Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Spe 2516 Pa
Spe 2516 Pa
Introduction
The widespread application of the steam-soak processl2 has made more essential an understanding of
the basic mechanism of the process. As presently
applied, it consists of injecting an arbitraxy quantity
of steam into a formation, stopping injection and
~:e~~g ~ the weld for ~ome soak time, and then
producing oil from the injection well. Recent reports
on field applications have been given by Bowman and
Gilbert,s Adams and Khan, and de Haan and van
Lookeren.5
Theones to describe the steam-soak process have
been presented by Boberg and Lantz~ Davidson et
al.7, Martin,s Seba and Perry,g and Kuo et af.10 None
of these theones has attempted to include the detailed
distribution of the steam or the oil viscosity distribution. The present method is applicable to depletiontype reservoirs and includes the specific interval of
steam penetration as well as the viscosity distribution
resulting from heating. The method assumes that during the injection phase oil is displaced from the steam
zone until some residual value of oil saturation is attained. During the production phase oil is allowed to
flow back across the outer radius of the steam zone.
The time to resaturate this zone is calculated. Heating
of oil in adjoining strata results in a greatly increased
flow of oil through the heated layers into the well during backflow. To estimate this effect, it is necessary to
use the viscosity-temperature curve for the particular
oil being considered. We hope that t.hk method will be
Theory
GeneralDescription
Our general description of the steam-soak process in
a depletion-type reservoir is as follows:
uyr
757
nllt
the heat loss (Appendix B). Later temperature distributions are obtained by temperature decay from the
nrnfik
jni~~a~~.
~...-, w~~h h~~~ flow by Conduction in the
vertical direction only (Appendix C).
6. Temperature in the steam zone is uniform with
both radial and vertical distances but declines with
time (Appendix C). The soak time constitutes an additional time increment in the temperature decay.
7. The reservoir pressure at the start of production is assumed uniform. The actual value used would
depend on previous reservoir history.
8. Effects of heat in produced fluids are neglected.
9. All effects of dip are neglected.
10. Oil flux for the crossflow case may be approximated by first calculating horizontal flow for a stratified model (no crossflow) and then multiplying this
value by a crossflow correction factor. This factor is
obtained by averaging results for an initial and a later
viscosity distribution (Appendix A). Oil produced by
crossflow appears immediately at the production well
and does not contribute to resaturation of the steam
zone.
Horizontal oil fluxes obtained in Assumption 10
,.L,...,.
..nl,-,.1,-,t~,-lf,w. +:rn~.~.,~.~rr~v~l,,~~ mf thr=
auu v c
~i~
bcubumbtiu
LU.
LUIm-LL.
WA a~u
. w-w.
. ..W
+M+w
(t, t,)
+...
(1)
where the various values pn correspond to temperatures at the various times t.after the start of production. The temperatures are calculated for time-average
steam-zone heat capacities (Append~ C). With this
procedure the results will be tiected by the number
and size of time steps used. However, for initial time
steps of 20 days the effect is not significant. At longer
STEAM
ZONE
nw
.-
BASE
00
VN
BASE
ROCK
INDICATE
(ARROWS
OIL FLOW DURING
DIRECTION
BACKFLOW
. --------
OF
)
. . . . . ....
mLL&HJ&A:
Fig.
ROCK
,nc#. *, m.,
fit\
H&ix
r)
Ni(t),
(2)
(4)
(3)
JLTNE.
Crossflow Model
To determine results with crossflow of oil into the
steam zone (Fig. 2), a simplified model has been set
up. In this model the crossflow is computed for a
time interval during which the viscosity distribution
in the heated oil-bearing zone is assumed to remain
~~~~fant, The model further assumes that all oil produced by crossflow appears immediately at the production well and does not contribute to resaturation
.c .5. .*. - vfime lf the laffe~ effect were permitted,
(IL u G WGaus -IA.. . . . . . -- .
and
total production
= production from oil-bearing layers
+ production from steam zone.
