SPE 149779

Evaluation Of Electric Heating On Recovery Factors In Extra Heavy Oil

Reservoirs
Gasbarri S.; Diaz, A.; Guzman, M.; University of Central Venezuela

Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Heavy Oil Conference and Exhibition held in Kuwait City, Kuwait, 1214 December 2011.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
Most of the world hydrocarbon reserves represent extra-heavy oils. Exploitation of most of these reservoirs has not been
carried out mainly due to the difficulty to produce the high-viscosity of extra heavy oils. Cold production can be achieved in
the Orinoco Oil Belt through advanced horizontal wells. However, in many cases the drawdown exerted creates gas or sand
production problems or excessive water production when an aquifer exists. Primary recovery factor under these conditions
rarely go beyond 6%; and 3% in the presence of an active aquifer.
On the last decade several thermal mechanisms have been studied to increase the recovery of these types of reservoirs. This
study analyzes the effect of bottom-hole electric heating on the production and recovery factors of extra-heavy oil reservoirs.
The study was carried out by numerical simulation, analyzing the most influential parameters through an experimental matrix
of 24 cases run in a horizontal well of 2000 feet. Four types of oils were studied, 8.1, 10, 12 and 15API gravity. Reservoir
thicknesses used were 300 feet and 80 feet. Two different heating rates were used (1.6e07 and 5e07 BTU/Day). The
boundary conditions used in the model correspond to the installation of a typical downhole pump in Orinoco Belt. Several
parameters were analyzed such as pressures, temperatures, viscosities, production rate, gas-oil ratio, in order to determine the
effect of the heating.
Based on this study, electric heating represents a good option for good sand quality reservoirs with low API gravity oils
where a small change of temperature generates great change in viscosity. Special grid refinement must be performed within
the wellbore in order to allow the simulator to accurately estimate the properties and conditions in this area where significant
changes occur. Electric heating reduces the viscosity near wellbore and increases the bottom-hole pressure avoiding
excessive gas liberation near the well. This creates favourable conditions for production delaying an oil relative permeability
drop. Based on the simulations studied, this method increases the recovery factor up to 60% the one obtained in cold
production for a typical extra heavy oil.

Introduction
Due to the depletion of conventional oil reservoirs, heavy and extra-heavy oil reserves promise to have great value to energy
supply for the next decades. These oils usually need thermal or nonthermal recovery methods. Steam injection is one of the
most widely used thermal methods. It involves injecting hot water or steam in order to change the in situ oil properties by
means of a temperature increase and thus make it flow easily. Surface installations must be planned in advanced and payout
does not come as soon as it is desired for many applications.
Another method of thermal stimulation is electric heating. This consists of generating heat by an application of an electric
current to increase the temperature near the well. This technique does not require a fluid heat carrier for heating the oil which
is particularly advantageous for exploiting thin sands or in areas where increasing the reservoir temperature does reduce
viscosity significantly hence improves mobility and increases production.
This research focuses on thermal stimulation through electric heating, specifically the ohmic resistive type as it is the
simplest and easiest to apply. This technique uses a heating element inside the well that converts the electric energy into heat
and it is transferred to the formation, like a common water heater. The main use of this type of tool is to heat the oil inside the
well, enough to improve the lifting efficiency. This helps deal with the problems related to viscous oil, and improves the flow
assurance. It is known that this method provides limited heat into the reservoir because thermal conduction is the unique heat
transfer mechanism. This research studies the effect of this heating in the inflow performance of the reservoir.
2 SPE 149779

