CA1060340A - Method of recovering viscous petroleum from tar sand - Google Patents
Method of recovering viscous petroleum from tar sandInfo
- Publication number
- CA1060340A CA1060340A CA261,659A CA261659A CA1060340A CA 1060340 A CA1060340 A CA 1060340A CA 261659 A CA261659 A CA 261659A CA 1060340 A CA1060340 A CA 1060340A
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- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- formation
- petroleum
- tubular member
- flow
- fluid
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/16—Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons
- E21B43/24—Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons using heat, e.g. steam injection
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B36/00—Heating, cooling, insulating arrangements for boreholes or wells, e.g. for use in permafrost zones
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/30—Specific pattern of wells, e.g. optimizing the spacing of wells
- E21B43/305—Specific pattern of wells, e.g. optimizing the spacing of wells comprising at least one inclined or horizontal well
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- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Geology (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
- Production Of Liquid Hydrocarbon Mixture For Refining Petroleum (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
METHOD OF RECOVERING VISCOUS PETROLEUM FROM TAR SAND
Recovery of viscous petroleum such as from tar sands is assisted using a substantially vertical passage from the earth's surface which penetrates the tar sand and has exten-ding therefrom a lateral hole containing a flow path isolated from the tar sand for circulating a hot fluid to and from the vertical passage to develop a potential flow path into which a drive fluid is injected to promote movement of the petroleum to a production positon.
METHOD OF RECOVERING VISCOUS PETROLEUM FROM TAR SAND
Recovery of viscous petroleum such as from tar sands is assisted using a substantially vertical passage from the earth's surface which penetrates the tar sand and has exten-ding therefrom a lateral hole containing a flow path isolated from the tar sand for circulating a hot fluid to and from the vertical passage to develop a potential flow path into which a drive fluid is injected to promote movement of the petroleum to a production positon.
Description
~060340 B~CKGR(:)llND,_OF_THE~ NVEN'rIO~
2 This invention relates geneIally to recOveriDg viscous
3 petroleum froln petroleum-containing fcrmaticns. Throughout the
4 world there are several ~a~or deposits of high-viscosity crude S petxoleum in oil sands not recoverable in their natural state 6 throu~h a well by ordinary producticn methods. In the United 7 States, the ma~or concentration of such deposits is in Utah, erQ approximatel~ 26 ~illion barrels of in-place heavy oil or 9 tar exists. In California, the estima~è of in-place heavy oil or vi~cous crude is 220 million barrels. By far the largest t daposits in the ~orld are in the Pro~ince of Alberta, Canada, and ~ repr~sent a total in-place resource of almost 1000 billion 13 barrels. ~he depths raDgQ from surface outcroppings to about l~ 2000'.
To date, none OI these depo~it~ has been produced 16 co~ercially by an in-situ technology. Only one co~mercial 17 ~ining operation ~xists, and that is iD a ~hallow Athabasca 18 deposit. A second mining Froject i~ about 20~ co~pleted at the 19 present time. Ho~ever, there have b~en many in-situ well-to~ell pilots, all o which used some form cf thermal recovery after ~1 establishing coMmunicaticn bet~een iniector and producer.
22 ~ormall~ such co~munication has been esta~lished by introducing a 23 pal~a~ ~racture. The displacing or drive mechanism has beeu 24 s~ea~ and combustion, such as the project at Gregoire Lake or stea~ and chemicals such as tbe early work cn Lease 13 of the Athabasca deposit. Another means of develoEing co~munication is 27 that proposed for the Peace River prc~ect. It is expected to 28 develop ~ell-to-well co~munication by injecting steam over a ~9 period of several years into an aguifer underlying the tar sand deposit at a depth of arcund 1800'. Probably the most active in-31 situ pilot in the oil sands has been that at Cold Lake. This ~ - 2 - ~
~60340 1 project uses the huff-and-puff single-well method o stcam 2 stimulation and has been producing akcut 4000 barrels of viscous 3 petroleum per day for several years frcm abcut 50 wells. This is 4 probably a semi-commercial process, but ~hethe~ it is a paying ~proposition is unkno~n.
6 The most difficult proble~ in any in-situ well-to-well 7 viscous petroleum project is esta~lishing and maintaining 8 comnlunication between in~ector and ~rcducer. In shallo~
9 d~posits, fracturing to the surface has occurred in a number o~
~pilots so that satisfactcry drive pressure could not be 11 maintained. In many case-~, problems arise from healing of the 12 ~racture wllen the viscous petroleum that had been mobilized 13 through heat cooled as it moved toward the Eroducer~ The cool 14 petroleum is essentially immobile, since its Yiscosity in the lS Athabasca deposits, for example, is CD the crder of 100,000 to 16 1,000,000 cp at reser~oir temperature.
17 As noted, the major proble~ cf the economic recovery 18 from many formations has bee~ establishiDg and maintaining 19 communication between an injection position and a recovery position in the viscous oil-co~tain~ng fcrmatian. This is primarily due to the character of the formations, ~here fluids may ~e extremely lo~, and in some caces, such as the ~thabasca ~3 Ta~ Sands, virtually nil. Thus, the Athaba~ca Tar Sands, for exa~ple, are strip mined where the overburden is limited. In ~oma tar sands, hydraulically fracturing has been used to ~6 establish communication between injectcrs and producers. This ~7 has not met with unirorm success. A particularly difficult 2a situation de~elops in the intermediate overburden depths, which 29 cannot stand fracturing Fressure.
Heretofore, many processes bave been utilized in 31 attempting to recover vi cous petroleum from viscous oil 10603~0 1 formations of the Atha~asca Tar Sands type. The application of 2 heat to such viscous petrcleum formations by steam or underground 3 combustion has been attempted. The use cf slotted liners 4 positioned in the viscous oil formaticn as a conduit fcr hot S fluids has also been suggested. Ho~ever, these methods have not 6 ~een overly successful ~càuse of the difficulty cf establishing 7 an~ maintaining communication between the injector and the 8 producer.
g BRIE~_DESC~I_TION OF_lH~_INyEN~TIoN
The present inv~ntion is directed to a method of 11 assistin~ the recovery of viscous petrcleum from a petroleum-12 containing formation and is particulaIly u~eful in those 13 formations ~here communication between an in~ector and a producer 14 is difficult to establisb and maintain. A su~stantially vertical passage such as a well or a shaft is made from the earth's 16 surace through the petroleum-containing fcrmation. At least one 17 laterally extending, usually substantially horizontal hole is 18 extended fro~ the ~ertical passage thraugh at least a portion of 19 the formation. A flow path is formed in the hole and the flo~
path is isclated fr~m the formation fcr flc~ of fluid through the 21 formation into and out of the vertical passage. A hot fluid is 22 circulated through the flow path to reduce the viscosity of the 23 v~iscous petroleum in the formation adjacent the outside of the 24 flo~ path to forD a potential passag~way for flow of petroleum in the formation outside the flow path. ~ drive fluid is injected 26 into the formation through the passage~ay tc promo~e flow of 27 petroleum in the formaticn to a recovery position for recovery 28 from the formation. In preferred form, the hot fluid is steam 29 and the drive fluid is alco steam. Ihe hot fluid and the drive fluid may be injected simultaneously under certain conditions.
31 Under other conditions, the hot fluid and the drive fluid are 1 in~ected intermittently or alternati~ely. The in~ectivity of the 2 drive fluid intc the formation i5 controlled hy ad~usting the 3 flow of hot fluid through the flow path. In one aspect, the 4 petroleum recovery position is a well Fenetrating the petroleum-containing formation in close proximity to the flow path and the 6 drive fluid is in~ected into the for~aticn through the vertical 7 passage. In another aspect, the petroleum recovery position is 8 located in the vertical Fassage and the drive fluid is injected 9 into th~ formation through a well penetrating the petroleum-lQ cont~inin~J formation in close proximity to the flow path.