(6)
Results
Comparison with Field Data
Presented here is the application of this theory to two
wells, Wells A and B; which produce by depletion.
The reservoir properties (Table 1) chosen for these
759
Steam Zone
T%icicness
(ft)
10
50
100
5.;
3.1
2.0
1PROPERTIES
USED
zone with oil for example, 73.7 days for the case
of a 50-ft-thick steam zone in Well A. In our model
a thin steam zone produces less oil on backflow at
any given time, as its own contribution, but the adjoining oil-bearing layers produce more as a result of
greater crossflow. The crossflow factor increases with
the steam-zone radius for a given oil-zone thickness.
And also as the oil-zone thickness adjoining the steam
zone increases, the crossflow factor increases. It does
so at a constant steam-zone radius, up to a certain
value, and then decreases for larger values of oil-zone
thickness. For a given quantity of steam, the use of
a smaller steam-zone thickness results in both a larger
steam-zone radius and a greater oil-zone thickness.
At very small oil-zone thicknesses (about 20 ft) the
effect of crossflow tends to be reduced. This is a result
of a smaIler viscosity contrast across the oil-bearing
interval. The effect of crossflow is reduced also at
small values of steam-zone radius.
Additional results are shown on Figs, 5 and 6 for
Well B. The general agreement between calculated
and observed results for Well B is about the same as
that for Well A. Again, the 5U-ft steam zone gives a
good fit. In this example a reasonable fit to the data
was obtained by adjusting values of the steam-zone
thickness, h,. If tie v-alue of h, prevailing during steam
injection is known, this value should be used in the
computations. There is usually enough uncertainty in
values of permeability and compressibility to permit
some adjustment of these within reasonable limits for
a good fit of theory to the observations.
These calculations emphasize the need for reliable
information on permeabfiity, compressibility, and oil
viscosity at reservoir conditions. For example, use of
a lower oil viscosity at reservoir conditions in the
calculations would yield a higher production curve.
Effect of Location of Steam Zone
Plots of temperature profles for steam-zone thicknesses of 50 ft and zero ft are shown on Fig. 7. Fig. 8
shows, for a 100-ft steam zone, a plot of cumulative
oil production vs time for the individual layers away
from the steam zone, Well A, for a set of constants
slightly dtierent from those in Figs. 3 and 4. In this
IN CALCULATIONS
k. =
c =
T, =
3 darcies
0.0016 psi-
109.4 F
pi =
285 psig
r~=
0.1875 ft
r. = 379 ft
p, C, = 36.8 Btu/(cu ft F)
~, C, = 33.0 Btu/(cu ft F)
K = 25.1 Btu/(ft D F)
@J= 0.36
As. = 0.44
OIL VISCOSITY
Well A
A = 0.037003
B = 2,409.8
c = 100.195
Well B:
A = 0.036302
B = 2,398.0
C = 103.878
Fig. 3-Cumulative
oil produtilon (for crossflow model)
as a function of time, Well A.
140,
:1
//
o FIELO OATA
2:k
CALCULATE
~=3 darcies
c = 0.0016 pSi-l
+..,,. 737
100
Fig. Cumulative
oil production
300
400
500
TIME IN DAYS
(for stratified
model)
as a function
of time, Well A.
2,c-
-.
0
0
:-4
Fig. 5-Cumulative
as
$$,,,
C.
DA,.
LCULA7,
,.:,
dorcl.
Coooes-(
Fig. ~umulative
oil production (for stratified
as a function of time, Well B.
model)
761
JUNE, 1970
50C
500
INJECTION
STEAM
TEMPER
RE =464
PROFILE
STEAM
20
80
400
INJECTION
40C
SOAK
TIME
= 9
DAYS
NuMBERS
ON CURVES
~EFER
To -,. .r
,., ~:y~
llm L !H
AFTER
SOAK
PROFILE
STEAM
PERl OO
400
k 300 -
z
-k
= 464F
AFTER
INJECTION
NOTE:
u
m
2
k
<
u
w
&
z
u
STEAM
TEMPERATURE
ORIGINAL
a
>
m
*
FORMATION
TEMPERATURE=I09.4F
200 -
300
AFTER
INJECTION
NOTE
SOAK
20
=9
OAYS
ON CURVES
REFER
IN DAYS AFTER
SOAK
ORIGINAL
200
TIME
NUMBERS
TO TIME
PERIOD
TEMPER
FORMATION
ATu RE=I094F
20
80
!
