SPE 75137
Injection Well – Producer Well Combinations in THAI ‘Toe-to-Heel Air Injection’
T X Xia and M Greaves, University of Bath, England, A T Turta, Petroleum Recovery Institute/Alberta Research Council,
Calgary, Canada
Copyright 2002, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.
This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium
held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 13–17 April 2002.
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Abstract
THAI – ‘ Toe-to-Heel Air Injection’ is a new, short-distance
displacement process, that achieves high recovery efficiency
by virtue of its stable operation and ability to produce
mobilised oil directly into an active section of the horizontal
producer well, just ahead of the combustion front. THAI,
therefore, avoids the pitfalls inherent in most conventionally
operated in situ combustion (ISC) processes, which employ
vertical injection-vertical producer wells to achieve long-
distance displacement. However, the problem of achieving
efficient ignition and start-up still requires critical attention, in
order to ensure optimal process operation.
A series of 3-D tests on heavy Wolf Lake crude (10.5
o
API) and Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen (8 oAPI) were made
using well configurations: vertical (VI) or horizontal injection
(HI) and horizontal producer (HP) wells in direct line drive
(VIHP, HIHP); staggered line drive (VI2HP) and line drive
(2VIHP). Experimentally, the horizontal injector configuration
(HIHP) was found to be the most efficient for achieving rapid
start-up, i.e. the shortest time to achieve stable combustion
front propagation. However, injection of air via a horizontal
well is not a very practical design for field operation. The
single vertical injector configuration (VI2HP) was slow to
achieve stable operation, due to the development of a much
smaller ignition zone, initially, compared with the HIHP
configuration. When hot air was used for ignition, the time
delay for oil production is related to the reservoir temperature.
When the initial temperature in the sandpack was 15oC, then a
vertical injector, placed high in the sandpack, combined with a
horizontal producer well (VIHP) achieved slower start-up than
VI2HP for post-steam flood THAI, with the initial sandpack at
100oC. All of the tests achieved very high oil recoveries,
averaging greater than 80% OOIP, except in the VIHP test.
The recovery in the latter case was only 70% OOIP due to the
loss of air injectivity during later stages of the combustion.
Significantly, THAI also preserves the very substantial
thermal upgrading which occurs in the mobile oil zone,
averaging an increase of 6 to 8 API points.
Key words: In Situ combustion, Air injection, Heavy oil recovery,
Downhole upgrading, THAI, Horizontal wells, Well combinations,
Short-distance oil placement.
1. Introduction
The three natural oil recovery mechanisms include solution
gas drive, gas cap expansion drive, and water drive. Water or
gas injection drives are known as secondary recovery
methods. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is usually considered
to apply at the tertiary stage, but can also be applied as
primary or secondary methods.
For light oil reservoirs, the ultimate oil recovery by
conventional methods can reach up to 50%, or more, using
water injection. However, for highly viscous oils, comparable
recoveries would only be about 5% to 15%, and essentially
zero in the case of extremely viscous oils, or bitumen.
The main objective of an EOR process is to achieve high
oil recovery and high production rate. The low recovery for
heavy oil is mainly due to its high viscosity, i.e. too viscous to
flow to the producer wells at rates sufficient to support an
economic operation. Thermal EOR methods are required for
heavy oil production. Thermal EOR processes are achieved
by injecting a hot fluid (steam), or air for combustion, with the
aim of increasing the reservoir temperature to reduced the
viscosity of the heavy oil 1, 2. Because of the dramatic effect
of temperature on heavy oil viscosity, more oil is mobilised at
a higher temperature and is capable of being displaced.
Steam injection, (steam flooding, cyclic steam injection,
and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) 3), and in situ
combustion (ISC) are the most important thermal EOR
techniques for heavy oil and bitumen recovery. The
temperature in the oil-bearing formation is raised by the latent
heat of condensation during a steam injection operation. ISC
has some advantages over other thermal EOR processes in
heavy oil reservoirs because the thermal energy required is
generated in situ, enabling higher temperature. Thus ISC
gains in a number of ways:
(a) high efficiency in terms of heat utilisation, because heat
loss in the injection wells is eliminated.
2 T. X. XIA, M. GREAVES AND A. TURTA
(b) high temperature (> 450oC) enables a more effective
hot gas displacement.
(c) in situ upgrading of heavy oil, via thermal cracking of
heavy residua ahead of the combustion front, produces light
oil.
(e) potential for totally self-sufficient process by virtue of
energy recovered.
ISC is a more complex process, which involves multiphase
flow (gas, oil, and water) in a porous medium and chemical
reactions (fuel formation, fuel combustion). The technology
has been extensively studied in both the laboratory and field4,5.
The ultimate oil recovery depends very much upon the
volumetric sweep of the combustion front propagation. In a
combustion tube test, because of the high temperature
combustion front sweep, oil recovery reaches about
90%OOIP. However, in field conventional ISC operation, gas
override and channelling can dramatically reduce the
volumetric sweep efficiency, so that ultimate oil recovery is
much lower. Despite some significant successes in the
field, lack of an effective solution to control gas override and
poor selection of reservoir have been the two main reasons
for failure.
The mobilised oil in conventional ISC, using vertical-
injection and vertical producer wells (VIVP), banks up in the
colder downstream regions of the oil-bearing formation,
before it eventually reaches the production well. The large
distance between where the oil is mobilised and the vertical
production well classifies conventional ISC as a ‘long-distance
displacement’ process.
Horizontal well technology has contributed significantly to
improving light oil as well as heavy oil recovery. By
combining advanced horizontal well concepts with EOR
processes, the mechanism of fluid flow in a heavy oil reservoir
is radically different to that operating in a conventional EOR
process (using vertical wells) 6, 7.
SAGD typically uses a single horizontal injection well and
a single horizontal production well, placed close together at
the bottom of the oil-bearing layer. The same well
arrangement can be used for solvent flood, known as VAPEX
(Vapour Extraction) 8. The use of horizontal producer wells
into ISC: COSH (combustion override split-production
horizontal well) and THAI (Toe-to-Heel Air Injection) are
new techniques for heavy oil and bitumen production 9, 10.
Although these processes use different injection-producer well
arrangements, they all operate by means of a ‘short-distance
displacement’ mechanism 6. Mobilised oil is not forced to
flow through the cold oil region, but instead takes the shortest
path to the production well.
SAGD, VAPEX and COSH were all developed using the
same principle: creation of a steam, solvent (vapour), or flue
gas chamber in the reservoir. The oil, mobilised at the edge of
this chamber, is displaced into the horizontal producer well
below, principally by gravity.
THAI, however, is a radically different process, in which
the combustion front propagates along the horizontal producer
well, from the ‘toe’ position to the ‘heel’ position. This is
SPE 75137
represented conceptually in Fig. 1 and shows an element of a
direct line drive configuration. In this case, air is injected via
either a horizontal injection well (HIHP), or a vertical well(s)
(VIHP, 2VIHP). The well configuration can be also extended
through the reservoir in a staggered line (HI2HP), by
employing additional horizontal producer wells (see Fig. 2).
The significant feature of THAI is the creation of a mobile oil
zone (MOZ) immediately ahead of the combustion front.
By placing the injection well and horizontal producer well
close to the top and bottom, respectively, of the oil layer, the
flow of gas, water and oil occurs only in a MOZ ahead of the
combustion front, and it is a ‘quasi-top-to-bottom’ flow. The
short flow path associated with the MOZ has a controlling
effect on gas overriding. This ensures that there is a stable
propagation of the combustion front through reservoir.
Furthermore, this property, of concentrating the oil
mobilisation/displacement in the MOZ, should, effectively
make the process less sensitive to global reservoir
