Numerical modeling of toe-to-heel air injection and its catalytic variant (CAPRI) under varying steam conditions

Thomas Lopeman; Hossein  Anbari; Gary Leeke; Joe Wood

doi:10.1021/acs.energyfuels.2c03069

Numerical modeling of toe-to-heel air injection and its catalytic variant (CAPRI) under varying steam conditions

Thomas Lopeman, Hossein Anbari, Gary Leeke, Joe Wood^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Chemical Engineering

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Abstract

There are huge reserves of heavy oil (HO) throughout the world that can be energy-intensive to recover. Improving the energy efficiency of the recovery process and developing novel methods of cleaner recovery will be essential for the transition from traditional fossil fuel usage to net-zero. In situ combustion (ISC) is a less used technique, with toe-to-heel air injection (THAI) and catalytic processing in situ (CAPRI) being specialized novel versions of traditional ISC. They utilize a horizontal producing well and in the case of CAPRI, a catalyst. This paper aims to investigate the impact that injected steam has on both the THAI and CAPRI processes for the purpose of in situ HO upgrading and will help to bridge the gap between the extant laboratory research and the unknown commercial potential. This study also presents a novel method for modeling the THAI–CAPRI method using CMG STARS, proposing an in situ hydrogen production reaction scheme. THAI and CAPRI experimental-scale models were run under three conditions: dry, pre-steam, and constant steam. Starting from a reservoir American Petroleum Institute (API) of 10.5°, THAI reached an average API of ∼16 points, showing no increase in the API output with the use of steam injection. A decreased API output by ∼0.7 points during constant steam injection was achieved due to a high-temperature oxidation-dominant environment. This decreases the reactant availability for thermal cracking. The CAPRI dry run reached an API of 20.40 points and achieved an increased API output for both pre-steaming (∼21.17 points) and constant steaming (∼22.13 points). The mechanics for this increased upgrading were discussed, and catalytic upgrading, as opposed to thermal cracking, was shown to be the reason for the increased upgrading. Both processes produce similar cumulative oil (∼3150 cm3) during dry and pre-steamed runs, only increasing to ∼3300 cm3 with the constant steam injection during THAI and 3500 cm3 for CAPRI.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	237-250
Number of pages	14
Journal	Energy & Fuels
Volume	37
Issue number	1
Early online date	22 Dec 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.2c03069
Publication status	Published - 5 Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The work contained in this paper contains work conducted during a PhD study undertaken as part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Oil & Gas [grant number NEM00578X/1] and is funded by NERC and the NPIF, whose support is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are due to Alex Turta and Malcolm Greaves for the invention of the THAI–CAPRI process as well as the Comprehensive Assessment of THAI Process; Guidelines for Development of Future generations of In Situ Combustion Processes report. Lastly, thanks are due to the Computer Modeling Group (CMG) for supplying STARS, CMOST, and the associated pre-processing software.

Keywords

Heavy oil
THAI
CAPRI
in-situ combustion

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

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abstract = "There are huge reserves of heavy oil (HO) throughout the world that can be energy-intensive to recover. Improving the energy efficiency of the recovery process and developing novel methods of cleaner recovery will be essential for the transition from traditional fossil fuel usage to net-zero. In situ combustion (ISC) is a less used technique, with toe-to-heel air injection (THAI) and catalytic processing in situ (CAPRI) being specialized novel versions of traditional ISC. They utilize a horizontal producing well and in the case of CAPRI, a catalyst. This paper aims to investigate the impact that injected steam has on both the THAI and CAPRI processes for the purpose of in situ HO upgrading and will help to bridge the gap between the extant laboratory research and the unknown commercial potential. This study also presents a novel method for modeling the THAI–CAPRI method using CMG STARS, proposing an in situ hydrogen production reaction scheme. THAI and CAPRI experimental-scale models were run under three conditions: dry, pre-steam, and constant steam. Starting from a reservoir American Petroleum Institute (API) of 10.5°, THAI reached an average API of ∼16 points, showing no increase in the API output with the use of steam injection. A decreased API output by ∼0.7 points during constant steam injection was achieved due to a high-temperature oxidation-dominant environment. This decreases the reactant availability for thermal cracking. The CAPRI dry run reached an API of 20.40 points and achieved an increased API output for both pre-steaming (∼21.17 points) and constant steaming (∼22.13 points). The mechanics for this increased upgrading were discussed, and catalytic upgrading, as opposed to thermal cracking, was shown to be the reason for the increased upgrading. Both processes produce similar cumulative oil (∼3150 cm3) during dry and pre-steamed runs, only increasing to ∼3300 cm3 with the constant steam injection during THAI and 3500 cm3 for CAPRI.",

keywords = "Heavy oil, THAI, CAPRI, in-situ combustion",

author = "Thomas Lopeman and Hossein Anbari and Gary Leeke and Joe Wood",

note = "Funding Information: The work contained in this paper contains work conducted during a PhD study undertaken as part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Oil & Gas [grant number NEM00578X/1] and is funded by NERC and the NPIF, whose support is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are due to Alex Turta and Malcolm Greaves for the invention of the THAI–CAPRI process as well as the Comprehensive Assessment of THAI Process; Guidelines for Development of Future generations of In Situ Combustion Processes report. Lastly, thanks are due to the Computer Modeling Group (CMG) for supplying STARS, CMOST, and the associated pre-processing software.",