Orinoco Oil Belt

The Eastern Venezuela Basin comprises the states of Anzoategui, Monagas, Guarico, Delta Amacuro and part of Sucre, with
an area of 153,000 km, the most extensive Basin in Venezuela. It has more than 3,300 active wells and it has produced
573.611 million barrels by 2000, representing 49.8% of Venezuelan production. The Orinoco Oil Belt, OOB, is located
within this basin with an immense potential of heavy and extra-heavy
extra oil.
The OOB has around 700 km long with a width between 32 and 100 km and its area covers approximately 55,314 km. An
important characteristic of the formations that create the deposits with heavy and extra
extra-heavy
heavy oils, as in the case of the OOB,
is that they are formed by unconsolidated sands, a condition that results in high porosity and permeability
per of the producing
zone. The production mechanisms of such reservoirs generate recovery factors between 3 and 10% of total volume. This type
of oils comes with very little gas, a situation that does not help the natural mechanism of production of the t field and the
natural flow of oil up to the surface through the tubing. Therefore, artificial lift has to be used in all wells. The OOB has a
current operational area of 11,593 km with an OOIP 1360 MMMBLS, and it is divided into four administrative areas: are
Boyaca, Junin, Ayacucho and Carabobo. [1]
Currently several enhanced oil recovery methods are useful in non-conventional
non conventional oils and their application depends on the
reservoir characteristics, reservoir fluids, and the expected exploitation strategy. From the energy point of view, these
techniques can be classified into two groups: non-thermal
non thermal recovery methods, and thermal recovery methods. Thermal
recovery methods are used to exploit heavy oil reservoirs, where the viscosity is high and the oil mobility iis low at reservoir
temperature. The heat injection generates a temperature increase that allows the oil to flow more easily in the porous media.
media
These thermal recovery methods can be divided into two groups, those that involve injecting a hot fluid in the reservoir; and
those using the heat generation at the site, also known as In Situ Processes.

Electric Heating
The electric heater is an enhanced recovery method that consists of introducing heat into the formation without fluids
injection. This technique has been successfully applied in regions near wellbore. The electric heating method can be done in
several ways [2]: ohmic heating; induction heating and; formation resistive heating; see Fig. 1.

ELECTRIC
HEATING

Low-Medium
Low Frequency High Frequency
Frequency
Current Current
Current

Resistive Inductive Microwave

Radio
Ohmic
Frequency

Fig. 1. Electric Heating Methods Scheme

In the method of induction heating the current is induced in the casing which serves as a heating element, and the heat is
generated both inside and outside the well. This process improves the oil mobility in the near wellbore region and acts as a
negative skin. Another method is the formation resistive heating
heating,, where the formation itself serves as a resistor (or conductor)
SPE 149779 3

for electricity. The electrical current is conducted within the reservoir by connate water; the salinity of water in situ supplies
the conductivity. This technique uses Downhole electrodes, usually located within an injector and producer, which are
supported either with an adjacent well or with the surface. On the other hand, another form of electrical heating techniques
proposed is the radio frequency and microwave heating using very high frequency energy to heat the reservoir.
In contrast, Ohmic heating method uses a resistor heating element inside the well to generate heat like a house electric water
heater. The main use of this type of tool is to heat the oil in the well enough to improve the efficiency of the artificial lift
system. On the other hand, it helps deal with the viscous oil inside the formation, transferring heat in the near wellbore area
by thermal conductivity of the rock and fluids. For this reason, previous works state that the effect on the inflow of the
reservoir is limited or negligible. This paper presents the results of the simulations performed to determine the effect of the
application of ohmic heating in the inflow of a typical well of the OOB.
In this study, the ohmic heaters are modelled with a thermal numerical simulator. From the reservoir point of view, this type
of process stimulates production mainly by reducing the viscosity of near wellbore oil and secondly; by the thermal
expansion of the reservoir fluids. The fundamental parameters that must be understood in this process are the variation of the
viscosity of heavy oil with temperature and how the heat rate provided is distributed in the volume around the borehole
creating an advantageous temperature gradient [3].
The characteristic of candidate wells for the application of ohmic heating technology using a Downhole Electric Heater Cable
are: a) Heavy oil fields where the steam generation and transport facilities are not economically justifiable; b) Extra-heavy
crudes in which little temperature increase creates significant changes in viscosity, c) Long horizontal wells with high
pressure drop thru the horizontal section; d) Heavy oil wells that need a preheating stage prior to the application of another
recovery process, e) Near Wellbore skin damage (due to viscosity or deposition of solids).

