Page 74 - Primer on Enhanced Oil Recovery

Thermal EOR
8

Abstract

Industrial oil extraction continues for more than century. As the result, majority of the
exploited for long time reservoirs contain mostly difficult to extract oil. We can say that
both types of oils heavy and viscous, are dominating. Low mobility of oil in porous
media significantly hardness effective extraction. At the same time, oil viscosity signifi-
cantly defined the temperature, when the viscosity is significantly reduced as temperature
rises. It is therefore economically fishable to rise temperature in the formation if initial oil
viscosity is in the region of above 100 cp.

Chapter Outline

8.1 Steam injection 66
8.1.1 Detailed description 66
8.1.2 Application criteria 68
8.1.3 Implementation methods 69
8.1.4 Implemented projects 73
8.2 In-situ combustion (ISC) 74
8.2.1 Detailed ISC description 74
8.2.2 Screening criteria 78
8.2.3 The implementation technology 80
8.3 Borehole design 82
8.4 Well products separation 82
8.5 Implemented ISC projects 83
Further reading 84

Industrial oil extraction continues for more than century. As the result, majority of
the exploited for long time reservoirs contain mostly difficult to extract oil. We can
say that both types of oils heavy and viscous, are dominating. Low mobility of
oil in porous media significantly hardness effective extraction. At the same time,
oil viscosity significantly defined the temperature, when the viscosity is signifi-
cantly reduced as temperature rises. It is therefore economically fishable to rise
temperature in the formation if initial oil viscosity is in the region of above 100 cp.
Processes of thermal extraction rely on transferring thermal energy from differ-
ent sources to rise the temperature in the formation. Higher temperature provides
for lower viscosity and more effective movement of oil to the production well. It is
Primer on Enhanced Oil Recovery. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817632-0.00008-6
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