The oil sands deposits in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin （WCSB） comprise of at least 85% of the total immobile bitumen in place in the world and are so concentrated as to be virtually the only such deposits th...The oil sands deposits in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin （WCSB） comprise of at least 85% of the total immobile bitumen in place in the world and are so concentrated as to be virtually the only such deposits that are economically recoverable for conversion to oil. The major deposits are in three geographic and geologic regions of Alberta： Athabasca, Cold Lake and Peace River. The bitumen reserves have oil gravities ranging from 8 to 12° API, and are hosted in the reservoirs of varying age, ranging from Devonian （Grosmont Formation） to Early Cretaceous （Mannville Group）. They were derived from light oils in the southern Alberta and migrated to the north and east for over 100 km during the Laramide Orogeny, which was responsible for the uplift of the Rocky Mountains. Biodegradation is the only process that transforms light oil into bitumen in such a dramatic way that overshadowed other alterations with minor contributions. The levels of biodegradation in the basin increasing from west （non-biodegraded） to east （extremely biodegraded） can be attributed to decreasing reservoir temperature, which played the primary role in controlling the biodegradation regime. Once the reservoir was heated to approximately 80℃, it was pasteurized and no biodegradation would further occur. However, reservoir temperature could not alone predict the variations of the oil composition and physical properties. Compositional gradients and a wide range ofbiodegradation degree at single reservoir column indicate that the water-leg size or the volume ratio of oil to water is one of the critical local controls for the vertical variations ofbiodegradation degree and oil physical properties. Late charging and mixing of the fresh and degraded oils ultimately dictate the final distribution of compositions and physical properties found in the heavy oil and oil sand fields. Oil geochemistry can reveal precisely the processes and levels that control these variations in a given field, which opens the possibility of model-driven prediction of oil properties and sweet spots in reservoirs.展开更多
Tight sands are abundant in nanopores leading to a high capillary pressure and normally a low fluid injectivity.As such,spontaneous imbibition might be an effective mechanism for improving oil recovery from tight sand...Tight sands are abundant in nanopores leading to a high capillary pressure and normally a low fluid injectivity.As such,spontaneous imbibition might be an effective mechanism for improving oil recovery from tight sands after fracturing.The chemical agents added to the injected water can alter the interfacial properties,which could help further enhance the oil recovery by spontaneous imbibition.This study explores the possibility of using novel chemicals to enhance oil recovery from tight sands via spontaneous imbibition.We experimentally examine the effects of more than ten different chemical agents on spontaneous imbibition,including a cationic surfactant(C12 TAB),two anionic surfactants(0242 and 0342),an ionic liquid(BMMIM BF4),a high pH solution(NaBO2),and a series of house-made deep eutectic solvents(DES3-7,9,11,and 14).The interfacial tensions(IFT)between oil phase and some chemical solutions are also determined.Experimental results indicate that both the ionic liquid and cationic surfactant used in this study are detrimental to spontaneous imbibition and decrease the oil recovery from tight sands,even though cationic surfactant significantly decreases the oil-water IFT while ionic liquid does not.The high pH NaBO2 solution does not demonstrate significant effect on oil recovery improvement and IFT reduction.The anionic surfactants(O242 and O342)are effective in enhancing oil recovery from tight sands through oil-water IFT reduction and emulsification effects.The DESs drive the rock surface to be more water-wet,and a specific formulation(DES9)leads to much improvement on oil recovery under counter-current imbibition condition.This preliminary study would provide some knowledge about how to optimize the selection of chemicals for improving oil recovery from tight reservoirs.展开更多
Oil sands are the most important of the oil and gas resources in Canada. So the distribution and evaluation of oil sands form a critical basis for risk investment in Canada. Distribution of oil sands resources is seve...Oil sands are the most important of the oil and gas resources in Canada. So the distribution and evaluation of oil sands form a critical basis for risk investment in Canada. Distribution of oil sands resources is severely controlled by the reservoir heterogeneity. Deterministic modeling is commonly used to solve the heterogeneity problems in the reservoir, but rarely used to evaluate hydrocarbon resources. In this paper, a lithofacies based deterministic method is employed to assess the oil sands resources for a part of a mining project in northern Alberta. The statistical analysis of Dean Stark water and oil saturation data and study of the core description data, regional geology and geophysical logs reveal that the lithofacies in the study area can be classified into reservoir facies, possible reservoir facies and non-reservoir facies. The indicator krigging method is used to build a 3D lithofacies model based on the classification of sedimentary facies and the ordinary krigging method is applied to petrophysical property modeling. The results show that the krigging estimation is one of the good choices in oil sand resources modeling in Alberta. Lithofacies-grade based modeling may have advantages over the grade-only based modeling.展开更多
A self-developed ASP agent was used to separate bitumen from Indonesia's oil sands by its comprehensive effect and the separation condition was well investigated. The bitumen extraction conditions for industrial a...A self-developed ASP agent was used to separate bitumen from Indonesia's oil sands by its comprehensive effect and the separation condition was well investigated. The bitumen extraction conditions for industrial application were recommended to cover a mixing temperature of 80℃, a mixing time of 40 min, a mass ratio of ASP agent to oil sands of 4:10, and a floating time of 10 min. Under the above conditions, the bitumen recovery was about 86% and the residual bitumen content in tailings was about 6%. The relationship between the residual bitumen content and the particle size of tailings was studied in order to find the way to reducing the residual bitumen content in tailings. The results showed that the residual bitumen content in tailings decreased with a decreasing tailings particle size. After being milled for 30 min with a mortar, the tailings was reprocessed via extraction by means of the ASP agent, and the residual bitumen content in tailings decreased from 5.47% to 1.25%, which could comply with the disposal requirements.展开更多