Previous Works
Sierra et all performed a state of the art of electric heating technology by year 2001. The success found in their studies with
these technologies ranges from no successful projects to tripling-production projects. They described that some of the early
field tests had to be discontinued because of poor performance of the available equipment. New equipment had been field
tested and has improved their reliability. They proposed using a Downhole heater system in both horizontal and vertical wells
in reservoirs where steam cannot be used due to factors such as depth, incompatibility of formation, low capacity of the
formation to receive the injected fluids, excessive heat loss.
Rangel et all, 2004, explored electric heating provided by mineral-insulated cable and a novel arrangement of well heater.
Two-dimensional and heterogeneous three-dimensional reservoir simulation models using single and dual lateral horizontal
wells completion showed that an electric resistance heating element with a modest power output enhances recovery more
than double. They described that important parameters for improved recovery are (1) solution gas, (2) formation and fluid
thermal conductivity, and (3) the ability to achieve relatively low bottomhole pressure in production wells. Their economic
analysis suggested that the cost of electricity was about 1.25 USD per barrel of incremental oil.
Rodriguez, Bashbush, & Rincon, (2008) presented a simulated analysis of various typical scenarios of heavy oil to verify the
feasibility of using electric heaters for enhancing oil recovery in OOB economic scenarios. This paper found that the electric
heater is a viable alternative in both vertical and horizontal wells in the OOB. They found that bottom heaters with low or
medium temperature limits (below 350 F) stimulate and accelerate the oil recovery.
The Downhole Electric Heater Cable, DEHC, was selected in this study. This heating technology has high expectation of
application in the OOB. Several field concessions have plans of its application before building the facilities for steam
injection. Fortunately, it is simple and suitable for modelling with the available thermal reservoir simulator.

Simulation Model

Experimental Matrix
The method of Downhole electric heating requires certain characteristics to make the method feasible and efficient for a
better fluid flow from the reservoir into the well due to a decrease in viscosity and increase of mobility of oil. Therefore, the
theoretical basis related to this heating suggests the following characteristics: Low API gravity oil; Moderate Net Oil sand
thickness; high-viscosity Oil In situ. Most of the fields in the OOB have these characteristic.
Average values of most of the parameters of the OOB were used in this study. The static pressure was set to 1200 psia, the
uniform reservoir porosity was 32%; and X and Y horizontal permeability was 7000 MD. The initial water saturation was set
to equilibrium state and, Horizontal-to-Vertical permeability ratio Kh/Kv was set to 0.1 everywhere. Based on current field
studies in the OOB, the production boundary conditions established for all the simulations were: minimum bottomhole
flowing pressure of 300 psi and maximum fluid rate of 2500 bbl/day. An average well was estimated to be at 2516 feet deep.
The twenty four simulated scenarios (cases) used in this study are shown in Table 1with two reservoir thicknesses, four API
gravities and two heat rates, besides the non-heating natural depletion. Other data required by the simulator are taken as
constant values in the different simulated cases.
4 SPE 149779

Table 1. Simulation Scenarios

Scenarios Reservoir API Heat Rate - - Scenarios Reservoir API Heat Rate
thickness (BTU/day) thickness (BTU/day)
(feet) (feet)
Case 1 300 8.1 --------- Case 2 80 8.1 ---------
Case 1_c1 300 8.1 1.6e+07 Case 2_c1 80 8.1 1.6e+07
Case 1_c2 300 8.1 5e+07 Case 2_c2 80 8.1 5e+07
Case 3 300 10 --------- Case 4 80 10 ---------
Case 3_c1 300 10 1.6e+07 Case 4_c1 80 10 1.6e+07
Case 3_c2 300 10 5e+07 Case 4_c2 80 10 5e+07
Case 5 300 12 --------- Case 6 80 12 ---------
Case 5_c1 300 12 1.6e+07 Case 6_c1 80 12 1.6e+07
Case 5_c2 300 12 5e+07 Case 6_c2 80 12 5e+07
Case 7 300 15 --------- Case 8 80 15 ---------
Case 7_c1 300 15 1.6e+07 Case 8_c1 80 15 1.6e+07
Case 7_c2 300 15 5e+07 Case 8_c2 80 15 5e+07

A schematic of the well completion is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. Schematic of the well used for the simulation

simulation,, (Dias 2008)
2008
SPE 149779 5

PVT Model
In order to construct the PVT model used in the simulations, several parameters such as temperature, initial gas oil ratio, gas
gravity and API gravity oil characteristic of the OOB were studied. Several PVT correlations were established in a worksheet
for heavy and extra-heavy oils. The results were then compared with actual data provided a field tests in the Junn area
(formerly Zuata) of the OOB. The correlations generated in this previous research for the Carabobo area of the OOB, Salazar
2008, were selected because they presented lower deviation compared to the other correlations. Table 2 shows the PVT data
used for the reservoir simulation for the 8.1API oil. Appendix A shows the properties for the other PVT crudes used in the
scenarios studied, 10, 12 and 15 API. For values above the bubble pressure, the simulator uses linear equations to cover any
range of undersaturated oil pressure.

