--> Abstract: Laboratory Investigation of a STAR- Air Injection Process in the Quifa Field of Colombia, by Mallory, Donald; Abu, Ibrahim; Ursenbach, Matt; Farouq Ali, Syed; Mehta, Raj; Moore, Gordon; and Fuenmayor, Mac; #90166 (2013)

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Laboratory Investigation of a STAR- Air Injection Process in the Quifa Field of Colombia

Mallory, Donald; Abu, Ibrahim; Ursenbach, Matt; Farouq Ali, Syed; Mehta, Raj; Moore, Gordon1; and Fuenmayor, Mac
1[email protected]

Increasing worldwide demand for oil coupled with improved production technologies has led energy companies to study air injection as an EOR process for extending the reserves of existing reservoirs. As a follow-up to their highly successful primary recovery projects in Rubiales and Quifa fields in Colombia, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. is developing a potentially game changing technology, Synchronized Thermal Additional Recovery (STAR) process, to significantly enhance the ultimate oil recoveries. The STAR process involves combination of air injection (in situ combustion) and other technologies; it is currently being piloted in the Quifa field of Colombia.

In order to verify that air injection would be a suitable EOR process for the Quifa reservoir and to provide data to support reservoir simulation of the air injection based oil recovery process, an extensive program of laboratory testing was undertaken. This presentation will highlight the important findings of the laboratory program which consisted of combustion tube tests ignited by steam injection, Ramped Temperature Oxidation (RTO) tests and Accelerating Rate Calorimetry (ARC) tests. Each phase of the laboratory testing provided unique and important information regarding potential field behavior. The tests were performed at the temperature and pressure of the Quifa field, and indicated that the field was a good candidate for air injection in conjunction with the STAR pattern. It was found that the Quifa oil burned stably in the high temperature range at reservoir conditions, and that steam injection could be used to increase the near-wellbore temperature of the air injection well to a level where successful ignition could occur.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90166©2013 AAPG International Conference & Exhibition, Cartagena, Colombia, 8-11 September 2013