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

艾伯塔省只有15%的重油和沥青储量(估计为1.7万亿桶)可以在地面开采和开采--艾伯塔省85%的石油储量几乎没有受到影响。这部分未开采的储量需要原地开采技术，目前只有10%的储量可以使用现有技术开采。随着石油需求的不断增加和油价的上涨，高效开发和回收非常规重油和沥青已成为加拿大及其石油行业的优先事项。然而，到目前为止，石油行业在技术上还没有做好准备，无法满足这种高需求，并生产出可行的重油和沥青开采方案。 许多重油/沥青技术(CHOP、SAGD、VAPEX)能够快速回收，留下了大量的残油和沥青质。这不是满足石油需求的可取的长期解决方案，而且由于流体与以前的注入不相容，因此通常不能采用后续方法，如蒸汽后混相注入或冷采后蒸汽注入。因此，新的解决方案，包括这些技术的混合应用及其优化设计，以提高热或溶剂技术的效率是必不可少的。 该项目针对以下问题并提出一个研究计划，该计划使用微(孔)到千兆(场)尺度的实验和数值模拟以及可视化研究等先进技术：(1)优化溶剂(碳氢化合物和二氧化碳)与蒸汽的交替注入，以及(2)使用添加剂(金属粉末)和辅助材料(聚合物/表面活性剂胶体)在热应用(蒸汽、空气注入以及电或电磁加热)期间传输它们，以最大限度地降低工艺温度和成本。

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.