Flow Hydraulics in Wells with Inflow and Outflow Control Devices by using Computational Fluid Dynamics

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In oil sands recovery processes, high pressure, high temperature steam is injected into the reservoir to mobilize bitumen. Bitumen, at original reservoir conditions, has viscosity typically in the hundreds of thousands to millions of cP whereas at steam temperature, the viscosity of the oil drops to less than 10 cP enabling its drainage under gravity to the production well. The critical feature of the processes is that if steam does not contact the oil and transfer its heat to it, the oil viscosity remains high and it is not produced from the reservoir. Thus, steam conformance within the reservoir is essential to the performance of the recovery process. The poorer the steam conformance, the worst the steam-to-oil ratio (this measures the cost-to-revenue ratio). Nearly all field operations are having steam conformance challenges where steam is not uniformly injected along the Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) well pairs. One method that has shown substantial promise at achieving more uniform steam conformance is the use of flow control devices. These devices essentially restrict flow into or from the reservoir yielding a more uniform pressure within the well. Outflow control devices do so by promoting more uniform injection of steam along steam injectors and more uniform production of fluids from the reservoir along producers. Thus, these devices promote more uniform steam conformance along the well pair yielding improved steam-to-oil ratios and consequently economic and emission intensities. The proposed project, a new partnership between the Gates Research Group and Ansys Canada Ltd., will research and develop new improved designs for flow control devices for oil sands applications.