Experimental study on the effect of different distributed interlayer on SAGD performance

Abstract The Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) technology is acknowledged in the development of heavy oils worldwide because of its high efficiency. This study is based on the Long Lake reservoir with large-scale interlayers in geovlogy. Firstly, a 3D experiment was built to evaluate the existence of different distributed interlayers on the performance of SAGD technology in consideration of its geology conditions. Our experiment investigated the effect of the equivalent area of interlayers on the behaviour of the steam chamber. The experiments were grouped into three scenarios, i.e., a) no interlayer, b) quarter-length-covered interlayer, and c) half-length-covered interlayer. The experiment observations demonstrate that the steam chamber expanding would be obstructed by the designed interlayers and then go around both sides of the interlayer to reach the top of the reservoir. The steam chamber would extend out along the top surface of the reservoir and go down until the end of production. It means that the existence of a different distributed interlayer can prolong the steady-production period and reduce the production of this period. Referring to scenario a, the EUR in scenarios b&c is decreased by 4.7% and 7.3%, respectively. Moreover, the longer distributed interlayer obstacle the propagation of the steam chamber significantly. The steady-production period in scenario c should be more extended than scenario b. Also, scenario c exhibited lower production and ultimate recovery. This study is helpful for the understanding of the effect of SAGD development on the different distributed interlayers and guiding the placing of wells on site.