Chemical EOR for Heavy Oil: The Canadian Experience

Abstract

Abstract Chemical EOR methods such as polymer flooding and ASP (Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer) are generally not considered suitable for oil viscosities over one or two hundred cp (polymer) or even less (SP/ASP). However this perception is changing, in particular due to field results obtained from a number of chemical EOR pilots or full field floods implemented in Canada in higher viscosity oil in the past few years. Canada is a country well-known for its heavy oil production; recovery processes such as Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand (CHOPS) and Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) have been invented there. However cold production is limited in terms of the level of recovery it can achieve and thermal techniques also have limitations in particular when reservoirs are thin. Thus Canadian companies have been pursuing chemical EOR to increase recovery in those types of reservoirs. The aim of this paper is to review some of the Canadian projects for which public information is available. Several mostly unpublished projects will be discussed in details, and conclusions will be drawn on the applicability of chemical EOR methods in heavy oil. The practical experience gained in Canada can be applied in other regions of the globe where chemical EOR has so far not been considered or has been screened out because of high viscosity.