heterogeneity effects.
The high temperature in MOZ ahead of the combustion
front provides not only for very efficient thermal sweeping of
the oil layer, but also optimal conditions for thermal cracking
of heavy residua, and hence thermal upgrading 6. The short-
distance oil displacement mechanism, active by virtue of the
MOZ, allows thermal upgraded oil to be drawn down into the
exposed section of the horizontal producer, immediately
below. In conventional ISC, the mobilised oil is caused to
bank-up in the downstream, colder region, leading to
many operational problems – emulsion blocking and loss of
air injectivity. Thus, THAI is able to capture and preserve the
full extent of thermal upgrading produced by thermal
cracking reactions.
Thermal cracking of heavy molecular weight components
ahead of the combustion front produces the fuel for
combustion reactions, sustaining stable combustion front
propagation. It also produces more mobile, lighter oil,
contributing to the high oil rates achieved in THAI.
The performance of THAI for heavy oil and tar sand
bitumen has been extensively studied in the laboratory by the
IOR Research Group at the University of Bath 6, 10, 11-16.
Results from more than 50 previous experiments using three-
dimensional physical models have been shown that THAI is a
very stable process, and that consistently very high oil
recoveries, up to 85% OOIP, are achieved. The produced oil
is also substantially upgraded by as much as 8 - 10 API points.
There are also very substantial reductions (ca. 90%) in sulphur
and heavy metals (V, Ni). Compared to combustion tube tests,
the air/oil ratio (AOR) is low, at about 1000 Sm3/m3
(4500scf/bbl). THAI is also a robust process, by virtue of its
reduced sensitivity to global reservoir heterogeneity 17. The
potential advantages of THAI, compared to other EOR
processes for the recovery of heavy oil and bitumen are given
in Table 1.
In order to ensure optimal process operation, it is very
important that efficient ignition and start-up are achieved
during THAI. In this paper, a series of six 3-D combustion
cell THAI tests were carried out using different combinations
SPE 75137 INJECTION WELL – PRODUCER WELL COMBINATION IN THAI ‘TOE-TO-HEEL AIR INJECTION’
of the injection and production wells for heavy oil and
bitumen recovery. The main objective is to investigate the
effect of the ignition and start-up periods of the experiments
on the overall performance of the THAI process. Some details
of these tests have been reported in previous papers 6, 15, 16, 18.
2. 3-D Combustion Cell Experiments
The 3-D combustion cell arrangement used to carry out the
THAI experiments for heavy oil and tar sand bitumen
recovery comprises the following equipment:
(1) Gas injection unit – to supply N2 or Air, at a required
rate and pressure, to the 3-D cell.
(2) 3-D combustion cell
Two rectangular stainless combustion cells were used to
carry out the in situ combustion experiments (Fig. 3). Cell-1
has a length of 0.40m while Cell-2 is 50% longer, at 0.60m.
The longer cell was originally built to investigate more fully
the performance of wet combustion, by enabling longer
experiments, at higher air fluxes. Cell-1 was used for earlier
tests (Runs 984, 985 and 987), and Cell-2 for the most recent
tests (Runs 2000-01, 2000-04 and 2000-05).
Tracking of the combustion front propagation during a 3-D
cell test [both cells have the same width (0.40m) and depth
(0.10m)] was achieved from temperature measurements in the
sandpack, using an array of 76 and 85 thermocouples. These
were arranged on three levels: at the TOP, MIDDLE and
BOTTOM of the sandpack, and placed at 0.02, 0.05 and
0.08m, respectively, from the top surface of the cell.
(3) Ignition
In the earlier experiments, an electric heating element, near
to the horizontal injection well, was used for ignition. It
consisted of a coiled Nichrome wire controlled by a voltage
regulator. In field operation, vertical wells as injectors are
preferred. The more recent tests used a hot nitrogen, or air
flow, for the ignition, with either one or two vertical injection
wells. A special heating element was constructed to deliver
injected gas at high temperatures, 500 to 600oC, at different
flow rates.
(4) Heat loss compensation (pseudo-adiabatic control)
Either six or nine 300w heating tapes were used to achieve
near-adiabatic condition in the combustion cell sandpack. This
pseudo-adiabatic control was the same in both 3-D cell tests.
(5) Gas/oil separation
(6) Oil sample collection
(7) Produced gas analysis
In addition, data acquisition and control for on-line
monitoring of the experiments was achieved using a PC.
More details of (4) to (7) can be found in the previous
papers 6, 14, 15, 16, 18.
The tests used different combinations of injection and
producer wells. In the first three tests, done with cell-1, Wolf
Lake crude oil was used as a heavy oil (specially dried by
British Petroleum Plc). In the last three tests, using cell-2,
virgin Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen, provided by the
AOSTRA Oil Sand Sample Bank (Lease 86-19), was used.
The physical properties of Wolf Lake heavy oil and the
3
Athabasca tar sand bitumen are listed in Table 2. The
experimental conditions are given in Table 3. In Run 2000-04,
THAI was investigated as a secondary recovery process,
following steam flood on Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen. The
steam flood test used a new process called Toe-to-Heel
Steam Flooding16.
After each experiment, the sandpack was carefully
unpacked from the 3-D cell, and samples were taken for
residual oil analysis. The produced oil was first separated
from any water, before measuring the viscosity and density.
Other measurements, such as elemental S, N, Ni, V and SARA
(Saturates, Aromatics, Resins and Asphaltenes) analyses were
also conducted on some of the oil samples.
The performance of the 3-D cell experiments are presented
below, according to the combination of injection and producer
wells used in the 3-D cell tests. Some other details of the
results have been reported in earlier papers 6, 15, 16, 18.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 HIHP Well Combination – Wolf Lake Heavy Oil and
Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen
The main results from these experiments are presented in
Table 4. Runs 984 and 985 were THAI tests using 3-D Cell-
1. Unconsolidated washed silica sand, incorporating 3%
Kaolinite, which was used with Wolf Lake heavy oil. The
same 3-D cell was used in Run 987, but with the addition of a
6mm thick layer of ceramic fibre insulation to the inside
surface of the combustion cell. This was done in order to
mimic the adiabatic condition created by the overlaying and
underlying rocks in an actual reservoir. Run 2000-01 used 3-
D Cell-2 with virgin Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen again with
internal insulation. All of these tests were performed using an
electric ignitor element.
Air injection started when the temperature close to the
electric ignitor reached 500oC. The peak temperature profiles
measured downstream of ignition zone in the sandpack are
shown in Fig. 4. The ignitor was switched-off after 180
minutes, and the combustion front temperature reached 500oC
to 600oC. The combustion temperature recorded during Run
2000-01 was very high, reaching 900oC after 30 minutes from
the start of air injection. The ignitor was then turned off,
and the peak temperature declined to a stable value,
above 600oC. More vigorous combustion and stable
combustion front propagation was sustained, due to the higher
air flux and greater fuel laydown in the test on the Athabasca
Tar Sand Bitumen.
The aerial temperature distributions in the sandpack during
Run 987 are shown in Fig. 5. The internal insulation reduced
the axial heat transfer from upstream to downstream regions in
the sandpack. Hence the combustion peak temperature during
Run 987 was 50oC higher, compared to Runs 984 and 985.
This resulted in a more vigorous and sustained combustion
front propagation. Even after six hours of air injection, the
temperature at the production end of the sandpack was only
about 130oC in Run 987, which is about 50oC lower than in
Run 985.
4 T. X. XIA, M. GREAVES AND A. TURTA
With the improved adiabatic condition in Run 987, the
temperature contours in Fig. 5 provide a good guide as to what
might be expected in a field situation. The heat transport from
the heated horizontal producer well may be less significant in
its effect on the oil mobility than in the experiment.
Oil production started immediately once air injection had
commenced in Run 985. During the other earlier three tests,
oil production started 5 to 10 minutes (Fig. 6). Due to the
short distance oil displacement mechanism in THAI, oil in the
ignition zone quickly becomes mobile as the temperature of
the oil increases, lowering the viscosity. Oil is then displaced
