BY DR JUDE O.

AMAEFULE CHAIRMAN/CEO EMERALD ENERGY RESOURCES LIMITED

Presented at the Distinguished Lectures and Technical Meeting of the Lagos Nigeria Chapter of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE International On June 30, 2009 at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, lagos

 Business Case Definition of Low Gravity Viscous Oils Characteristics of Low Gravity Crudes Global Distribution of Heavy Oil Reservoirs Typical Niger Delta Fields with Low Gravity Viscous Oils Overview of Current Heavy Oil Developments Production Challenges Productivity Enhancement Strategies Technological Advances for Heavy Oil Developments Concluding Remarks

DEFINITION OF LOW GRAVITY VISCOUS OIL

CHARACTERISTICS PROPERTIES NATURE

Oil Classification by API Gravity

Published correlations were used, most of which rely on the oils API gravity as their basis. One (arbitrary) classification system for crude oil is by De Ghetto et al, (1994). 1) 2) 3) 4) Extra-heavy crude oil APIo < 10 Heavy crude oil 10 < APIo < 22.3 Medium crude oil 22.3 < APIo < 31.1 Light crude oil APIo > 31.1

Definitions
LOW GRAVITY VISCUOUS OILS ARE FLUIDS WITH CONSIDERABLY LOW API GRAVITY & CORRESPONDINGLY HIGH VISCOSITY. THEY ARE COMMONLY REFFERRED TO AS HEAVY OILS. VISCOUS OILS ARE HUGE PRODUCTION NIGHTMARES.

ITS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT WHAT WORKS FOR ONE HEAVY-OIL FIELD MAY NOT WORK AT ALL IN THE NEXT.

Characteristics of Low Gravity Oil Sands

SANDS ARE GENERALLY UNCEMENTED WITH HIGH POROSITY AND PERMEABILITY OILS RANGE IN GRAVITY FROM 8 TO 20 API VISCOSITIES RANGE FROM A FEW HUNDRED TO MORE THAN ONE MILLION CP RESERVOIRS ARE TYPICALLY SHALLOW, AT LOW PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE SOLUTION GAS CONTENT IS LOW

Global Distributions of Heavy Oil Resources

Like natural gas, heavy oil becomes what the industry calls a stranded resource when it is discovered far from infrastructure to transport and refine it.
UNITED STATES- CALIFORNIA & ALASKA CANADA-ALBERTA , WESTERN CANADA VENEZUELA-ORINOCO BASIN, MARACAIBO RUSSIA-VOLGA-URAL INDONESIA- DURI BRASIL

MEDITERRANEAN , OFFSHORE ITALY, TRINIDAD CHINA NORTH SEA (UK & NORWAY) MIDDLE EAST-IRAN & IRAQ, OMAN AFRICA (MADAGASCAR, NIGERIA)

WELL 45

WELL 10

WELL 28

4,000

4,000

5,000 C4.0 6,000 Degraded Oil D4.0 C4.0 D1.0

5,000 C4.0 6,000

Undegraded Oil D4.0 D9.0

D4.0
Water
E4.0

7,000

E2.0 Connate Water E4.0 E6.0

Meteoric E2.0

7,000
E2.0

8,000

8,000 E6.0 E8.0 F1.0 E8.0 9,000

9,000

F1.0
10,000

10,000 LEGEND
BIODEGRADED & VISCOUS ZONE UNDEGRADED ZONES

11,000

11,000

Cross section of Imo River Field showing faults and location of reservoirs(C4.0, D4.0, etc)
Reference: Relationship Among Oils and Water Composition in Niger Delta. By P.A. Dickey, G.O. George & C. Barker (AAPG: 1987))