An ionic liquid(IL),1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate([Emim][BF_(4)]),was used to enhance bitumen recovery from oil sands by dichloromethane solvent extraction.A multiphase system could be formed by simpl...An ionic liquid(IL),1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate([Emim][BF_(4)]),was used to enhance bitumen recovery from oil sands by dichloromethane solvent extraction.A multiphase system could be formed by simply mixing the components at ambient temperature,consisting of sands and clays,mixtures of ionic liquid and dichloromethane,and concentrated bitumen layer.The results demonstrated that[Emim][BF_(4)]increased the bitumen recovery up to 92%.Much less clay fines were found in the recovered bitumen than those formed by using dichloromethane solvent extraction alone,and the dichloromethane residue was not detected in the spent sands.We proposed that[Emim][BF_(4)]had an ability to reduce the adhesion of bitumen to sand,resulting in an improved separation efficiency.Furthermore,[Emim][BF_(4)]could facilitate the transfer of the extracted bitumen to the surface interface,and then the bitumen was auto-partitioned to a separate immiscible phase for ease of harvesting.This technology circumvented the issue of high consumption of distillation energy due to separation of bitumen phase and low boiling point of dichloromethane.[Emim][BF_(4)]and dichloromethane could be readily recycled through the system and used repeatedly.After ten cycles,the bitumen recovery remained above 88%.Initial scale-up work suggested that this approach would form the basis for a viable large-scale process.展开更多
The caustic alkali-free water extraction agents were studied for treating the oil sands excavated from Inner Mongolia, China. Several kinds of chemical reagents were evaluated, among which sodium carbonate(SC), sodium...The caustic alkali-free water extraction agents were studied for treating the oil sands excavated from Inner Mongolia, China. Several kinds of chemical reagents were evaluated, among which sodium carbonate(SC), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate(SD) and sodium chloride were confirmed as composite solutes. Their proportion was optimized by an orthogonal test. The optimum proportion of the composite agent covered 0.03% of SD, 0.50% of sodium chloride, 3.00% of SC, with the rest composed of water. The optimal operating condition was also confirmed. The oil sands were extracted at the following optimized conditions: a treating time of 15 min, a temperature of 80 ℃ and an extraction agent/feed ratio of 1:1, with the bitumen yield reaching more than 96%. The extraction agent after separation from the bitumen product can be recycled for reuse to carve out a good environmentally friendly route.展开更多
This study set out to gain a deeper understanding of a fluid catalytic cracking(FCC)coprocessing approach using canola oil mixed with bitumen-derived heavy gas oil(HGO),for the production of partially-renewable gasoli...This study set out to gain a deeper understanding of a fluid catalytic cracking(FCC)coprocessing approach using canola oil mixed with bitumen-derived heavy gas oil(HGO),for the production of partially-renewable gasoline,with respect to its composition and quality.The FCC coprocessing approach may provide an alternative solution to reducing the carbon footprint and to meet government regulatory demands for renewable transportation fuels.In this study,a mixture of 15 v%canola oil in HGO was catalytically cracked with a commercial equilibrium catalyst under typical FCC conditions.Cracking experiments were performed using a bench-scale Advanced Cracking Evaluation(ACE)unit at a fixed weight hourly space velocity of 8 h^(à1),490–530C,and catalyst/oil ratios of 4–12 g/g.The total liquid product samples were injected via an automatic sampler and a prefractionator(to removet254C)into a gas chromatographic system containing a series of columns,traps,and valves designed to separate each of the hydrocarbon types.The analyzer gives detailed hydrocarbon types of à200C gasoline,classified into paraffins,iso-paraffins,olefins,naphthenes,and aromatics by carbon number up to C_(11)(C_(10)for aromatics).For a feed cracked at a given temperature,the gasoline aromatics show the highest selectivity in terms of weight percent conversion,followed by saturated iso-paraffins,saturated naphthenes,unsaturated iso-paraffins,unsaturated naphthenes,unsaturated normal paraffins,and saturated normal paraffins.As conversion increases,both aromatics and saturated iso-paraffins increase monotonically at the expense of other components.Hydrocarbon type analysis and octane numbers with variation in feed type,process severity(temperature and catalyst/oil ratio),and conversion are also presented and discussed.展开更多
Oil sands contain a so-called organic rich solids component (ORS), i.e., solids whose surfaces are strongly associated with toluene insoluble organic matter (TIOM). Typically, humic material is the major componen...Oil sands contain a so-called organic rich solids component (ORS), i.e., solids whose surfaces are strongly associated with toluene insoluble organic matter (TIOM). Typically, humic material is the major component of TIOM. It provides sites for adsorption and chemical fixation of bitumen. This bound bitumen is “unliberated”, and considerable mechanical or chemical energy may be required to release it. In order to establish a correlation between bitumen recovery and ORS content, a few selected oil sands were processed in a Batch Extraction Unit (BEU). Analysis of the middlings and coarse tailings streams from these tests indicated a relatively constant bitumen to ORS ratio of 2.8±0.7. This value allows the liberated-unliberated bitumen balance (LUBB) to be calculated for any given oil sands. The amounts of bitumen recovered as primary froth during the BEU experiments are close to the estimated liberated bitumen contents in each case tested. This observation indicates that the liberated-unliberated bitumen calculation is an important quantitative parameter for prediction of bitumen recovery under specific recovery conditions. Preliminary results indicate that the ORS content of an oil sands may be estimated from the carbon content of bitumen free oil sands solids.展开更多
Aiming at the problem of anisotropy inversion of tight sands, a new method for extracting resistivity anisotropy from array laterolog and micro-resistivity scanning imaging logging is proposed, and also the consistenc...Aiming at the problem of anisotropy inversion of tight sands, a new method for extracting resistivity anisotropy from array laterolog and micro-resistivity scanning imaging logging is proposed, and also the consistency of electric and acoustic anisotropy is discussed. Array laterolog includes resistivity anisotropy information, but numerical simulation shows that drilling fluid invasion has the greatest influence on the response, followed by the relative dip angle θ and electrical anisotropy coefficient λ. A new inversion method to determine ri, Rxo, Rt and λ is developed with the given θ and initial values of invasion radius ri, flushed zone resistivity Rxo, in-situ formation resistivity Rt. Micro-resistivity image can also be used for describing the resistivity distribution information in different directions, and the electrical characteristics from micro-resistivity log in different azimuths, lateral and vertical, can be compared to extract electric anisotropy information. Directional arrangement of mineral particles in tight sands and fracture development are the intrinsic causes of anisotropy, which in turn brings about anisotropy in resistivity and acoustic velocity, so the resistivity anisotropy and acoustic velocity anisotropy are consistent in trends. Analysis of log data of several wells show that the electrical anisotropy and acoustic anisotropy extracted from array laterolog, micro-resistivity imaging and cross-dipole acoustic logs respectively are consistent in trend and magnitude, proving the inversion method is accurate and the anisotropies of different formation physical parameters caused by the intrinsic structure of tight sand reservoir are consistent. This research provides a new idea for evaluating anisotropy of tight sands.展开更多
