masterThesis
Estudo do Processo SAGDOX aplicado a um reservatório de óleo pesado
Fecha
2018-03-05Registro en:
MARTIN JÚNIOR, Glen Oliveira. Estudo do Processo SAGDOX aplicado a um reservatório de óleo pesado. 2018. 114f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Ciência e Engenharia de Petróleo) - Centro de Ciências Exatas e da Terra, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, 2018.
Autor
Martin Júnior, Glen Oliveira
Resumen
Heavy oil is more difficult to be extracted, it requires the application of enhanced oil recovery
(EOR) processes in order to be produced. The recovery of this type of oil can be improved by
thermal processes, that consist in elevating the temperature, causing oil viscosity reduction,
allowing it to flow better. The Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is a well-known
method, proved and successfully used around the world. In-situ combustion is another thermal
process well consolidated. In order to improve SAGD performance, In-Situ combustion
advantages were mixed with SAGD’s, proposing a new process called Steam-Assisted Gravity
Drainage with Oxygen addition (SAGDOX), by Nexen Inc., in 2013. SAGDOX basically
consists in using the wells structure of SAGD, and add a vertical air injector well, aiming to
increase oil recovery. The process is in development stage, with laboratory experimentation and
physical model tests, with no field testing or pilots yet. In this paper, it was developed a
parametric study of SAGDOX process applied to a heavy oil reservoir, with characteristics from
Northeast Region of Brazil. Experiments were conducted using STARS software, a thermal
reservoir simulator by Computer Modelling Group, and the project total time was considered
20 years. Experiments were planned using Design of Experiments, and cumulative oil
production was analyzed for different values for the following operational parameters: steam
injection rate, air injection rate, distance between horizontal wells, distance of air injection well
and air injector well completion. Sensibility analysis indicated that all parameters were
statistically significant, being the distance between horizontal wells the most influent
parameter. Further results indicated that is better to inject pure oxygen, instead of air, leading
to higher oil recovery factors. The SAGDOX process reached lower oil recovery factors when
compared to traditional SAGD but showed that it can anticipate oil production.