IBP1952_12 THE STRATEGIC USE OF MULTI-ZONE ELECTRIC DOWNHOLE HEATING TO INCREASE HEAVY OIL PRODUCTION IN LONG DISPLACEMENT HORIZONTAL

WELLS Paul A. Thomas1, Gustavo Hernandez2, Eglier Jose Yanez3

Copyright 2012, Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute - IBP
This Technical Paper was prepared for presentation at the Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference 2012, held between September, 17-20, 2012, in Rio de Janeiro. This Technical Paper was selected for presentation by the Technical Committee of the event according to the information contained in the final paper submitted by the author(s). The organizers are not supposed to translate or correct the submitted papers. The material as it is presented, does not necessarily represent Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute opinion, or that of its Members or Representatives. Authors consent to the publication of this Technical Paper in the Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference 2012 Proceedings.

Abstract
The paper will detail the use of a three-phase electric downhole heating system with varying heat output along its length. The primary purpose of the heating system is to strategically place supplemental heat to sections of the wellbore whereby the pressure drop can be reduced in the production tubulars. The goal is to add varying amounts of heat along the horizontal well whereby the oil temperature increase thus lowering the viscosity of the oil. This will result in lower pressure drops in the tubulars. The heating system used consisted of a unique mineral insulated heating cable with zones of differing resistances. The different resistances produce varying watt densities and allow for strategic placement of heat in the lateral. This system was designed to strategically place more heat at the toe of the well with decreasing amounts of heat as you move to the heel (or downhole pump). This tactically reduces the viscosity of the oil along the lateral and thus allows for a relatively consistent pressure drop in the horizontal well which in turn leads to an increase in production. The heater was attached to a stinger pipe placed below the Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP). The complete heating system consisted of transformer and control panel at the surface, a wellhead penetration system, downhole power distribution cable (ESP), a three phase Mineral Insulated heater, and components to attach the elements to the well bore tubulars, as well as a monitoring equipment of temperature and pressure sensors. This paper will cover the details of the field trial.

1. Introduction
Venezuela has vast reserves of viscous, extra heavy oil located in the Orinoco Petroleum Belt. The properties of this oil present considerable production challenges. Current production techniques are known to leave considerable amounts of oil in place (i.e. low recovery factors). High oil prices have led energy companies to evaluate and develop new technologies to better produce difficult oilfields. One of the challenges in extra heavy horizontal wells is the pressure drop along the lateral varies dramatically from the toe (higher) to heel (lower) thus preventing consistent drawdown. This phenomenon creates a situation whereby the production from the heel of the well is much greater than the production from the toe. This reduces the total inflow of oil and reduces the efficiency of the downhole pumping system. By strategically placing more heat at the toe of the well versus the heel it has been shown that the overall pressure drop in the horizontal section can be lowered and be more uniform over the entire length. By doing this, it is believed that increased daily flow rates and well as recovery factors will be greatly improved.

______________________________ Paul A. Thomas Tyco Thermal Controls 2 Gustavo Hernandez Tyco Thermal Controls 3 Eglier Jose Yanez Petropiar
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2. Project Details
2.1. Wellbore Geometry The pilot well included 13 3/8 surface casing, 9 5/8 production casing, and a 7 slotted liner through the horizontal section of the well. The production tubulars included 5 tubing with a Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP) just above the horizontal section of the well. The heater was attached to a stinger that was attached to the bottom of the PCP and extended to the total depth of the well. 2.2. System Components Figure 1 below illustrates the various components of the heating system.

Figure 1. System Components The system included the following major components. Transformer and Control Panel Surface power distribution cable Wellhead Feed through assembly Downhole power distribution cable (ESP cable) ESP to Mineral Insulated splice connection Multi-zone Mineral Insulated heating cable (including hot, warm & cold zones) Downhole attachment system (not pictured) Temperature/Pressure sensors (not pictured) 2

Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference 2012 2.3 Mineral Insulated Heater Description Mineral Insulated Technology: Mineral Insulated (MI) technology has been around for decades. MI cables consist of one or two conductors embedded in a magnesium oxide insulation enclosed in a metal sheath. The metal sheath for downhole applications is typically a high grade stainless steel (such as Incoloy 825). MI heating cables are ideal for high power output, high exposure temperatures, or extreme resistance to environmental corrosives. The heater can be customized to achieve different electrical resistances and therefore watt densities along the circuit. In this application this allows for higher watt densities at the toe versus the heel. It also allows for cold sections whereby instruments could be inserted to obtain temperature and pressure data. Below is a picture of the downhole heating MI cable on the pay-off reeling unit.

Figure 2. Mineral Insulated cable on the pay-off reel The actual electrical design of this particular MI heater consisted of a 660 volt three-phase configuration. Figure 3 below shows the specific element of the heater. The heater produced approximately 65 kW of energy.

Figure 3. Three-phase MI heater

Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference 2012 2.4 Fluid Properties There is a well-documented relationship between temperature and viscosity of oil. Figure 4 below shows the exponential relationship between oil viscosity and temperature. Clearly adding heat to the lateral section of the well reduces the viscosity of the oil in the tubulars thus reducing the pressure drop.

Figure 4. Temperature vs. Viscosity curves

3. Conclusion
The table below shows the resulting pressure and temperature reading for the non-heated and heated cases. The daily production increased by approximately 65%
Heel Zone 1 Pressure (psi) Temp (F) 501 116 500 146 Zone 2 Pressure (psi) Temp (F) 537 116 512 156 Toe Zone 3 Pressure (psi) Temp (F) 556 117 518 168

Non-Heated Heated

Table 1. Non-heated vs. heated pressure and temperature data. Summary conclusions and recommendations: The use of multi-zone MI heaters to strategically add heat to the lateral section of viscous heavy oil wells is effective. By heating the lateral the pressure loss can be controlled to enable more uniform drawdown. Downhole pumping systems work more efficiently and last longer with downhole heating systems due to lower oil viscosity and less pump torque. Additional field trials are required to optimize the amount and location of the heat in the lateral. For future applications, increased watt densities could result in greater inflow from the near wellbore which could increase production rates above this initial field trial.

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4. Acknowledgements 5. References
Figure 4 Temperature vs. Viscosity is based on Beggs-Robinson correlation.