Steam Conformance Along Horizontal Wells at Cold Lake

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes Imperial Oil’s success in identifying and remediating poor steam conformance in a horizontal well used in Cyclic Steam Stimulation operations. Imperial Oil is conducting Horizontal Well Cyclic Steam Stimulation (HWCSS) at nine horizontal wells located at two pads in Cold Lake. Steam conformance along horizontal wells is a significant issue in these types of thermal applications. The horizontal wells are completed with Limited Entry Perforations (LEP) to improve distribution of steam along the liner. One of the HWCSS pads, D36, has been the subject of both 4D seismic and injectivity analyses to characterize steam conformance along the horizontal section over the first three cycles. These analysis techniques showed that four out of the five wells on the pad had excellent steam distribution along the horizontal liners. However, one of the wells, D36-H1 showed little or no steam conformance along the last half of the liner. This lack of horizontal steam conformance put the recovery expectations of this well at risk. A workover conducted on D36-H1 successfully removed sand that had been obstructing the liner. Steam injection subsequent to the clean out showed steam distributed across the majority of the liner (most of the LEPs accepting steam).