1t In a more particular form, the method of the invention 12 deals with a method for recovering viscou~ Fetroleum from a 13 petroleum-containing formation of the Athabasca type by providing 14 a substantially vertical Fassage from the earth's surfac~ through the ormation and e~tending at least cne su~stantially horizcntal t6 hole from the vertical passage through at least a portion of the 17 for~ation. A solid-Nall, hollow tu~ular member having a closed 18 outer end is inserted into the hori~cntal hcle and a flow pipe is 19 inserted into the hollou tubular member to a positio~ near the closed end o~ the tubular me~ber to Frc~ide a flow patl~ from the 21 ~ertical passage through the horizontal hole into and cut of the ~ formation through the interior of the flow pipe and the space 23 betwaen the e~terior of the flow pipe and the interior of the 24 tubular me~ber. A hot fluid is circulated through the flow Fath to redu~e the Yiscosity of the visccus petroleum in the formation 26 ad~acent the outside of the tubular member to form a potential 27 passageway for flow of petroleum in the fcr~ation autside the ~8 tubular me~ber. A drive fluid is forced into the formatioD
29 through the passageway tc Fromote flcw of petroleum ad~acent the 3Q outside of the tubular member to a Fcsition for recovery from the 31 formation. As noted, the preferred hct fluid is steam, although other fluids may be used. Steam also is preferred for use as a drive fluid.
In some situations, other fluids such as gas or water may be useful drive fluids.
OEJECT OF IHE INVENIION
me present invention seeks to maximize recovery of viscous petroleum from a petroleum~containing formation wherein ccmmunication between an in~ector position and a producer position is difficult to estab-lish and m intain by utilizing a hot fluid circulating laterally from a single well in a physically separated flow path through the formation to assist ln establishing and maintaining communication for a drive fluid used to promote movement of the petroleum to the producer.
mus, in a first embodiment this invention seeks to provide a method of recovering viscous petroleum from a petroleum-containing forma-tion comprising providing a substantially vertical passage from the earth's surface throu~h said formation, extending at least one lateral hole from said vertical passage through at least a portion of said formation, forming a flow path in said hole isolated from said formation for flow of fluid through said formation into and out of said vertical passage, circulating a hot fluid through said flow path to reduce the viscosity of the viscous 2Q petroleum in said formation ad~acent the outside of said flow path to form a potential pas~ageway for flow of petroleum in said formation outside of said flow path and in~ecting a drive fluid into said formation through said passageway to pramote flow of petroleum in said formation to a recovery position for recovery from said formation.
In a second embodiment this invention seeks to provide a method for recovering viscous petroleum from a petroleum-containing formation of the Athabasca type comprising providing a substantially vertical passage from the earth's surface through said formation, extending at least one lateral hole from said vertical passage through at least a portion of said formation, inserting a solid-wall, hollow tubular member having a closed L
outer end into said horizontal hole, inserting a flow pipe into said hollow tubular member to a position near the closed end of said tubular member to provide a flow path from said vertical passage through said horizontal hole into and out of said formation through the interior of said flow pipe and the space between the exterior of said flow pipe and the interior of said tubular member, circulating a hot fluid through said flow path to reduce the vlscoslty of the viscous petroleum in said formation ad~acent the outside of said tubular member to form a potential passageway for flow of petroleum in sa-id f~rmatlon outside of said tubular member, and forcing a drive fluid into said ~ormation through said passageway to promote flow of petroleum adJacent the outslde of said tubular member to a position for recovery from sald flormation.
ERl~ DESCRIPTION OF I~E DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is an elevation view partially in section and illustrates the preferred embodiment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the present inventlon ~or use in recovering viscous petroleum from an underground formation, Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the apparatus of F~gure l;
Figure 3 is an elevation view partially in section and illustrates an alternative arrang~ment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the present inventio~;
Figure 4 is a plan view and illustrates a potential well layout in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 5 is an elevation view partially in section and illustrates apparatus used in conducting demonstrations in accordance with the present inventian;
~060340 1 FlG. 6 is a perspective vie~ of a block of tar sand 2 flooded in accordance with the present inYentiOn showing position 3 of core samples taXen aft~r the flood; and 4 FIG. 7 is a table illustrating the analysis of such co~es. Clearly, if one could establis~ and maintain 6 communication between in~ectcr and producer, regardless of the 7 drive ~luid or r6covery technigue emFlcyed, it would open up ~any o~ these viscous petroleum deposits to a numbe~; of potentiall~
9 success~ul projects.
DE~AI~ED_DESCRIPTIQN_CF_THE_I~VENTI~N
11 Refer now to the drawing, and to ~IG. 1 in particular, t2 where the preferred embodiment of apFa~atus assembled in 13 accordance Hith the inve~tion is illu-~trated. FIG. 1 sho~ls a ll substantially vertical passage or shaft and a spaced-apart well, respectively genarally indicated by the numerals 10 and 12, which 16 penetrate the earth to a viscous petrcleum cr tar sand ~ormation 17 14. For ease in descri~tion, vertical passage 10 will be termad 18 a shaft 10. A lateral hole 16 is extended in a substantially 19 horizontal mode from shaft 10 and terminateC in relatively close proximity to well 12. A solid-~all, hollow tubular member 18 is ~1 inse~ted through the hol~ 16. The tubular member is preferably 22 steel and ma~ b~ made up of one piece cr many connecting joints.
~3 The ou~er end o~ the tubular member is clos~d to fluid flo~ by a 24 suitable end plat~ ~1. The inner end of the tubular member is connected to the casing 24 of the sbaft 10 by a suitable flange ~6 11. A flow pipe 20 is inserted into the tubular member 18 and 27 terminates at a position near the clcsed end 21 of the tubular ~a member. a tubing string 23 is connected to the tubular member 18 29 in tha shaft 10 and extends to the surface. The solid-vall, tubular member t3 and the flow pipe 20 provide a continuous, ~1 uninterrupted flow path through the visccus petroleum-containing 1 formation into and out of the shaft 10. Tubing strings 23 serve~
2 to extend the flow piye tc the surface through the sbaft. If 3 desired, a concentric pipe could be ccnnected bet~een the surface 4 and tubular member 18 to carry condensate tc the surface.
Generally it is preferred to retain this hot fluid in the well.
6 Tbe shaft 10 is cased b~ casing string 24. The casing 7 is perorated or slotted, as indicated by the numeral 26. An 8 op~ning 28 for the tubular member 18 is alsc pro~ided in the 9 ca~lng. The upper end of the casing 24 is closed by a ~ellhead indicat~d schematically as 30. ~ s~team source 32 is connected 11 through ~alves ~4 and 36 and suitable tubing 38 and 40 to tubing 12 string 23 and thence to flow pipe 20 and thence to the flow pipe 13 20-tubular member 18 annulus. The tu~ing string 23-casing 24-14 aDnulus 42 is also connected to steaD source 32 by means of tu~ing 38 through valves 34 and 44. Ihus, ~y appropriate control 16 of ~alves 34~ 36 and 44, steam may be directed either simul-17 taneously or alternatively into the flov path formed by the flow 18 pip~ 20-tubular m~mber 18 annulus via tubiDg string 23 and/o~
19 into the formation 14 via tubing-casing annulus 42 and perforations 26.
21 The producer ~ell 12 is cas~d by a suitable casing 22 string 46. The casing is slotted or ~erforated, as indicated by 23 the numeral 48. The producer ~ell 12 is located in near ~4 proximity to the flow path provided by tubular member 18 and flo~
~S pipe 20. qhe upper end cf the casing string 46 is closed ~y a 26 wellhea~ 52. A means for lifting petrcleum from the interior of 27 production ~ell 12 is provided. For exa~ple, a pu~p 56 is used ~ to lift petroleum by a suitable sucker rcd ~tring 60 through a 2g production flo~ path 58 tc the surface.
