2 replies to this topic

[sidibouziane]

Hi everybody and many thanks to this forum members.

i am working on a project that deals with heavy oil. wet steam is to be used as stimulator. the field is a set of 40 patterns of wells. a pattern is a set of 25 wells and wells are distant about 160 m each. wet steam is going to be distributed over and area of 9 km2 .

as stimulation will go thru cyclic steam to steam flood. steam oil ratio (SOR) varies between 0.5 up to 5+. each and every well has to receive a steam quality not less than 60%.


can people share their experience with me. i know with more discussion , we all get there where we want.

many thanks

[ankur2061]

sidibouziane,

Enhanced-Oil-Recovery (EOR) using steam injection is now commonly used in many parts of the world and specifically in the part of the world where I reside.

First of all let us understand why wet steam is acceptable for well injections for EOR. The main function of steam injection is to make the highly viscous and low flow index oil trapped in reservoir flowable by increasing the temperature inside the reservoir by utilizing the enthalpy of steam. This process does not dictate that the steam should be absolutely dry. However, there are certain limitations to using wet steam. The wetter the steam the lesser the enthalpy available from the steam and thus more the quantity of steam required to raise the temperature and free the oil from the reservoir.

For example, the enthalpy of 80% wet steam @10 bara is 2372 kJ/kg whereas for 60% wet steam @10 bara is 1970 kJ/kg. Thus, if you are using very wet steam you will require more steam. This in turn will increase the water cut of the oil extracted from the reservoir. More the water cut in oil greater the cost in separating the oil-water mixture.

60% wet steam to me seems on the lower side. I would recommend that steam quality should be at least be 80% for injection for EOR.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Ankur.

[sidibouziane]

Hi Mr. Ankur

thank you for sharing with us this knowledge.

another point that i want to highlight is that this steam is generated at about 12 km away from the wells locations as 80% quality. what would be the steam quality at the far end of the steamed area? i have seen EOR oil field in 4 different area of the world, but our design case looks to be unique of its type, therefore , i am wondering about the quality at the far end..!

best regards
sb