into the ‘toe’ section of the horizontal producer well by the gas
flow. Thus, fast oil production is achieved by THAI. Without
internal insulation on the inside surface of the 3-D cell in
earlier tests (Runs 984 and 985), the initial oil production was
very high (18 ml/min) for an air injection rate of 6 l/minutes.
This is mainly due to the additional oil production from the
heated downstream region, which is an artifact. After a short
period, the oil production reduces to a stable rate in these two
tests. In contrast, the initial oil production was more steady
overall in Runs 987 and 2000-01, especially so for 2000-01.
Increasing the air flux, from 12 Sm3/m2h to 16 Sm3/m2h
during Run 2000-01, caused the oil production rate to increase
from 7 ml/min to 8 ml/minute. However, this did not affect
stable combustion performance, except for a small increase in
the produced oxygen level.
When water injection (wet combustion) was initiated, oil
production increased (Fig. 6), due to the enhanced steam
effect on the oil displacement.
When the HIHP well arrangement was used for 3-D Cell
THAI combustion with heavy Wolf Lake oil and Athabasca
Tar Sand Bitumen, stable combustion front propagation along
the horizontal well was sustained, following good ignition.
The oil recovery obtained from these tests was very high, at
approximately 83% OOIP. The very effective ‘toe-to-heel’
sweep of the sandpack by the high temperature (>500oC) gas
front is considered to be a principal factor in this.
The trends of oil upgrading due to thermal cracking
(carbon rejection) are shown in Fig. 7. Very significant
upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen, 8 to 10 API points, was
achieved in each of these tests. The high oil recovery and in
situ upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen achieved makes
THAI a very promising technology for exploiting the vast
reserves of these materials. However, it remains for THAI to
be tested in field operation.
2. VI2HP Well Combination - Athabasca Tar Sand
Bitumen
A staggered line drive experiment with one vertical injection
well and two horizontal producer wells (Run 2000-04) was
completed by using 3-D Cell-2. This test involved THAI oil
recovery from Athabasca Tar Sand as a secondary method
(post-steam flood). The results of this experiment are
summarised in Table 4. For ignition, hot air was injected into
the 3-D cell at 550oC. Fig. 8 shows the production gas
composition, oil production rate and peak temperature profile.
After 180 minutes, the produced oxygen was only 1%,
SPE 75137
confirming vigorous combustion. The temperature profile
(Fig. 8) shows that a high temperature combustion region was
maintained, above 600oC, for the whole test after the ignitor
was switched-off. The effect of increasing the air flux in a
stepwise manner on the combustion performance, from
12Sm3/m2h to 22 Sm3/m2h, during Run 2000-04, was found to
be the same as that observed for primary operation of THAI
with Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen (Run 2000-01). This did
not have any effect on stable combustion performance, except
for a small increase in the produced oxygen level.
Compared with THAI as primary oil recovery method for
Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen (Run 2000-01), the post-steam
flood THAI test also achieved vigorous, stable combustion
propagation through the sandpack. This resulted in high oil
recovery (83%OOIP), but oil production was delayed because
of the high water saturation. The produced oil collected
during Run 2000-04 was also substantially upgraded,
averaging 16 API points, compared to only 8 API points for
virgin Athabasca bitumen.
In the post-steam flood THAI test, (Run 2000-04) a large
amount of water was produced initially during the ignition
stage. Once stable combustion was established, oil production
started at a very low rate, after 180 minutes of air injection.
The oil production rate gradually increased to a higher rate (>
10 ml/min) at t = 250minutes. There are two reasons for the
delay in oil production in Run 2000-04:
(1) following steam flooding, the sandpack had a higher
initial water saturation than the virgin Athabasca Tar Sand.
The ratio of relative permeability for water and oil (krw/kro) is
high at these experimental conditions, and therefore, the water
in the sandpack should be displaced first before oil production
commences. This caused a much higher AOR
(~13,000sm3/m3) during this period.
(2) since the heat capacity of air is quite low (Cp = 1
kJ/kgK), an air injection rate of 10 l/min at 500oC only
delivers about 40 J/s.
Consequently, the overall AOR in Table 4 is more than
50% higher in the post-steam flood THAI test. However, once
most of the water had been displaced, the AOR drops to a
more reasonable value (1290 Sm3/m3).
The combustion performance (in terms of peak
temperature and combustion gas analysis) observed during
post-steam flood THAI (Run 2000-04), using a VI2HP well
arrangement, was very similar to that of Run 2000-01
(primary THAI) on Tar Sand Bitumen using the HIHP well
combination; a slight difference was in the O2 percentage in
the produced gas, which was slightly higher in the post-steam
flood, although the initial temperature of the post-steam flood
pack was considerably higher.
3. VIHP Well Combination –Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen
Run 2000-5 used a combination of a single vertical-injection well
and a single horizontal-production well (VIHP). The results of
this experiment are presented in Fig. 9 and Table 4.
Similar to Run 2000-04, hot air was injected at 550oC to
create ignition. It took 300 minutes for the hot air injection to
SPE 75137 INJECTION WELL – PRODUCER WELL COMBINATION IN THAI ‘TOE-TO-HEEL AIR INJECTION’
achieve a stable combustion. Oil production started much later
(280 minutes), compared to only 180 minutes in Run 2000-04.
The reasons for this are: (a) low initial sandpack temperature and
(b) low heat capacity of air. The initial sandpack temperature was
only 15oC, compared with an initial temperature of 100oC in the
post-steam flood THAI test (Run 2000-04). Thus, much more
thermal energy was required to reach a sufficiently high
temperature for combustion to commence.
When the peak temperature in the sandpack reached more
than 500oC, the oxygen concentration in the produced gas
decreased to a very low level (< 1%, after 240 minutes of hot air
injection). Cold air injection started at 310 minutes and vigorous
combustion (>700oC) was established. The combustion process
was very stable during the cold air injection stage, even when the
air flux was increased from 12 Sm3/m2h to 18 Sm3/m2h. At
these very high temperatures (600oC to 750oC), very high
oxygen utilisation (>95%) was observed during the stable
combustion period.
The oil production rate increased after t = 280 minutes,
reaching a high level (13 ml/min) at 540 minutes. The oil
production rate was maintained at 8 to 10 ml/min for an air flux
of 18 Sm3/m2h, but it decreased to 5 ml/min when the air flux
was reduced to 12 Sm3/m3h. The oil recovery obtained during
Run 2000-05 was quite high, at 70 %OOIP, which is about 15%
lower than in Runs 987 and Run 2000-01. This is mainly because
of a loss of air injectivity after 960 minutes in Run 2000-05.
Even when air injection had stopped at the end of the test, the
temperature in the sandpack remained high at 650oC, and the
oxygen level in the produced gas was only about 1%.
4. Some Considerations Regarding Field Application
In the field either direct line drive (DLD) or staggered line
drive (SLD) can be applied. Out of the main configurations
shown in Fig. 2, in the field only those using vertical injectors
(Figs. 2b, 2c and 2d) can be used; the configurations from Figs.
2a and 2e are not practical, as a horizontal well cannot be used as
injector due to very serious safety concerns. Therefore, only the
configurations from Figs. 2b, 2c and 2d will be discussed. From
the point of view of a commercial application (repeated modules)
the configurations from Figs. 2b (VI2HP) and 2d (2VIHP) are
equivalent, and both represent a unit from a SLD configuration.
Fig. 2c (VIHP) represents a unit from a DLD configuration.
The concept of controlled gas override during the THAI
process is an important concept and it should be taken into
account in the design of the whole process, including the first
phase of generation of the linear ISC front and its anchoring at the
toe of the horizontal producer well.
When the oil viscosity is relatively low (probably lower than
5,000 mPa.s) and the pay thickness of the layer is relatively small
(probably <8m-10m), it may be feasible to start the process
exactly as in the laboratory testing. By performing a normal
ignition operation, the hot air will generate the ISC front, which
will be automatically anchored at the toe of the horizontal well,
due to the short distance between the ISC segregated front and the
