Strategies of SAGD Start-Up by Downhole Electrical Heating

Yongbin Wu, Zhaocheng Yang, Zhi Yang and Chao Wang
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Yongbin Wu: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Petrochina, Beijing 100083, China
Zhaocheng Yang: Xinjiang Oilfield Company, Petrochina, Keramay 834000, China
Zhi Yang: Xinjiang Oilfield Company, Petrochina, Keramay 834000, China
Chao Wang: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Petrochina, Beijing 100083, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-16

Abstract: The SAGD start-up process normally circulates steam in both the injector and producer, which consumes a large amount of steam, requires the high cost of high-temperature-produced liquid treatment, and unavoidably results in preferential communication in heterogeneous reservoirs. In order to achieve uniform preheat and full steam chamber development in SAGD wellpairs, downhole electrical heating to start up SAGD was proposed and investigated in this study using physical and numerical simulation approaches. Two 3-D scaled physical experiments were designed and implemented to investigate the feasibility and heating characteristics of such a method. Numerical simulation was conducted using an SAGD sector model with typical field properties to design the preheating process, optimize key operational parameters, and formulate the soak strategy to determine the SAGD conversion timing. The experimental results indicate that electrical heating outperforms steam circulation in achieving the uniform thermal communication in heterogeneous reservoirs, which is challenged in the conventional steam circulation process. The preheating process and operational parameters of electrical heating were formulated and optimized, which include wellbore pre-flush, wellbore saturation by heat conduction fluid, electrical heating, and replacement of heat conduction fluid periodically. Surveillance of temperature difference along the horizontal section while powering off electrical heating intermittently is optimized to be the SAGD conversion timing determination strategy. Based on the combination results of scaled physical simulation and pilot wellpair numerical simulation, full heat communication and steam chamber development are achieved along the horizontal length by electrical preheating, and the oil recovery factor of the pilot wellpair is enhanced by 14.8%, indicating encouraging potentials in heavy oil and bitumen development.

Keywords: SAGD; electrical preheating; scaled physical experiment; steam conformance; oil recovery factor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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