,i
I00
~PROFILE
AFTER
100
STEAM
\ PROFILE
INJECTION
INJECTION
AFTER
STEAM
I
(0)STEAM
ZONE
o
olsTANCE
THICKNESS
FROM
=50
MI OPOINT
OF
FEET
I
80
I
100
STEAM
ZONE
I
60
I
40
I
20
Fig. 7Formation
(b)l
IN
FEET
NFINITELY
STEAM
distribution
ZONE
I
40
20
OISTANCE
temperature
THIN
01
o
FROM
60
MI OPOINT
80
OF
STEAM
100
ZONE
IN
FEET
for Well A.
8000
700C
STEAM
ZONE
THICKNESS
STEAM
ZONE
AT
TOP
OF
=100
DISTANCE
FEET
CENTER
FORMATION
LAYER
hO : 2 do fcies
c= OOO15
AS.
(IN
FEET)
OFT
OF OIL-eEARING
BELOW
OF STEAM
BOTTOM
ZONE
h
i
psi-
/
=044
3.65
I00(
/
I00
300
200
TIME
Fig. 8-Cumulative
oilproduction
(for stratified
IN
400
500
DAYS
model)
from individual
layers, Well A.
180,
I
160
t
.1/7
&..
STEAM
ZONE
FORMATION
THICKNESS
THICKNESS
* 50
* 173
~ **
FEET
JUNE, 1970
FEET
FROM
TOP
..@v
CHANGE
I 00
I
300
TIME
Fig.Cumulative
, 25
FEET
oilproduction
(for crossflow
IN
AT
63
OAYS
I
:00
OAYS
model) as a function
763
TABLE 2-COMPARISON
OF CALCULATED
RESULTS
0
\
409
\
INTERVAL
;OvJ::
Dimensionless
Production
Time,
tm
Time of
ViscosityProfile
After Steam
Inimtinn
.....
. ... .. (Dam)
,--, .,
WITH
St;i:d
crossflow
:--- N----
niff . .. .-a
e,.m,w
lnlU
ilrossfhw into
SteemZone
,,,
iiLWI1l
(percent)
ZoneOnly
104
om358
0.01s4
0.0177
3.8
105
0.0143
0.0583
0.0658
3.7
104
0.0141
0.0434
0.0430
0.9
105
0.0480
0.1145
0.1141
0.3
r.frW= 441.1
r~lh
= 0.001875
STEAM
I 20 -
ZONE
FORMATION
THICKNESS
THICKNESS
x 50
x 173
FEET
FEET
z
n
m
~
z
z
g
~
100
POSITION
80
~
u
>
~
-1
3
x
>
0
40
F~ssRERE
OF
STEAM
ZONE
L:?LROM
~ ,ill
= 186.5
OAYS
>
20
_\/~l
0
TIME
Fig. 10-Cumulative
oil production
(for stratified
IN
10
400
300
200
100
OAYS
model) as a function
I 40
FoRMATlo
THIcKNEss
= 175
FEET
120
=
n
.
Q
100
z
STEAM
;
:
ZONE
THICKNESS
/
IN
FEET
100
eo
-
z
g
50
THICK NES!
