Injeção de vapor e solvente como um método de recuperação avançada em reservatório avançada em reservatórios de óleo pesado

Abstract

Currently a resource more and more used by the petroleum industry to increase the efficiency of steam flood mechanism is the addition of solvents. The process can be understood as a combination of a thermal method (steam injection) with a miscible method (solvent injection), promoting, thus, the reduction of interfacial tensions and oil viscosity. The use of solvent alone tends to be limited because of its high cost. When co-injected with steam, the vaporized solvent condenses in the cooler regions of the reservoir and mixes with the oil, creating a zone of low viscosity between the steam and the heavy oil. The mobility of the displaced fluid is then improved, resulting in an increase of oil recovery. To better understand this improved oil recovery method, a numerical study of the process was done contemplating the effects of some operational parameters (distance between wells, injection steam rate, kind of solvent and injected solvent volume)on the accumulated production of oil, recovery factor and oil-steam rate. Semisynthetic models were used in this study but reservoir data can be extrapolated for practical applications situations on Potiguar Basin. Simulations were performed in STARS (CMG, 2007.11). It was found that injected solvent volumes increased oil recovery and oil rates. Further the majority of the injected solvent was produced and can be recycled