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FOAMY OIL FLOW IN HEAVY OIL PRODUTION

BRIJ MAINI

this article begins on the next page F

Foamy Oil Flow in Heavy Oil Production with the oil) can be a complex function of the pressure; time; pressure B. Maini . degree sure gradient; and the rate of change of pressure. from the Indian Institute of The flow behaviour of such gas-in-oil dispersions is very Technology, India,
and a Ph.D. in complex In many ways these dispersions are analogous to emulsions. chemical engineering, from the Like emulsions, they are thermodynamically unstable and given University of Washington. He currendy sufficient time the phases will separate absence of re-dispersing holds the titles of
Senior Staff Researcil forces The size distribution of the dispersed bubbles is established Engineer and Group Leader of the by a dynamic equilibrium between coalescence and Heavy Oil Group at the Petroleum breakup. The dispersed bubbles can become trapped at pore Recovery Institute. His current research throats much like emulsion droplets. However, there are some
interests include measurements of two- noteworthy differences. Compared to emulsion droplets, the gas and three-phase relative permeability in bubbles are more compressible and they are more soluble in the heavy oil systems, permeability damage mechanisms in steam continuous phase. Apparently these and other differences are injection processes, rheology of heavy oils and their emulsions
more important in controlling the flow behaviour than the similarities and flow of emulsions in porous-media. He is a registered between emulsions and bubbly dispersions. The rheological professional engineer in Alberta and is a member of The behaviour of such dispersions in porous media does not appear to Petroleum Society, A.I.Ch.E. and SPE. follow any known emulsion theory. For example, it has been
suggested in the literature that the apparent viscosity of gas-in-heavy The term "foamy oil" is often used to describe certain heavy oil dispersions may be lower than the viscosity of same heavy oil oils produced by solution gas drive which display obvious foaminess containing dissolved gas(7). Emulsion viscosity is never expected in wellhead samples. The primary production of heavy oil to be lower than the continuous phase viscosity. The suggested
from several reservoirs in western Canada is in the form of an oil reasons for reduced viscosity include partial de-asphalting of the continuous foam. This foam resembles chocolate mousse in oil strong viscous coupling in two phase flow and gas/liquid appearance and often persists in open vessels for several hours. slug flow in capillary channels Some of these reservoirs exhibit anomalously high production, in Most of the current understanding of foamy oil flow
comes terms of both the production rate and the primary recovery factor. from field observations and from attempts to explain the observed Smith appears to be the first to publish a detailed analysis of primary production behaviour. Laboratory investigations have such unusual production behaviour. He attributed the anomalous provided only limited verification of the phenomenon Foam stability production behaviour to the flow characteristics of heavy oil
measurements in the laboratory have shown that the foaminess containing a large volume fraction of very small gas bubbles. Since of crude heavy oils is comparable to aqueous foams used for then, the flow behaviour of such gas-oil dispersions has become a steam flooding applications Very high recovery factors have subject of several investigations and considerable speculation, been observed in laboratory scale primary depletion tests These but it remains
controversial and poorly understood. However, it is now accepted that solution gas drive in foamy oil reservoirs involves some unusual effects. _ Foamy Solution Gas Drive
Table I compares the characteristics of foamy solution gas drive with those of conventional solution gas drive. Solution gas drive in foamy oil reservoirs is relatively more complex. Here the gas released from oil due to decline in the pressure tends to remain dispersed in oil in the form of very small bubbles. The dispersed gas eventually separates from the oil to form a free gas
phase, but this separation takes a long time to occur. Thus at any given time the gas can exist in three forms: 1) dissolved gas, which is thermodynamically a part of the liquid phase; 2) dispersed gas, which is thermodynamically a separate phase but Volume of Oil Produced hydrodynamically a part of the liquid phase; and free gas, a part of which becomes trapped while the remaining part flows independently
gas dispersed
_ _ _ ~j(~V_ _ 9b_-Ob-OJ