To visually describe the sanding pattern,this study constructs a new particle-scale microstructure model of weakly consolidated formation,and develop the corresponding methodology to simulate the sanding process and p...To visually describe the sanding pattern,this study constructs a new particle-scale microstructure model of weakly consolidated formation,and develop the corresponding methodology to simulate the sanding process and predict sand cavity shape.The microstructure model is a particle-objective model,which focuses on the random sedimentation of every sand grain.In the microstructure,every particle has its own size,sphericity and inclination angle.It is used to simulate the actual structure of cemented granular materials,which considers the heterogeneity and randomness of reservoir properties,provides the initial status for subsequent sanding simulation.With the particle detachment criteria,the microscopic simulation of sanding can be visually implemented to investigate the pattern and cavity shapes caused by sand production.The results indicate that sanding always starts initially from the borehole border,and then extends along the weakly consolidated plane,showing obvious characteristic of randomness.Three typical microscopic sanding patterns,concerning pore liquefaction,pseudo wormhole and continuous collapse,are proposed to illustrate the sanding mechanism in weakly consolidated reservoirs.The nonuniformity of sanding performance depends on the heterogeneous distribution of reservoir properties,such as rock strength and particle size.Finally,the three sanding patterns are verified by visually experimental work.The proposed integrated methodology is capable of predicting and describing the sanding cavity shape of an oil well after long-term sanding production,and providing the focus objective of future sand control measure.展开更多
In order to explore the influence of sandstone architecture on waterflooding mechanisms using the architecture method,and taking as an example the M-I layer of the Kumkol oilfield in the South Turgay Basin,Kazakhstan,...In order to explore the influence of sandstone architecture on waterflooding mechanisms using the architecture method,and taking as an example the M-I layer of the Kumkol oilfield in the South Turgay Basin,Kazakhstan,we portrayed the architecture features of different types of sandstones and quantitatively characterized heterogeneities in a single sand body in meandering river facies.Based on the waterflooding characteristics of point bar sand and overbank sand according to waterflooded interpretation results in 367 wells and numerical simulation results of well groups,we finally analyzed the remaining oil potential of the meandering river sandstone and pointed out its development directions at the high water cut stage.The result shows that because lateral accretion shale beds are developed inside single sand bodies,the point bar sand is a semi-connected body.The overbank sand is thin sandstone with poor connectivity,small area and fast lateral changes.The heterogeneity of the overbank sand is stronger than the point bar sand.The sandstone architectures control the waterflooding characteristics.In meandering river sandstones,the bottom of the point bar sand is strongly waterflooded,while the top of the point bar sand and most of the overbank sand are only weakly waterflooded or unflooded.The thickness percentage of unflooded zone and weakly waterflooded zone in point bar sand is 40％,and the remaining oil in its top part is the main direction for future development.展开更多
In order to analyze the factors influencing sandstone mechanical compaction and its physical property evolution during compaction processes, simulation exper- iments on sandstone mechanical compaction were carried out...In order to analyze the factors influencing sandstone mechanical compaction and its physical property evolution during compaction processes, simulation exper- iments on sandstone mechanical compaction were carried out with a self-designed diagenetic simulation system. The experimental materials were modem sediments from dif- ferent sources, and the experiments were conducted under high temperature and high pressure. Results of the exper- iments show a binary function relation between primary porosity and mean size as well as sorting. With increasing overburden pressure during mechanical compaction, the evolution of porosity and permeability can be divided into rapid compaction at an early stage and slow compaction at a late stage, and the dividing pressure value of the two stages is about 12 MPa and the corresponding depth is about 600 m. In the slow compaction stage, there is a good exponential relationship between porosity and overburden pressure, while a good power function relationship exists between permeability and overburden pressure. There is also a good exponential relationship between porosity and permeability. The influence of particle size on sandstone mechanical compaction is mainly reflected in the slowcompaction stage, and the influence of sorting is mainly reflected in the rapid compaction stage. Abnormally high pressure effectively inhibits sandstone mechanical com- paction, and its control on sandstone mechanical com- paction is stronger than that of particle size and sorting. The influence of burial time on sandstone mechanical compaction is mainly in the slow compaction stage, and the porosity reduction caused by compaction is mainly con- trolled by average particle size.展开更多
