Comparison of Thermal Recovery Methods for Extra-Heavy Oil in the Pungarayacu Field Using Numerical Simulation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26423/rctu.v13i1.1492Keywords:
bituminous sandstones, gravity drainage, steam-oil ratio, thermal recovery, Hollín sandstone reservoirAbstract
The Pungarayacu field represents one of the largest extra-heavy oil accumulations in Ecuador’s Oriente Basin; however, its commercial development has been limited due to the extremely high oil viscosity and the limited evaluation of thermal recovery methods at pilot scale. This study comparatively evaluated the performance of three thermal oil recovery methods using numerical reservoir simulation. Static and dynamic models were constructed around two wells using petrophysical reinterpretation of well logs, permeability estimation from core correlations, and fluid characterization through thermodynamic modeling. The models were subsequently calibrated using historical steam injection results and several operational scenarios and preheating periods were analyzed. The results showed that thermal recovery processes significantly increased oil production compared with the base case, and that steam assisted gravity drainage achieved the highest energy efficiency and the largest cumulative oil production among the evaluated scenarios.
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