Table 2. PVT data for crude of 8.1 API

Reservoir Pressure Rs Bo Oil Viscosity
Psia SCF/STB BBL/STB cP

14.7 0.00 1.02 9730.79

50 1.56 1.03 9300.80
146 10.39 1.03 8225.11
242 19.22 1.03 7273.83
338 28.06 1.03 6432.57
433 36.80 1.04 5695.90
529 45.63 1.04 5037.14
625 54.47 1.04 4454.56
721 63.30 1.05 3939.37
817 72.13 1.05 3483.76
913 80.97 1.05 3080.84
1008 89.71 1.05 2728.02

Grid Model
Meshing for this simulation is based on a Cartesian model, with the following dimensions: 15 uniform cells in the "X"
direction, and 27 cells in the "Y" and "Z'' direction. The number of cells depends on the thickness of the model to simulate.
A 2000-feet centred horizontal well was placed for producing the heavy oil reservoirs. An exponential refinement of the grid
around the well was performed in order to more accurately model the heating process and production, because abrupt changes
in temperature, pressure and fluid saturation occur in the vicinity of the well. The size of the reservoir is 4000 feet both in the
"X" and "Y" axis, and the thickness of the reservoir were set to two types of the cases studied, 80 feet and 300 feet. The
reservoir thickness affects the grid sizes for "K" direction. The following Fig. 3 is a three dimension graph showing the size
of the grid for the 80 feet reservoir. Note the fine discretization in axis "Y" and "Z" near the wellbore. A similar graph for the
300 feet reservoir is shown in Appendix B.

Simulation tool
This work was performed using Computer Modelling Group Ltd. (CMG) simulators. Starting with a "Black Oil" model in
Imex Simulator, applied from a previous cold case study, the model was then converted to Stars Simulator. This is a three-
phase reservoir simulator with multiple applications and several thermal processes. A simulation time of up to 42 years of
exploitation were defined.
6 SPE 149779

Fig. 3. Mesh
esh refinement for scenarios
scenarios with a thickness of 80 feet

Simulation Results
Although the main advantage of heating with Downhole cable lies in improving the efficiency of artificial lift, this
phenomenon is not studied in this paper. The focus of this study is on improving the inflow flow of reservoir into the well.
Regardless the improvement
ovement in the efficiency of artificial lift method, the technical implementation of DEHC would create an
increase in production due to the effect exerted by the rise in temperature on the viscosity of oil and the subsequent increa
increase
of its mobility in the reservoir. It is expected that increasing temperature decreases the pressure drop in the well at a specific
production rate. On the other hand, for a given bottomhole flowing pressure, the increase in temperature causes an increase in i
the rate of production
on due to the decrease of viscosity in the reservoir near the well. Appendix C and D show the temperature
and viscosity distribution along a centred section of the well for the case of the 8.1API oil in two stages of depletion. Note
that the heat penetration and viscosity drop using DEHC goes several feet deep into the formation.
The recovery factors shown in this work are based on cumulative oil obtained after 42 years of simulated production, with
respect to OOIP for the proposed reservoir model
models. The recovery factors obtained by simulations for the scenarios that have
Grid Type 1, with a thickness of 300 feet (scenarios 1, 3, 5, 7); 7) and for scenarios with thickness 80 feet (scenarios 2, 4, 6, 8),
are shown in Tables 3 and 4, respectively. Use these tablesles also as Nomenclatures of the Studied Cases. Recovery is obtained
for 42 years of production and also the recovery factor increase in each of the scenarios with respect to the cold natural
depletion.
SPE 149779 7

