Abstract: Improvement of Steamflood Efficiency through Use of Hydraulic Fracturing Technology - Field Results

MANRIQUE, J. F., and CRALEY, G.

In our work we present field results that validate the use of fracturing technology (FracPacks) to accelerate performance and improve the efficiency of steamflood operations in heavy oil reservoirs. The efficiency and performance of this approach is presented for vertical and horizontal fractures, and validates its application to thin reservoirs, dipping reservoirs and steam distillation drives.

The "Heat Plane Source (HPS)" concept is revisited to explain the advantages of fractured steam injectors for improvement of thermal recovery processes. Application of the HPS concept is extended to horizontal wells and steam assisted gravity drainage processes (SAGD).

Field results indicate that reservoir performance of current steamflood drives can be improved by implementation of hydraulically induced fractures. Some of the practical advantages of considering FracPacks for production enhancement of heavy oil reservoirs are: 1) economic improvement: favorable NPV response, faster return of investment and substantial increase in cash flow during the early life of the project, 2) perform selective injection while maintaining control of injectivity profile, 3) improve vertical coverage for SAGD application, 4) combine with ongoing steam cycling operations for vertical and horizontal wells, 5) better production strategy when depleted/desaturated zones are present.

Search and Discovery Article #90945©1997 AAPG Pacific Section Meeting, Bakersfield, California