In operation, it is usually desirable to first 31 introduce steam into the annulus 42 cf shaft 10 to attempt to 1~)60340 1 obtain in~ection of steam into formation 14 through perforations 2 26. In most instances, in viscous tar sands, little or no 3 in~ection is obtained. In accordance with the invention, steam 4 is then flowed through the formation 14 but out of direct contact ~herewith in the flow path provided by tubing string 23, flo~
6 pipe 20 and tubular member 18 ~y ap~FrcFriate manipulation of 7 valves 34, 36 and 44. The steam or bct fluid flowing in this 8 floN path heats the viscous petroleu~ in fcrmati~n 14 to reduce 9 thQ viscosity of at least a portion cf the petroleum ad~acent the outside of the tubular member 18. Thi~ pro~ides a potential `ll passa~e for flow of the drive fluid or steam through the 12 formation via annulus 42 and perforaticns 26. By suitably 13 controlling the flo~ in the flo~ pipe 20-tubular member 18 14 annulus and the formatian 14, a good s~eep efficiency can be ohtained and oil recovery ~aximized at recovery wel~ 12. Thus 16 when the steam flo~ing in the flow path establishes in~ectivlty 17 for the drive fluid intc the formaticn and results in some 18 production of petroleum from the prcducer steam flow through the 19 lo~ pàth is terminated to prevent br~akthrough of tbe drive fluid. If in~ectivity cf the drive fluid b~comes undesirably 21 lo~, then additional steam is flowed through the flow Fath to 2~ re~stablish the desired injectivity. In some instances a back ~ flush or other operation ~ay be neceCcary at well 1~- to initiate 24 production. FIG. 2 is aD enlarged view cf the ends of the flow pipe 20 and the tubular member 18 shcwing the closed end 21 which ~6 pro~id~s the circulating flow path tbrough the formation.
27 ~IG. 3 is an elevation vie~ Fartially in section and ~8 illustrates an alternative arrangement of aFparatus assembled in 29 accordance with the invention. FIG. 3 showc a substantially vertical passage or shaft and a spaced-apart well, respectively 31 generally indicated by the numerals 110 and 112, which penetrate _ g _ ~060340 1 the earth to a ~iscous petroleum or tar sand focmation 114. Por 2 ease in description, vertical passage 110 ~ill be termed a shaft 3 110. A lateral hole 116 is extended in a cubstantially 4 horizontal mode from shaft 110 and terminate~ in relatively close proximity to well 112. A solid-wall, hollo~ tubular me~ber 118 6 is inserted through the hcle 116. The tubular member is 7 pre~erabl~ steel and may be made up cf one Fiece or many 8 connecting ~oints. The outer end of the tubular member is closed 9 to ~luid flow ~ a suita~le end plats 121. The inner end of the tubular meuber is connected tbrough a hole 128 in the casing 124 11 o the sha~t 110 to a surface string cf casing 115. A flo~ pipe 12 l20 is inserted into the tubular member 118 and terminates at a 13 position near the closed end 121 of the tu~ular member. A tubing 14 string 123 is ccnnected to the tubular member 118 in tbe shaft 110 and extends to the surface. The solid-wall, tubular member 16 118 and the flow pipe 120 providè a continucus, uninterrupted 17 flow path through the vi~cous petroleum-containing formation into 18 and out of the shaft 110. Iubing strings 123 and 115 serve to 19 Qxtend the flo~ path to the surface through the shaft. Casîng string 115 could be eliminated and the condensate pumped to the 21 sur~ace, if desired.
22 Ihe shaft 110 is casad by cacing string 124. The 23 casing is perforated or slottèd, as indicated b~ the numeral 126.
24 An opening 128 for the tubular member 118 is also provided in the 2~ casing~ The upper end of the casing 124 is closed by a wellhead 26 indicated sche~atically as 130. A steam source 132 is connected 27 through valve 134 and suitable tubing 138 ta tubing string 12~
2~ and then tc flo~ pipe 120 and then tc the flow pipe 120-tubular 29 ~e~ber 118 annulus and then to the curface via the tubing 123-casing 115 annulus. A means for lifting petroleum is provided in 31 shaft 110. A dcwnhole Fump 156 lift~ liguid by a suitable sucker 32 rod string 160 through a production flc~ path 15~. By ~ - 10 -~060340 1 appropriate control of valve 134 and a valve on the return 2 annular conduit (not shown) steam may be directed intc the flow 3 path formed by the flow pipe 120-tubular member 118 annulus to 4 heat the viscous petrole~m outside tubular member 118.
S An injectcr well 112 is cas~d by a suitable casing 6 string 146~ The casing is slotted or perforated, as indicated by 7 the numeral 148. The in~ectcr well 112 is located in near 8 proximity to the flow path provided by tubular member 118 and 9 low pipe 120. A steam injection tube 145 terminates near the per~orations 14a and the upper porticn of the steam in~ection 11 tube passes through the casing string 146 and a wellhead 152.
12 The in1ection tube 145 is connected tc a steam source 147 by 13 means of conduit 151 through valve 1~3. Thus, steam may be 14 injected through well 112 into the ~ormation 11~ and, in accordance with the invention, assict in moving petroleum to-~ard 16 shaft 110 along the outside of the tubular member 118.
17 In operation, it is usually decirable to first 18 introduce steam into the injection w211 112 to attempt to obtain 19 injection of stea~ into fcrmation 114 through perforations 148.
In most instances, in viscous tar sands, little or no injection 21 is obtained. In acccrdance with the invention, steam is then 2~ f lowea through the formation 114 but cut of direct contact 23 therewith in the flo~ path provided by tubing string 123, flow 24 pipe 120 and tubular member 118 by appro~riate manipulation of ~S valYa 34. The steam or hot fluid flcwing in this flow path heats 26 the ~iscous petroleum in for~ation 114 to reduce the viscosity of 27 at least a portion of the petroleum adjacent the outside of the 29 tubular member 118. This pro~ides a pctential passage for flow ~9 of the dri~e fluid or steam through the formation via injectcr well 112 through perforations 148. Ey suitably controlling the 31 flow in the flow pipe 120-tubular member 118 annulus and the 1 for~ation 114, a good s~eep efficiency can ke obtained an oil 2 recovery maximized at recovery shaft 110.
3 FIG. 4 is a plan view of a ~ctential rield layout using 4 a central producer shaft and a plurality of spaced-apart in~ector ~ells. The ~lan view of FIG. 4 could, fcr example, be utilized 6 ~ith the ~ell arra~geme~t shown in elevation in EIG. 3. Thus a 7 central producer well indicated generally by 110 is seen 8 interlnediate of spaced-apart injectcr wells indicated generally 9 by the numerals 112E (east), 112N (ncrth), 112W ~est) and 112S
(~outh)~ The arrangement illustrated in FIG. 4 proYides a useful 11 la~out ln fi~ld operations.
12 FIG. 5 is an elevation ~ie~ Fartially in section and 13 illustrates apparatus used in conducting demonstrations in 14 acco~dance with the present invention. As there sho~n, a sand lS pack 70 of Athabasca tar sand was encased in a suitable elongated 16 core tube 72. The core tube was provided with suitable end 17 plates 74 and 76 for Ieceiving a ho~lc~ tub~lar member 78. The 18 apparatus is also arranged for steaD injection into the face cf 19 the sand pack through conduit 80 and for collec$ing proceeds of 2~ the sand pack flood thrcugh conduit 82. A steam source 8~ is 21 connected to the tubular member 78 aDd to tbe sand pack face 22 through tubing 86 and control valve 88. A down-stream control 23 valve 90 controls flow cf steam through the central tubular 2~ member 78. Thus, assisted recovery c~Feraticr.s in accordance with the inYantion can ~e demonstrated utilizing the apparatus shown 26 in ~IG. 5.
27 ~IG. 6 is a perspecti~e of a block of Athabasca tar ~8 sand showing a number of corè positicDs foI cores taken 29 longitudinally through the core block. The cores are identified by numb~r and flow plane as indicated. The tar sand block was 31 flooded in accordance ~ith the method of the invention. The ~ - 12 ~
~060340 .