GEOCHEMICAL FINGERPRINT OF OILS SHOWS VARYING DEGRESS OF BIODEGRADATION

OVERVIEW OF CURRENT HEAVY OIL DEVELOPMENTS

 COLD PRODUCTION (FOAMY OIL/SAND PRODUCTION) CYCLIC STEAM STIMULATION (CSS) WITH OIL TO STEAM RATIOS (2-3) Typically Called Huff & Puff STEAM FLOODING HORIZONTAL WELL STEAM FLOODING INSITU COMBUSTION STEAM ASSISTED GRAVITY DRAINAGE MULTI-LATERAL HORIZONTAL WELLS GAS INJECTION WAG (WATER ALTERING GAS) CHEMICALS SOLVENTS SURFACTANTS ALKALINE

Heavy oil can be produced in limited amounts by cold production, with typical recovery factors in the range of 5% to 8%. The most common way to produce heavy oil is to heat the reservoir, usually by injecting steam, which typically boosts recovery rates as well over 20%, and in some cases as high as 70%. Operators in California use steam -drives the way others might use water. Rows of up to 10 steam generators, each the size of a diesel locomotive, are a common sight. The trick with this and any thermal recovery process is to minimize the steam-oil ratio (SOR), since steam is the largest single expense. Even a small shift in the SOR can have a significant impact on a fields overall economics.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESERVOIRS SUITABLE FOR STEAMFLOOD RECOVERY

PARAMETERS DEPTH, FT NET PAY, FT DIP, DEG. POROSITY, % PERMEABILITY, md OIL GRAVITY, OAPI OIL VISCOSITY AT INSITU TEMPERATURE, cp OIL SATURATION @ START, % OOIP AT START, BBL/ACRE-FT STEAMFLOOD 160-5000 10-1,050 0-70 12-39 70-10,000 5-40 4-106 15-85 370-2,230

 HOT WATER FLOOD INCLUDING VISCOSITY REDUCTION & SWELLING GAS DRIVE STEAM DISTILLATION SOLVENT EXTRACTION EFFECTS

 LOW FLOW RATES RESULTING FROM HIGH VISCOSITY WATER BREAK- THROUGH (Adverse Mobility Ratio) PREMATURE GAS BREAK THROUGH SAND PRODUCTION LOW RECOVERY EFFICIENCIES (3-5% STOIIP)

 EMULSIONS (W/O & O/W) ARTIFICIAL LIFTING OF FORMATION HEAVY CRUDES FROM CRUDE OIL FOAMING HIGHLY DEVIATED WELLS ORGANIC SCALING ( ASPHALTENES & WAX) TREATING HEAVY PRECIPITATION AND ESP CRUDES WITHIN THE FOULING CONFINED SPACE OF STEAM DISTRIBUTION AN OFFSHORE SANDING PLATFORM WATER AND GAS CONING PIPELINE FINES MIGRATION TRANSPORTATION OF HYDRATE FORMATION THE CRUDE TO SHORE SWEET AND SOUR GAS THROUGH THE COLD CORROSION OCEAN ENVIRONMENT FORMATION DAMAGE SYSTEM STARTUPS OR RESTARTS AFTER A SHUTDOWN REF:SPE 16606

THESE INCLUDE: HORIZONTAL WELLS MULTILATERAL HORIZONTAL WELLS PROGRESSIVE CAVITY PUMPS FOR ARTIFICIAL LIFT FOAMY OIL/SAND PRODUCTION CYCLIC STEAM STIMULATION MULTIPHASE BOOSTER PUMPS

 Developed with Vertical wells Developed with H wells Require Larger Completion length through application of multi-lateral well(MLW) technology or very closely spaced H wells. Low PI of Viscous Reservoir means that wells may not flow under test without Artificial lift.

Ideally, the PIF for a non-damaged horizontal well varies from 3 to about 5 for well lengths in excess of 1000 feet. The benefits of an undamaged horizontal well include the significant reserves addition and the savings in operating expenses. However, Formation damage could decrease the PIF to about 1.5.

DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS
Target 10 KBOPD
p = 250 psi For Vertical Wells, the ff is required;

Koh/o > 50,000 md-ft/cp

For H wells

KO h/o> 5000 md-ft/cp PIHWELL/PIVERTICAL 10

ADVANTAGES OF HORIZONTAL WELLS IN PRIMARY HEAVY OIL PRODUCTION

LOWER UTC LONG (1000-1500 FEET) HORIZONTAL WELLS CAN BE DRILLED FOR 3 TO 4 TIMES THE COST OF A VERTICAL WELL BUT THE INCREASED EXPOSURE TO THE RESERVOIR CAN YIELD 10 TIMES THE PRODUCTION RATE, THEREBY REDUCING UTC ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY PRODUCE RESERVOIRS WITH BOTTOM WATER ENLARGED DRAINAGE VOLUME REDUCED IMPACT OF HETEROGENEITIES REDUCED PRESSURE DRAWDOWN LOWER ECONOMIC PRODUCTION RATE ALL CONTRIBUTE TO HIGHER ULTIMATE RECOVERY

 Hwell Completion Minimizes

Pressure Drawdown Maximizes Stand-off from O/W contact thereby achieving higher PI vs Vertical

High K makes the onset of water coning one of the key criteria in well design Sand Control measures required due to unconsolidated nature during completion Pre-packed screens for sand exclusion

CASE HISTORY: VENEZUELA Horizontal Wells in Melones Heavy Oil FD

Geology Sand bed dip Fault locations Horizontal well length (increased LD; increased with PI) Geological and reservoir analysis results have been applied in actual drilling programs to improve production performance

Design of horizontal wells:

Length of horizontal lateral Reservoir heterogeneity Sand thickness and structure Reservoir pressure Drainage area Crude viscosity

CASE HISTORY: VENEZUELA Horizontal Wells in Melones Heavy Oil FD

Le = LD - LS Le * h 95,000 ft2 PI = 9.4 STB/D/PSI PI (max) = 9.4 STB/D/PSI (Le * h 95000) Qh = 1700 STB/D (horizontal well) Qv = 200 STB/D (vertical well)

DRILLING WAS NOT A PROBLEM AS HOLE STABILITY AND SAND PRODUCTION WAS ABOUT 1 MILLIGRAM/LITER OF FLUID HORIZONTAL WELLS ARE COMPLETED WITH SLOTTED LINERS B/W 0.012 & 0.018 THIS ALLOWS THE USE OF ESP IN WELLS WITH PIS OF MORE THAN 3.0 STB/D/PSI

MULTILATERAL WELLS ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY OF VISCOUS OIL RESERVOIRS

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR A HEAVY OIL MULTILATERAL WELL

Simulation studies to: Investigate interaction B/W well branch inflow & completion pressure drops Well trajectory Completion diameter Positioning of artificial lift for heavy oil multilateral

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR A HEAVY OIL MULTILATERAL WELL

MULTILATERAL HORIZONTAL WELLS

Requirements:
Better reservoir description to both understand well performance and to improve well placement Type of liner How best to cleanup the well Multi-lateral wells add an additional level of complexity in that well branch interaction need to be taken into account : Branch inflow performance Completion performance between the sandface and well junction points

PROS & CONS OF MULTI-LATERAL HORIZONTAL WELLS IN PRIMARY HEAVY OIL PRODUCTION
PROS HIGHER PI INCREASED RESERVES PER WELL DUE TO INCREASED DRAINAGE VOLUME AND BETTER VERTICAL AND AREAL SWEEP DRAINING RELATIVELY THIN LAYERS DECREASED WATER & GAS CONING BETTER SWEEP EFFICIENCY EOR BY STEAM-ASSISTED GRAVITY DRAINAGE
CONS HIGHER INITIAL COSTS INCREASED SENSITIVITY TO HETEROGENEITIES AND ANISOTROPIES (STRESS & PERMEABILITY) SENSITIVITY TO POOR EEFECTIVE VERTICAL PERMEABILITY COMPLICATED DRILLING, COMPLETION AND PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES COMPLICATED AND EXPENSIVE STIMULATION SLOWER AND LESS EFFECTIVE CLEANUP CUMBERSOME WELLBORE MANAGEMENT DURING PRODUCTION DIFFICULT SELECTION OF APPROPRIATE CANDIDATES INTERFERENCE OF WELL BRANCHES CROSSFLOW & DIFFICULT PRODUCTION ALLOCATION DIFFICULTY OF DAMAGE REMOVAL

