Release:
2019, Vol. 5. №1About the authors:
Alexander P. Shevelev, Cand. Sci. (Phys.-Math.), Associate Professor, Professor, Department of Modeling of Physical Processes and Systems, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tyumen, Tyumen, Russia; a.p.shevelev@utmn.ru; ORCID: 0000-0003-0017-4871Abstract:
The most promising direction of development of high-viscosity oil fields is the technology of Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). Current classical approaches do not allow calculating certain necessary parameters for the successful implementation of the process and demand calculations in every point of chamber’s boundary. Further development of previously proposed authors’ model can simplify the calculations and obtain the control parameters of the process.
The traditional scheme of well placement during SAGD has sweep efficiency equal to 0.5. The authors show that we can obtain a higher coefficient of sweep efficiency by the process of overlapping adjacent steam chambers using increasing in the flow rate of steam injection while maintaining the initial distance between the wells. We can use the most important technological parameters of the process in real high-viscosity oil fields in Russia. Calculations are carried out using a system of equations based on the method of material and thermal balances, Darcy’s law and approximation by an explicit finite-difference scheme.
The correctness of the obtained results is justified by comparing the limiting cases with analytical calculations. The authors found that the increase in the flow rate of steam with a simultaneous increase in the distance between wells leads to increase in steam-oil ratio and decrease in cumulative oil production. This approach does not lead to an increase in sweep efficiency, but it reduces the total number of wells in the reservoir, and the presence of overlapping adjacent steam chambers leads to an increase in sweep efficiency and in cumulative oil production.
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