1 cores were taken after the flood and analyzed for residual 2 petroleum~ stration ap~aratus similar to that shown in ~IG. 5.
3 FIG. 7 is a table indicating the residual viscouC petroleum 4 weight by core position and plane of tbe cores of FIG. 6. The S original blcck contained 13.5~ by ~eight of viscous petroleum.
6 As is evident from the table of FIG. ~, a substantial weight 7 percent of a viscous petroleum was r~ccvered when the block was ~ flooded in accordanc~ with the meth~d cf the preseot invention.
9 Further with respect to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, in order to demonstrate the method cf the present invention, it was necessary 11 as a first step to set up an apparatus containing Atha~asca oil 12 sand having a zero effective permeability tc steam. To do t~.is, 13 a 1"-ID by 12"-long guartz tube was used. The tube was packed 14 with Athabasca oil sand ccntaining abcut 13~ weight viscous petroleum and about '~ ~ater. Fittings were attached to both 16 ends of the tube and a conventional steam drive applied to the 17 oil sand at a pressure of 75 psi and a te~perature of 320~P. It 18 ~as found during the early runs that 50~ of the petroleum was 19 recovered because of unrealistic permeahility to steam, and so t~e runs did not successfully simulate Athabasca conditlons. It 21 was found later that by ucing a 1/2"-diameter solid steel rod, 2~ ~ 12" long, as a tool for ramming the cil sand very tightly in the ~3 tube, the room temFerature air permeabiIities ~ere reduced to 24 l~ss ~han 50 millidarcies, a much mcre realistic value for ~iscous petroleum-contaiDing formatic~s. ID this region of 26 per~eability, conventional steam dri~e did not work and the steam 27 front advanced only about 1" into the tu~e and no farther, since 28 the initially mobilized petroleum blccked off any communicaticn, 29 thereby reducing the effective mobility to zero. These conditions were reFroducible on a satisfactory basis.
` - 13 -1 The method of the invention ~a~ then demonstrated ucing 2 the apparatus shown schematically in PIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows a 3 partially completed demcn~tration in acc~rdance ~ith the uethcd 4 o the invention. The in-place tubular memker 78 has been heated by opening the heating annulus contrcl valve 90 alloving steam to 6 pass through. This immediately provides steam injectiYity at the 7 drive and of the tar sand pack 70 and ~iscous petroleum produced a i~m~diately at the producing end. ReccYeries in these 9 Qxperiments ranqed f rom 4~ to 52~ weight o~ the total petroleum in place. Residual petroleum was determined in every case by 1`1 é~hau~tive solvent extraction at the end of each run. In some 12 demol1strations, too much heat was allowed to pass through the 13 tubular member 78, thereby creating an annulus outside the 14 tubular member of very high mobility, allo~ing premature steam breakthrough and giving ratber poorer recov~ries, on the order of 16 only 30~ of the total petroleum in place.
17 In order to demcnstrate the present ~ethod in a 18 laboratory under more realistic field-type conditions, the 19 demonstrations ~ere modi~ied by USiD9 lar~e chunks of relatiYely undistributed Athabasca cil sand. These ranged in weight from ~1 one to about four kilograEs and appeared to be devoid of cracks.
22 They were randomly shaped and generally roundish or oval. These ~3 were ~ncased in epoxy resin so that a totdl thickness of about 4"
~4 existed all around the oil sand piece. The placement of the in-place tubular member and injector and Froducer were very similar 26 to the apparatus shown in FIG. 5. Again, a 1/8" stainless-steel ~7 tube WdS used for the in-place tubular member. In order to ~8 establish that there waC indeed zero effective mobility, a .stea~
~9 drive ~as always applied to the injectcr before alloving any heat to pass through the in-place tubular member. Three exEeriments 31 were run, and in no case Has there more than four drops of water ~ - 14 -1 produced at the exit from the block, and this slight water 2 production ceased after less than one minute after initiating 3 conventional steam drive. After reaching this static condition 4 with zero injectivity, the heated annulus ccntrol valve 90 was cracked slightly, allowing passin~ of steam into the tubular 6 member 78. Immediately petroleum flc~ed frcm the producer end of 7 the core at a high petroleum/water ratio. Care must b~ exercised 8 in controlling the amount of heat thrcugh the in-~lace tubular 9 membor since, in one case, this Nas n~t done and the over-all recovery was 30X of the tctal petroleum in Flace~ Even ccntinued `
11 ~lowing of steam through the block bet~een in~ectcr and producer 12 did no~ allow any further recovery of Fetroleum in this instance.
13 On breakin~ open the blcck, it ~as found that a ~ery clean oil 14 sand of higher permeability had been created as an annulus close to the in-place pipe. Since the heat in the tubular member was 16 not controlled, good sweep efficiency cf the blocX was not 17 obtained in this case.
18 The most successful demonstration run was that carried t9 out on a 3.5-~g bloc~ of cil sand, initially 13.S~ weight petroleum content. ~otal recovery was 65~ cf the petroleum ~1 originally in place. In all of these ex~eriments, the same 22 pr~ssure and temperature cf 75 psi and 320~F respectively ~ere ~3 used.
24 Although, at first glance, t~e practice of the ~5 invention might 12ad one to expect a very low residual oil 2~ content close to the annulus surrounding the in-Flace tubular 27 ~ember and a hig~h residual oil resulting frcm pocr sweep 2~ efficiency in those regions of the cam~le farthest away from the 29 in-place pipe, this was not the case. ID fact, excellent s~eep efficiency is obtained ~hen the ratic cf hot fluid to drive fluid 31 is controlled so a~ nct tc permit early steam breakthrough. In ~0340 1 order to evaluate this concern, tlle encased 3.5-kg bloc~ o oil 2 sand at the end of a demcnstration ~ac cut through the center at 3 right angles to the in-place tubular ~em~er. The oil sand was 4 then cored using a ~/4~-diameter core korer and sampled to a depth of 1/2". This was done at 11 lccations in each of 6 6 different planes in the oil sand blccX. A diagram of the 7 location of these core sa~ples is shc~n in ~IG. 6. A total of 66 8 samples was taken and each analyxed for residual petroleum 9 content by exhaustive extraction with toluene. The results are shown in FIG. 7. It can k~ seen that a remarkably uniform s~eep 11 o the oil sand sample had taken place. Particularly surprising 12 is th~ fact that the residual petroleum in thcse 6 cores taken 13 from the annulus immediately surrounding the in-place tubular 14 member show a residual petroleum conteot not too different from the cores farthest away from the in-Flace tubular member.
16 The demonctraticns show that the method of the present 17 invention satisfactorily simulated the zero affective mobility of 18 the Athabasca oil saDd deFosit. The recovery demonstrations 19 showd that a communication path bet~eeD injector and producer can 20 be successfully developed; and provided excessive heating of the ~1 in-placa tubular me~ber ic avoided, recoveries up to 65% of the petroleum in place can be achieved. The s~eep efficiency is 23 surprisingly high, resulting in an even distribution of residual 24 oil~ This mean~ that the reservoir after an assisted-recovery opera~ion conducted in accordance ~ith the invention would be 2~ amendable to further recovery technigues such as combustion, ~7 chel~ical floods, etc. Particularly attractive is the fact that injecting drive fluids wculd be confined to the area of interest bet~een in~ectcr and producer, since this wculd ke the only path~ay open to them. In other words, it is unlikely that the 31 fluids would be loct to the other partC a~ the reservoir because ~ - 16 -of the relative impermeability of the formation cn the outer edge 2 o the swept area.
To date, none OI these depo~it~ has been produced 16 co~ercially by an in-situ technology. Only one co~mercial 17 ~ining operation ~xists, and that is iD a ~hallow Athabasca 18 deposit. A second mining Froject i~ about 20~ co~pleted at the 19 present time. Ho~ever, there have b~en many in-situ well-to~ell pilots, all o which used some form cf thermal recovery after ~1 establishing coMmunicaticn bet~een iniector and producer.