Table 3. Cumulative Oil and Recovery Factor for cases associated with type 1 Grid, 300 feet thickness
Scenarios API Heat Rate Cumulative Oil % RF % Change in
(BTU/day) (STB) Recovery
Case 1 8.1 --------- 9860000 4.21
Case 1_c1 8.1 1.6e+07 13500000 5.77 36.92
Case 1_c2 8.1 5e+07 15800000 6.75 60.24
Case 3 10 --------- 17000000 7.27
Case 3_c1 10 1.6e+07 21100000 9.02 24.12
Case 3_c2 10 5e+07 23300000 9.96 37.06
Case 5 12 --------- 26800000 11.46
Case 5_c1 12 1.6e+07 28200000 12.05 5.22
Case 5_c2 12 5e+07 28500000 12.18 6.34
Case 7 15 --------- 31800000 13.59
Case 7_c1 15 1.6e+07 32100000 13.72 0.94
Case 7_c2 15 5e+07 32300000 13.81 1.57

Table 4. Cumulative Oil and Recovery Factor for cases associated with type 2 Grid, 80 feet thickness
Scenarios API Heat Rate Cumulative Oil % RF % Change in
(BTU/day) (STB) Recovery
Case 2 8.1 Cold 5160000 8.27
Case 2_c1 8.1 1.6e+07 6550000 10.50 26.94
Case 2_c2 8.1 5e+07 6890000 11.04 33.53
Case 4 10 Cold 7360000 11.80
Case 4_c1 10 1.6e+07 7960000 12.76 8.15
Case 4_c2 10 5e+07 8290000 13.29 12.64
Case 6 12 Cold 8170000 13.10
Case 6_c1 12 1.6e+07 8890000 14.25 8.81
Case 6_c2 12 5e+07 8930000 14.31 9.30
Case 8 15 Cold 9160000 14.68
Case 8_c1 15 1.6e+07 9480000 15.20 3.49
Case 8_c2 15 5e+07 9510000 15.24 3.82

Parametric Analysis
The simulations shows that the natural-depletion (cold case) recovery factor by year 42 ranges from 4.21%, for the extra-
heavy crude of 8.1API, up to 13.6% for the 15API oil. These conditions were simulated assuming a minimum bottomhole
flowing pressure of 300 psi, which can be obtained by using ESP in case of high rates; or PCP for cases of lower rates.
While the final recovery increases with increasing the rate of heat supplied in all the scenarios studied, the crude with
8.1API, reservoir thickness of 300 feet and the maximum heat supplied presented the highest percentage of recovery
increase compared to the natural-depletion (cold case), 60% increase.
While the well is producing, the area of influence of DEHC is small; hence the heat distribution within the reservoir is
expected to be more effective in reservoirs with less thickness. On the other hand, based on the results of the simulations, in
8 SPE 149779

the scenarios of the thicker reservoir (300 feet), it can be noticed that greater increase in the oil recovery due to heating
occurs for the extra-heavy oil (8.1 and 10 API). For the smaller reservoir thicknesses (80 feet), this technique provides
better results for less heavy crudes (12 and 15 API).
This curious behaviour is explained as follows. In the case of 300 feet thickness, electric heating is more effective in
increasing the recovery for heavy crudes. Due to higher pressure drops through the reservoir with heavier crude oils, the
predominant simulation control (boundary conditions) was bottomhole flowing pressure instead of the maximum liquid rate
set in the simulator, see Fig. 4. Under these conditions, production rates will stay higher for more time when applying
heating in reservoir of greater thickness since average reservoir pressure decreases more slowly.

Fig. 4. Pressure Behaviour for the Cold case and the corresponding case with heating (5e7BTU/day).
Scenario 1; 8.1 API oil, 300 feet thickness.
Although the average static pressure of the reservoir after 42 years of operation goes down to 600 psi, about half the original
pressure of the reservoir, see Fig. 5, the recovery factor when applying heat to the extra-heavy crude is barely 11%. Note that
the recovery factor for this case without heating is 8%.

Fig. 5. Pressure Behaviour for the Cold case and the corresponding case with heating (5e7BTU/day). (b)
Scenario 2, 8.1 API oil, 80 feet thickness.
SPE 149779 9

Based on Fig. 6, due to the higher production of the 15API oil, static pressure reaches 1/3 of the initial reservoir pressure
(400 psi) after 42 years of production, while the recovery factor becomes around 13.6%. In the latter case, there are no
advantages of using electric heating due to the insignificant decrease in viscosity with increasing temperature.

Fig. 6. Pressure Behaviour for the Cold case and the corresponding case with heating (5e7BTU/day). (c)
Scenario 7, 15 API crude, 300 feet thickness.