Foamy Oil Flow in

Heavy Oil Production

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~----~-r~-'0~~~b~~~~~-SB-I~~~~t~~;~'
II ,. Technology, India, and a Ph.D. in :
chemical engineering from the,
. ~ University of Washington. He currently
II holds the titles of Senior Staff Research
Engineer and Group Leader of the
Heavy Oil Group at the Petroleum
I Recovery Institute. His current research
interests include measurements of two-
and three-phase relative permeability in
I heavy oil systems, permeability damage mechanisms in steam :
I continuous phase. Apparently these and other differences are
injection processe~, rhe.ology of hea~ oils ~d thei~ emulsions :
I
I and flow of emulsIons ill porous medIa. He IS a registered pro- :
fessional engineer in Alberta and is a member of The I
I
LI
Petroleum Society, A.I.Ch.E. and SPE.
.. • . . __ . . __ .
The term "foamy oil" is often used to describe certain heavy
oils produced by solution gas drive which display obvious foami-
ness in wellhead samples. The primary production of heavy oil
from several reservoirs in western Canada is in the form of an oil
continuous foam. This foam resembles chocolate mousse in
appearance and often persists in open vessels for several hours.
Some of tlIese reservoirs exhibit anomalously high production, in
terms of both the production rate and the primary recovery factor.
Smith(ll appears to be the first to publish a detailed analysis of
such unusual production behaviour. He attributed the anomalous
production behaviour to tlIe flow characteristics of heavy oil con-
taining a large volume fraction of very small gas bubbles. Since
then, the flow behaviour of such gas-oil dispersions has become a
subject of several investigations(2-9l and considerable speculation,
but it remains controversial and poorly understood. However, it is
now accepted that solution gas drive in foamy oil reservoirs
involves some unusual effects.
Foamy Solution Gas Drive
Table I compares the characteristics of foamy solution gas
drive witlI tlIose of conventional solution gas drive. Solution gas
drive in foamy oil reservoirs is relatively more complex. Here tlIe
gas released from oil due to decline in the pressure tends to
remain dispersed in oil in the form of very small bubbles. The dis-
witlI the oil) can be a complex function of tlIe pressure; time; pres-
sure gradient; and the rate of change of pressure.
The flow behaviour of such gas-in-oil dispersions is very com-
plex. In many ways tlIese dispersions are analogous to emulsions.
Like emulsions, they are tlIermodynamically unstable and given
sufficient time the phases will separate (in absence of re-dispers-
ing forces). The size distribution of the dispersed bubbles is estab-
lished by a dynamic equilibrium between coalescence and
breakup. The dispersed bubbles can become trapped at pore
I
throats much like emulsion droplets. However, there are some
noteworthy differences. Compared to emulsion droplets, tlIe gas
bubbles are more compressible and they are more soluble in the
more important in controlling the flow behaviour tlIan tlIe similar-
ities between emulsions and bubbly dispersions. The rheological
behaviour of such dispersions in porous media does not appear to
1
follow any known emulsion theory. For example, it has been sug-
gested in tlIe literature tlIat tlIe apparent viscosity of gas-in-heavy
oil dispersions may be lower than the viscosity of same heavy oil
containing dissolved gas(7). Emulsion viscosity is never expected
to be lower than the continuous phase viscosity. The suggested
reasons for reduced viscosity include partial de-asphalting of tlIe
oil(7), strong viscous coupling in two phase flow and gas/liquid
slug flow in capillary channels(l).
Most of the current understanding of foamy oil flow comes
from field observations and from attempts to explain tlIe observed
primary production behaviour. Laboratory investigations have
provided only limited verification of the phenomenon. Foam sta-
bility measurements in tlIe laboratory have shown tlIat tlIe foami-
ness of crude heavy oils is comparable to aqueous foams used for
steam flooding applications(8). Very high recovery factors have
been observed in laboratory scale primary depletion tests(9l. These
350 r-:-i.r--------;:::===::::l
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.:'..
300 :;.
: 22O':~~~,.,D
oI:l:: 250
:,
: . 8Day>i:i<pIetiOn
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.,:,:' ..
.~ 200 :,
..!!! 150 II
;:I :e
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persed gas eventually separates from the oil to form a free gas
..... -- ....---.
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phase, but this separation takes a long time to occur. Thus at any 50 ~
t:.::::.:c-:- . ' -
given time the gas can exist in three forms: 1) dissolved gas, or-r:' - - - - - - ,
which is thermodynamically a part of the liquid phase; 2) dis- o 50 100 150 200 250 300
persed gas, which is thermodynamically a separate phase but Volume of Oil Produced
hydrodynamically a part of tlIe liquid phase; and free gas, a part of
which becomes trapped while the remaining part flows indepen-
dently. The amount of gas which remains dispersed (and flows FIGURE 1: Effect of depletion rate on GORJ9)

