Application of 3-D Geostatistical Models to Characterize and Simulate an Oil Sands Reservoir Using the Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) Recovery Process in Northeastern Alberta, Canada

YEUNG, K., Suncor Energy Inc.

Suncor Energy Inc. is investigating the feasibility of recovering bitumen from the Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation in the Athabasca Oil Sands Deposit using the Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process. The McMurray Formation is comprised of stacked channel bar sands, abandoned channel-fill shales, interbedded sand and shale sequences, shaly tidal flat complexes, and shoreface units. Some 41 coreholes were drilled within an area of 1680 acres to obtain geological information and reservoir properties of the McMurray Formation. Based on these coreholes, complex 3-D geostatistical models of volume of shale, porosity, bitumen saturation, horizontal permeability, and vertical permeability were constructed to determine the range of geological hetereogeneity between wells. The results of the geostatistics are used to provide input data for reservoir simulation to generate production forecasts for different parts of the reservoir. In addition, the geostatistics are used to determine the optimum delineation spacing for the coreholes. This presentation will be made both by a geologist and a reservoir engineer to demonstrate the results of the geostatistically based reservoir characterization and reservoir simulation.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90911©2000 AAPG Pacific Section and Western Region Society of Petroleum Engineers, Long Beach, California