SPE 154760

Using a new Intelligent Well Technology Completions Strategy to Increase

Thermal EOR Recoveries–SAGD Field Trial
Mark Bedry, Joel Shaw, Halliburton

Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE EOR Conference at Oil and Gas West Asia held in Muscat, Oman, 16–18 April 2012.

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
Well segmentation and instrumentation have been used to improve steam injection and production conformance in a
completions strategy for a thermal-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project by using intelligent well technology and interval
control valves (ICVs). The initial field trial is ongoing in the injector of a Northern Alberta steam-assisted gravity drainage
(SAGD) well pair. The development of the completion technology suitable for thermal conditions, initial field trial results
and the plans for further development are described in this paper. The application modeling shows that, depending on the
level of heterogeneity present in the reservoir, a 45% reduction in the steam-oil ratio and an almost 70% increase in recovery
can be achieved in a SAGD process when both improved injection conformance and producer differential steam-trap control
can be applied in a segmented horizontal well pair. A cost-effective, intelligent-well completion solution to achieve this
segmentation and control has the potential to add substantial value to field developments through improved steam
conformance. This will result in increased energy efficiency and oil recovery. The method under development is also
applicable to a wide range of other thermal EOR processes such as cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), steam drive, and
variations, including, for example, those involving solvent additives.
The initial field deployment in the injector well was initiated to prove the technology, to demonstrate the feasibility of
modifying the steam distribution, and to obtain best practices for future developments. A successful installation and
commissioning of the intelligent completion has validated the technology. Lessons learned are highlighted. Early injection
test results and data show a significant increase in the understanding of the injection and production behavior in the well pair.
A test program to optimize the distribution of the steam injection in the well is underway, and the results are discussed. The
intelligent completion technology under trial and proposed further developments should enable more extensive use of
downhole measurement and control in thermal EOR projects than has been possible to date.

Introduction
Bitumen is a thick tar-like hydrocarbon that is often found near the surface in sandy formations. Bitumen has historically
been produced using methods similar to strip mining. The sand/bitumen mixture was dug up and carried away in a dump
truck to a refining facility where it was heated to extract the bitumen from the sand. The bitumen then continued to a refining
process. Unfortunately, mining bitumen can have a large geographical footprint and does not allow access to deeper
formations.
The SAGD system was developed to improve the accessibility to deep bitumen as well as reduce the cost and
environmental impact involved with surface mining. It involves drilling two parallel horizontal wells, one about 5 meters
above the other. Initially, the bitumen is too thick to be produced. Therefore, there is an initial break-in period for both wells
in which a work string has been installed, and steam is either pumped down the string and back up the annulus or vice-versa.
During this time, the bitumen near the SAGD pair is heated, and the viscosity is reduced. Once the viscosity is reduced
sufficiently near the SAGD pair, production can commence from the lower well, and steam is pumped down the injection
well. As bitumen and water are produced from the lower production well, and steam injection continues in the injection well,
a steam cavern forms. (Shaw and Bedry, 2011)
The steam cavern is actually an area of high permeability sand from which the bitumen has already been extracted.
Ideally, steam rises from the injection well evenly as a result of its low density and the high permeability of the steam cavern.
The steam spreads horizontally as it rises and reaches the upper boundaries of the cavern. There, it condenses as the latent
heat of condensation is passed into the tar-like bitumen. The bitumen’s viscosity is reduced as it is heated, and it is drained
2 SPE 154760

down to the production well along with the condensed steam where it is produced by conventional means. The steam cavern
grows over time as more and more bitumen is produced.

Problems with Traditional SAGD Systems

SAGD injection wells typically have been completed with dual strings in a slotted liner (Gotawala, et.al., 2009). One string
ends at the heel, and the other ends at the toe. Steam can be injected independently into either of these strings.

Barbell Shaped Steam Cavern

Traditional SAGD injection wells allow steam injection at only two points ─ the heel and the toe. This tends to create a
barbell shaped steam cavern as shown in Figure 1. This cavern shape does not allow steam to reach the center of the barbell
and significantly reduces production rates and total recovery.