:
~
2
>
s
>
u
0
40
FSHEP:SSRE
-o(FL
20
y#y
,
I
0
o
I 00
300
200
TIME
Fig. n-Cumulative
764
oil production
IN
400
OAYS
thicknesses
of steam
Nomenclature
~: ~
Genera! cQIlclusions
A model has been developed that gives a good description of the steam-soak process in depletion-type
fields. It takes into account in an approximate manner
the effect of crossflow in reservoirs with isotropic permeability. The model may also be applied to stratified
reservoirs. For purposes of calculation it is essential
to know the thickness and vertical position of the
steam zone, as well as the reservoir permeabdity,
compressibility, and oil viscosity.
Important conclusions demonstrated by the model
are as follows:
1. For a steam zone of given size, location of the
zone somewhere near the middle of the formation
..
fin,, ~ the
enhances production of oua I.
Ue.-&
.- oil
--- is heated
both above and below the steam zone. Thk objective
should be more easily attainable in case of limited
vertical permeability.
2. When crossflow is important, confining steam
injection to a thin interval rather than allowing it to
enter the entire interval will give a larger production
response for a given quantity of steam injected, if the
steam remains in a thin zone.
3. When crossflow is not important, thick steam
zones are preferable to thin ones for instances of toplocated steam zones.
STRATIFIED
WELL
h =
,,
h, =
H, =
k=
ko =
K=
N(t) =
Ni(t) =
No(t) =
N,(t) =
P=
compressibility, psi- 1
crossflow factor for cumulative production
height of producing interval, exclusive of
steam zone, ft
steam zone thickness, ft
enthalpy of steam relative to the formation, Btu/lb
permeability, darcies
oil permeability, darcies
thermal conductivity of cap and base
rock, Btu/(ft D F)
total cumulative oil production at time
t, bbl
cumulative production per unit thickness
from the ith layer at time t, bbl
cumulative oil production at time t from
ownrc
- LJ
oii-bearm~
-.., b~]
cumulative production from steam-zone
layer at time t,bbl
pressure, psig
P(
Pf
Pw
MOfJEL
A
TIME,
OAYS
., -mm,. ,
Fig. 12Effect
of produced
heat on cumulative
oil produ&ion.
765
Subscripts
References
Qh.=a ~.
.1. .1.,..,
p,.o
p,~
Ap
Q
=
z
=
=
j~~~i, Vd ft
Q~il, = oilc:~me
Ir
T, =
T, =
Ti =
T,, =
~ =
~D =
x~D=
xsII =
z =
ZD=
a! =
y =
p =
Pi =
p. =
~,Cl =
p,C, =
p,i, =
T=
+
-..
3LGU11L
11
J-W..
V..
. . ...-7
1 = medium 1, hot
2 = medium 2, cold
B,: SeGQndary Recovery of Oil by Steam Injection in the United States, Proc., Third Symposium
in
Field,
15311s39.
4. Adams, R. H. and Khm,, A. M.: Cyclic Steam Injection Performance Analysls and Some Results of a Continuous Steam Displacement Pilot, J. Pet. Tech. (Jan.,
Eastern Venezuel~;, J. Pet.
1969) 95-100.
P. J.: Steam Zone Growth During MultipleLayer Steam Injection, Sot. Pet. Eng. J. (March,
1967) 1-10.
15. Carslaw, H. S. and Jaeger, J. C.: Conduction of Heat
2nd cd., Oxford at the Clarendon
Press
in Solids,
(1959) 60.
APPENDIX
AT
OF
Pl=TRO1
FIJJ&f
TFf7HNOI.OC,Y
onxD=(),oszDsl,t2D>
p,~
0>-
onzD=l,o<xDs%D,t2D
aPID
(A-4)
(A-5)
(A-6)
(A-7)
(A-8)
(A-9)
>0>
(J
azo
onzD=(),()sxDgx8D>r2D
ah
>05
az.
onzD=oj
x$D<xD~xeD,
t2D
>O>.
p(z).
@2D
onzD
(A-1)
.,
azD
=
1,x*D
onxD=xeD,
PID
<XD
xeD,t~D > ~ .
o<zD<l,
=
t2D>
?kD
onxD=x8D,o<zD~l,t2D
>01
(A-n)
o
pm
on dl
,-,r.a,
,,,
~-2xD apl.
