Impact of Non-Condensable Gases on the Performance of Flow Control Devices
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Co-injection of non-condensable gas (NCG) reduces heat losses to the overburden and, consequently, improves the energy efficiency and steam-to-oil ratio of SAGD. Some authors have shown the benefits of this technique, while others have documented a damaging effect on steam chamber growth and lower oil recovery. Nowadays, many of the wells where NCG is injected are completed with flow control devices (FCDs). Consequently, an understanding on how the injected gas affects the performance of FCDs is needed. This work analyzed 1925 points from nine experimental data sets covering a range of flow conditions to evaluate how NCG impacts the relationship between the flow rate and pressure drop when flow through several FCDs with different internal architectures. The fluids in the experiments include oil, water, water vapor (steam), and nitrogen. The outcomes of the research is a highly accurate predictive model for the pressure drop with coefficients of determination that are at least 95%. The results show that nitrogen reduces the gas blocking capacity of the FCDs harming their performance. The model's results were extrapolated to calculate FCD tables, which can be used in a thermal reservoir simulation model to examine the impact of NCG on process performance.