Poor Injectability
If the steam cavern grows in a less-than-ideal manner, or the formation has poor homogeneity, the injection well can exhibit
poor injectability. The pressure is limited by reservoir stability and the pressure/temperature relationship in the steam table.
Since the pressure cannot be increased, the formation cannot receive the amount of steam that the operator may wish to
inject.

Steam Breakthrough
If steam breaks through directly from the injector to the producer, it causes a couple of serious problems. The first is the cost
and environmental impact of creating steam and pumping it into the producer where it serves no purpose. Reducing wasted
steam reduces CO2 emissions and conserves water. A more significant problem is created as the steam travels at high
velocity directly from the injector to the producer. The steam can pick up sand, which will erode the casing and production
string as well as fill the production well with sand. Sand in the production well can reduce production rates and destroy
artificial-lift equipment as well as equipment downstream of the well.

Lack of Conformance
Variations in the permeability of the formation can create scenarios in which the steam travels to areas in which it is not fully
used. This is a waste of energy, and it reduces the recovery efficiency.

Steam Injection
Well

Steam Production
Well
Barbell Shaped
Steam Cavern

Heel Injection Heel Injection

String String

Figure 1 – Traditional SAGD Injection Well Barbell Steam Cavern

SPE 154760 3

Current Solutions for SAGD Issues

In a homogenous formation, it would be ideal to inject steam over the entire length of the injector and to produce condensed
steam and bitumen evenly over the length of the producer. Devices have been designed to attempt this. However,
heterogeneity in the formation can still cause uneven steam-cavern development. While even steam injection is possible
along the injection string, changing the steam injection profile to react to the steam chamber is not simple.

Reducing Flow in the Heel or the Toe in Dual String Completions

In dual string completions, one way to control steam-cavern growth is to reduce flow into either the toe or the heel. While
this will reduce steam growth in undesirable areas, it also reduces the steam-oil ratio (SOR) and the amount of steam that can
be injected into the SAGD pair. However, it also has the net effect of reducing bitumen production, and it does nothing to
reduce the barbell shape of the steam cavern.

OCDs and ICDs

Outflow control devices (OCDs) and inflow control devices (ICDs) can be used in combination or separately to distribute the
steam evenly across the formation, eliminate the traditional barbell shape, or reduce steam breakthrough. Each of these can be
considered as a series of preselected nozzles along the length of the horizontal section. Each nozzle is designed to allow a
predetermined amount of flow from the injection string to the formation or from the formation into the production string.
Unfortunately, typical OCDs and ICDs do not allow interventionless adjustment of the nozzles as the steam cavern grows and
develops. Another disadvantage is that the nozzles create a pressure differential that can reduce the effectiveness of the
steam.

Changeable OCDs and ICDs

OCDs and ICDs that can be changed with a work over have been developed. These OCDs and ICDs have ports inside a
sleeve that can be removed and replaced via coil tubing. While this provides the capability to change the nozzles over the life
of the well, the requisite work over requires downtime. Furthermore, all of the nozzles must be removed from the upper
zones of the completion to replace nozzles in the lower zones. There are also safety and logistical concerns with working over
a well pair that has been under the extreme conditions of a SAGD environment.

Determining the Conditions of the Steam Cavern

Numerous tools (Maron et.al. 2008) have been used to determine the shape of steam caverns and the injectivity profile of the
formation. These tools include methods such as logs during intervention, seismic, and measuring deformation at the ground
surface. When there is a dual string, injectivity can be measured during injection, and transient pressure analysis can be used
during shut-in of the toe or heel.

Ideal Solution for SAGD Systems

An ideal solution for an SAGD completion would provide the capability to inject steam evenly over the length of the well. It
would also provide a simple way to change the steam injection profile to guide the steam cavern and minimize SOR.
Furthermore, it would be helpful for the system to provide a way to quickly estimate growth of the steam cavern over the life
of the SAGD pair.