~ r,O-
ax,,
&,,
,
___
~(:),p,j,
aih
1
azD
Pi
(A-2)
ax~
r,.
a2p2D
.. _
t?z,;
?P21)
at,,,
(A-3)
ZONE
XD,
zD;
t2D
0.
. . . (A-12)
BOUNOARY
c-
STEAM
ZONE
BOUNDARY
o~
I
I h):
PRODUCING
INTERVAL
#
v-
:+
(2)
Fig, 13Model
with crossflow.
2D
~:pi
~D
I
1
;$
I
P,o: 1
k
Fig. 14-Model
dptD ~ dpzob
11_
,.
I P(ZO)d,D Hi d,~
IA
1
without crossflow.
767
(A-18)
:D=~
lo
rWz
.
onxD=xeD,
JJ
X.D
PD(XDY
zD)e2Ddx~zD
PID
onxD
..
o<zD<l>f2D>
=
P2D
X8D,
()
<
P2D
ZD
<
l,t2D>0t
A-lg)
(A-13)
PID
On~lxD,
zD;
tD=O
(A-20)
q~mrficmlv
----- -, one space dimension appears in Eqs.
A-14 and A-15, the Crank-Nlcolson implicit
pro~a~eo~n~e~=
cedure
W=
used
h
the
soiuUOIi
Of
thk
Model Without Crossflow
tially the same computational scheme at each time
For the case of the model without flow in the vertical
step was employed as for the crossflow model. Eq.
direction, the partial diflerentid equation for Region
A-14 was first solved for a given horizonti plane
1 is
with the first and second boundary conditions. Then
~zp:=
_
u aD,n
[A-1A)
--- -.for each plane with the third
\n-.-r, Eq. A-15 was solved
L-.
.
.
.
.
e-2~D
ax~ pi at2D
and fourth boundary conditions: Finally, Eq. A-13
was solved by numerical integration. The Crossflow
and the equation for Region 2 is
factors calculated in this manner are plotted on Figs.
15 through 17.
e.,zD
32P2D
_
@D
(A-15)
..
.
.
.
.
&
8x*
APPENDIX B
The boundary conditions applicable to this case are
Initial Tempemtire Distribution
pA~= 1
After termination of steam injection, the initial temperature distribution in the medhm adjoining the
steam zone depends upon radkl position. In order
to simplify calculations, we used a dktribution function that represents the same total amount of heat
loss from the steam zone and yet is independent of
radkd position. Such a function may be obtained in
the following mannec
If tilection heat equals 2,000 pSi8HStinj, then totid
heat lo~s ~Uds
(A-16)
onxD=o,o<zD<l?f2D>
1
0?
@lD
.1
@2D
pi
ihD
\
i
IL(ZD)
onxD
8P2D
axD
1, 2D > Y
A-17)
ihD
)2
~,
11
Q = 2000f%i8H,ti.j iTr,2&&(~8
08L
LAYER
,.,c..~=
IN
,00
. . . . . . . . ..-
200
~ET
r, = 12.616
,./,.
.
202
I 3
,s/,
. 441
..
p8i,H,h,plClv(7)
[ (T. 7i) Kp2c2
(B-2)
where
20
\\
~i)
(B-1)
,\
),
,,,
,..
\t\
:5
1.
o,,.
L,,
E.
T(c NNESS
.----
W,w
z+
IN FEET
!00
.------200
. 202
I 3
<
*,/, W . 2060
%
.
:3
.
s
r,
:2
---- -_tyJJ
---------
g
.
__ -
-------
1.0
-----------
----
~
:,
1-
-l
t
I
1!11!1
0,02
Fig.
..
I , I , II
S,ON LESS
TIME
I,,.
! , I
,o~
,04
.,,
N5-Curnulative
,0,
1,1!11
O,oz
1 111111
II
IILI
w
IO*
lo~
D,.
C.5,01+
LESS
TIME
19,,
Fig. 16-Cumulative
JOURNI+L
OF PETROLEUM
TECHNOLOGY
V(T)=
eefic V~-
where the temperature was assumed to have the onedimensional error function distribution.
1+2
(B-3)
From these equations it is found that
and
7 =y~inj,
...
irc .
,
4cr2
(B4)
with
(B-1O)
where
4K&,
y = ~,z (Plc,)z
(B-5)
= erfc
APPENDIX
z=lx\h*/2
and
B-9)
T,(z) = Ti + (T. Ti) erfc &
4rrr----
(B-n)
1X1
(B-12)
hs/2
c&
After steam injection ceases, the temperature distribution may be represented, for purposes of computation,
by the result of Appendix B. Then> during he ~~1
period and later, the temperature dlstrlbutlon
change with time as heat leaks away from the system.
To represent this changing temperature distribution, the following assumptions are made:
1. Temperature within the resaturating steam zone
remains uniform across the height of the zone but
declines with time.
2. Heat loss occurs in the vertical direction only.
These conditions may be restated as follows:
(B-8)
(B-7)
where
Let
h, = steam-zone
T,
thickness,
steam-zone temperature.
If
Iz=t+
td,
32T,
1.?L
axz
~m
()<lx\<*@,
. . . . .
;
~,
:
(c-1)
tT>o;
.
(c-2)
then
~,,,,l,i,,
,,,,,,
,,
T,
()
h,
= T,(t,),
~,tT
O~!x+~t
. .
. . . .
h,?JT, =_K
plcl -=j-~
,,,
,;
(0
Fig. 17-Cumulative
m~o,McN~,
oNLE,,
,,ME
,0
,(20)0
()
T>O
(c-3)
. . .
.
~
&y ICI=+
(c-4)
;(t)_T~{
= @(f+ d) erfc
+ td)
~y(t
;$::,~,(z,+$)e-+(t+td)
+ +1
erfc
2~a,
t(i) dz ,
Vy(t
(t + td)
.
(c-5)
As with the calculations in Appendix B, it is assumed that the thermal properties of the oil-bearing
layers adjacent to the steam zone and of the cap and
base rock are equal.
Since the value of the heat capacity P,CI of the
depleted (but resaturating) zone is changing because
of resaturation with oil, a time average value of plC1
has been used in Eqs. C-5, C-5a, and C-6 above. This
value was computed for each time tas follows.
Before fillup of steam zone,
where
tfill
(plcl)av
4Kp2c,
y = h,z(plcl) o .
t)
Ti
2v.a;t+
(2-2)2
[e
4a2(t+$.i)
2~a*(t
pc
,J(z+
o
dz,
td)
f(z
2+2
[ 2~~,(t + td)
.
plc,. . (C-8)
(plcl)w
P~C~(t
tfi]])
tfill
(plcl)
.
1
(c-9)
e-+l(~+td)
1
+
pLhs
+)
z
[
(2+2)2
4a*(t+f,j)
erfc
tfill
T, T,
P2C2
(C-5a)
~y(t
td)
~)
xc,
~y(t+td)
+~y(t
+1
td)
(c-lo)
dz ,
where
(C-6)
(C-11)
t)
Ti
T, T,
2~7raz(t
co
(z_z,
td)
Original
manuscript
received in Society of Petroleum
Engineers
office June 30, 1969. Revieed
manuscript
received
Feb. 9, 1970.
Paper (SPE 2516) was presented
at SPE 44th Annual Fall Meeting,
held in Denver,
Colo., Sept.
28-Ott.
L 1969. 0 copyright
1970
American
Intiitute
of Mining,
Metallurgical,
and
petroleum
EnInc.
gineers,
(7+*,)2
)2
_
j(z)
4a2(+
d+
e-
4a2(+
d) dz
1
o
.:.
(c-7)
be
printed
JOURNAL
in
Transactions
OF PETROLEUM
volume
249,
which
TECHNOLOGY