22 ~ormall~ such co~munication has been esta~lished by introducing a 23 pal~a~ ~racture. The displacing or drive mechanism has beeu 24 s~ea~ and combustion, such as the project at Gregoire Lake or stea~ and chemicals such as tbe early work cn Lease 13 of the Athabasca deposit. Another means of develoEing co~munication is 27 that proposed for the Peace River prc~ect. It is expected to 28 develop ~ell-to-well co~munication by injecting steam over a ~9 period of several years into an aguifer underlying the tar sand deposit at a depth of arcund 1800'. Probably the most active in-31 situ pilot in the oil sands has been that at Cold Lake. This ~ - 2 - ~
~60340 1 project uses the huff-and-puff single-well method o stcam 2 stimulation and has been producing akcut 4000 barrels of viscous 3 petroleum per day for several years frcm abcut 50 wells. This is 4 probably a semi-commercial process, but ~hethe~ it is a paying ~proposition is unkno~n.
6 The most difficult proble~ in any in-situ well-to-well 7 viscous petroleum project is esta~lishing and maintaining 8 comnlunication between in~ector and ~rcducer. In shallo~
9 d~posits, fracturing to the surface has occurred in a number o~
~pilots so that satisfactcry drive pressure could not be 11 maintained. In many case-~, problems arise from healing of the 12 ~racture wllen the viscous petroleum that had been mobilized 13 through heat cooled as it moved toward the Eroducer~ The cool 14 petroleum is essentially immobile, since its Yiscosity in the lS Athabasca deposits, for example, is CD the crder of 100,000 to 16 1,000,000 cp at reser~oir temperature.
17 As noted, the major proble~ cf the economic recovery 18 from many formations has bee~ establishiDg and maintaining 19 communication between an injection position and a recovery position in the viscous oil-co~tain~ng fcrmatian. This is primarily due to the character of the formations, ~here fluids may ~e extremely lo~, and in some caces, such as the ~thabasca ~3 Ta~ Sands, virtually nil. Thus, the Athaba~ca Tar Sands, for exa~ple, are strip mined where the overburden is limited. In ~oma tar sands, hydraulically fracturing has been used to ~6 establish communication between injectcrs and producers. This ~7 has not met with unirorm success. A particularly difficult 2a situation de~elops in the intermediate overburden depths, which 29 cannot stand fracturing Fressure.
Heretofore, many processes bave been utilized in 31 attempting to recover vi cous petroleum from viscous oil 10603~0 1 formations of the Atha~asca Tar Sands type. The application of 2 heat to such viscous petrcleum formations by steam or underground 3 combustion has been attempted. The use cf slotted liners 4 positioned in the viscous oil formaticn as a conduit fcr hot S fluids has also been suggested. Ho~ever, these methods have not 6 ~een overly successful ~càuse of the difficulty cf establishing 7 an~ maintaining communication between the injector and the 8 producer.
g BRIE~_DESC~I_TION OF_lH~_INyEN~TIoN
The present inv~ntion is directed to a method of 11 assistin~ the recovery of viscous petrcleum from a petroleum-12 containing formation and is particulaIly u~eful in those 13 formations ~here communication between an in~ector and a producer 14 is difficult to establisb and maintain. A su~stantially vertical passage such as a well or a shaft is made from the earth's 16 surace through the petroleum-containing fcrmation. At least one 17 laterally extending, usually substantially horizontal hole is 18 extended fro~ the ~ertical passage thraugh at least a portion of 19 the formation. A flow path is formed in the hole and the flo~
path is isclated fr~m the formation fcr flc~ of fluid through the 21 formation into and out of the vertical passage. A hot fluid is 22 circulated through the flow path to reduce the viscosity of the 23 v~iscous petroleum in the formation adjacent the outside of the 24 flo~ path to forD a potential passag~way for flow of petroleum in the formation outside the flow path. ~ drive fluid is injected 26 into the formation through the passage~ay tc promo~e flow of 27 petroleum in the formaticn to a recovery position for recovery 28 from the formation. In preferred form, the hot fluid is steam 29 and the drive fluid is alco steam. Ihe hot fluid and the drive fluid may be injected simultaneously under certain conditions.
31 Under other conditions, the hot fluid and the drive fluid are 1 in~ected intermittently or alternati~ely. The in~ectivity of the 2 drive fluid intc the formation i5 controlled hy ad~usting the 3 flow of hot fluid through the flow path. In one aspect, the 4 petroleum recovery position is a well Fenetrating the petroleum-containing formation in close proximity to the flow path and the 6 drive fluid is in~ected into the for~aticn through the vertical 7 passage. In another aspect, the petroleum recovery position is 8 located in the vertical Fassage and the drive fluid is injected 9 into th~ formation through a well penetrating the petroleum-lQ cont~inin~J formation in close proximity to the flow path.
1t In a more particular form, the method of the invention 12 deals with a method for recovering viscou~ Fetroleum from a 13 petroleum-containing formation of the Athabasca type by providing 14 a substantially vertical Fassage from the earth's surfac~ through the ormation and e~tending at least cne su~stantially horizcntal t6 hole from the vertical passage through at least a portion of the 17 for~ation. A solid-Nall, hollow tu~ular member having a closed 18 outer end is inserted into the hori~cntal hcle and a flow pipe is 19 inserted into the hollou tubular member to a positio~ near the closed end o~ the tubular me~ber to Frc~ide a flow patl~ from the 21 ~ertical passage through the horizontal hole into and cut of the ~ formation through the interior of the flow pipe and the space 23 betwaen the e~terior of the flow pipe and the interior of the 24 tubular me~ber. A hot fluid is circulated through the flow Fath to redu~e the Yiscosity of the visccus petroleum in the formation 26 ad~acent the outside of the tubular member to form a potential 27 passageway for flow of petroleum in the fcr~ation autside the ~8 tubular me~ber. A drive fluid is forced into the formatioD
29 through the passageway tc Fromote flcw of petroleum ad~acent the 3Q outside of the tubular member to a Fcsition for recovery from the 31 formation. As noted, the preferred hct fluid is steam, although other fluids may be used. Steam also is preferred for use as a drive fluid.
In some situations, other fluids such as gas or water may be useful drive fluids.
OEJECT OF IHE INVENIION
me present invention seeks to maximize recovery of viscous petroleum from a petroleum~containing formation wherein ccmmunication between an in~ector position and a producer position is difficult to estab-lish and m intain by utilizing a hot fluid circulating laterally from a single well in a physically separated flow path through the formation to assist ln establishing and maintaining communication for a drive fluid used to promote movement of the petroleum to the producer.
mus, in a first embodiment this invention seeks to provide a method of recovering viscous petroleum from a petroleum-containing forma-tion comprising providing a substantially vertical passage from the earth's surface throu~h said formation, extending at least one lateral hole from said vertical passage through at least a portion of said formation, forming a flow path in said hole isolated from said formation for flow of fluid through said formation into and out of said vertical passage, circulating a hot fluid through said flow path to reduce the viscosity of the viscous 2Q petroleum in said formation ad~acent the outside of said flow path to form a potential pas~ageway for flow of petroleum in said formation outside of said flow path and in~ecting a drive fluid into said formation through said passageway to pramote flow of petroleum in said formation to a recovery position for recovery from said formation.
In a second embodiment this invention seeks to provide a method for recovering viscous petroleum from a petroleum-containing formation of the Athabasca type comprising providing a substantially vertical passage from the earth's surface through said formation, extending at least one lateral hole from said vertical passage through at least a portion of said formation, inserting a solid-wall, hollow tubular member having a closed L
outer end into said horizontal hole, inserting a flow pipe into said hollow tubular member to a position near the closed end of said tubular member to provide a flow path from said vertical passage through said horizontal hole into and out of said formation through the interior of said flow pipe and the space between the exterior of said flow pipe and the interior of said tubular member, circulating a hot fluid through said flow path to reduce the vlscoslty of the viscous petroleum in said formation ad~acent the outside of said tubular member to form a potential passageway for flow of petroleum in sa-id f~rmatlon outside of said tubular member, and forcing a drive fluid into said ~ormation through said passageway to promote flow of petroleum adJacent the outslde of said tubular member to a position for recovery from sald flormation.
