Silverdale Combination Thermal Drive Project

Abstract

ABSTRACT In eastern Alberta, the Lloydminster Field extends from Township 48 north to Township 51 and west from the Alberta border to Range 3. A total area of more than 120,000 acres under which pools of heavy oil vital to our world energy needs, remain well saturated after years of production by conventional methods. General Crude Oil Company has acquired interest in the Sparky Q pool in the Lloydminster Field four miles south of the town of Lloydminster, Alberta. In 1975, General Crude Oil initiated a combination thermal drive project in an effect to increase the pool's recovery from 226,400 barrels to 6,854,000 barrels. This would be an increase in oil recovery from 1.2% to 37.1% of the original oil in place. The proposed project's requirements were to drill 33 development wells, install flowline and surface facilities, and operate the combination thermal project for sixteen years. The wells were drilled and completed by December, 1975, along with the networks of flowlines, circulating water lines and electrical cables that were buried from the individual well-head to a central tank battery. The field was placed on production in early 1976 and produced by primary means until March, 1977. General Crude ignited four 30 acre inverted seven-spot patterns with a gas igniter. Air was injected down the four injection wells from an Ingersoll-Rand 4 RDS balanced opposed four stage compressor. Through 1978, five more patterns were ignited to bring the burn area to 270 acres; which contains some 4,000 acre feet of oil and sand and 8 million barrels of oil. General Crude Oil engineers have worked since the 1977 ignition to produce 336,000 barrels of oil after injecting 1,200,000,000 cubic feet of air and 149,781 barrels of water in the combination thermal drive combustion process, They are recovering 84% of the injected gas and sustaining a 3.5 MSCF/Bbl air injected oil produced ratio. Optimistically, these factors point to a successful project, based on General Crude's past ten year experience with the combustion process.