toe. This is the simplest case and only the following two phases
need to be considered: (1) ignition and (2) ISC front propagation
along the horizontal section of horizontal well
5
When the pay thickness of the oil layer is large (20-40 m), and
the oil viscosity is much higher than 5000 mPas, but oil still has a
certain mobility, will be more difficult to anchor the initial
segregated front at the toe. In this more complex case, three
distinct phases should be considered:
(1) establishement of initial communication (link) between
injectors and/or injector(s )– producer(s)
(2) ignition, generation of the linear ISC front and its
anchoring at the toe
(3) its propagation along the horizontal section of the well
In these cases, steam injection can be applied to develop the
initial communication, via:
1. direct steam injection between adjacent future vertical
injectors, for the simple case (relatively low pay thickness and oil
viscosity)
2. an initial stimulation of future vertical injectors by
cyclic steam stimulation, followed by direct steam injection
between adjacent future injectors, for less favourable case (higher
pay thickness and oil viscosity)
3) In case of tar sands THAI exploitation, methods similar to
those applied in SAGD start up can be designed, including steam
re-circulation and cyclic steam stimulation, in a first phase. Then,
steam injection between adjacent future injectors may be
necessary.
The choice between these alternatives depends mainly on the
pay thickness and the distance between wells, as well.
The ISC process should be initiated at the uppermost part of
the reservoir, by using a row of vertical injectors 10, 19. Then, once
the linear ISC front is generated, it will be propagated towards the
lower part of structure, from row to row. Few wells are needed, as
each horizontal producer will be converted into an injector once it
is intercepted by the ISC front. To this effect, the horizontal wells
may be provided with a vertical pilot hole, to be used just for
injection. The description above easily explains why for a
peripheral line drive operation using THAI, for a fixed pattern
area (equal to the product of the well length by the distance
between wells), the number of necessary wells is reduced to
almost half, compared to SAGD and Vapex; each pattern area
comprises two wells for SAGD and Vapex and only one for
THAI. Exception to this comparison makes the upper portion of
reservoir where for the initiation of the THAI process, a row
of vertical wells is necessary.
In an existing direct line drive ISC commercial operation,
performed with vertical wells, the conventional operation can
be converted to a THAI operation by simply in-fill drilling
with up-hill toe horizontal wells, in between the existing
production wells of the first rows. The ISC front anchoring at
the toe may be promoted by slightly curving upwards the toe
portion of the horizontal section, in order to initially “attract”
the ISC front.
For a field piloting the scheme to be adopted is that from
Fig. 2d (2VIHP). Therefore, at least two vertical injectors and
one horizontal producer are needed. However, for a more
reliable evaluation of the pilot as far as the air-oil ratio and
incremental oil recovery are concerned, a pilot consisting of
6 T. X. XIA, M. GREAVES AND A. TURTA
three contiguous vertical wells and two horizontal wells
is recommended.
Concluding Remarks
1. THAI – ‘Toe-to-Heel Air Injection’ is a highly efficient
method for the recovery of heavy oil and bitumen. The
very high oil recoveries achieved in 3-D combustion
cell tests, makes it a very attractive EOR method, either
for primary production, or as a follow-up process in
partially depleted reservoir, operated previously through
steam injection.
2. When applied for the Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen
exploitation THAI achieved excellent ignition and very
stable combustion propagation, both as a primary or a post-
steam flood recovery method.
3. The oil produced by THAI (primary or post-steam flooded)
is substantially upgraded, achieving an increase in API
averaging 6 to 10 API points for Wolf Lake heavy crude
oil and Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen.
4. With electrical ignition, fast initial oil production was
achieved for both Wolf Lake heavy oil and Athabasca Tar
Sand Bitumen. When hot air was used for ignition, there
was a substantial delay in oil production, depending on the
initial reservoir temperature. Therefore, the delay in the
initial oil production seems to depend on the temperature
level and the amount of heat injected during
communication phase and/or ignition phase
5. Once high temperature was attained and combustion
stabilised, the combustion front propagated through the
sandpack in a ‘toe-to-heel’ manner, no matter what
injection-producer well configuration (HIHP, VI2HP, and
HIHP) was used.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council (EPSRC), United Kingdom, for supporting the
THAI and CAPRI Process research via Research Grant No.
GR/M93017. We would like to thank the AOSTRA Oil Sands
Sample Bank, for supplying the Athabasca Tar Sand. Thanks are
also due to Mr. Adrian Tuddenham (Research Technician) for
the design and construction of the steam injection system and
also to Mr. Mufta Werefilli for assistance with the
experiments.
References
1. Burger. J., Sourieau, P., and Combarnous, M.: Thermal Methods of
Oil Recovery, Insitut Francais du Petrole publications, (1985).
2. Lake, L.W.: Enhanced Oil Recovery, Prentice Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey, (1989).
3. Butler, R. M., and Stephens, D, J.: “The Gravity Drainage of
Steam Heated Heavy Oil to Parallel Horizontal Wells”, JCPT,
(1991) April-June, 90-96.
4. Sarathi, P.S.: “Nine Decades of Combustion Oil Recovery – A
Review of In situ Combustion History and Assessment of
Geologic Environments on Project Outcome”, Paper No 1998-
124, 7th. UNITAR Int. Conf. on Heavy Oil and Tar Sand,
Beijing, China, 27-30 October (1998).
SPE 75137
5. Moore, R.G., Laureshen, C.J., Ursenbach, M.G., Methta, S.A., and
Belgrave, J. D. M.: “A Canadian Perspective On In Situ
Combustion”, JCPT, (1999) 38, No. 13, PAPER: 93-10-07.
6. Greaves, M., T. X. Xia, Turta, A. T., and Ayasse, C.: “Recent
Laboratory Results of THAI and Its Comparison With Other
IOR Processes”, SPE paper 59334, 2000 SPE/DOE Improved
Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 3-5 April (2000).
7. Singhal, A.K., and Turta, A.T.: “Overview of Horizontal Well
Assisted Short-Distance Oil Displacement Technologies”, Paper
SPE 66791/PS 2000-184, 4th. Int. Conf. and Exhibition on
Horizontal Well Technology, Calgary, Canada, Nov. 6-8 (2000).
8. Mokrys, I. J., and Butler, R.M.: ”In-Situ Upgrading of Heavy Oils
by Propane Deasphalting: the VAPEX Process” SPE 25452,
(1993) March 21.
9. Kisman, K.E., and Lau, E.C.: “A New Combustion Process
Utilizing Horizontal Wells and Gravity Drainage” The CIM
1993 Annual Technical Conf., Calgary (1993) May 9-12.
10. Greaves, M. and Turta, A.T.: “Oil Field In Situ Combustion
Process”, U.S. Patent No. 5,626,191 (1997).
11. Greaves, M., Tuwil, A. A., and Bagci, A.S.: “Horizontal Producer
Wells In Situ Combustion (ISC) Processes”, JCPT, (1993) 32,
No. 4, 58-67.
12. Greaves, M.,and Al-Shamali, O.:“Wet In Situ Combustion (ISC)
Process using Horizontal Wells”, Proc., 6th. UNITAR Int. Conf.
on Heavy Oil and Tar Sands, Houston, Texas, (1995) 90-112.
13. Greaves, M., and Al-Shamali, O.: “In Situ Combustion (ISC)
Process using Horizontal Wells”, JCPT, (1996) 35, No.4, 49-55.
14. Greaves, M., and Xia, T. X.: “Preserving Downhole Thermal
Upgrading Using ‘Toe-to-Heel’ ISC - Horizontal Wells Process”,
Proc., 7th. UNITAR Int. Conf. on Heavy Oil and Tar Sands,
Beijing, China, 27-30 October (1998) 1837-1842.
15. Greaves, M., Ren, S.R., and Xia, T.X.: “New Air Injection
Technology for IOR Operations in Light and Heavy Oil
Reservoirs”, Paper SPE 57295, 1999 SPE Asia Improved Oil
Recovery Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 25-26.
16. Xia, T. X., and Greaves, M.: “Upgrading of Athabasca Tar Sand
Using THAI – Toe-to-Heel Air Injection”, Paper SPE 65524/PS
2000-164, 4th. Int. Conf. and Exhibition on Horizontal Well
Technology, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Nov. 6-8 (2000).
17. Greaves, M., and Al-Honi, M.: “Three-Dimensional Studies of In Situ
Combustion – Horizontal Wells Process With Reservoir
Heterogeneities”, JCPT, (2000) 39, No. 10, 25-32.
18. Xia, T. X., and Greaves, M.: “Downhole Upgrading of Athabasca Tar
Sand Using THAI – SARA Analysis”, Paper SPE 69693, the
SPE/DOE International Thermal operations and Heavy Oil
Symposium, Margarita, 12 March (2001).
19. Turta A.: “In-Situ Combustion - From Pilot to Commercial
Application”, Proc. of the Field Applications of In-Situ
Combustion - Past Performance/Future Application Symposium,
Tulsa, April 21-22, 1994.
SPE 75137 INJECTION WELL – PRODUCER WELL COMBINATION IN THAI ‘TOE-TO-HEEL AIR INJECTION’ 7

