Optimal Use of Solvents and Nanomaterials in Thermal Recovery of Heavy-Oil/Bitumen in Oilsands and Carbonates

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Only 15% of heavy-oil and bitumen reserves (estimated at 1.7 trillion barrels) in Alberta can be surface mined and extracted - leaving 85% of oil reserves almost untouched in Alberta. This untouched portion of the reserves requires in-situ recovery techniques and currently only 10% of them are recoverable using existing technologies. As the demand for oil continues to increase and oil prices rise, efficient development and recovery of unconventional heavy-oil and bitumen have become a priority for Canada and its oil industry. To date, however, the oil industry has been technologically unprepared to meet this high demand and produce viable options for heavy-oil and bitumen extraction. Many heavy-oil/bitumen techniques (CHOPS, SAGD, VAPEX) yield quick recovery leaving significant amounts of residual oil and asphaltene behind. This is not a desirable long-term solution for meeting oil needs, and often, subsequent methods like steam followed by miscible injection or cold production followed by steam injection cannot be applied due to the incompatibility of the fluids with previous injections. Therefore, new solutions including hybrid applications of these techniques and their optimal design to improve the efficiency of thermal or solvent techniques are essential. This project addresses the following issues and proposes a research program using advanced techniques like micro (pore) to giga (field) scale experimental and numerical modeling, and visualization studies: (1) Optimization of alternate injection of solvents (hydrocarbon and CO2) with steam, and (2) use of additives (metal powders) and auxiliary materials (polymer/surfactant colloids) to transport them during thermal applications (steam, air injection, and electrical or electromagnetic heating) to minimize the temperature and cost of the processes.