Study of additives in oil sands recovery processes

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process has proven to be the most promising technology for the commercial in-situ recovery of heavy oil and bitumen in Alberta, Canada. In thick reservoirs, the SAGD process can recover over 50% of the original oil in place (OOIP), with a steam-oil ratio (SOR) of 2.5 to 4.0. But for thin reservoirs that are less than 15 m, partially depleted and have low oil saturation, the SOR can be much higher. The higher the SOR, the more costly the recovery. SAGD is capital intensive, is water (steam) dependent, and is not sustainable at the current low oil prices. The governments of Alberta and Canada have a mandate to lead the world in greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and be a world supplier of energy from our oil and gas holdings. To meet these competing demands, the petroleum industry is seeking to understand reservoir dynamics with the intention to tackle challenges associated with oil and gas production while reducing costs. This project seeks to use solvent additives to the SAGD process to reduce the water used, decrease the GHG emissions and decrease production costs while creating a viable prospect to apply steam and solvents in the field.