TABLE 1- BENEFITS OF THAI PROCESS FOR HEAVY OIL RECOVERY AND UPGRADING
• Gas override is controlled, upright in situ combustion front
• All mobilised liquids and combustion gases are drawn down into exposed section of horizontal producer well
• High sweep efficiency, related to the absence of any gas coning (channelling) in the producer
• Significant environmental benefits due to in situ removal of sulphur and heavy metals
• Unique enhanced mobility oil zone downstream of the in situ combustion front reduces sensitivity (preferential
advancement) to reservoir heterogeneity in the virgin zone, mainly for extra-heavy reservoirs
• Fluid injectivity is increased due to higher permeability in the burned out zone and production mostly of upgraded
and heated oil, immediately downstream of in situ combustion front
• Front tracking capability via its “toe-to-heel” propagation with tight control of propagation
• For a commercial line drive operation, for a fixed well pattern, the number of wells is reduced to almost half due to
their use first as producers and then as injectors
• Creates ideal conditions for downhole catalytic upgrading, via the novel CAPRI TM in situ upgrading of heavy oils
process, displaying enhanced upgrading, similar to surface upgrading

TABLE 2—PROPERTIES OF WOLF LAKE CRUDE OIL AND ATHABASCA TAR SAND BITUMEN
Wolf Lake Crude Athabasca Tar Sand
API Gravity 10.5 8
o 3
Density @ 25 C (g/cm ) 0.995 1.0077
Elements (wt %)*
C 83.77 81-84
H 10.62 10.-11.0
N 0.25 0.3-0.6
S 4.5 4.6-5.6
o 4 6
Viscosity @ 15 C(mPa.s) 48,500 *1.8×10 -1×10
SARA composition (wt%)**
Saturates 25.2 14.5
Aromatics 37.4 34.8
Resins 27.3 38.0
Asphaltenes 10.1 12.7
Porosity 34
Oil Saturation (wt%) 13.6 -- 15.3
Water Saturation (wt%) 1.75
* Values from Strausz, O. P.: “Bitumen and Heavy Oil Chemistry”, in AOSTRA Technical Handbook on Oil Sand,
Bitumens and Heavy oils, ed. by Hepler, L. G. and His, C. AOSTRA, Edmonton, Alberta (1989)
** Analysis by University of Salford

