Optimization of SAGD Well Elevation |
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Authors: | Jason A McLennan Weishan Ren Oy Leuangthong C V Deutsch |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, 3-133 Markin/CNRF NREF Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2W2 |
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Abstract: | The application of steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) to recover heavy oil sands is becoming increasingly important in
the northern Alberta McMurray Formation because of the vast resources/reserves accessible with this mechanism. Selecting the
stratigraphic elevations of SAGD well pairs is a vital decision for reservoir evaluation and planning. The inherent uncertainty
in the distribution of geological variables significantly influences this decision. Geostatistical simulation is used to capture
geological uncertainty, which is used can be transformed into a distribution of the best possible well pair elevations.
A simple exhaustive calculation scheme is used to determine the optimum stratigraphic location of a SAGD well pair where the
recovery R is maximized. There are three basic steps to the methodology: (1) model the uncertainty in the top continuous bitumen (TCB)
and bottom continuous bitumen (BCB) surfaces, (2) calculate the recovery at all possible elevation increments within the TCB
and BCB interval, and (3) identify the elevation that maximizes R. This is repeated for multiple TCB/BCB pairs of surfaces
to assess uncertainty. The methodology is described and implemented on a subset of data from the Athabasca Oilsands in Fort
McMurray, Alberta. |
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Keywords: | SAGD uncertainty geostatistics effective well length noneffective well length optimization |
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