ERl~ DESCRIPTION OF I~E DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is an elevation view partially in section and illustrates the preferred embodiment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the present inventlon ~or use in recovering viscous petroleum from an underground formation, Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the apparatus of F~gure l;
Figure 3 is an elevation view partially in section and illustrates an alternative arrang~ment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the present inventio~;
Figure 4 is a plan view and illustrates a potential well layout in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 5 is an elevation view partially in section and illustrates apparatus used in conducting demonstrations in accordance with the present inventian;
~060340 1 FlG. 6 is a perspective vie~ of a block of tar sand 2 flooded in accordance with the present inYentiOn showing position 3 of core samples taXen aft~r the flood; and 4 FIG. 7 is a table illustrating the analysis of such co~es. Clearly, if one could establis~ and maintain 6 communication between in~ectcr and producer, regardless of the 7 drive ~luid or r6covery technigue emFlcyed, it would open up ~any o~ these viscous petroleum deposits to a numbe~; of potentiall~
9 success~ul projects.
DE~AI~ED_DESCRIPTIQN_CF_THE_I~VENTI~N
11 Refer now to the drawing, and to ~IG. 1 in particular, t2 where the preferred embodiment of apFa~atus assembled in 13 accordance Hith the inve~tion is illu-~trated. FIG. 1 sho~ls a ll substantially vertical passage or shaft and a spaced-apart well, respectively genarally indicated by the numerals 10 and 12, which 16 penetrate the earth to a viscous petrcleum cr tar sand ~ormation 17 14. For ease in descri~tion, vertical passage 10 will be termad 18 a shaft 10. A lateral hole 16 is extended in a substantially 19 horizontal mode from shaft 10 and terminateC in relatively close proximity to well 12. A solid-~all, hollow tubular member 18 is ~1 inse~ted through the hol~ 16. The tubular member is preferably 22 steel and ma~ b~ made up of one piece cr many connecting joints.
~3 The ou~er end o~ the tubular member is clos~d to fluid flo~ by a 24 suitable end plat~ ~1. The inner end of the tubular member is connected to the casing 24 of the sbaft 10 by a suitable flange ~6 11. A flow pipe 20 is inserted into the tubular member 18 and 27 terminates at a position near the clcsed end 21 of the tubular ~a member. a tubing string 23 is connected to the tubular member 18 29 in tha shaft 10 and extends to the surface. The solid-vall, tubular member t3 and the flow pipe 20 provide a continuous, ~1 uninterrupted flow path through the visccus petroleum-containing 1 formation into and out of the shaft 10. Tubing strings 23 serve~
2 to extend the flow piye tc the surface through the sbaft. If 3 desired, a concentric pipe could be ccnnected bet~een the surface 4 and tubular member 18 to carry condensate tc the surface.
Generally it is preferred to retain this hot fluid in the well.
6 Tbe shaft 10 is cased b~ casing string 24. The casing 7 is perorated or slotted, as indicated by the numeral 26. An 8 op~ning 28 for the tubular member 18 is alsc pro~ided in the 9 ca~lng. The upper end of the casing 24 is closed by a ~ellhead indicat~d schematically as 30. ~ s~team source 32 is connected 11 through ~alves ~4 and 36 and suitable tubing 38 and 40 to tubing 12 string 23 and thence to flow pipe 20 and thence to the flow pipe 13 20-tubular member 18 annulus. The tu~ing string 23-casing 24-14 aDnulus 42 is also connected to steaD source 32 by means of tu~ing 38 through valves 34 and 44. Ihus, ~y appropriate control 16 of ~alves 34~ 36 and 44, steam may be directed either simul-17 taneously or alternatively into the flov path formed by the flow 18 pip~ 20-tubular m~mber 18 annulus via tubiDg string 23 and/o~
19 into the formation 14 via tubing-casing annulus 42 and perforations 26.
21 The producer ~ell 12 is cas~d by a suitable casing 22 string 46. The casing is slotted or ~erforated, as indicated by 23 the numeral 48. The producer ~ell 12 is located in near ~4 proximity to the flow path provided by tubular member 18 and flo~
~S pipe 20. qhe upper end cf the casing string 46 is closed ~y a 26 wellhea~ 52. A means for lifting petrcleum from the interior of 27 production ~ell 12 is provided. For exa~ple, a pu~p 56 is used ~ to lift petroleum by a suitable sucker rcd ~tring 60 through a 2g production flo~ path 58 tc the surface.
In operation, it is usually desirable to first 31 introduce steam into the annulus 42 cf shaft 10 to attempt to 1~)60340 1 obtain in~ection of steam into formation 14 through perforations 2 26. In most instances, in viscous tar sands, little or no 3 in~ection is obtained. In accordance with the invention, steam 4 is then flowed through the formation 14 but out of direct contact ~herewith in the flow path provided by tubing string 23, flo~
6 pipe 20 and tubular member 18 ~y ap~FrcFriate manipulation of 7 valves 34, 36 and 44. The steam or bct fluid flowing in this 8 floN path heats the viscous petroleu~ in fcrmati~n 14 to reduce 9 thQ viscosity of at least a portion cf the petroleum ad~acent the outside of the tubular member 18. Thi~ pro~ides a potential `ll passa~e for flow of the drive fluid or steam through the 12 formation via annulus 42 and perforaticns 26. By suitably 13 controlling the flo~ in the flo~ pipe 20-tubular member 18 14 annulus and the formatian 14, a good s~eep efficiency can be ohtained and oil recovery ~aximized at recovery wel~ 12. Thus 16 when the steam flo~ing in the flow path establishes in~ectivlty 17 for the drive fluid intc the formaticn and results in some 18 production of petroleum from the prcducer steam flow through the 19 lo~ pàth is terminated to prevent br~akthrough of tbe drive fluid. If in~ectivity cf the drive fluid b~comes undesirably 21 lo~, then additional steam is flowed through the flow Fath to 2~ re~stablish the desired injectivity. In some instances a back ~ flush or other operation ~ay be neceCcary at well 1~- to initiate 24 production. FIG. 2 is aD enlarged view cf the ends of the flow pipe 20 and the tubular member 18 shcwing the closed end 21 which ~6 pro~id~s the circulating flow path tbrough the formation.
27 ~IG. 3 is an elevation vie~ Fartially in section and ~8 illustrates an alternative arrangement of aFparatus assembled in 29 accordance with the invention. FIG. 3 showc a substantially vertical passage or shaft and a spaced-apart well, respectively 31 generally indicated by the numerals 110 and 112, which penetrate _ g _ ~060340 1 the earth to a ~iscous petroleum or tar sand focmation 114. Por 2 ease in description, vertical passage 110 ~ill be termed a shaft 3 110. A lateral hole 116 is extended in a cubstantially 4 horizontal mode from shaft 110 and terminate~ in relatively close proximity to well 112. A solid-wall, hollo~ tubular me~ber 118 6 is inserted through the hcle 116. The tubular member is 7 pre~erabl~ steel and may be made up cf one Fiece or many 8 connecting ~oints. The outer end of the tubular member is closed 9 to ~luid flow ~ a suita~le end plats 121. The inner end of the tubular meuber is connected tbrough a hole 128 in the casing 124 11 o the sha~t 110 to a surface string cf casing 115. A flo~ pipe 12 l20 is inserted into the tubular member 118 and terminates at a 13 position near the closed end 121 of the tu~ular member. A tubing 14 string 123 is ccnnected to the tubular member 118 in tbe shaft 110 and extends to the surface. The solid-wall, tubular member 16 118 and the flow pipe 120 providè a continucus, uninterrupted 17 flow path through the vi~cous petroleum-containing formation into 18 and out of the shaft 110. Iubing strings 123 and 115 serve to 19 Qxtend the flo~ path to the surface through the shaft. Casîng string 115 could be eliminated and the condensate pumped to the 21 sur~ace, if desired.