TABLE 3--EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS OF 3-D CELL TESTS

Run 984 985 987 2000-01 2000-04 2000-05
Matrix Silica W50 + 3% Clay+ Wolf Lake Oil Virgin Athabasca Tar Sand
Length of 3-D cell (cm) 40 60
Internal insulation Non Non Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ignition Electric heater Electric Hot gas Hot gas
heater
Porosity (%) 38.5 38.5 38.5 ~30
Soi (%) 75 75 75 13.55* 11.8* 14.2*
Swi (%) 20 20 20 1 –2* N/A 1 –2*
o
Initial temperature C 20 20 20 20 100 20
Combustion mode Dry Dry & wet Dry & wet Dry & wet Dry (post- Dry
steam flood)
3 2
Air flux (m /m hr) 9.0 9.0 9.0 12 – 18 12 -- 22 12-18
3 3
WAR (m /1000m ) 0 0.83 0.75 1.1 0.0 0.0
Well type HIHP HIHP HIHP HIHP VI2HP VIHP
Well configuration Direct line Direct line Direct line Direct line Staggered Direct line
drive drive drive drive line drive drive
Back pressure (psig) 20 20 20 10 to 20 15-20 10 to 20
* Weight percentage of oil for original Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen
8 T. X. XIA, M. GREAVES AND A. TURTA SPE 75137

