NCGI hits mainstream

Remember when SAGD methane injection was just experimental? Now it has become mainstream.

Without AppIntel, how can you find all the NCGI applications? How can you find out what all the other operators are doing? How will you know what's working and what's not? In AppIntel just type  NCGI  into the KiP search box.

Injecting methane can both decrease your operating cost and increase recovery in your SAGD operation.

Reading technical papers are fine. Running simulations can help. But actually seeing these gas injection in the field takes the expensive surprises out of your future.

Converting every pad

After experimenting with many SAGD pads in various stages of steaming and depletion, one operator has determined that every pad hereafter will have noncondensable gas injection.

He will reallocate displaced steam to other pads. He extols NCGI results in reducing steam-to-oil ratio (SOR) and energy efficiency gains for their project.

Check out which types of pad will get pure steam and which will get methane co-injection and why.

You can get his application documents for less than $100 -- self serve.

1. First Installation

The earliest application of non-condensable gas injection was submitted by an operator that hoped it would reduce steam-oil-ratios and insulate steam heat from dissipating through the cap rock. Very well written, his application documents and negotiation with the regulator are very instructive on many benefits of gas injection. Image attributed to Alete.

2. Methane and steam injection primer

When his steam chambers reaches 60% recovery, one SAGD operator proposes to completely replace steam injection with methane. He describes thermal gas injection with primer-like detail.

3. Methane reduces steam oil ratios

One operator is experimenting with NCG injection later in the life of wells. The application also describes the modifications to their production and injection systems.

4. Gas injection as a fence

One operator proposes injecting methane and steam around a pilot to re-pressurize the area. He's using non-condensable gas injection as a fence treatment to keep the SAGD operation in pattern.

5. Methane injection during blowdown

This operator not only wants to co-inject non-condensable gas with steam in his SAGD scheme, he wants to use it as an important part of this blowdown strategy. In his project, he intends to replace SAGD steam injection with a non-condensable gas (like methane).

6. Non-condensable gas injection and SAGD infills

Injecting non-condensable gas and drilling infills in the same patterns is creating some excitement for this SAGD operator. He believes these combined with his special sense of timing will improve resource recovery by another 30%.

7. SAGD NCG with CSS Infills

One operator is experimenting with noncondensable gas injection in a SAGD pair and adding infill producers. But the infill producers are operated on a cyclic steam huff and puff.

8. Methane or Propane?

What is the future of bitumen recovery? Primary or thermal? SAGD or CSS? Inject methane, propane or surfactant? Some operators are experimenting with each in the same field.

We've given you 8 applications that document field trials of NCGI co-injection, but there are many more. Some of these strategies could drastically improve your thermal scheme.

All these have been passed the theoretical phase and lab test phase. Each has been implemented in the field.

Each have been ground truthed with injector UWIs. You can read their application, then check out the actual results by looking at their patterns in Accumap.

You owe it to yourself and your investors to read the application documents that explore these pilot projects. You decide whether they will work for your field.

Tags: Gas Injection, Thermal, Heavy Oil

Granger Low   24 Oct 2017

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