Understanding the Reservoir

Downhole pressure and temperature measurements coupled with surface deformation measurements are key components to
understanding the shape and growth of the steam cavern as well as performance of the SAGD pair. These measurements can
be used to infer a number of operational parameters of the formation and the well pair.

Surface Deformation
There are several methods of measuring ground surface deformation. They are seismic, micro-seismic, 4D-Siesmic, GPS/
interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), satellite based, and surface deformation TILT monitoring. These
technologies vary in accuracy, frequency of measurement, and of course, cost. The main use in oil-sands projects is to
determine where injection and production have caused the surface to rise or subside. With proper analysis of these
measurements, the steam-cavern shape can be determined. This can be a fantastic tool for determining not only steam
placement, but also changes that have occurred due to active control of the well pair.
Some of these same types of surface deformation technologies are also used to monitor cap-rock integrity and catch steam
breakthrough before it happens.

Pressure Measurement
There are two main solutions for high-temperature downhole pressure measurement. The oldest technology used for these
environments is a bubble tube system. These systems have a small capillary tube that extends from the surface to the desired
depth of measurement. This tube is filled with an inert gas, typically helium. Since the density of the gas is known, the
downhole pressure can be calculated from the pressure that is measured at the surface.
4 SPE 154760

Fiber-optic pressure gauges have recently been developed that can operate in a SAGD environment. A special fiber-optic
transducer is terminated at the end of a fiber-optic cable that is run to the point of interest in wellbore. Downhole pressure
deflects a pressure-sensing diaphragm that is integrated with a fiber-optic sensor. The deflection of the diaphragm is
measured remotely where the optical signal is converted into an electronic output. A temperature sensor integrated with the
pressure transducer is used for both temperature measurement and thermal correction at elevated temperatures.

Temperature Profile: Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS)

Distributed temperature sensing (DTS) is a system that has been developed to measure the temperature at every meter along
the length of the completion. DTS consists of two main components: a fiber-optic cable along the length of the well, and a
DTS box at the surface. The DTS box sends a signal down the fiber and measures the signal that is reflected back. This signal
is analyzed and used to calculate the temperature along the length of the fiber. DTS provides a highly accurate temperature
profile of the entire wellbore (Butler, 1980). This can be used at shut in to infer the shape and characteristics of the cavern.
Furthermore, it can be used to see anomalies in the injection and production profiles. Seismic data have been proven to
correlate directly with DTS data.

Control of Injection and Production

Controlling injection into and production from a formation requires two main components. The first component provides
selective communication from the string into discreet zones along the length of the completion. The second component
provides compartmentalization between these zones.

Flow Control
An interval control valve (ICV) has been developed to solve the issues with current methods of controlling steam injection
into SAGD systems (Figure 2). This ICV is a sliding sleeve that can be controlled from the surface and is optimized for the
temperatures and pressures of a SAGD environment. The operator can control each of the ICVs in real-time by pumping
hydraulic fluid down hydraulic control lines that run between each ICV and the surface.

High Temperature Seals

Open Ports in Closure Injection/ Close

Chamber Piston Seal Production Port Chamber

Figure 2 – Interval Control Valve

Each ICV has its own dedicated control line as well as a common control line that is connected to each valve. This is called
an N+1 control system where N represents the number of ICVs. Typically, the ICVs are plumbed so that the common line
will move the ICV to a closed position. Using this control methodology, any sliding sleeve can be uniquely positioned by
pressurizing a specific combination of hydraulic control lines (Hodges, et. al., 2000).