TABLE 4-- RESULTS OF 3-D CELL TESTS USING HIHP WELL CONFIGURATION
Run 984 985 987 2000-01 2000-04 2000-05
Recovery method Primary Primary Primary Primary Post-steam Primary
THAI THAI THAI THAI flood THAI THAI
Length of 3-D cell (cm) 40 40 40 60 60 60
COMBUSTION MODE Dry Dry & wet Dry & wet Dry & wet Dry Dry
Overall period (hrs) 14.25 12.5 14.9 14.5 14.5 16.8
Dry phase (hrs) 12.0 9.0 8.7 9 11.5 11.8
Wet phase (hrs) 0 1.5 4.2 2.0
o
Peak Temperature ( C) 550 620 600 600-750 600 -700 600 -750
Produced gases
(%, Average)
CO2 12.74 12.13 11.56 17.0 15.4 13.0
CO 4.10 4.25 4.2 5.6 3.18 2.74
O2 1.96 2.15 2.27 1.38 2.54 1.77
CO/(CO2+CO) 0.243 0.259 0.266 0.248 0.171 0.714
H/C 0.490 0.671 1.47 0.0 0.401 1.453
O2/fuel requirement 1.93 2.00 2.7 1.63 1.8 1.7
(Sm3/kg)
O2 utilisation (%) 90.7 89.8 89.2 93.4 87.9 91.6
Fuel burned (kg) 0.442 0.388 0.413 0.566 0.596 0.887
Fuel consumption (%of 9.31 8.17 11.6 8.2 9.5 12.7
OOIP)
Air/oil Ratio (m3/m3) 1080 920 1510 1080 1690 2020*
Oil recovery (% OOIP) 85.0 86.5 85 81.5 83 70
Combustion front 0.0025 0.003 0.025 0.035 0.038 0.031
velocity (m/hr)
6.8 6.0 7.5 11.0 8.2 17.1
Residual oil (%OOIP)
* Loss of injectivity towards the end of the test

