Development and Field Testing of a Process for Recovering Heavy Crude Oil in the Carlyle Pool-Allen County, Kansas Using the Vapor Therm Generator. Final Report

摘要

A Vapor Therm generator capable of producing steam and inert gases was built for conditions encountered in the Carlyle pool, and is capable of delivering heated gases at 900 psi and 700 exp 0 F. New wells were drilled in a five spot pattern with an inter-well distance of 208.7 ft. Logs and cores from these new wells were obtained and the subsurface reservoir was evaluated. Oil content of 1197 BSTO/Ac-Ft was encountered. This oil was 19.5 exp 0 API with a viscosity of 1026 cps at 70 exp 0 F. The net pay thickness beneath the pattern exceeded thirty-five feet. Bartlesville sand porosity was 23.6% and absolute permeability was 695 md. Initial reservoir pressure was 235 psi. The oil reservoir is underlain by an extensive aquifer whose thickness exceeds one hundred feet. On January 31, 1977, the first of four stimulation cycles in the Bartleville sand was begun. The final cycle was concluded on March 5, 1978. During these months of cyclic stimulation-production, the wells produced at a sustained average rate of 7.82 BSTO/day and a water/oil ratio of 1.3. Over three barrels of oil per barrel of steam injected was recovered on the 4th cycle. Maximum production rate is 151 BSTO/well/week. Total oil production during the four cycles was 9034 barrels of stock tank oil, indicating an enhanced recovery of 6.04% of original oil in place or 71.2 BSTO/Ac-Ft. (ERA citation 06:000178)