Controlling the hybrid steam-solvent injection for increasing recovery factor and reducing solvent retention in heterogeneous reservoirs

The irregular steam chamber propagation has been a problem in hybrid steam-solvent injection in heterogeneous reservoirs. When the steam chamber is poor, the solvent passes through to the production well directly. If the steam chamber is good, the oil drain will be effective. In such a case, controlling the hybrid steam-solvent injection is necessary to spread the steam chamber uniformly. A synthetic reservoir model was developed to study the phenomenon using a real field data set. Adjusting steam injection pressure, grouping perforations, and controlling the openings of perforation were observed. The adjustment from the peak of production rate is more favourable because the steam chamber has reached its maturity. Then, the solvent effectiveness increases and the solvent retention reduces. The heat efficiency and recovery factor are increased by 7.4% and 8%, respectively. The NPV on the adjustment from the peak of production rate increases by 9% compared with no-adjustment case. [Received: January 21, 201...