losses•Sheared wells
New Production Technologies
CHOPSCHOPS
C – ColdH – HeavyO – Oil P – Production with SandProduces > 550,000 bbl/day of <20°API oil in Canada (25% of total!)>20% oil recovery in good reservoirsApplicable worldwide? (I think so)
New Production Technologies
A CHOPS Case HistoryA CHOPS Case History
Luseland Field, SaskatchewanShows well improvement with CHOPS
Average 5- to 6-fold increaseShows the physical reasons for +QShows that horizontals are not as successful in these sandsThe field selected has many similarities to other unconsolidated sandstones around the world
New Production Technologies
Luseland Field HistoryLuseland Field History
30 verticals drilled in 1982-85Produced using beam pumps, low sand content in oil (<0.5%)Horizontals tried in 1992-1993 (6×600 m), not successful (all abandoned by 1998)Aggressive CHOPS w. PC pumps started in 1994Now, about 4% sand cut in liquids
New Production Technologies
Luseland Field ParametersLuseland Field Parameters
Bakken Fmn. (unconsolidated)Z = 800 m, φ = 28 - 30%, k = 2-4 DAPI = 11.5-13°, μ = 1400 cP (live oil in situ, gas in solution)So = 0.72, Sw = 0.28 (high!), Sg = 0Stratum thickness: 5 - 15 m in centreInitial pressure: po ~ 6-7 MPa, T ~ 30°CGas bubble point: pb ≈ po
New Production Technologies
““TypicalTypical”” Horizontal WellHorizontal Well
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Jan-93 Jan-94 Jan-95 Jan-96 Jan-97 Jan-98
Prod
uctio
n ra
te -
bbl/d
Oil rate
Water rate
Luseland Field, 600 m long well
New Production Technologies
Field Production HistoryField Production History
Feb-82 Feb-86 Feb-90 Feb-94 Feb-98
Oil
and
Wat
er R
ates
-m
3 /mo
Luseland Field, Monthly Oil and Water Rates
4000
8000
12000
16000 Oil rate
Water rate
Beam pumps, small amounts of sand
Start aggressive CHOPS
20,000
New Production Technologies
Well 14Well 14--8 Performance8 Performance
Jan-81 Jan-85 Jan-89 Jan-93 Jan-97 Jan-01
Prod
uctio
n ra
te (b
bl/d
)
0
50
100
150
200
250Central Well 14 - 8
Start CHOPS
Oil rate
Water rate
Luseland Field
New Production Technologies
Total Oil & Water ProductionTotal Oil & Water Production
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000Comparison of total oil and water production to Dec 98, all Luseland vertical wells
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52
Tota
l Pro
duct
ion,
Oil
or W
ater
-bb
l
Oil production
Water production
Mean = 161,947 bbl/oil/well
Mean = 58,750 bbl/H2O/well
Luseland Field
Mainly recent high risk wells
New Production Technologies
Why More Oil??Why More Oil??
If sand flows, resistance to liquid flow is reduced“Foamy oil” behavior accelerates flow and destabilizes the sandA growing high permeability zone around the well is createdAny mechanical skin (asphaltenes, clay) is continuously removed
New Production Technologies
Well Behavior in CHOPSWell Behavior in CHOPS
MonthsMonths00 66 1212 1818 2424 3030 3636 4242
BOPD
BOPD
000
252525
505050
757575
100100100
125125125
150150150
175175175
% Sand
% Sand
0.00.0
2.52.5
5.05.0
7.57.5
10.010.0
12.512.5
15.015.0
17.517.5
BOPD% Sand
After Wong & OgrodnickAfter Wong & Ogrodnick
New Production Technologies
For Successful CHOPSFor Successful CHOPS
Foamy oil mechanism must be active (sufficient gas in solution)Continuous sand failure must occur (unconsolidated sands)No free water zones in the reservoirPC pumps are necessaryIntegrated sand handling system
Sound sand disposal technology
New Production Technologies
Progressing Cavity PumpProgressing Cavity Pump
Polished rod
Production flow lineWell-head assembly
Sucker or co-rods inproduction tubing
Chromed rotor infixed stator
Belt drive withtorque controlElectric motor(or hydraulic)
Well casing (usually 175 mm)
Production tubing(usually 72 or 88 mm)
New Production Technologies
CHOPSCHOPS
New Idea?“Other things being equal, the maximum recovery of oil from an unconsolidated sand is directly dependent upon the maximum recovery of the sand itself. … The higher the viscosity and the lower the gas pressure within the oil reservoir the greater becomes the importance of creating and maintaining a movement of sand toward a producing well.”