ARTIFICIAL LIFT OPTIONS

ELECTRICAL SUBMERSIBLE PUMPS (ESP) JET PUMPS ROD PUMPS GAS LIFT
REF: R. KIRVELIS and D.R.DAVIES, IChemE, 2003

PROS & CONS OF VARIOUS LIFT OPTIONS

LIFT OPTIONS ESP
MOST USED OFFSHORE CAPABLE OF LIFTING HIGH VOLUMES EASE OF INSTALLATION IN DIRECTIONALLY DRILLED HOLES NEW VARIABLE SPEED CONTROLLERS AND CABLE SUSPENDED PUMPS LIMIT DISADVANTAGES USED SUCCESSFULLY FOR DST OF HEAVY CRUDE ZONES IN EXPLORATORY WELLS USES WATER AS MOTIVE POWER FLUID SPACE REQUIREMENTS OFFSHORE ROD FLOATING CRUDE PLUGGING OVERLOADED PUMPING UNITS STICKING & SAND EROSION LACK OF PRODUCTION-RATE FLEXIBILITY HIGH FAILURE RATES NEED TO USE DRILLING OR WORKOVER UNITS TO REPLACE THE PUMP

PROS

CONS

JET PUMPS ROD PUMPING UNITS GAS LIFT

SUCCESSFULLY USED ON PLATFORM A IN THE HONDO FIELD OFFSHORE CALIFORNIA IN WELLS WITH API GRAVITY OF 17API

USED INFREQUENTLY FOR LIFTING HEAVY CRUDES DUE TO LOW GOR AND LACK OF AVAILABLE GAS

OTHER NEW PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

METHOD CHOPS: Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand SAGD: Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage PPT: Pressure -Pulse flow enhancement Technology VAPEX: Vapor Assisted Petroleum Extraction THAI: Toe-to -Heel Air Injection SUITABILITY Good for unconsolidated sandstones 5-20m zone thickness No mobile water, no water legs RF: 12-20 % Limited to thicker zones (>20m) Good for immobile heavy oils Combined processes of gravity segregation and shale thermal fracturing make SAGD very efficient with RF up to 50% Useful with other methods (Cold flow, CHOPS)

Best in >20API cases or as a SAGD adjunct

Applicable to all Heavy Oils

REF:M.B. DUSSEAULT, CIPC, PAPER 2001-061

CURRENT HEAVY OIL DEVELOPMENTS CONTD.

Like natural gas, heavy oil becomes what the industry calls a stranded resource when it is discovered far from the infrastructure to transport and refine it. Today for example, there is the capacity to produce at least 2 million barrels of heavy oil per day from the middle east, but there is no market for it. Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is growing in importance as thermal recovery method for heavy oil. Operators outside Canada have begun to investigate this process to obtain the highest possible recovery rates from heavy oil fields.

SAGD

Toe-Heel Air Injection(THAI) IN-SITU COMBUSTION PROCESS

MIXED-MODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES

 Using a solvent instead of steam to reduce heavy oil viscosity offers economical and environmental advantages and may be applicable to some reservoirs where SAGD is not applicable.

 Commonly, the heat is applied by hot fluids 2 utilizing steam injection or hot oil treatments. While these methods can be extremely effective in many applications, both are subject to certain limitations. Both steam and hot oil experience heat losses which lead to considerable lowering of the fluid temperature before it reaches the well bottom.

United States Patent 4330037

WATER FLOODING AS A RECOVERY TECHNIQUE FOR LOW GRAVITY OIL RESERVOIRS

Critical water and gas rates to be determined Adverse mobility ratio leads to early water breakthrough, thus poor sweep efficiency and recovery of a large portion of the reserves at high WC. Full Voidage Replacement, by injecting water into aquifer to be implemented right from the outset to maintain pressure and enhance the lift capability of the producing well.

Questions? Discussions? Comments?