22 Ihe shaft 110 is casad by cacing string 124. The 23 casing is perforated or slottèd, as indicated b~ the numeral 126.
24 An opening 128 for the tubular member 118 is also provided in the 2~ casing~ The upper end of the casing 124 is closed by a wellhead 26 indicated sche~atically as 130. A steam source 132 is connected 27 through valve 134 and suitable tubing 138 ta tubing string 12~
2~ and then tc flo~ pipe 120 and then tc the flow pipe 120-tubular 29 ~e~ber 118 annulus and then to the curface via the tubing 123-casing 115 annulus. A means for lifting petroleum is provided in 31 shaft 110. A dcwnhole Fump 156 lift~ liguid by a suitable sucker 32 rod string 160 through a production flc~ path 15~. By ~ - 10 -~060340 1 appropriate control of valve 134 and a valve on the return 2 annular conduit (not shown) steam may be directed intc the flow 3 path formed by the flow pipe 120-tubular member 118 annulus to 4 heat the viscous petrole~m outside tubular member 118.
S An injectcr well 112 is cas~d by a suitable casing 6 string 146~ The casing is slotted or perforated, as indicated by 7 the numeral 148. The in~ectcr well 112 is located in near 8 proximity to the flow path provided by tubular member 118 and 9 low pipe 120. A steam injection tube 145 terminates near the per~orations 14a and the upper porticn of the steam in~ection 11 tube passes through the casing string 146 and a wellhead 152.
12 The in1ection tube 145 is connected tc a steam source 147 by 13 means of conduit 151 through valve 1~3. Thus, steam may be 14 injected through well 112 into the ~ormation 11~ and, in accordance with the invention, assict in moving petroleum to-~ard 16 shaft 110 along the outside of the tubular member 118.
17 In operation, it is usually decirable to first 18 introduce steam into the injection w211 112 to attempt to obtain 19 injection of stea~ into fcrmation 114 through perforations 148.
In most instances, in viscous tar sands, little or no injection 21 is obtained. In acccrdance with the invention, steam is then 2~ f lowea through the formation 114 but cut of direct contact 23 therewith in the flo~ path provided by tubing string 123, flow 24 pipe 120 and tubular member 118 by appro~riate manipulation of ~S valYa 34. The steam or hot fluid flcwing in this flow path heats 26 the ~iscous petroleum in for~ation 114 to reduce the viscosity of 27 at least a portion of the petroleum adjacent the outside of the 29 tubular member 118. This pro~ides a pctential passage for flow ~9 of the dri~e fluid or steam through the formation via injectcr well 112 through perforations 148. Ey suitably controlling the 31 flow in the flow pipe 120-tubular member 118 annulus and the 1 for~ation 114, a good s~eep efficiency can ke obtained an oil 2 recovery maximized at recovery shaft 110.
3 FIG. 4 is a plan view of a ~ctential rield layout using 4 a central producer shaft and a plurality of spaced-apart in~ector ~ells. The ~lan view of FIG. 4 could, fcr example, be utilized 6 ~ith the ~ell arra~geme~t shown in elevation in EIG. 3. Thus a 7 central producer well indicated generally by 110 is seen 8 interlnediate of spaced-apart injectcr wells indicated generally 9 by the numerals 112E (east), 112N (ncrth), 112W ~est) and 112S
(~outh)~ The arrangement illustrated in FIG. 4 proYides a useful 11 la~out ln fi~ld operations.
12 FIG. 5 is an elevation ~ie~ Fartially in section and 13 illustrates apparatus used in conducting demonstrations in 14 acco~dance with the present invention. As there sho~n, a sand lS pack 70 of Athabasca tar sand was encased in a suitable elongated 16 core tube 72. The core tube was provided with suitable end 17 plates 74 and 76 for Ieceiving a ho~lc~ tub~lar member 78. The 18 apparatus is also arranged for steaD injection into the face cf 19 the sand pack through conduit 80 and for collec$ing proceeds of 2~ the sand pack flood thrcugh conduit 82. A steam source 8~ is 21 connected to the tubular member 78 aDd to tbe sand pack face 22 through tubing 86 and control valve 88. A down-stream control 23 valve 90 controls flow cf steam through the central tubular 2~ member 78. Thus, assisted recovery c~Feraticr.s in accordance with the inYantion can ~e demonstrated utilizing the apparatus shown 26 in ~IG. 5.
27 ~IG. 6 is a perspecti~e of a block of Athabasca tar ~8 sand showing a number of corè positicDs foI cores taken 29 longitudinally through the core block. The cores are identified by numb~r and flow plane as indicated. The tar sand block was 31 flooded in accordance ~ith the method of the invention. The ~ - 12 ~
~060340 .
1 cores were taken after the flood and analyzed for residual 2 petroleum~ stration ap~aratus similar to that shown in ~IG. 5.
3 FIG. 7 is a table indicating the residual viscouC petroleum 4 weight by core position and plane of tbe cores of FIG. 6. The S original blcck contained 13.5~ by ~eight of viscous petroleum.
6 As is evident from the table of FIG. ~, a substantial weight 7 percent of a viscous petroleum was r~ccvered when the block was ~ flooded in accordanc~ with the meth~d cf the preseot invention.
9 Further with respect to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, in order to demonstrate the method cf the present invention, it was necessary 11 as a first step to set up an apparatus containing Atha~asca oil 12 sand having a zero effective permeability tc steam. To do t~.is, 13 a 1"-ID by 12"-long guartz tube was used. The tube was packed 14 with Athabasca oil sand ccntaining abcut 13~ weight viscous petroleum and about '~ ~ater. Fittings were attached to both 16 ends of the tube and a conventional steam drive applied to the 17 oil sand at a pressure of 75 psi and a te~perature of 320~P. It 18 ~as found during the early runs that 50~ of the petroleum was 19 recovered because of unrealistic permeahility to steam, and so t~e runs did not successfully simulate Athabasca conditlons. It 21 was found later that by ucing a 1/2"-diameter solid steel rod, 2~ ~ 12" long, as a tool for ramming the cil sand very tightly in the ~3 tube, the room temFerature air permeabiIities ~ere reduced to 24 l~ss ~han 50 millidarcies, a much mcre realistic value for ~iscous petroleum-contaiDing formatic~s. ID this region of 26 per~eability, conventional steam dri~e did not work and the steam 27 front advanced only about 1" into the tu~e and no farther, since 28 the initially mobilized petroleum blccked off any communicaticn, 29 thereby reducing the effective mobility to zero. These conditions were reFroducible on a satisfactory basis.
` - 13 -1 The method of the invention ~a~ then demonstrated ucing 2 the apparatus shown schematically in PIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows a 3 partially completed demcn~tration in acc~rdance ~ith the uethcd 4 o the invention. The in-place tubular memker 78 has been heated by opening the heating annulus contrcl valve 90 alloving steam to 6 pass through. This immediately provides steam injectiYity at the 7 drive and of the tar sand pack 70 and ~iscous petroleum produced a i~m~diately at the producing end. ReccYeries in these 9 Qxperiments ranqed f rom 4~ to 52~ weight o~ the total petroleum in place. Residual petroleum was determined in every case by 1`1 é~hau~tive solvent extraction at the end of each run. In some 12 demol1strations, too much heat was allowed to pass through the 13 tubular member 78, thereby creating an annulus outside the 14 tubular member of very high mobility, allo~ing premature steam breakthrough and giving ratber poorer recov~ries, on the order of 16 only 30~ of the total petroleum in place.
17 In order to demcnstrate the present ~ethod in a 18 laboratory under more realistic field-type conditions, the 19 demonstrations ~ere modi~ied by USiD9 lar~e chunks of relatiYely undistributed Athabasca cil sand. These ranged in weight from ~1 one to about four kilograEs and appeared to be devoid of cracks.