Based on the data of field outcrops,drilling cores,casting thin sections,well logging interpretation,oil/gas shows during drilling,and oil/gas testing results,and combined with modern salt-lake sediments in the Qingha...Based on the data of field outcrops,drilling cores,casting thin sections,well logging interpretation,oil/gas shows during drilling,and oil/gas testing results,and combined with modern salt-lake sediments in the Qinghai Lake,the Neogene saline lake beach-bars in southwestern Qaidam Basin are studied from the perspective of sedimentary characteristics,development patterns,sand control factors,and hydrocarbon accumulation characteristics.Beach-bar sand bodies are widely developed in the Neogene saline lake basin,and they are lithologically fine sandstone and siltstone,with wavy bedding,low-angle cross bedding,and lenticular-vein bedding.In view of spatial-temporal distribution,the beach-bar sand bodies are stacked in multiple stages vertically,migratory laterally,and extensive and continuous in NW-SE trending pattern in the plane.The stacking area of the Neogene beach-bar sandstone is predicted to be 3000 km^(2).The water salinity affects the sedimentation rate and offshore distance of beach-bar sandstone,and the debris input from the source area affects the scale and enrichment of beach-bar sandstone.The ancient landform controls the morphology and stacking style of beach-bar sandstone,and the northwest monsoon driving effect controls the long-axis extension direction of beach-bar sandstone.The beach-bars have a reservoir-forming feature of“one reservoir in one sand body”,with thick beach-bar sand bodies controlling the effective reservoir distribution and oil-source faults controlling the oil/gas migration and accumulation direction.Three favorable exploration target zones in Zhahaquan,Yingdong-eastern Wunan and Huatugou areas are proposed based on the analysis of reservoir-forming elements.展开更多
Indonesian oil sands were systematically separated to investigate their basic composition.The extraction effects of the solvents with different Hilderbrand solubility parameters(HSPs)on the bitumen of Indonesian oil s...Indonesian oil sands were systematically separated to investigate their basic composition.The extraction effects of the solvents with different Hilderbrand solubility parameters(HSPs)on the bitumen of Indonesian oil sands were compared.Furthermore,the Hansen solubility combination parameter(HSCP)and Teas triangle were used to explore rules in the separation of oil sands bitumen via solvent extraction.Finally,the saturates,aromatics,resins,and asphaltenes(SARA)fractions of the bitumen from Indonesian oil sands were analyzed.The results showed that the Indonesian oil sands were oil-wet with a bitumen content of 24.93%.The solvent extraction for bitumen could be accurately and conveniently selected based on the solubility parameter.When the HSPs of the extraction solvent were around 18–19 and the HSCPs were closer to a certain range(δ_(d)=17.5–18.0,δ_(p)=1–3.5,and δ_(h)=2–6),the extraction effect of bitumen from Indonesian oil sands improved,and the primary component affecting the extraction rate of bitumen were asphaltenes.展开更多
Due to the continuously increasing building and construction industry,sand has become one of the most questioned raw materials worldwide.However,the available amount of sand suitable for concrete production is orders ...Due to the continuously increasing building and construction industry,sand has become one of the most questioned raw materials worldwide.However,the available amount of sand suitable for concrete production is orders of magnitude lower that the demand and consumption.Even though desert sand is sufficiently available,it is not usable for realizing stable concrete due to its surface shape.Against this background,the suitability of energy-efficient‘cold'dielectric barrier discharge plasma operated at atmospheric pressure for improving the properties of concrete produced from desert sand was investigated in this contribution.It is shown that such plasma treatment allows for a certain roughening and re-shaping of sand grains.As a result,the mass flow of treated sand is decreased due to an improved wedging of sand grains.This leads to a certain increase in compressive strength of concrete samples.Even though this increase is marginal,the suitability of the applied type of plasma for modification of the geometry and surface chemistry of sand grains was proven,showing its basic potential for the treatment and preconditioning of sand used for concrete,mortar or plastering.展开更多
As an independent sand control unit or a common protective shell of a high-quality screen,the punching screen is the outermost sand retaining unit of the sand control pipe which is used in geothermal well or oil and g...As an independent sand control unit or a common protective shell of a high-quality screen,the punching screen is the outermost sand retaining unit of the sand control pipe which is used in geothermal well or oil and gas well.However,most screens only consider the influence of the internal sand retaining medium parameters in the sand control performance design while ignoring the influence of the plugging of the punching screen on the overall sand retaining performance of the screen.To explore the clogging mechanism of the punching screen,this paper established the clogging mechanism calculation model of a single punching screen sand control unit by using the computational fluid mechanics-discrete element method(CFD-DEM)combined method.According to the combined motion of particles and fluids,the influence of the internal flow state on particle motion and accumulation was analyzed.The results showed that(1)the clogging process of the punching sand control unit is divided into three stages:initial clogging,aggravation of clogging and stability of clogging.In the initial stage of blockage,coarse particles form a loose bridge structure,and blockage often occurs preferentially at the streamline gathering place below chamfering inside the sand control unit.In the stage of blockage intensification,the particle mass develops into a relatively complete sand bridge,which develops from both ends of the opening to the center of the opening.In the stable plugging stage,the sand deposits show a“fan shape”and form a“V-shaped”gully inside the punching slot element.(2)Under a certain reservoir particle-size distribution,The slit length and opening height have a large influence on the permeability and blockage rate,while the slit width size has little influence on the permeability and blockage rate.The microscopic clogging mechanism and its law of the punching screen prevention unit are proposed in this study,which has some field guidance significance for the design of punching screen and sand prevention selection.展开更多
Radial well filled with phase change material has been proposed as a novel sand control method for hydrate exploitation.In order to reveal the sand control mechanism,CFD-DEM coupling method is applied to simulate the ...Radial well filled with phase change material has been proposed as a novel sand control method for hydrate exploitation.In order to reveal the sand control mechanism,CFD-DEM coupling method is applied to simulate the migration,settlement,and blockage processes of sand particles in the radial well.The obtained results indicate that three scenarios have been recognized for sand particles passing through sand control medium,based on the diameter ratio of sand control medium to sand particle(D_(d)):fully passing(D_(d)=8.75-22.5),partially passing and partially blocked(D_(d)=3.18-5.63),and completely blocked(D_(d)=2.18-3.21).After being captured by the sand control medium,sand particles can block pores,which increases fluid flow resistance and causes a certain pressure difference in the radial well.The pressure in the radial well should be lower than the hydrate phase equilibrium pressure during sand control design,for the purpose of promoting hydrate decomposition,and sand capture.The length of the radial well should be optimized based on the reservoir pore pressure,production pressure difference,bottom hole pressure,and the pressure gradient in the radial well.It should be noticed that the sand control medium leads to a decrease in permeability after sand particles captured.Even the permeability is reduced to several hundred millidarcy,it is still sufficient to ensure the effective flow of gas and water after hydrate decomposition.Increasing fluid velocity reduces the blocking capacity of the sand control medium,mainly because of deterioration in bridging between sand particles.展开更多
