Production mapping of Heavy Oil Horizontal wells in Western Canada over the past 15 years has shown that despite having more than 1,000 times the reservoir contact than a vertical well, recovery is similar.
This profound failure to translate physical access into production has left most of the producable oil behind pipe.
A workover design in the range of $130,000 to $250,000 can stimulate inflow for an estimated Capital Efficiency of $1,500 to $6,000/flowing barrel/day. Estimated payout is less than 6 months.
The workover procedure and operational follow-up required to fully realize recovery does not require stimulation with steam, heat, or the injection of fluids, gases, solvents, or chemicals.