Electrical Heating for Reservoir Pressure Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the thermal hydrocarbon-recovery industry, maintaining pressure in exploited regions without injecting steam or non-condensable gases (NCGs) into adjacent depleted regions is challenging, leading to inefficient steam distribution and high capital expenditures, as well as hindering surface reclamation due to the need for continuous steam injection in non-producing areas.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using electrical heating means to transform condensed steam or water into steam in a hydrocarbon-depleted region, thereby pressurizing it and preventing steam loss into adjacent exploited regions, allowing for effective hydrocarbon recovery from adjacent non-depleted regions with reduced steam consumption and facilitating faster surface reclamation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If steam is injected into exploited regions to maintain pressure, then hydrocarbon recovery continues, but steam is lost to adjacent depleted regions through hydraulic connectivity
Solution Approach 1:
The reservoir is divided into exploited regions and non-exploited regions, with selective steam injection limited to non-exploited regions only. This segmentation prevents steam from being lost to depleted areas while maintaining pressure where needed, directly addressing the steam loss problem.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the reservoir are treated differently: steam injection is applied locally to non-exploited regions to maintain pressure and enable hydrocarbon recovery, while exploited regions are excluded from injection. This localized approach optimizes steam usage and prevents unnecessary steam loss.
2Stress or pressure
If steam injection is continued in depleted regions to maintain pressure, then pressure is maintained, but surface reclamation is delayed due to continuous equipment presence
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the steam injection operation from depleted regions by selectively injecting steam only into non-exploited regions. This removes the need for continuous steam injection equipment in depleted areas, enabling surface reclamation while maintaining pressure through alternative means.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure maintenance is achieved in advance in non-exploited regions through selective steam injection, creating favorable pressure conditions before hydrocarbon recovery operations begin. This preliminary action eliminates the need for prolonged steam injection in depleted regions, accelerating surface reclamation.
3Productivity
If steam is injected into adjacent non-depleted regions to exploit new areas, then hydrocarbon recovery increases, but steam consumption increases due to flow from depleted regions
Solution Approach 1:
The reservoir is segmented into depleted and non-depleted regions, with steam injection selectively applied only to non-depleted regions. This segmentation prevents steam from flowing back to depleted regions, reducing overall steam consumption while maintaining effective hydrocarbon recovery in the targeted areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The injection strategy changes the pressure parameters in non-depleted regions by injecting steam selectively, creating favorable pressure gradients that drive hydrocarbon recovery without causing steam loss to depleted regions. This parameter change optimizes steam consumption efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the need for steam injection in exploited regions, enables more economical hydrocarbon recovery from less exploited areas, and allows for earlier surface reclamation by preventing steam leakage into depleted regions, thus optimizing resource utilization and reducing operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
supplying electrical energy to said heating means to thereby transform condensed steam or water in said first region to steam and/or superheat vapour in said first region
Implementation Method 2
supplying electrical energy to said heating means to thereby transform condensed steam or water in said first region to steam
Implementation Method 3
steam injected into or generated in situ in a second region of said formation, said second region in fluid communication with, or in partial fluid communication with, said first region
Implementation Method 4
thermal processes use steam, which is generated at the surface and pumped into the formation, or heat is generated in-situ by various methods including electrical heating or in-situ combustion, to increase the hydrocarbon's fluidity
Data Source
AI summary
A method for recovering hydrocarbons from an underground formation having a first exploited or partially exploited region and a second less exploited region in at least partial fluid communication with said first region. Electrical heating means is provided in the first region, and electrical energy supplied to the first region to raise or sustain its pressure to mitigate the loss of fluids and pressure from the second region due to hydraulic interaction with the first region. The electric heating affects the pressure by thermal expansion of the liquids and vapors present in or added to the first region and/or flashing of those liquids to vapors. The use of electric means is advantageous over the prior art by allowing for the redirection of injection fluids to more active regions of exploitation, and allows for more timely reclamation of the equipment and surface area above the first region.