文摘The oil sands deposits in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin （WCSB） comprise of at least 85% of the total immobile bitumen in place in the world and are so concentrated as to be virtually the only such deposits that are economically recoverable for conversion to oil. The major deposits are in three geographic and geologic regions of Alberta： Athabasca, Cold Lake and Peace River. The bitumen reserves have oil gravities ranging from 8 to 12° API, and are hosted in the reservoirs of varying age, ranging from Devonian （Grosmont Formation） to Early Cretaceous （Mannville Group）. They were derived from light oils in the southern Alberta and migrated to the north and east for over 100 km during the Laramide Orogeny, which was responsible for the uplift of the Rocky Mountains. Biodegradation is the only process that transforms light oil into bitumen in such a dramatic way that overshadowed other alterations with minor contributions. The levels of biodegradation in the basin increasing from west （non-biodegraded） to east （extremely biodegraded） can be attributed to decreasing reservoir temperature, which played the primary role in controlling the biodegradation regime. Once the reservoir was heated to approximately 80℃, it was pasteurized and no biodegradation would further occur. However, reservoir temperature could not alone predict the variations of the oil composition and physical properties. Compositional gradients and a wide range ofbiodegradation degree at single reservoir column indicate that the water-leg size or the volume ratio of oil to water is one of the critical local controls for the vertical variations ofbiodegradation degree and oil physical properties. Late charging and mixing of the fresh and degraded oils ultimately dictate the final distribution of compositions and physical properties found in the heavy oil and oil sand fields. Oil geochemistry can reveal precisely the processes and levels that control these variations in a given field, which opens the possibility of model-driven prediction of oil properties and sweet spots in reservoirs.
基金support provided through a NSERC Discovery Grant(No:RES0011227)to T.Babadaglia NSERC Discovery Grant(No:NSERC RGPIN 05394)to H.Li+3 种基金financial supports provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No:51874240)National Science and Technology Major Project(No:2016ZX05047003-004)the Key Laboratory Fund of Education Department of Shaanxi Province(No:15JS086)Ph.D.Scholarship from the China Scholarship Council(CSC)(201806450029)for the financial support.
文摘Tight sands are abundant in nanopores leading to a high capillary pressure and normally a low fluid injectivity.As such,spontaneous imbibition might be an effective mechanism for improving oil recovery from tight sands after fracturing.The chemical agents added to the injected water can alter the interfacial properties,which could help further enhance the oil recovery by spontaneous imbibition.This study explores the possibility of using novel chemicals to enhance oil recovery from tight sands via spontaneous imbibition.We experimentally examine the effects of more than ten different chemical agents on spontaneous imbibition,including a cationic surfactant(C12 TAB),two anionic surfactants(0242 and 0342),an ionic liquid(BMMIM BF4),a high pH solution(NaBO2),and a series of house-made deep eutectic solvents(DES3-7,9,11,and 14).The interfacial tensions(IFT)between oil phase and some chemical solutions are also determined.Experimental results indicate that both the ionic liquid and cationic surfactant used in this study are detrimental to spontaneous imbibition and decrease the oil recovery from tight sands,even though cationic surfactant significantly decreases the oil-water IFT while ionic liquid does not.The high pH NaBO2 solution does not demonstrate significant effect on oil recovery improvement and IFT reduction.The anionic surfactants(O242 and O342)are effective in enhancing oil recovery from tight sands through oil-water IFT reduction and emulsification effects.The DESs drive the rock surface to be more water-wet,and a specific formulation(DES9)leads to much improvement on oil recovery under counter-current imbibition condition.This preliminary study would provide some knowledge about how to optimize the selection of chemicals for improving oil recovery from tight reservoirs.
文摘Oil sands are the most important of the oil and gas resources in Canada. So the distribution and evaluation of oil sands form a critical basis for risk investment in Canada. Distribution of oil sands resources is severely controlled by the reservoir heterogeneity. Deterministic modeling is commonly used to solve the heterogeneity problems in the reservoir, but rarely used to evaluate hydrocarbon resources. In this paper, a lithofacies based deterministic method is employed to assess the oil sands resources for a part of a mining project in northern Alberta. The statistical analysis of Dean Stark water and oil saturation data and study of the core description data, regional geology and geophysical logs reveal that the lithofacies in the study area can be classified into reservoir facies, possible reservoir facies and non-reservoir facies. The indicator krigging method is used to build a 3D lithofacies model based on the classification of sedimentary facies and the ordinary krigging method is applied to petrophysical property modeling. The results show that the krigging estimation is one of the good choices in oil sand resources modeling in Alberta. Lithofacies-grade based modeling may have advantages over the grade-only based modeling.
文摘A self-developed ASP agent was used to separate bitumen from Indonesia's oil sands by its comprehensive effect and the separation condition was well investigated. The bitumen extraction conditions for industrial application were recommended to cover a mixing temperature of 80℃, a mixing time of 40 min, a mass ratio of ASP agent to oil sands of 4:10, and a floating time of 10 min. Under the above conditions, the bitumen recovery was about 86% and the residual bitumen content in tailings was about 6%. The relationship between the residual bitumen content and the particle size of tailings was studied in order to find the way to reducing the residual bitumen content in tailings. The results showed that the residual bitumen content in tailings decreased with a decreasing tailings particle size. After being milled for 30 min with a mortar, the tailings was reprocessed via extraction by means of the ASP agent, and the residual bitumen content in tailings decreased from 5.47% to 1.25%, which could comply with the disposal requirements.
