Heavy Oil Unconsolidated Sand Reservoir is not Rock.
It is a slurry of 70% sand suspended in a foamy viscous oil.
For more than 80 years thousands of vertical perforated non-thermal heavy oil wells in the Western Canadian Basin have recovered 5% to 10% of OOIP (drained 2 to 3 acres) regardless of pay thickness or oil viscosity after several hundred cubic meters of near wellbore sand are extracted.
Practicing Total Sand Exclusion rather than Managed Sand Extraction delivers less than 1% recovery.
Extraction of less than 2% of the reservoir sand stimulates rate and recovery several multiples beyond what theory predicts.
Ratio of Oil Recovered to Sand Extracted is 25:1.
Cold flood schemes average incremental recovery of 8% regardless of media injected. Without the containment required for lab samples the reservoir material easily gives way to penetration from viscous fingering resulting in rapid breakthrough and large diameter channels.
Porosity and Permeability are Moving Targets as sand grains are rearranged when fluids are produced or injected.
Injection wells experience up to 15 fold increases in injection rate at several fold decreases in injection pressure after near wellbore sand extraction.
Fracturing occurs in unconsolidated sands at less than 1 Mpa above Pore Pressure.
Depleted Well Drained Areas are relatively small and are in Pressure Isolation from the surrounding reservoir.
These facts are the basis of Fit-for-Purpose Techniques that make Sand Extraction and Disposal Profitable.
Restore Production & Boost Recovery up to 15 Fold in Existing Horizontal Wells
Re-purpose Economically Depleted Horizontal & Vertical Well Cold Injection Flood Schemes
Increase the Value of Remaining Reserves Surrounding Depleted Vertical Wells
Decrease GHG Emissions and Environmental Footprint
Case History: Serial Cavity Completions Restored Production and Tripled Horizontal Well Recovery
