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Simulation studies of steam-propane injection for the Hamaca heavy oil field
Abstract
Simulation studies were performed to evaluate a novel technology, steam-propane injection, for the heavy Hamaca crude oil. The oil has a gravity of 9.3⁰API and a viscosity of 25,000 cp at 50⁰C. Two types of simulation studies were performed: a simulation study to history-match laboratory experimental results, and a reservoir simulation study of steam-propane injection in a 5-spot pattern. A 1D 48 grid-cell model was used to describe the sand mix in the injection cell. A ten pseudo-component oil model for the Hamaca oil was developed based on composition up to C₇₊. The ten pseudo-component model used gave a satisfactory history match of the experimental results. Components in the C₇ - C₁₀ range appear to play a significant role during steam-propane injection and therefore need to be described in greater detail. The pseudo-component oil model, developed from history-matching the experimental results, was subsequently used in the reservoir model. The reservoir model represented a symmetry volume that is one-eighth of a 10-acre 5-spot pattern. A 9 x 5 x 10 3D Cartesian model was used to describe the symmetry volume, with one axis (x-axis) oriented parallel to the injector-producer direction. Results of the reservoir simulation study may be summarized as follows. First, oil acceleration of 2 months with a PSR of 0.05 was observed compared to pure steam injection. A substantial gain in discounted revenue and savings in steam injection cost would be realized. Second, unlike the experimental results, the oil production rate peak with steam-propane injection (1100 STB/D) is significantly higher than that with pure steam injection (690 STB/D). Third, oil production acceleration increases with increasing propane content. However, oil recovery at the end of the five-year forecast period increases with PSR up to a PSR of about 0.05 then declines with increasing PSR up to 0.09. More important, oil recovery at the end of the forecast period with PSR of 0.05 is 6.7% OOIP compared to 2.3% OOIP with pure steam injection. Both experimental and simulation studies indicate that steam-propane injection is a very promising technology. Further researches followed by field tests are recommended to better understand and verify the process under actual field conditions.
Description
Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-53).
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Citation
Venturini, Gilberto Jose (2002). Simulation studies of steam-propane injection for the Hamaca heavy oil field. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -2002 -THESIS -V43.
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