June 1996, Volume 35, No.6 21


:'fASLE-1: Comparison oHoamy sofLitlon gas'driVewith conventionaTsolutTon gas drive.----·-~~--
-_---:._-----=--------==:.--_----------==:.--------1
:Characteristics Conventional Solution Gas Drive
•Primary recovery factors for heavy oils. 1 to 5%
Gas/Oil ratio Increases rapidly below bubble point pressure
;Effect of drawdown pressure on recovery. More or less insensitive
:Critical gas saturation 1 to 5%
Gas flows as Free gas phase when
8 g > 8 gc
.Gas/Oil relative permeability curves Normal shapes and independent of
pressure gradients.
laboratory tests have shown that the foamy solution gas drive,
which leads to high recovery factors, occurs only when the deple-
tion rate or the drawdown pressure exceeds a threshold value. In
slow controlled depletions the drive mechanism does not appear
to be any different from the conventional solution gas drive.
Figure 1 compares the cumulative GaR observed in laboratory
depletion tests carried out at four different rates of pressure
decline. The slow depletions result in very high GOR and very
low recovery while in the fast depletions the recovery is high and
GOR remains low(9).
The field observations show that GOR remains low in foamy
oil reservoirs. This would suggest that the solution gas drive
mechanism in the field is similar to that observed in the fast deple-
tion tests in the laboratory. The problem is that the depletion rates
needed to induce the foamy solution gas drive in laboratory exper-
iments are much faster than the field rates. Direct extrapolation of
the laboratory tests to the field would suggest that foamy solution
gas drive should not occur in the field. It is apparent that some
additional factors, which remain to be discovered, are involved in
making the foamy solution gas drive possible at field rates of
decline. One possible mechanism is the synergistic influence of
sand influx into the production wells. Allowing I - 3% sand to
enter the well bore with the fluids can result in propagation of a
front of sharp pressure gradients away from the weIlbore(IO).
These sharp pressure gradients occur at the advancing edge of the
dilated zone and may be a key factor in making the foamy solu-
tion gas drive possible in the field. It is not known how far from
the wellbore can the dilated zone propagate. However, it is likely
that the effectiveness of this mechanism will diminish as the front
moves further away from the wellbore.
Business Implications of Foamy Solution
Gas Drive
The importance of foamy oil flow behaviour is now recognized
by many heavy oil producers. It has serious implications on how
such reservoirs should be developed and operated. The optimum
well spacing for foamy solution gas drive may be much smaller
than that needed for conventional solution gas drive. The draw-
down pressure for maintaining the optimum performance may
also be different. The laboratory tests suggest that drive energy is
wasted in slow depletions which do not induce foamy drive. Such
slow depletions result in very high GOR. These tests also suggest
that once the high GOR flow has been established it may not be
possible to establish the foamy solution gas drive by increasing
the depletion rate. Therefore, it would be advisable to develop
foamy oil reservoirs at a smaller well spacing and to apply maxi-
mum drawdown pressure at the onset of production and maintain
it thereafter.
Development plans for primary production in a new heavy oil
reservoir can be optimized only on the basis of reservoir simula-
tion studies. Unfortunately, numerical simulation of cold produc-
22
,<l
Foamy solution gas drive :
5 to 25%
Remains low
Recovery increases with increased
drawdown.
Apparently as high as 25%
(1) As small bubbles dispersed
in oil
(2) As free gas.
Abnormal shapes and may change
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with pressure gradients.
tion is still at a primitive stage of development. What is needed is
a numerical model which can predict amounts of oil, gas, water
and sand entering the production wells on the basis of the actual
physics of the process. The models currently available are at best
very simplistic empirical models which account for only some of
the mechanisms involved in the process.
Numerical Simulation Models
I
Numerical simulation of primary depletion in foamy oil reser-
voirs is still based primarily on empirical adjustments to the con-
ventional solution gas drive models. The reservoir performance is
history matched using existing simulators, by adjusting the reser-
voir parameters to account for the contributions of foamy oil flow
to oil recovery. The key parameters to be adjusted are critical gas
saturation, oiVgas relative permeability, fluid and/or rock com-
pressibility, pressure dependent oil viscosity and absolute
permeability(2).
Obviously, these simulation models can not be expected to cap-
ture many important features of foamy oil flow, especially the
contribution of non-equilibrium processes. Obtaining a reasonable
history match with such models often requires using unrealistic
parameters; i.e. the underlying physics of such models is suspect.
Therefore it may be possible to get a reasonable history match, but
the predictions from these models can not be trusted.
Pseudo-Bubblepoint Model
Kraus et al.(3) developed a "pseudo bubble point" model for pri-
mary depletion in foamy oil reservoirs. They reported a methodol-
ogy that could be used to calculate the foamy oil fluid properties
from conventional laboratory PVT data. The modified properties
can then be used in a standard simulator to model the performance
of a foamy oil reservoir. In their model, the pseudo bubble point
pressure is an adjustable parameter in the fluid property.descrip-
tion. All of the released solution gas remains entrained in the oil
phase until the reservoir pressure drops to the pseudo bubble point
pressure. Below this pseudo bubble point pressure, only a fraction
of the released gas (a) remains entrained; and a decreases linearly
to zero with declining pressures. The entrained gas is treated as a
part of the oleic phase but its molar volume and compressibility
are evaluated with those of the free gas. K values from the con-
ventional PVT data are modified according to the pseudo bubble
point. Via an example of primary depletion in a volumetric reser-
voir, it was shown that when foamy oil fluid properties are used in
a reservoir simulator the predicted results can show three anom-
alous production characteristics observed for foamy oil reservoirs,
viz. (1) high oil recovery, (2) low producing GOR, (3) natural
pressure maintenance. •
The pseudo bubble point model simulates some of the key fea-
tures of foamy oil flow. It provides a mechanism to account for
the high apparent compressibility of the flowing fluid, and pro-
The Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology
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