Heavier crude oils hold lower values of production rate and hence the cumulative oil produced is less. At the same time, in
these cases there is less depletion of the reservoir and the real operating time would be greater than the 42 years studied.
The boundary conditions established for all the simulations were: minimum bottomhole flowing pressure of 300 psi and
maximum fluid rate of 2500 bbl/day. The production is controlled by the bottomhole flowing pressure in extra-heavy oils,
see Figs. 4 and 5. On the other hand, production tends to be controlled by the liquid rate almost down to the depletion of the
reservoir for the crude oils of 12 and 15API, Figs. 6 and 7.

Fig. 7. Pressure Behaviour for the Cold case and the corresponding case with heating (5e7BTU/day).
(d) Scenario 8, oil 15 API, 80 feet thickness.

The increased productivity due to the application of heating is due to the reduction of internal resistance of the fluid to flow,
i.e., the viscosity. During this process, it is affected by three in situ factors: temperature, solution-gas and pressure. The
viscosity of a liquid normally decreases with the application of heat due to increase in temperature. However, in a
multicomponent mixture, the temperature increase can cause the release of lighter elements when lowering bottomhole
10 SPE 149779

flowing pressures by changing the composition of the liquid and becoming more viscous. These effects are opposite to each
other and, reservoir simulation can only determine which prevails. The black oil used in this study uses the correlations
implicit in the simulator and might not take rigorously the evaporation phenomena.

Special Case Study (Scenario B)

A special case was used to analyse the effect of the flowing gas when near wellbore pressures falls below the critical gas
saturation point. For this case, 12API oil and a reservoir thickness of 80 feet was selected. The boundary conditions
established for exploitation were: a very low minimum bottomhole flowing pressure, hence it is neglected; and a decreasing
flowing rate preset in three stages, so that the later will be used in the simulations regardless the heat added to the well. Fig.
8 shows that the flowrate of the simulations followed the required conditions to fairly compare the three added heat cases.

Fig.8. Liquid Rate for Special Case Scenario.

Due to the conditions set for liquid rate, the bottomhole flowing pressure exhibits the behaviour described in Fig. 9. Note
how the pressure increases at the site when the rate is set at to a lower value. Also note that the transient effects observed for
these heavy oils have a period of more than one year. It can be seen that the bottomhole flowing pressure is maintained at
higher values when heat is added into the well; hence the drawdown in the well is less. For example, at the year 2020
bottomhole flowing pressure of the case without heating goes down to 480 psi, while the pressure goes down only to 620 psi
in the Case 2 of heating. This effect is a strong evidence for showing that electric heating surely improves the recovery factor
for the flowing conditions set by any artificial lift method. Less drawdown helps avoid gas, sand or water production
problems. By other hand, an equivalent drawdown with heating has implicit a greater level of depletion of the reservoir.
SPE 149779 11

Fig. 9. Bottomhole Flowing pressure over time for Scenario type b

On the other hand, we have the behaviour of gas-oil ratio for Cases b_c1 and b_c2 (low and high heating respectively), see
Fig. 10. It reveals that, when the rate of heat supplied by the tool is increased, the amount of gas per barrel of oil produced
reaches lower values. This decrease in gas-oil ratio with heating is due to the higher bottomhole flowing pressures obtained,
as shown in Fig. 9. Then, there will be less free gas, more gas in solution, hence lower liquid viscosity. Besides, the near
wellbore gas saturation should be lower. Hence, the reservoir maintains better relative permeability to oil when heating. A
moderate improvement in recovery factor with the use of electric heating is due to this effect. Care must be taken to account
for unexpected vaporization of water or oil due to any hot spots along the well that can occur in some heating devices.

Fig. 10. Gas-Oil Ratio for Scenarios of type b

12 SPE 149779

Conclusions

The following conclusions were obtained in this study for the simulated scenarios of the Orinoco Oil Belt reservoirs.