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AU - Leeke, Gary

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N1 - Funding Information: The work contained in this paper contains work conducted during a PhD study undertaken as part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Oil & Gas [grant number NEM00578X/1] and is funded by NERC and the NPIF, whose support is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are due to Alex Turta and Malcolm Greaves for the invention of the THAI–CAPRI process as well as the Comprehensive Assessment of THAI Process; Guidelines for Development of Future generations of In Situ Combustion Processes report. Lastly, thanks are due to the Computer Modeling Group (CMG) for supplying STARS, CMOST, and the associated pre-processing software.

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N2 - There are huge reserves of heavy oil (HO) throughout the world that can be energy-intensive to recover. Improving the energy efficiency of the recovery process and developing novel methods of cleaner recovery will be essential for the transition from traditional fossil fuel usage to net-zero. In situ combustion (ISC) is a less used technique, with toe-to-heel air injection (THAI) and catalytic processing in situ (CAPRI) being specialized novel versions of traditional ISC. They utilize a horizontal producing well and in the case of CAPRI, a catalyst. This paper aims to investigate the impact that injected steam has on both the THAI and CAPRI processes for the purpose of in situ HO upgrading and will help to bridge the gap between the extant laboratory research and the unknown commercial potential. This study also presents a novel method for modeling the THAI–CAPRI method using CMG STARS, proposing an in situ hydrogen production reaction scheme. THAI and CAPRI experimental-scale models were run under three conditions: dry, pre-steam, and constant steam. Starting from a reservoir American Petroleum Institute (API) of 10.5°, THAI reached an average API of ∼16 points, showing no increase in the API output with the use of steam injection. A decreased API output by ∼0.7 points during constant steam injection was achieved due to a high-temperature oxidation-dominant environment. This decreases the reactant availability for thermal cracking. The CAPRI dry run reached an API of 20.40 points and achieved an increased API output for both pre-steaming (∼21.17 points) and constant steaming (∼22.13 points). The mechanics for this increased upgrading were discussed, and catalytic upgrading, as opposed to thermal cracking, was shown to be the reason for the increased upgrading. Both processes produce similar cumulative oil (∼3150 cm3) during dry and pre-steamed runs, only increasing to ∼3300 cm3 with the constant steam injection during THAI and 3500 cm3 for CAPRI.

AB - There are huge reserves of heavy oil (HO) throughout the world that can be energy-intensive to recover. Improving the energy efficiency of the recovery process and developing novel methods of cleaner recovery will be essential for the transition from traditional fossil fuel usage to net-zero. In situ combustion (ISC) is a less used technique, with toe-to-heel air injection (THAI) and catalytic processing in situ (CAPRI) being specialized novel versions of traditional ISC. They utilize a horizontal producing well and in the case of CAPRI, a catalyst. This paper aims to investigate the impact that injected steam has on both the THAI and CAPRI processes for the purpose of in situ HO upgrading and will help to bridge the gap between the extant laboratory research and the unknown commercial potential. This study also presents a novel method for modeling the THAI–CAPRI method using CMG STARS, proposing an in situ hydrogen production reaction scheme. THAI and CAPRI experimental-scale models were run under three conditions: dry, pre-steam, and constant steam. Starting from a reservoir American Petroleum Institute (API) of 10.5°, THAI reached an average API of ∼16 points, showing no increase in the API output with the use of steam injection. A decreased API output by ∼0.7 points during constant steam injection was achieved due to a high-temperature oxidation-dominant environment. This decreases the reactant availability for thermal cracking. The CAPRI dry run reached an API of 20.40 points and achieved an increased API output for both pre-steaming (∼21.17 points) and constant steaming (∼22.13 points). The mechanics for this increased upgrading were discussed, and catalytic upgrading, as opposed to thermal cracking, was shown to be the reason for the increased upgrading. Both processes produce similar cumulative oil (∼3150 cm3) during dry and pre-steamed runs, only increasing to ∼3300 cm3 with the constant steam injection during THAI and 3500 cm3 for CAPRI.

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M3 - Article

SN - 0887-0624

VL - 37

SP - 237

EP - 250

JO - Energy & Fuels

JF - Energy & Fuels

IS - 1

ER -

Numerical modeling of toe-to-heel air injection and its catalytic variant (CAPRI) under varying steam conditions

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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