Thermal Recovery of Bitumen

February 23, 2007

Presented by Neil Edmunds, VP EOR

Thermal Recovery of Bitumen

1. 2. 3. SAGD as a mechanism (instead of a process) How a Steam/Oil Ratio is Determined Optimizing Thermal Bitumen Recovery

23-Feb-07

SAGD as a Mechanism
By default, bitumen recoveries > 5-10% must be due to gravity:
water is 100x more mobile @ 200C oil:gas is gravity dominant, i.e. one or both phases will be moving vertically
Gravity Drainage Requirements requirement oil mobility: methods heat solvent

permeability:

rock quality dilation?

physical understanding allows tailored application to reservoir circumstances

gas phase voidage:

steam solvent methane, etc.

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Gravity Dominant Conditions

tu me net b i

n mo

tion

gravity

viscous drag

steam flux

the gravity vector (velocity of fall) is proportional to permeability the drag due to steam injection is inversely proportional to permeability above about 1 Darcy, gravity tends to dominate, & bitumen falls close to vertical
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Gravity Depletion Geometries

vertical wells tend to drain inverted cones horizontal wells drain trough-like shapes at the economic limit, horizontals recover ~2.5x more oil from same heated area
(Horizontal) SAGD: 85% sweep @ 10 years (typ.) .85 * (.85-.15) = 60% recovery Vertical CSS (i.e. radial, cyclic SAGD): 1/3 sweep @ 10 years (typ.) 1/3 * (.85-.15) = 23% recovery

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SAGD: Reservoir Steam/Oil Ratio

1 m3, 5 Darcy, 30% porosity:

Steam at 2250 kPa: Temperature Viscosity Oil Sat. 10 106 85% 225C 5 cp. 15% 0.46 GJ 3.3 m/day 1.3 bbl 1.2

Heat Required: G/O fall velocity: Oil Recovered: Equivalent SOR:

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Real World SOR's & Heat Loss

Current commercial SOR's are actually 2.5-3.5 Excess steam consumption is due to heat loss to confining strata Heat losses are proportional to:
Steam temperature, i.e. pressure Square root of the pattern operating lifetime

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Real World SAGD

, m a e St

ed n i a dr

co

ld
CH

cold

Hot, undrained

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Optimum SAGD

under steady or cyclic operation, the rate of oil recovery is a function of the (time averaged) reservoir temperature in conventional SAGD, supply cost components of steam vs. wells is typically 3:1 or more lower temperature lower SOR but less productive wells (same recovery, just slower) save a lot on steam by spending a little more on wells

Recovery Costs vs. Drainage Temp $25 5000

Wells Steam Wells + Steam Steam Pressure

$20

4000

typical range
$15

optimum range

3000

$10

2000

$5

1000

$0 100 150 200 Temperature, C

0 250

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Steam Pressure, kPa(abs)

$/bbl relative unit cost

Cyclic SAGD
Methane accumulation in SAGD ideal optimum drainage temperature range is 100 - 150C (i.e. steam pressures 0 - 400 kPag) conventional SAGD needs >>500 kPag for well inflow & solution gas management cyclic steaming alternates: short periods where steam fills the voidage and the sand is reheated; followed by long production periods while oil drains due to stored heat; gas helps support the pressure.
b) 750 kPa a) 2000 kPa

10

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Example Uplift - Cyclic Operation Thin Reservoir example:

$45

11

$40
Relative Supply Cost ($/Bbl)

SAGD 2000 kPa SAGD 750 kPa

$35

Cyclic
$30

$25

$20

$15 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 %OIP Recovery

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The Steam-Solvent Spectrum

The Steam-Solvent Spectrum
4500 4000 3500
Pressure, kPaa

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Ethane

Propane Butane Pentane

SA GD
Va p ex

Steam

3000 2500 2000 1500

Firebag

SA

Foster Creek

C2

HT HP

1000 500 0 0 25 50 75

LP

P A S

S LP

AG

H20 SO2 C4 C3 nC5

Va pe

100

125

150

175

200

225

250

275

Temperature, C
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The Laricina Technology Suite

NC gas transport modelling
large impact on carbonates & LP, cyclic processes

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Cyclic steaming
lower (optimal) average res. temperature temperature cycles, not necessarily pressure twin or single

Single wells
thin pay startup by reservoir failure (geomechanics)

Solvent additives
cyclic operation -> lower avg. inventory

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Technologies for Reservoirs

Reservoir Type thin (<20m) Challenges high SORs low OIP/pattern Approach(es) single (horizontal) well cyclic solvent additives gas cycling fracture, solvent, and/or electrical startup colloid science, production inflow enhancements repressurization w/air dewatering

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shallow (<100m)

startup @/enforced low pressure producer inflow enforced low pressure operation losses to & encroachments from the cap

complex (top gas, usually depressured, usually wet)

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Conclusion
A first-principles approach to SAGD yields locally tailored and optimized recovery schemes There is a large opportunity in reducing the thermal intensity (average temperature) of conventional SAGD Cyclic steaming is key; solvent enhancements are a further opportunity to reduce temperature Laricina is advancing two pilot/prototypes and will solicit participants in June/July 2007
23-Feb-07

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