Cyclic Steam Stimulation

Overview
• Most Widely used in steam injection method
for heavy oil recovery.
• Relatively easy, low initial investment, and
quick return.
• Ultimate oil recovery is less than steam drive.
• Cyclic + Steam Drive would be an advantage.
• First applied in venezuela (1957) California
(1960)
 Mechanism
• Initially, well producing at a very low rate ( 5 – 10 bbl/d) or even
zero bbl/d.
• Steam is injected into the well at a high rate in order to minimize
heat losses for several weeks.
• The injected steam heats the rock & fluid around the wellbore. It
fingers into the formation due t gravity segregation.
• After injecting the volume of steam, the well may be shut in for a
week(soak period).  achieved for distribution of the heat.
• During the steam injection and soak period, original oil viscosity
is lowered by many fold, perhaps to a few cp in the steam zone.
 Mechanism (Cont’d)
• Just before the well produce, steam heated sand contains highly oil mobilized oil,
steam, and water.
• If the reservoir is high enough, oil will be produced at a rate much higher than the
original rate.  Increasing oil mobility.
• If formation is thick, horizontal barrier, hot oil will flow into wellbore by gravity.
• Oil flow from the surrounding cold formation.
• Such solution gas drive would be effective only in first cycle, second cycle, the gas
have been depleted.
• High pressure water will suddenly flashing into steam (small role).
• Compaction Occurs (Land Subsidence)
• Imbibition of hot water into low permeability strata  flow of oil into permeable
strata.
• Well produce  cooling down  rate decline
• At the point (Economic Limit), a whole cycle is repeated as many as cylew may be
profitable.
Mechanism (Cont’d)
 Mechanism (Cont’d)
• Fluid flow direction alternates during cycle  conductive heat flow
continues outward from steam zone to virgin sand  cold oil in the
unaffected steam reservoir grdually heated  oil is mobilized
increasing the oil production in the latter cycle.
• not significant, but decline cycle to cycle  oil produced from the
heated volume and oil replaced by water.
• Recovery depends well spacing.
• For evaluation : steam – oil ratio (stb water equivalent / stb oil
recovered)
• 1 bbl oil can evaporate 15 bbl water if burned in 100% heat efficiency.
• Upper limit steam oil ratio is15
• Project is viable  lower than 15
 Reservoir Selection (Problem)
• Reservoir Geology (Shale Barrier,
Stratification)
• Drive Energy
• Reservoir Characteristic (pressure, gas
saturation)
Reservoir Selection