22 They were randomly shaped and generally roundish or oval. These ~3 were ~ncased in epoxy resin so that a totdl thickness of about 4"
~4 existed all around the oil sand piece. The placement of the in-place tubular member and injector and Froducer were very similar 26 to the apparatus shown in FIG. 5. Again, a 1/8" stainless-steel ~7 tube WdS used for the in-place tubular member. In order to ~8 establish that there waC indeed zero effective mobility, a .stea~
~9 drive ~as always applied to the injectcr before alloving any heat to pass through the in-place tubular member. Three exEeriments 31 were run, and in no case Has there more than four drops of water ~ - 14 -1 produced at the exit from the block, and this slight water 2 production ceased after less than one minute after initiating 3 conventional steam drive. After reaching this static condition 4 with zero injectivity, the heated annulus ccntrol valve 90 was cracked slightly, allowing passin~ of steam into the tubular 6 member 78. Immediately petroleum flc~ed frcm the producer end of 7 the core at a high petroleum/water ratio. Care must b~ exercised 8 in controlling the amount of heat thrcugh the in-~lace tubular 9 membor since, in one case, this Nas n~t done and the over-all recovery was 30X of the tctal petroleum in Flace~ Even ccntinued `
11 ~lowing of steam through the block bet~een in~ectcr and producer 12 did no~ allow any further recovery of Fetroleum in this instance.
13 On breakin~ open the blcck, it ~as found that a ~ery clean oil 14 sand of higher permeability had been created as an annulus close to the in-place pipe. Since the heat in the tubular member was 16 not controlled, good sweep efficiency cf the blocX was not 17 obtained in this case.
18 The most successful demonstration run was that carried t9 out on a 3.5-~g bloc~ of cil sand, initially 13.S~ weight petroleum content. ~otal recovery was 65~ cf the petroleum ~1 originally in place. In all of these ex~eriments, the same 22 pr~ssure and temperature cf 75 psi and 320~F respectively ~ere ~3 used.
24 Although, at first glance, t~e practice of the ~5 invention might 12ad one to expect a very low residual oil 2~ content close to the annulus surrounding the in-Flace tubular 27 ~ember and a hig~h residual oil resulting frcm pocr sweep 2~ efficiency in those regions of the cam~le farthest away from the 29 in-place pipe, this was not the case. ID fact, excellent s~eep efficiency is obtained ~hen the ratic cf hot fluid to drive fluid 31 is controlled so a~ nct tc permit early steam breakthrough. In ~0340 1 order to evaluate this concern, tlle encased 3.5-kg bloc~ o oil 2 sand at the end of a demcnstration ~ac cut through the center at 3 right angles to the in-place tubular ~em~er. The oil sand was 4 then cored using a ~/4~-diameter core korer and sampled to a depth of 1/2". This was done at 11 lccations in each of 6 6 different planes in the oil sand blccX. A diagram of the 7 location of these core sa~ples is shc~n in ~IG. 6. A total of 66 8 samples was taken and each analyxed for residual petroleum 9 content by exhaustive extraction with toluene. The results are shown in FIG. 7. It can k~ seen that a remarkably uniform s~eep 11 o the oil sand sample had taken place. Particularly surprising 12 is th~ fact that the residual petroleum in thcse 6 cores taken 13 from the annulus immediately surrounding the in-place tubular 14 member show a residual petroleum conteot not too different from the cores farthest away from the in-Flace tubular member.
16 The demonctraticns show that the method of the present 17 invention satisfactorily simulated the zero affective mobility of 18 the Athabasca oil saDd deFosit. The recovery demonstrations 19 showd that a communication path bet~eeD injector and producer can 20 be successfully developed; and provided excessive heating of the ~1 in-placa tubular me~ber ic avoided, recoveries up to 65% of the petroleum in place can be achieved. The s~eep efficiency is 23 surprisingly high, resulting in an even distribution of residual 24 oil~ This mean~ that the reservoir after an assisted-recovery opera~ion conducted in accordance ~ith the invention would be 2~ amendable to further recovery technigues such as combustion, ~7 chel~ical floods, etc. Particularly attractive is the fact that injecting drive fluids wculd be confined to the area of interest bet~een in~ectcr and producer, since this wculd ke the only path~ay open to them. In other words, it is unlikely that the 31 fluids would be loct to the other partC a~ the reservoir because ~ - 16 -of the relative impermeability of the formation cn the outer edge 2 o the swept area.
Claims (16)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A mehtod of recovering visccus petroleum from a petroleum-containing formation comprising providing a sustantially vertical passage from the earth's surface through said formation, extending at least one lateral hole from said vertical passage through at least a portion of said formation, forming a flow path in said hole isolated from said formation for flow of fluid through said formation into and out of said vertical passage, circulating a hot fluid through said flow path to reduce the viscosity of the viscous petroeum in said formation adjacent the cutside of said flow path to form a potential passageway for flow of petroleum in said formation outside of said flow path and injecting a drive fluid into said formation through said passageway to promote flow of petroleum in said formation to a recovery position for recovery from said formation.
2. The method of Claim 1 where the hot fluid is steam.
3. The method of Claim 2 where the drive fluid is steam.
4. The mehtod of Claim 1 wherein said hot fluid and said drive fluid are injected simultaneously.
5. The method of Claim 1 wherein said hot fluid and said drive fluid are injected intermeittently.
6. The method of Claim 1 wherein injectivity of said drive fluid into said formation is controlled by adjusting the flow of hot fluid through said flow path.
7. The method of Claim 1 where said recovery position is a well penetrating said petroleum-containing formation in close proximity to said flow path and said drive fluid is injected into said formation through said vertical passage.
8. The method of Claim 1 where said recovery position is located in said vertical passage and said drive fluid is injected into said formation through a well penetrating said petroleum-containing formation in close proximity to said flow path.
9. A method for recovering visccus petroleum from a petroleum-containing formation of the Athabasca type comprising providing a substantially vertical passage from the earth's surface through said formation, extending at least one lateral hole from said vertical passage through at least a portion of said formation, inserting a solid-wall, hollow tubular member having a closed cuter end into said horizontal hole, inserting a flow pipe into said hollow tubular member to a position near the closed end of said tubular member to provide a flow path from said vertical passage through said horizontal hole into and out of said formation through the interior of said flow pipe and the space between the exterior of said flow pipe and the interior of said tubular member, circulating a hot fluid through said flow path to reduce the viscosity of the visccus petroleum in said formation adjacent the outside of said tubular member to form a potential passageway for flow of petroleum in said formation outside of said tubular member, and forcing a drive fluid into said formation through said passageway to promote flow of petroleum adjacent the outside of said tubular member to a position for recovery from said formation.
10. The method of Claim 9 where the hot fluid is steam.
11. The method of Claim 10 where the drive fluid is steam.
12. The method of Claim 11 wherein said hot fluid and said drive fluid are injected simultaneously.
13. The method of Claim g wherein said hot fluid and said drive fluid are injected intermittently.
14. The method of Claim 9 wherein infectivity of said drive fluid into said formation is controlled by adjusting the flow of hot fluid through said flow path.
15. The method of Claim 9 where said recovery position is a Nell penetrating the petroleum-containing formation near the closed end of said tubular member and said drive fluid is injected into said formation through said vertical passage.
16. The method of Claim 9 where said recovery position is located in said vertical passage and said drive fluid is injected into said formation through a wall penetrating the petroleum-containing formation near the closed end of said tubular member.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US05/627,305 US3994340A (en) | 1975-10-30 | 1975-10-30 | Method of recovering viscous petroleum from tar sand |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1060340A true CA1060340A (en) | 1979-08-14 |
Family
ID=24514108
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA261,659A Expired CA1060340A (en) | 1975-10-30 | 1976-09-21 | Method of recovering viscous petroleum from tar sand |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US3994340A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1060340A (en) |
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Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US3994340A (en) | 1976-11-30 |
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