1. - After 42 years of exploitation, the Recovery Factor obtained for natural depletion (cold) of 8.1API oil was 4.2% in a
reservoir thickness of 300 feet; and 8.27% in a reservoir thickness of 80 feet.
2. The recovery factor of the 8.1API oil increases when heating the well by 60% and 33.5%, for the reservoir thicknesses
of 300 feet and 80 feet, respectively.
3. After 42 years of exploitation, the recovery obtained for natural depletion (cold) of 15API oil was 14.68% in a reservoir
thickness of 80 feet. The recovery factor only increases by 3.82% when heating the well. Wellbore heating shows a great
advantage only for extra-heavy oils; this is due to the very steep viscosity-temperature curve in heavier oils.
4. The near wellbore grid refinement carried out in this models is required to make the simulations get closer to the real
behaviour of the reservoir. Not only must the simulations follow the local behaviour of the pressures and saturations, but also
must follow the near wellbore temperature increase.
5. There was an increase in the recovery factor with the application of DEHC. The increase in bottomhole flowing pressure
reduces gas saturation in the near wellbore porous medium, thus permeability to oil remains in better values.
6. The temperature distribution along the well should be analyzed in future studies. The heating ratio might not be uniform
along the well. Since flowrate inside the well is higher as it flows to the vertical section, more heat might be needed in the
farthest portion of the well. A transient analysis must be performed with reservoir simulation in order to plan the distribution
of the heating cable elements within the well.
7. The advantages of DEHC for improving the efficiency of the artificial lift were not studied in this paper.

Nomenclature
Bo : Oil Formation Volume Factor, BBL/STB
DEHC : Downhole Electric Heater Cable
OOB : Orinoco Oil Belt (Eastern Venezuela)
RF : Recovery Factor (Percentage)
Rs : Solution gas oil ratio, SCF/STB

Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support of the Computer Modelling Group, for bringing their Software and Assistance to the
School of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Central Venezuela.

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Appendix
Appendix A. PVT data for crude of 10, 12 and 15API
Table A.1. PVT data for crude of 10 API
Reservoir Rs Bo Oil Viscosity
Pressure SCF/STB BBL/STB cP
Psia
14.7 0.00 1.03 4476.23
50 3.58 1.03 4278.44
146 12.41 1.03 3783.61
242 21.24 1.04 3346.02
338 30.08 1.04 2959.03
433 38.82 1.04 2620.15
529 47.65 1.04 2317.12
625 56.49 1.05 2049.13
721 65.32 1.05 1812.14
817 74.15 1.05 1602.55
913 82.99 1.06 1417.21
1008 91.73 1.06 1254.91
14 SPE 149779

Table A.2. PVT data for crude of 12 API

Reservoir Rs Bo Oil Viscosity
Pressure SCF/STB BBL/STB cP
Psia
14.7 0.00 1.03 1976.64
50 5.70 1.03 1889.30
146 14.54 1.04 1670.79
242 23.37 1.04 1477.55
338 32.20 1.04 1306.67
433 40.94 1.05 1157.02
529 49.78 1.05 1023.21
625 58.61 1.05 904.87
721 67.45 1.06 800.21
817 76.28 1.06 707.67
913 85.11 1.06 625.82
1008 93.85 1.06 554.15

Table A.3. PVT data for crude of 15 API

Reservoir Rs Bo Oil Viscosity
Pressure SCF/STB BBL/STB cP
Psia
14.7 0.00 1.04 580.03
50 8.89 1.04 554.40
146 17.73 1.05 490.28
242 26.56 1.05 433.58
338 35.39 1.05 383.43
433 44.13 1.05 339.52
529 52.97 1.06 300.25
625 61.80 1.06 265.53
721 70.63 1.06 234.82
817 79.47 1.07 207.66
913 88.30 1.07 183.64
1008 97.04 1.07 162.61
SPE 149779 15

Appendix B. Mesh
esh refinement for scenarios
sce with a thickness of 300 feet
16 SPE 149779

Appendix C. Temperature distribution in time for 8.1 API oil in a 300 feet Reservoir thickness in a
centred section of the well.

21 Years of Exploitation 42 Years of Exploitation

Scenario 1,
$o heat

Scenario 1_c1
1.6e+07
BTU/day

Scenario 1_c2
5e+07
BTU/day
SPE 149779 17

Appendix D. Viscosity variation in time for 8.1 A PI oil in a 300 feet Reservoir thickness in a centred
section of the well.

21 Years of Exploitation 42 Years of Exploitation

Scenario 1,
$o heat

Scenario 1_c1
1.6e+07
BTU/day

Scenario 1_c2
5e+07 BTU/day