W. Kobbe, AIME New York Meeting, February, 1917. Trans. AIME, Vol. LVI, p. 814.
Courtesy Ed Hanzlik, ChevTex
New Production Technologies
CHOPS SummaryCHOPS Summary
More profitable than thermal methods Very low CAPEX (cheap verticals)OPEX has been reduced to ~$4.00/bblPumping issues are now solved (PC pumps can handle large sand %)Sand disposal has been solvedProduction is currently limited only by:
Upgrading capacity
New Production Technologies
PPTPPT
P - PressureP - PulsingT – TechniquesSharp pressure pulses applied to the liquid in wellsReduces advective instabilitiesReduces capillary blockage effectsReduces pore throat blockage
New Production Technologies
Pressure Pressure PulsingPulsingLaboratoryLaboratorySetupSetup sand pack
New Production Technologies
OilOil--Wet Wet -- WaterfloodWaterflood
Time = 139.2 s Time = 138.7 s
35 cP light oil
water flood
0.5 m static pressure head
identical tests
No pulsing Pulsing
New Production Technologies
Effects of PulsingEffects of Pulsing
Increases the basic flow rateIncreases OOIP recoveryReduces coning, viscous fingeringReduces plugging by fines and asphaltenesHelps overcome capillary barriers at throatsEmerging technology, much remains to be optimized
New Production Technologies
Pulsing Sustains Oil ProductionPulsing Sustains Oil Production
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
01-May-99 31-May-99 30-Jun-99 30-Jul-99 29-Aug-99 28-Sep-99 28-Oct-99
Oil
Prod
-7
Offs
et W
ells
(bbl
/d)
Pre PulsingPulsingPost Pulsing
Lindburgh Field, water flood; 9,800 cP oil + sand
New Production Technologies
E.g.: Incremental Heavy Oil E.g.: Incremental Heavy Oil
0
100
200
300
400
500
Nov-98 Mar-99 Jul-99 Nov-99 Mar-00
Incremental oil
Oil
rate
–m
3 /day
–6
offs
et w
ells
Before pulsing Pulsing startedPulsing stopped
Economic limit
Reservoir:Near end of CHOPS life10,600 cP, φ = 30%Waterflood in 1 pulse well
6 months
New Production Technologies
New Production Technologies
New Production Technologies
PPT and Horizontal WellsPPT and Horizontal Wells
PPT wells (cheap vertical wells)
Flow enhancement
Production
Horizontal multi-lateral
New Production Technologies
GADGAD
G – GravityA – AssistedD – Drainage methodsHorizontal wells are essentialFlow is driven by density differencesMost effective with a gas phaseWells produce slowly, but recovery ratios can be very high, >90%
New Production Technologies
Inert Gas InjectionInert Gas Injection
dm
oil
gaswaterΔp
Generally, it is a top down displacement process,
gravitationally assisted and density stabilized
Note: in a water-wet reservoir,a continuous 3-D oil film exists,providing that γwg > γog + γwo
Gas is injected high in the reservoir to move the oil
interface downward
Recovery % can be high
New Production Technologies
IGI, With StructureIGI, With Structure
oil bank, two-phase zonewater-wet sand
horizontal wellsparallel to structure
inert gas injection
keep Δp to a minimum
gas rates are controlled toavoid gas (or water) coning
three-phase zone
mainly gas
water, one phase
Voidage balance necessary!
New Production Technologies
IGI in FlatIGI in Flat--Lying StrataLying Strata
no Δp, noH2O coning
no Δp, nogas coning
ΔV/Δt]oil + water
= ΔV/Δt]gas
(voidage filled)
CO2, N2, CH4, other gases
3-phaseregion
2-phaseregion
horizontalwells
vertical wells
Δp ~ 0
New Production Technologies
Gravity Drainage of ReefsGravity Drainage of Reefs
gas capnew horizontalwell trajectory
bottom water drive (some wells are
converted to water injection)
gasinj.
Oil bank is “squeezed”into the horizontal well
by proper pressure controlso that density controls flow
low Δp
old production wellsnow used to balance
voidage, control coning
New Production Technologies
IGI SummaryIGI Summary
Method commercialized in CanadaNot for thermal heavy oilGood kv is required (if no structure)Ideal approach for converting old conventional fields to a GD processOperating expenses are quite lowShould be considered for new fields, and for renewing old fields
New Production Technologies
SAGD, VAPEX & HybridsSAGD, VAPEX & Hybrids
InjectionProduction
Glacial Gravel and Till
Colorado Group
Mannville
Clearwater A & B
McMurray Oil Sands
Paleozoic Limestone
130m
300m
395m
450m
525m
Ground
Courtesy Neil Edmunds, EnCana
Foster Creek, Alberta
New Production Technologies
SAGD (or VAPEX) SchematicSAGD (or VAPEX) Schematic
EAST
Steam Chamber
Steam Injector
Steam Flow
Oil Flow
Slots
Oil Producer
SAGD Facility
Oil Sand Formation
Courtesy Neil Edmunds, EnCana
New Production Technologies
SAGD PhysicsSAGD Physics
steam + oil+water + CH4
liquid level
oil and water
θlateral steamchamber extension
“insulated”region
countercurrentflow
CH4 + oil
countercurrentflow
Keep Δp small to maximize stability
overburden
water legcool bitumen plug
New Production Technologies
PorePore--Scale ProcessesScale Processes
mineral grain
mineral grain
mineral grain
mineral grain
steam +gases
H2OCH4CO2
oil
oil
Countercurrent flow inthe pores and throatslead to a stable 3-phasesystem.
The oil flow is aided bya “thin-film” surfacetension effect whichhelps to draw down theoil very efficiently.
To maintain a gravity-dominated flow system, it is essential to createthe fully interconnectedphases, and to not tryand overdrive using high pressures.
waterwater
New Production Technologies
Shale Barriers and SAGDShale Barriers and SAGD
ΔV
T
dehydroxylation?
dehydration
sandstone ΔV
shale response
fracturesbypassing
SAGD passes through shalesbecause of ΔV/ΔT & t effects
Shales are impermeable to steam, and behave differently
than sands
>300°C>125°C
New Production Technologies
Thermal GAD ProcessesThermal GAD Processes
Best for heavy oils (<20°API?)Good heat efficiency & flow stabilityHigh recovery ratios are possibleMay be used with other approaches (CHOPS or SAGD + cyclic steam)Not the solution to all heavy oil cases!!Heat costs are an issue (t > 15 m)Careful optimization needed
New Production Technologies
Recovery Ratios in GADRecovery Ratios in GAD
> 75-95% OOIP in lab. WHY?Three-phase continuity → no oil is isolated from the ρ-flow system (no pinch off)Even the oil in low-k zones will slowly drain, aided by T or miscible gasesNo Δp = no fingering: sweep efficiency is remarkably high, fronts are stable
New Production Technologies
Ganglia Reconnection in GADGanglia Reconnection in GAD
γwg > γog + γwo
isolated ganglia (immobile)oil
gas
Generation of a 3-phaseinterconnected system
from two 2-phase regions
gravity forces at uppertip of a gas channel
are at the pore-scale only
oil
gasrapid oil
spreading(disjoining film)
no oil filminitially
New Production Technologies
GAD SummaryGAD Summary
Must keep Δp low for stabilityThree-phases, oil-water-gas, is bestWells are at base of the reservoirReservoirs must be relatively thick Countercurrent density flow occurs Helped by gas, steam, condensable fluid injection & good pressure control
New Production Technologies
Time Moves OnTime Moves On……
SAGD will never be practical (1984)Over 200 pairs to be installed in 2001-2003
Producing 20% sand is not feasible (1988)Over 550,000 b/d from CHOPS in 2002
VAPEX can’t ever be economical (1995)First field trials are now starting
Pulse flow enhancement not possible (1999)3 small-scale successes to date
Don’t write off new ideas lightly!
New Production Technologies
The New TechnologiesThe New Technologies
SAGD
PPT
VAPEX
Years
~6-8
2
0
Status(2002)
$profitable
$$early days
? no field trials yet
Suitability
Probably limited to thicker zones, > 15-20 m
CHOPS >10 $$$ - fullycommercial
Best for 5-20 m zones,no mobile water or water legs
Useful along with other methods (cold flow, CHOPS)
Method
Best in >20°API cases, or along with SAGD
IGI >10 $$$ Good kv & low μ needed
New Production Technologies
ConclusionsConclusions
Conventional oil will peak (4-6 years?)Good for heavy oil, IOR, profitsRemarkable technology advances recently (mainly in Canada)We must try to consolidate & perfect themThe future for heavy oil & IOR looks genuinely promising at present
New Production Technologies
AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements
Society of Petroleum EngineersLocal Sections of the SPE who are hosting meDonna Neukum, SPE – the OrganizerCheryl Stark, SPE, - the EditorColleagues and companies