基金The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.21406101)the Key Research and Development Plan of Liaoning Province(Grant No.2020JH2/10300061).
文摘An ionic liquid(IL),1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate([Emim][BF_(4)]),was used to enhance bitumen recovery from oil sands by dichloromethane solvent extraction.A multiphase system could be formed by simply mixing the components at ambient temperature,consisting of sands and clays,mixtures of ionic liquid and dichloromethane,and concentrated bitumen layer.The results demonstrated that[Emim][BF_(4)]increased the bitumen recovery up to 92%.Much less clay fines were found in the recovered bitumen than those formed by using dichloromethane solvent extraction alone,and the dichloromethane residue was not detected in the spent sands.We proposed that[Emim][BF_(4)]had an ability to reduce the adhesion of bitumen to sand,resulting in an improved separation efficiency.Furthermore,[Emim][BF_(4)]could facilitate the transfer of the extracted bitumen to the surface interface,and then the bitumen was auto-partitioned to a separate immiscible phase for ease of harvesting.This technology circumvented the issue of high consumption of distillation energy due to separation of bitumen phase and low boiling point of dichloromethane.[Emim][BF_(4)]and dichloromethane could be readily recycled through the system and used repeatedly.After ten cycles,the bitumen recovery remained above 88%.Initial scale-up work suggested that this approach would form the basis for a viable large-scale process.
文摘The caustic alkali-free water extraction agents were studied for treating the oil sands excavated from Inner Mongolia, China. Several kinds of chemical reagents were evaluated, among which sodium carbonate(SC), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate(SD) and sodium chloride were confirmed as composite solutes. Their proportion was optimized by an orthogonal test. The optimum proportion of the composite agent covered 0.03% of SD, 0.50% of sodium chloride, 3.00% of SC, with the rest composed of water. The optimal operating condition was also confirmed. The oil sands were extracted at the following optimized conditions: a treating time of 15 min, a temperature of 80 ℃ and an extraction agent/feed ratio of 1:1, with the bitumen yield reaching more than 96%. The extraction agent after separation from the bitumen product can be recycled for reuse to carve out a good environmentally friendly route.
基金Natural Resources Canada and government of Canada's interdepartmental Program of Energy Research and Development (PERD)
文摘This study set out to gain a deeper understanding of a fluid catalytic cracking(FCC)coprocessing approach using canola oil mixed with bitumen-derived heavy gas oil(HGO),for the production of partially-renewable gasoline,with respect to its composition and quality.The FCC coprocessing approach may provide an alternative solution to reducing the carbon footprint and to meet government regulatory demands for renewable transportation fuels.In this study,a mixture of 15 v%canola oil in HGO was catalytically cracked with a commercial equilibrium catalyst under typical FCC conditions.Cracking experiments were performed using a bench-scale Advanced Cracking Evaluation(ACE)unit at a fixed weight hourly space velocity of 8 h^(à1),490–530C,and catalyst/oil ratios of 4–12 g/g.The total liquid product samples were injected via an automatic sampler and a prefractionator(to removet254C)into a gas chromatographic system containing a series of columns,traps,and valves designed to separate each of the hydrocarbon types.The analyzer gives detailed hydrocarbon types of à200C gasoline,classified into paraffins,iso-paraffins,olefins,naphthenes,and aromatics by carbon number up to C_(11)(C_(10)for aromatics).For a feed cracked at a given temperature,the gasoline aromatics show the highest selectivity in terms of weight percent conversion,followed by saturated iso-paraffins,saturated naphthenes,unsaturated iso-paraffins,unsaturated naphthenes,unsaturated normal paraffins,and saturated normal paraffins.As conversion increases,both aromatics and saturated iso-paraffins increase monotonically at the expense of other components.Hydrocarbon type analysis and octane numbers with variation in feed type,process severity(temperature and catalyst/oil ratio),and conversion are also presented and discussed.
文摘Oil sands contain a so-called organic rich solids component (ORS), i.e., solids whose surfaces are strongly associated with toluene insoluble organic matter (TIOM). Typically, humic material is the major component of TIOM. It provides sites for adsorption and chemical fixation of bitumen. This bound bitumen is “unliberated”, and considerable mechanical or chemical energy may be required to release it. In order to establish a correlation between bitumen recovery and ORS content, a few selected oil sands were processed in a Batch Extraction Unit (BEU). Analysis of the middlings and coarse tailings streams from these tests indicated a relatively constant bitumen to ORS ratio of 2.8±0.7. This value allows the liberated-unliberated bitumen balance (LUBB) to be calculated for any given oil sands. The amounts of bitumen recovered as primary froth during the BEU experiments are close to the estimated liberated bitumen contents in each case tested. This observation indicates that the liberated-unliberated bitumen calculation is an important quantitative parameter for prediction of bitumen recovery under specific recovery conditions. Preliminary results indicate that the ORS content of an oil sands may be estimated from the carbon content of bitumen free oil sands solids.
