Laboratory Investigation of the Effect of Solvent Injection on In-Situ Combustion for Viscous Oils
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This thesis presents an experimental scoping study of cyclic application of solvent injection and in-situ combustion aimed at production and upgrading of viscous and heavy oils. In-situ combustion is an effective thermal recovery process that suffers from fewer limitations than steam injection, but is not applied as widely. Combustion of heavy oil generally tends to upgrade the oil because the heaviest fraction of the crude is consumed as fuel. Solvents are also useful to reduce oil viscosity in situ and facilitate production. Liquid solvents are usually expensive and the price of the oil recovered low. Both solvent injection and in-situ combustion are technically effective in a variety of reservoirs. The combination of the two methods has, however, never been tried to our knowledge. Two different crude oils were employed: Hamaca from the Orinoco Belt of Venezuela and West Sak from the North Slope of Alaska. First, 'Ramped Temperature Oxidation' studies were conducted to measure the kinetic properties of the oil prior to and following solvent injection. Pentane, decane, and kerosene were the solvents of interest. As expected from the literature, pentane proved to be the best solvent. Second, combustion tube experiments were conducted. Solvent was injected in a cyclic fashion and then the tube was combusted. In both types of experiments, effluent gases were analyzed and temperature measured. Hamaca oil presented good burning properties that were not affected when one cycle of pentane injection preceded combustion. The pentane extracted lighter components of the crude preferentially depositing effective fuel for combustion. West Sak oil, however, did not exhibit stable combustion properties following solvent injection, even when metallic additives were added to enhance the combustion. We were unable to propagate a burning front within the combustion tube. Nevertheless, experimental results show that this combined method may be applicable to a broad range of oil reservoirs.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | March 2006 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Cristofari, Jean |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Kovscek, Anthony R. |
| Advisor | Castanier, Louis |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Cristofari, Jean. (2006). Laboratory Investigation of the Effect of Solvent Injection on In-Situ Combustion for Viscous Oils. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/bd042mb4183
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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