Scribd
Upload
27 views

Fig. 1: Cyclic Steam Stimulation. Topo: Steam: Injection. Bottom: Production. (Source: G. Zerkalov)

Uploaded by

Anonymous QM0NLqZO
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
27 views

Fig. 1: Cyclic Steam Stimulation. Topo: Steam: Injection. Bottom: Production. (Source: G. Zerkalov)

Uploaded by

Anonymous QM0NLqZO
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Introduction

The world relies heavily on oil for


primary energy. In 2014, the global
demand for oil increased by 0.8% to reach
101 million b/d. [1] With constantly rising
demand for oil, the question is posed, how
will oil producers meet the demand? Oil
production is separated into three phases:
primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary
recovery involves extracting hydrocarbons
that naturally rise to the surface. During
the second phase water and gas are
injected into the well to push oil to the
surface. [2] After the first two phases
there can be still 60-80% of oil left in the
well. [3] The implementation of enhanced
oil recovery (EOR), during the tertiary
phase, can help extract up to 30% of
original oil in place (OOIP). EOR
involves injecting materials that are not
normally present in the reservoir to
increase production.

Thermal EOR and Steam


Injection
During the thermal recovery the reservoir
is heated to reduce oil viscosity. Thermal
EOR is the most popular method Fig. 1: Cyclic steam stimulation. Topo: Steam
accounting for more than 50% of the injection. Bottom: Production. (Source: G.
overall EOR market. Steam injection is Zerkalov)
the most common method used in thermal
EOR. Other methods include in-situ combustion, where the reservoir is heated and an
injected high-oxygen gas mixture burns to create a combustion front. [4] Steam
injection is mostly used in shallow reservoirs that contain high viscosity (usually
heavy) crude oil. These include reservoirs in the San Joaquin Valley of California or
those that comprise the oil sands of Alberta, Canada. Steam injection is a very well
understood EOR method, used commercially since the 1960s. The injection of steam
lets heat the crude oil in the formation thus lowering its viscosity and vaporizing some
of the oil to increase its mobility. [4] The decreased viscosity helps reduce the surface
tension, increase the permeability of oil and improve the reservoir seepage conditions.
Oil vaporization allows oil to flow more freely through the reservoir and to form
better oil once it has condensed.

Steam injection EOR contains two distinct categories: cyclic steam stimulation and
steam flooding. In cyclic steam stimulation the same well is used for steam injection
and oil production. At first, steam is injected for a period from couple of weeks to a
couple of months. The introduced steam allows to heat up the oil immediately
surrounding the injection well through convective heating thus lowering its viscosity
(Fig. 1).

After the target viscosity is reached, steam injection stops to allow heat to redistribute
evenly in the formation. This helps maximize the amount of oil recovered after this
stage. The well can then be produced until the temperature in the well drops and the
viscosity of oil increases again (Fig. 1). After that, a new cycle of steam injection
starts to heat up the reservoir. [5]

In steam flooding, injection and


production wells differ from each other.
Steam is introduced through the injection
wells and is driven toward oil to
physically displace it while heating it to
reduce viscosity. Steam floods require
continuity in the formation to allow steam
to drive oil toward the production well
(Fig. 2). Steam flooding is more costly
Fig. 2: Steam flooding. (Source: G. Zerkalov) that cyclic steaming, since it requires
more steam to be used during the process.
Nonetheless, this method usually helps recover a larger portion of the oil. In some
fields, where connectivity is favored, both methods can be implemented: cyclic
stimulation followed by steam flooding. [5]

Steam injection is usually more environmentally friendly than other EOR methods,
therefore, fewer complications arise when it is used. The steam itself does not pose a
great threat since it just condenses to water, which causes no pollution.

Challenges
Just as all other EOR methods steam injection has a number of drawbacks and
challenges:
 When steam cools in the well it turns into water which mixes with oil. This
adds extra operational costs since larger volumes of liquids must be handled.
Furthermore, an extra dehydration facility is needed nearby to allow for
adequate separation of oil and water before oil shipment.
 Steam injection can sometimes severely damage the underground well
structure. This happens in reservoirs which are prone to geologic
rearrangements. This phenomenon can endanger lives of the workers and
damage the equipment. Therefore, steam injection cannot be used in these types
of reservoirs, unless extra caution is taken.
 Economic challenge is one of the determining factors in using steam flooding.
When steam injection begins for the first time, one barrel of steam injected can
recover up to thirty barrels of incremental oil. After some time, the efficiency
of the process drops and one barrel of steam is only able to recover 0.2 barrel of
incremental oil. A this point the process becomes uneconomical, since steam
price rises up to $20-$30 per barrel of incremental oil recovered, if natural gas
is used for steam generation. [5] At these conditions producers usually shut the
well until oil prices rise or an another technology is implemented.

Conclusion
Thermal Oil Recovery is by far the most popular method used in the world during the
tertiary stage of oil recovery. Steam injection is the most common method used in
thermal EOR. It helps produce up to 30% of original oil in place. Steam injection does
not poses as many environmental risks as other EOR methods might have. This helps
implement this technology in different countries, even with strict regulations.
Economy is the main factor that determines if this technology should be implemented
in one field or the other.

© Georgy Zerkalov. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this
work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes
only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy