INVESMENT
ANALYSIS
When it comes to unconventional resources, the key technical factors that contribute to their development are: 1. directional drilling 2. hydraulic fracturing (HF) 3. Thermal EOR processes (TEOR) These technologies are not at all new to the oil and gas industry, but they have been significantly improved over the past few years, both operationally and economically. Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS)
or CSS (Huff and Puff) process is based on producing steam in single-stage steam generators and injecting it down the wellbore into the target formation at a temperature of about 300 C and a pressure of on average 11 MPa. This pressure is sufficient to cause stratification of the unconsolidated oil sands reservoir, which increases fluid flow. For each individual well, soaking periods are followed by soaking periods and then production periods, i.e., CSS is a three-step process that is performed as follows: (1) high-pressure steam is injected through the vertical well for a period of time (2) the formation is shut in for impregnation (3) the well is put back into production. Typical initial cycle times are as follows: (1) injection: 4-6 weeks; (2) soaking: 4-8 weeks; (3) production: 3-6 months. Typical recovery rates during the CSS process are on the order of about 25-30% of the initial amount of heavy/oil/bitumen in place. Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is a very recently developed process originally designed for development of Canadian oil/bituminous sands. Its implementation requires drilling a pair of horizontal wells: an upper steam injection well and a lower oil production well. They must run parallel and be about five meters apart. Steam is injected into the sands through the upper well to create a steam chamber that expands vertically and horizontally. Heat is transferred from the chamber to the bitumen, reducing its viscosity and allowing it to flow - by gravity - to the production well, where it is pumped along with condensed water to surface facilities for processing. In most cases, the expected recovery of the SAGD process is about 50% of the original amount of heavy/oil/bitumen in place. Our company is a leader in performing work related to subsea production systems. With highly trained professionals and the latest technology, we are evolving with today's trends and taking subsea production system operations to new levels!