In Situ Heavy Oil Upgrading Through Ultra-disperse Nano-Catalyst Injection in Naturally Fracture Reservoirs
Abstract
Unconventional reservoirs are the next challenge for maintaining the world’s oil production. Several EOR processes are under study, one promising is the “In Situ Upgrading” which produces EOR and Upgrading by injection of a hot fluid, in this case vacuum residue from the heavy oil produced, with suspended nano-catalytic particles flowing down-hole along with dissolved hydrogen as precursor of partial Hydroprocessing of the residue. The combination of thermal and chemical reactions with a catalyst leads to In-Situ Upgrading (ISU) of the residue injected and the in situ oil near the surroundings of the injection well bore, while the heat carried, the diluents, the steam and hot water generated warm up the rock and the oil in the porous media, enhancing extraction. Testing the reactivity of the oil has to be assessed at temperatures, pressures and time to determine the suitability of this EOR process.
Description
Keywords
Engineering--Petroleum
Citation
Orozco Castillo, C. (2016). In Situ Heavy Oil Upgrading Through Ultra-disperse Nano-Catalyst Injection in Naturally Fracture Reservoirs (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26556