Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology
Volume 50, Number 3, March 2011, pp. 34-42

SPE-146059-PA

Optimum Utilization of Edge Pairs

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DOI  More information 10.2118/146059-PA http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/146059-PA

Citation

  • Miller, K.A. and Xiao, Y. 2011. Optimum Utilization of Edge Pairs. J Can Pet Technol  50 (3): 34-42. SPE-146059-PA. doi: 10.2118/146059-PA.

Discipline Categories

  • 6.4.9 Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)
  • 5 Production and Operations
  • 5.7 Operations Management
  • 6.3.3 Conformance Improvement
  • 6.4.5 Thermal Methods (e.g.,Steamflood, Cyclic Steam, THAI, Combustion)
  • 6.7.2 Recovery Factors

Keywords

  • SAGD, heavy oil , steam injection , thermal EOR , bottomwater

Summary

Nearly all of Husky's SAGD projects in the Lloydminster, Saskatchewan area are in reservoirs with bottomwater. While operating several projects in this region, Husky observed that in some reservoir settings, the outer SAGD pair had significantly decreased performance compared to inner SAGD pairs. When the outer pair was shut in to improve overall pilot performance, the performance of the now exposed adjacent pair rapidly decreased.

It was hypothesized that operating the edge pairs protected inner pairs from the detrimental effects of bottomwater. Numerical simulation runs have confirmed this behaviour. The conclusions reached are that in many bottomwater settings, poorer-performing edge SAGD pairs protect and preserve the performance of inner SAGD pairs; and this should be taken into consideration during facilities' design, development of operational strategy, and production forecasting.

© 2011. Society of Petroleum Engineers

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History

  • Original manuscript received: 3 April 2008
  • Meeting paper published: 17 June 2008
  • Revised manuscript received: 13 January 2011
  • Manuscript approved: 19 January 2011
  • Version of record: 1 March 2011