Key Learnings From History Matching a Thermally Assisted Gas Oil Gravity Drainage Pilot In Fractured Reservoirs

Abstract

Globally large volumes of heavy oil are currently locked in<br>shallow low permeability reservoirs. If they contain sufficient<br>natural fractures then one of the most viable recovery<br>processes is thermally assisted gas oil gravity drainage. In this<br>process steam is injected into the fracture system from where<br>it heats the oil in the matrix which reduces the oil viscosity<br>and accelerates gravity drainage. The economic viability of<br>this process is largely determined by the spacing of the<br>fractures. Large blocks take longer to heat than small blocks,<br>and the correct description and thermal simulation of these<br>across the reservoir is critical to decision making.