基金Supported by the Scientific Research and Technological Development Project of CNPC(2019A-3608)
文摘Aiming at the problem of anisotropy inversion of tight sands, a new method for extracting resistivity anisotropy from array laterolog and micro-resistivity scanning imaging logging is proposed, and also the consistency of electric and acoustic anisotropy is discussed. Array laterolog includes resistivity anisotropy information, but numerical simulation shows that drilling fluid invasion has the greatest influence on the response, followed by the relative dip angle θ and electrical anisotropy coefficient λ. A new inversion method to determine ri, Rxo, Rt and λ is developed with the given θ and initial values of invasion radius ri, flushed zone resistivity Rxo, in-situ formation resistivity Rt. Micro-resistivity image can also be used for describing the resistivity distribution information in different directions, and the electrical characteristics from micro-resistivity log in different azimuths, lateral and vertical, can be compared to extract electric anisotropy information. Directional arrangement of mineral particles in tight sands and fracture development are the intrinsic causes of anisotropy, which in turn brings about anisotropy in resistivity and acoustic velocity, so the resistivity anisotropy and acoustic velocity anisotropy are consistent in trends. Analysis of log data of several wells show that the electrical anisotropy and acoustic anisotropy extracted from array laterolog, micro-resistivity imaging and cross-dipole acoustic logs respectively are consistent in trend and magnitude, proving the inversion method is accurate and the anisotropies of different formation physical parameters caused by the intrinsic structure of tight sand reservoir are consistent. This research provides a new idea for evaluating anisotropy of tight sands.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51774307,52074331,42002182)partially supported by Major Special Projects of CNPC,China(ZD2019-184)。
文摘To visually describe the sanding pattern,this study constructs a new particle-scale microstructure model of weakly consolidated formation,and develop the corresponding methodology to simulate the sanding process and predict sand cavity shape.The microstructure model is a particle-objective model,which focuses on the random sedimentation of every sand grain.In the microstructure,every particle has its own size,sphericity and inclination angle.It is used to simulate the actual structure of cemented granular materials,which considers the heterogeneity and randomness of reservoir properties,provides the initial status for subsequent sanding simulation.With the particle detachment criteria,the microscopic simulation of sanding can be visually implemented to investigate the pattern and cavity shapes caused by sand production.The results indicate that sanding always starts initially from the borehole border,and then extends along the weakly consolidated plane,showing obvious characteristic of randomness.Three typical microscopic sanding patterns,concerning pore liquefaction,pseudo wormhole and continuous collapse,are proposed to illustrate the sanding mechanism in weakly consolidated reservoirs.The nonuniformity of sanding performance depends on the heterogeneous distribution of reservoir properties,such as rock strength and particle size.Finally,the three sanding patterns are verified by visually experimental work.The proposed integrated methodology is capable of predicting and describing the sanding cavity shape of an oil well after long-term sanding production,and providing the focus objective of future sand control measure.
基金funded by the Major Program of PetroChina(2011E-2506)
文摘In order to explore the influence of sandstone architecture on waterflooding mechanisms using the architecture method,and taking as an example the M-I layer of the Kumkol oilfield in the South Turgay Basin,Kazakhstan,we portrayed the architecture features of different types of sandstones and quantitatively characterized heterogeneities in a single sand body in meandering river facies.Based on the waterflooding characteristics of point bar sand and overbank sand according to waterflooded interpretation results in 367 wells and numerical simulation results of well groups,we finally analyzed the remaining oil potential of the meandering river sandstone and pointed out its development directions at the high water cut stage.The result shows that because lateral accretion shale beds are developed inside single sand bodies,the point bar sand is a semi-connected body.The overbank sand is thin sandstone with poor connectivity,small area and fast lateral changes.The heterogeneity of the overbank sand is stronger than the point bar sand.The sandstone architectures control the waterflooding characteristics.In meandering river sandstones,the bottom of the point bar sand is strongly waterflooded,while the top of the point bar sand and most of the overbank sand are only weakly waterflooded or unflooded.The thickness percentage of unflooded zone and weakly waterflooded zone in point bar sand is 40％,and the remaining oil in its top part is the main direction for future development.
基金co-funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.U1262203)the National Science and Technology Special Grant (Grant No.2011ZX05009003)+1 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No.14CX06013A)the Chinese Scholarship Council (No.201406450019)
文摘In order to analyze the factors influencing sandstone mechanical compaction and its physical property evolution during compaction processes, simulation exper- iments on sandstone mechanical compaction were carried out with a self-designed diagenetic simulation system. The experimental materials were modem sediments from dif- ferent sources, and the experiments were conducted under high temperature and high pressure. Results of the exper- iments show a binary function relation between primary porosity and mean size as well as sorting. With increasing overburden pressure during mechanical compaction, the evolution of porosity and permeability can be divided into rapid compaction at an early stage and slow compaction at a late stage, and the dividing pressure value of the two stages is about 12 MPa and the corresponding depth is about 600 m. In the slow compaction stage, there is a good exponential relationship between porosity and overburden pressure, while a good power function relationship exists between permeability and overburden pressure. There is also a good exponential relationship between porosity and permeability. The influence of particle size on sandstone mechanical compaction is mainly reflected in the slowcompaction stage, and the influence of sorting is mainly reflected in the rapid compaction stage. Abnormally high pressure effectively inhibits sandstone mechanical com- paction, and its control on sandstone mechanical com- paction is stronger than that of particle size and sorting. The influence of burial time on sandstone mechanical compaction is mainly in the slow compaction stage, and the porosity reduction caused by compaction is mainly con- trolled by average particle size.
