Nano-Catalytic In-Situ Upgrading and Enhanced Recovery of Heavy Oil from Carbonate Reservoirs
| dc.contributor.advisor | Pereira-Almao, Pedro R. | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Chen, Zhangxing | |
| dc.contributor.author | Elahi, Seyed Moein | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Moore, Robert Gordon Gord | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Chen, Shengnan | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Park, Simon S. | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Varfolomeev, Mikhail | |
| dc.date | 2020-11 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-05-15T22:10:40Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-05-15T22:10:40Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-05 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The current low oil price conditions and the decline in conventional oil reserves as well as the recent concerns on greenhouse gas emissions have motivated researchers and industries to investigate development of novel technologies to produce from heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs. In this thesis, heavy oil recovery from carbonate reservoirs is studied by using an in-situ upgrading technology (ISUT). In this technology, an aboveground vacuum distillation unit is used to separate the vacuum residue from the produced oil, which is a high molecular weight (low quality) cut of oil. Nano-catalysts are then dispersed into the vacuum residue (VR) and are re-injected in the reservoirs, along with hydrogen. By injecting VR, catalyst, and hydrogen, the catalytic nano-particles deposit in the rock around an injection well, where the upgrading reactions occur. Subsequently, the produced light hydrocarbons and gases from the upgrading reactions help to enhance the heavy oil displacement toward production wells. In this thesis, three main steps of the ISUT process are explored. Initially, a computational fluid dynamics study is implemented to model the VR and hydrogen multiphase injection into reservoirs, primarily to ensure that phase segregation does not happen in injection wells. Afterwards, catalytic hydrocracking reactions are analyzed comprehensively. A reaction kinetic model is developed, and upgraded products are characterized carefully. Lastly, with the aid of a novel continuous experimental setup, heavy oil displacement in zones farther from a reaction zone is studied. It is found that by injecting the recovered vacuum residue, instead of steam as a conventional heat carrier, to the reservoirs, the required energy for the catalytic upgrading reactions is provided. In addition to the heat propagation by exothermic hydro-upgrading reactions, the dissolution and diffusion of light upgraded liquid and gaseous products improve the recovery of heavy oil. Finally, by enhancing oil recovery and permanently upgrading heavy oil in one single stage, in- situ upgrading and recovery of heavy oil by the ISUT process can potentially offer a novel solution to the current challenges of the unconventional heavy oil and bitumen production. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Elahi, S. M. (2020). Nano-catalytic in-situ upgrading and enhanced recovery of heavy oil from carbonate reservoirs (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/37852 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1880/112065 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | en_US |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Schulich School of Engineering | en_US |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | en |
| dc.rights | University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | en_US |
| dc.subject | In-situ upgrading technology (ISUT) | en_US |
| dc.subject | Nano-catalyst | en_US |
| dc.subject | Heavy oil recovery | en_US |
| dc.subject | Hydroprocessing | en_US |
| dc.subject | Kinetic model | en_US |
| dc.subject | Computational fluid dynamics | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Energy | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Engineering--Chemical | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Engineering--Petroleum | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Psychology--Experimental | en_US |
| dc.title | Nano-Catalytic In-Situ Upgrading and Enhanced Recovery of Heavy Oil from Carbonate Reservoirs | en_US |
| dc.type | doctoral thesis | en_US |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Engineering – Chemical & Petroleum | en_US |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Calgary | en_US |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | en_US |
| ucalgary.item.requestcopy | true | en_US |