Thermal Oil Recovery

A thermal recovery method involves the application of heat

to the reservoir formation in order to raise the temperature
of the rock significantly there by improving the
displacement of the crude oil.
This technique improves the recovery of oil by bringing
about a favorable viscosity ratio while at the same time
taking advantage of the steam distillation effect sand by
altering the capillary restrictive forces at the displacement
front.
Steam Stimulation, Steam Flooding and in-situ
combustion are three major types of thermal recovery
methods that are presently being pursued vigorously.
 Steam Stimulation
Steam stimulation is also known as; cyclic steam injection,
steam soak or huff and puff. In this process steam is injected
into a producing well for a specified period of time
(normally 2-3 weeks).
Following this, the well is shut-in for few days (to allow
sufficient heat dissipation) and then placed on production.
Heat from the injected steam increases the reservoir
temperature, resulting in a pronounced increase in mobility
of heavy oils and a corresponding improvement in
producing rates.
 Steam Stimulation
Other positive benefits that may contribute to
production stimulation include:
1) thermal expansion of fluids;
2) compression of solution gas;
3) reduced residual oil saturation;
4) wellbore cleanup effects.
The technique has gained wide acceptance because quick
payout result from successful applications, but many
project failures have been reported principally due to
improper design.
 Steam Flooding (Including Hot
Water Injection)
Steam flooding is a process similar to waterflooding.
A suitable well pattern is chosen and steam is injected into a
number of wells while the oil is produced from adjacent wells.
Ideally, the steam forms a saturated zone around the injection
well.
The temperature of this zone is nearly equal to that of the
injected steam.
As the steam moves away from the well, its temperature drops
as it continues to expand in response to pressure drop.
 Steam Flooding (Including Hot
Water Injection)
At some distance from the well, the steam
condenses and form a hot water bank.
In the steam zone, oil is displaced by steam
distillation and gas (steam) drive.
In the hot water zone, physical changes in the
characteristics of the oil and reservoir rock take
place and result in oil recovery.
These changes are thermal expansion of oil,
reduction of viscosity and residual saturation and
changes in relative permeability
Schematic diagram of steam injection and approximate
distribution of formation temperature
 In-Situ Combustion
This method involves the generation of heat within the
reservoir in the form of a hot front moving away from the
injection well.
In this mode of thermal recovery the energy required to
advance the residual crude oil is produced by the injection of
air or an oxygen bearing gas into the reservoir and burning a
portion of the crude oil within the formation.
This recovery process may be considered slowly moving
narrow burning zone advancing towards the production well,
displacing oil ahead of it.
 In-Situ Combustion
Some of the variational aspects of in-situ combustion are as follows:
i) Formation of an extended heat wave propelled by gases of
limited oxygen content controlling the rate of advance of the
burning front.

ii) Halting combustion pathway between the injection well and

the production well and propelling the heat wave towards the
production well by cycling the produced gases

iii) Halting combustion partway between the injection well and

the production well and reversing the combustion by converting
the original injection well into a production well.
 In-Situ Combustion
In-situ combustion is also known as forward
combustion. The oil which has not been
contacted by the actual combustion front is
subjected to
a)Condensing steam drive
b)Gas drive
c)Miscible drive and
d)Thermal drive
 In-Situ Combustion
Failure to stimulate production using in-situ combustion
may be due to a number of reasons such as
1) inability of the oil to deposit enough fuel to support
combustion,
2) low air injectivity,
3) gross channeling and leaking of the injected air from the
formation,
4) excessive air requirements,
5) low air saturation, and
6) plugging of porous rock leading to the flow of a limited
supply of air.
Conventional In Situ Combustion (ISC)

Air, Air + H2O,

etc.

Reaction zone
Combustion zone

Oil banking in
the cold region
Cool zone
Swept
zone

( Courtesy of M. Dusseault)
In conventional ISC process, the mobilised oil
ahead of combustion front is banked-up in
downstream colder regions of the reservoir,
where the mixing of the cracked oil and virgin
oil makes the upgrading phenomenon not very
apparent.

Due to this oil banking in the cold region, if a

channelling does not develop, then the air
injectivity (air flux) decreases significantly and
due to this decrease, the intensity of ISC
decreases, as shown in the next slide
Schematic of Toe-to-Heel Air
Injection

Mobile oil zone Producer well

Injection well Combustion zone Coke zone
(MOZ)

Ai
r Cold
Heavy Oil

Toe
Heel
VI usually perforated at upper part while the HP is
located at the bottom of layer and has its toe close to
the VI.

The most important feature of THAI is the creation of

a mobile oil zone - MOZ ahead of the combustion
front. MOZ has a double meaning: oil is mobile in this
zone and the zone itself is mobile, moving from the toe
to the heel. Temperature is relatively high in MOZ;
thermal upgrading of oil is preserved as heated oil does
not mix with the cold oil.
 Reverse Combustion
In reverse combustion, the process is halted partway and the
flow is reversed causing the flame to advance countercurrent to
the flow of air.
This method has the advantage that oil flows through a rock
preheated from 500 to 700 F during the initial combustion
stage, thus reducing the viscosity of oil by a factor of one
thousand or more.
Reverse combustion requires about twice the amount of air
required in forward combustion, but recovers about half of
the residual oil.
This method is usually resorted to, when all other methods
prove impractical.
 SAGD

Steam
Chamber

Horizontal Injector

Oil with reduced

Unswept viscosity drains
zone

Horizontal Producer