基金Supported by the PetroChina Science and Technology Project (2021DJ0402,2021DJ0202)。
文摘Based on the data of field outcrops,drilling cores,casting thin sections,well logging interpretation,oil/gas shows during drilling,and oil/gas testing results,and combined with modern salt-lake sediments in the Qinghai Lake,the Neogene saline lake beach-bars in southwestern Qaidam Basin are studied from the perspective of sedimentary characteristics,development patterns,sand control factors,and hydrocarbon accumulation characteristics.Beach-bar sand bodies are widely developed in the Neogene saline lake basin,and they are lithologically fine sandstone and siltstone,with wavy bedding,low-angle cross bedding,and lenticular-vein bedding.In view of spatial-temporal distribution,the beach-bar sand bodies are stacked in multiple stages vertically,migratory laterally,and extensive and continuous in NW-SE trending pattern in the plane.The stacking area of the Neogene beach-bar sandstone is predicted to be 3000 km^(2).The water salinity affects the sedimentation rate and offshore distance of beach-bar sandstone,and the debris input from the source area affects the scale and enrichment of beach-bar sandstone.The ancient landform controls the morphology and stacking style of beach-bar sandstone,and the northwest monsoon driving effect controls the long-axis extension direction of beach-bar sandstone.The beach-bars have a reservoir-forming feature of“one reservoir in one sand body”,with thick beach-bar sand bodies controlling the effective reservoir distribution and oil-source faults controlling the oil/gas migration and accumulation direction.Three favorable exploration target zones in Zhahaquan,Yingdong-eastern Wunan and Huatugou areas are proposed based on the analysis of reservoir-forming elements.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(Grant number:BK20140260)Joint Project of Industry-University-Research of Jiangsu Province(Grant number:BY2018158,BY2021590)State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing.
文摘Indonesian oil sands were systematically separated to investigate their basic composition.The extraction effects of the solvents with different Hilderbrand solubility parameters(HSPs)on the bitumen of Indonesian oil sands were compared.Furthermore,the Hansen solubility combination parameter(HSCP)and Teas triangle were used to explore rules in the separation of oil sands bitumen via solvent extraction.Finally,the saturates,aromatics,resins,and asphaltenes(SARA)fractions of the bitumen from Indonesian oil sands were analyzed.The results showed that the Indonesian oil sands were oil-wet with a bitumen content of 24.93%.The solvent extraction for bitumen could be accurately and conveniently selected based on the solubility parameter.When the HSPs of the extraction solvent were around 18–19 and the HSCPs were closer to a certain range(δ_(d)=17.5–18.0,δ_(p)=1–3.5,and δ_(h)=2–6),the extraction effect of bitumen from Indonesian oil sands improved,and the primary component affecting the extraction rate of bitumen were asphaltenes.
基金funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung(Nos.13FH6I06IA and 13FH6I08IA)。
文摘Due to the continuously increasing building and construction industry,sand has become one of the most questioned raw materials worldwide.However,the available amount of sand suitable for concrete production is orders of magnitude lower that the demand and consumption.Even though desert sand is sufficiently available,it is not usable for realizing stable concrete due to its surface shape.Against this background,the suitability of energy-efficient‘cold'dielectric barrier discharge plasma operated at atmospheric pressure for improving the properties of concrete produced from desert sand was investigated in this contribution.It is shown that such plasma treatment allows for a certain roughening and re-shaping of sand grains.As a result,the mass flow of treated sand is decreased due to an improved wedging of sand grains.This leads to a certain increase in compressive strength of concrete samples.Even though this increase is marginal,the suitability of the applied type of plasma for modification of the geometry and surface chemistry of sand grains was proven,showing its basic potential for the treatment and preconditioning of sand used for concrete,mortar or plastering.
文摘As an independent sand control unit or a common protective shell of a high-quality screen,the punching screen is the outermost sand retaining unit of the sand control pipe which is used in geothermal well or oil and gas well.However,most screens only consider the influence of the internal sand retaining medium parameters in the sand control performance design while ignoring the influence of the plugging of the punching screen on the overall sand retaining performance of the screen.To explore the clogging mechanism of the punching screen,this paper established the clogging mechanism calculation model of a single punching screen sand control unit by using the computational fluid mechanics-discrete element method(CFD-DEM)combined method.According to the combined motion of particles and fluids,the influence of the internal flow state on particle motion and accumulation was analyzed.The results showed that(1)the clogging process of the punching sand control unit is divided into three stages:initial clogging,aggravation of clogging and stability of clogging.In the initial stage of blockage,coarse particles form a loose bridge structure,and blockage often occurs preferentially at the streamline gathering place below chamfering inside the sand control unit.In the stage of blockage intensification,the particle mass develops into a relatively complete sand bridge,which develops from both ends of the opening to the center of the opening.In the stable plugging stage,the sand deposits show a“fan shape”and form a“V-shaped”gully inside the punching slot element.(2)Under a certain reservoir particle-size distribution,The slit length and opening height have a large influence on the permeability and blockage rate,while the slit width size has little influence on the permeability and blockage rate.The microscopic clogging mechanism and its law of the punching screen prevention unit are proposed in this study,which has some field guidance significance for the design of punching screen and sand prevention selection.
基金sponsored by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grand No.52204024,52074332)CNPC Innovation Found (Grant No.2021DQ02-1006)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No.2-9-2023-049)。
文摘Radial well filled with phase change material has been proposed as a novel sand control method for hydrate exploitation.In order to reveal the sand control mechanism,CFD-DEM coupling method is applied to simulate the migration,settlement,and blockage processes of sand particles in the radial well.The obtained results indicate that three scenarios have been recognized for sand particles passing through sand control medium,based on the diameter ratio of sand control medium to sand particle(D_(d)):fully passing(D_(d)=8.75-22.5),partially passing and partially blocked(D_(d)=3.18-5.63),and completely blocked(D_(d)=2.18-3.21).After being captured by the sand control medium,sand particles can block pores,which increases fluid flow resistance and causes a certain pressure difference in the radial well.The pressure in the radial well should be lower than the hydrate phase equilibrium pressure during sand control design,for the purpose of promoting hydrate decomposition,and sand capture.The length of the radial well should be optimized based on the reservoir pore pressure,production pressure difference,bottom hole pressure,and the pressure gradient in the radial well.It should be noticed that the sand control medium leads to a decrease in permeability after sand particles captured.Even the permeability is reduced to several hundred millidarcy,it is still sufficient to ensure the effective flow of gas and water after hydrate decomposition.Increasing fluid velocity reduces the blocking capacity of the sand control medium,mainly because of deterioration in bridging between sand particles.