Combustion Mobile oil Cold Heavy

front zone (MOZ) Oil

Air & Water

Producer
well

Fig. 1—Schemati diagraph of ‘Toe-to-Heel Air Injection’

SPE 75137 INJECTION WELL – PRODUCER WELL COMBINATION IN THAI ‘TOE-TO-HEEL AIR INJECTION’ 9

Injection well Producer well

(a) HIHP (c) VIHP

(b) VI2HP

(d) 2VIHP (e) HI2HP

Fig. 2 – Injection well – producer well combinations in THAI

top
Middle
Bottom Top
Horizontal well M id d le
B o tto m
H o r iz o n ta l w e ll

10 40
40
35 10 35
5
30 30
5
0 25 25
5 20 0 20
10 5
15 15 10 15 15
20 10 20 25
25 30 10
30 5 35 40
35 45 5
40 0 50 55 60 0

(a) 3-D cell-1 (40cm × 40cm × 10cm) (b) 3-D cell-2 (60cm × 40cm × 10cm)

Fig 3 – 3-D combustion cells

10 T. X. XIA, M. GREAVES AND A. TURTA SPE 75137

ignitor off
ignitor off
700
700
600
Peak temperature (oC)

600

Peak temperature ( C)
500

o
500
400
400
300
300
stabilized period
stabilized period
200
200
100
100
0 0
-60 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720 -60 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720
Time (min) Time (min)
(a) Run 984,Wolf Lake Oil (b) Run 985, Wolf Lake Oil
No internal insulation No internal insulation
stabilized period

ignitor off ignitor off

700 1000

600
Peak temperature ( C)
Peak temperature ( C)

800
o
o

500

400 600

300
400 stabilized period
200 stabilized period

200
100

0 0
-60 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 -60 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600
Time (min) Time (min)

(c) Run 987, Wolf Lake Oil (d) Run 2000-01, Athabasca Tar Sand
Intrenal insulated Internal insulated

Fig. 4 – Peak temperature profiles of combustion tests using HIHP

SPE 75137 INJECTION WELL – PRODUCER WELL COMBINATION IN THAI ‘TOE-TO-HEEL AIR INJECTION’ 11

40 40
250 200
35 150 35 400 350300 250 200
350 150
30 300 150
400 30
450
25 25
450
Y (cm)

400

Y (cm)
20 250200 150 Horizontal 20 300 250
200
350 150
mid-plane
15 350
300 15
400
450
10 10
400 150
5 150 350 150
250200 5 300 250 200

0 0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

10 10
8 8
Z (cm)
Z (cm)

6 Vertical 6
4 mid-plane 4
2 2
0 0 100
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 150
X (cm) X (cm)
200
(a) t = 180 min (b) t = 360 min 250
300
350
40 400
200 200 40
250 250 450
35 300 150 250
350 300 250
350 35 300 500
400 550
30 400 350
30 200
25 200 450
400 450 450 350 25 400
Y (cm)

500 200
Y (cm)

20 250
300 Horizontal
450
mid-plane
20 250
300
15 400
350 450
200 15 450
450
10
350 200
10
400 300 250 400 400
5
150 5 350
0 400
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40

10
8 10
Z (cm)

6 Vertical 8
Z (cm)

4 mid-plane 6
2 4
0 2
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0
X (cm) 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
X (cm)
(c) t =540 min (d) t =720 min

Fig. 5 – Temperature profiles of Run 987. Primary recovery, HIHP

12 T. X. XIA, M. GREAVES AND A. TURTA SPE 75137

20 20
Wet combustion
3 2 WAR: 0.83m3/1000m3
Air flux: 9 sm /m h
Oil production rate (ml/min)

Oil production rate (ml/min)

15 15

Air flux: 9 sm3/m2h

10 10

5 5

0 0
0 120 240 360 480 600 720 0 120 240 360 480 600

Time (min) Time (min)

(a)Run 984 (Wolf Lake crude oil) (b) Run 985 (Wolf Lake crude oil)

10 20
Wet combustion Air flux: 12 sm3/m2h
WAR: 0.75m3/1000m3 WAR: 1.1 m3/1000sm3
Oil production rate (ml/min)

Oil production rate (ml/min)

8
15
Air flux: 9 sm3/m2h Air flux: 18 sm3/m2h

6
Air flux: 12sm3/m2h Air flux: 12sm3/m2h
10

5
2

0 0
0 120 240 360 480 600 720 840 0 120 240 360 480 600

Time (min) Time (min)

(c) Run 987 (Wolf Lake crude oil) (d) Run 2000-02 (Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen)

Fig. 6 – Oil production rate of 3-D cell THAI tests

Primary recovery, HIHP
SPE 75137 INJECTION WELL – PRODUCER WELL COMBINATION IN THAI ‘TOE-TO-HEEL AIR INJECTION’ 13

20 20
API density of the produced oil

API density of the produced oil

15 15

10 10
0 120 240 360 480 600 720 0 120 240 360 480 600 720

Time (minutes) Time (minutes)

(a) Run 984, Wolf Lake Oil (b) Run 985, Wolf Lake Oil

20 20
API density of the produced oil
API density of the produced oil

15 15

10 10
0 120 240 360 480 600 720 0 120 240 360 480 600 720

Time (minutes) Time (minutes)

(c) Run 987, Wolf Lake Oil (d) Run 2000-01, Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen

Fig. 7 -- Thermal upgrading of the produced oil in THAI process. Primary recovery, HIHP
14 T. X. XIA, M. GREAVES AND A. TURTA SPE 75137

900

800
Air flux
C)
2 2
700 12 Sm /m h
o

600
Peak temperature (

500 Air flux Air flux

2 2
Air flux Air flux
15 Sm /m h 18 Sm2/m2h 2 2
22 Sm /m h 3 2
15 Sm /m h
400

300

200 Hot air injection

Cold air injection
100

0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720 780 840
Time (min)
(a)

20
Produced gas compostion (%)

15

CO2
10 O2
CO
5

0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720 780 840
Time (min)
(b)

20
Oil production rate (ml/min)

15

10

0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720 780 840
Time (min)
(c)

Fig. 8 – Peak temperature, gas and oil production

(Run 2000-04, post-steam flood THAI for Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen)
SPE 75137 INJECTION WELL – PRODUCER WELL COMBINATION IN THAI ‘TOE-TO-HEEL AIR INJECTION’ 15

900

800
Peak temperature ( oC)

700
Air flux
600 12 Sm2/m2h
Air flux Air flux Air flux Air flux
500 18 Sm2/m2h 15 -->8
15 Sm2/m2h 12 Sm2/m2h
400

300

200 Hot air injection

Cold air injection
100

0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720 780 840 900 960 1020
Time (min)
(a)
Produced gas compostion (%)

20

15

CO2
10
O2
CO
5

0
120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720 780 840 900 960 1020
Time (min)
(b)

15
Oil production rate (ml/min)

10

0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720 780 840 900 960 1020
Time (min)
(c)

Fig. 9 – Peak temperature, gas and oil production

(Run 2000-05, Primary THAI for Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen)