On Steam Based Recovery Process Design

Steam-based thermal recovery process is the most commonly used recovery process for bitumen production from oil sands reservoirs. The most used thermal methods are Steam Flooding (SF), Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS), and Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). The choice of method depends on the geology, initial reservoir conditions, and the viscosity of the oil. In the research documented here, a detailed examination of the Liaohe heavy oil operation is analyzed from field data. The analysis relies on from a construction of detailed geological and reservoir models and a history match of the CSS and steam-injection gravity drainage operation. The model is then used to evaluate steam flooding and automated control of the recovery process. Also, a submodel from the history-matched reservoir model is used to understand, at fine scale, the dynamics of CSS. The results show that conducting steam flooding post CSS provides an effective means to achieve greater recovery factors at reasonable steam-to-oil ratios. Also, automated control by using proportional-integral-derivative control can yield further improvements of the process performance. The results of the detailed ultra-refined CSS models demonstrate that CSS dynamics are complex due to steam-based dilation and steam condensation. The overall results of the research reveal that CSS is an effective thermal recovery method that can be used with post-CSS processes to produce the majority of oil from the reservoir.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Graduate Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Bao, Yu

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Gates, Ian

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Siegler, Hector
• Hejazi, Hossein
• Hubbard, Stephen
• Leung, Juliana

• Geology
• Engineering--Chemical
• Engineering--Petroleum

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/27187

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:11023/2679