Mechanistic study of steam assisted gravity drainage in heavy oil naturally fractured reservoirs
by Ali Fattahi; Hamed Akhodzadeh; Mohd Nawi Derahman
International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology (IJOGCT), Vol. 20, No. 4, 2019

Abstract: While SAGD has been applied in tar sands extensively and its mechanism is well understood, the SAGD mechanism in heavy oil Naturally Fractured Reservoir is yet to be investigated. In this paper, the mechanism of SAGD in NFRs was studied. Results suggest that initial fracture water saturation plays a conspicuous role in production from NFRs, with no preheating requirement. This condition facilitates massive water production, leading to a considerable steam injection and consequently fast steam chamber creation. In oil-wet reservoirs, oil drainage takes place inside the steam chamber. In water-wet media, however, capillary imbibition contributes to oil recovery behind the steam chamber in hot water zone. The index K_m/L_m was introduced which combines matrix permeability and size to propose a determining factor for matrix oil drainage rate. The controlling term of K_f S_fw/μ_o for the process initiation was proposed, so that higher values of this term imply sooner chamber creation. [Received: June 23, 2016; Accepted: July 20, 2017]

Online publication date: Fri, 19-Apr-2019

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology (IJOGCT):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com