Using an “N+1” control methodology:

• Control of 3 sliding sleeves would require 4 lines

• Control of 4 sliding sleeves would require 5 lines
• Control of 5 sliding sleeves would require 6 lines

Figure 3 illustrates three zones using direct hydraulics. It shows lines 1-3 connected to the opening chamber of the ICVs
and the common line connected to the closing chamber. The ICVs can be placed in any position by pressurizing and venting a
combination of the control lines. For instance, pressuring up on lines 1 and 3 with all of the valves closed will open the outer
two valves while leaving the middle valve closed. (Shaw, 2011)
SPE 154760 5

Figure 3 – Arrangement of Lines in a Direct Hydraulic System

Using these ICVs, no intervention is required to isolate production or injection in a specific zone. Not only does this allow
the operator to react to anomalies in the formation, but it also allows the operator to steer the development of the steam
cavern.

Zonal Isolation: Steam Diverter

In order to gain full selective steam injection, a form of wellbore segmentation is required. The harsh environment of steam
flood wells combined with the number of control and instrumentation lines make this a challenge. Due to thermal expansion,
the segmentation tool must allow the tubing string to move within the liner. The device also requires spliceless feed-through
of up to a dozen ¼-in. lines. The lines can be hydraulic control lines, gas-filled pressure measurement lines, or fiber-optic
lines. A steam diverter was developed that solves these issues. The tool uses opposing high temperature cups that seal against
the liner for bi-directional isolation within the wellbore. The cups are sized to interfere with the drift ID of the liner and
further energized with the heat and pressure of the steam injection operations. The cup elements are machined with grooves
for the ¼-in. bare control lines to pass through. A “gate” is removed from the tool to allow the control lines to be set into the
grooves, and then, it is replaced and bolted to seal the cups around the lines. Custom fluted centralizers are placed on either
side of the diverter to provide further protection of the control lines. In the trial well, the steam-diverter tools were proven by
DTS trace to hold a minimum of 800KPa of differential pressure from one interval to the other. The diverters were placed
equidistant between the ICVs. Steam diverters have also been used to mitigate steam breakthrough in problem well pairs
Figure 4.

Control lines

Centralizer Diverter
element

Figure 4 – Steam Diverter

Advantages of Actively Controlling a SAGD System

A combination of tools to measure temperature and pressure as well as control flow into and out of the formation allows
unprecedented management of SAGD systems. This includes improved knowledge of how the steam cavern is reacting and
how well the steam-cavern growth is being controlled.

Analysis of the Steam Cavern

In addition to traditional methods of estimating and qualifying the steam cavern, the ability to isolate zones allows better
diagnostics and monitoring of the SAGD pair without need for work over.
6 SPE 154760

Injectivity
Since zones can be selectively opened and closed, injectivity changes can be monitored over time. Calculation of injectivity
into a certain zone consists of shutting-in all of the zones, then, each zone is opened individually, and the injection pressure at
several flow rates is measured. The injectivity at a certain section can be used to estimate the size of the steam cavern at that
section and to estimate conformance. (Figures 5a and 5b).

Figure 5a – Injectivity Zones

ZONE ZONE ZONE ZONE

A B ` C D

``

Figure 5b – Traditional Steam Cavern for Injectivity Zones

SPE 154760 7

Transient Pressure at Shut-In (No Work Over)

When the zones are all shut-in, the pressure can be measured with one of the capillary or fiber gauges. The transient change
in pressure is a valuable tool for estimating steam cavern size and reservoir characteristics.

Transient Temperature at Shut-In (No Work Over)

DTS has proven itself in many applications over the years to have the capability to determine changes over the length of the
entire well. These include long-term changes in the temperature profile as well as short-term changes when there is a change
in the flow conditions. These short-term changes can include stopping injection and closing or opening any combination of
the ICVs. This is a critical tool to determine how the well is changing over time and how the steam is traveling in the cavern.

See Steam Cut before It Causes Damage

DTS in the producer can be used to detect steam flowing directly from the injector to the producer. This can have adverse
effects, which include flow cutting through the production string and producing sand. Producing sand can create problems
such as destroying artificial lift equipment and surface equipment. It can also sand-in the producer and reduce production.

Injection into Specific Zones

Historical technologies (Kaura and Sierra, 2008) have been presented that allow control of injection into a steam cavern.
However, these systems each have shortcomings. Some of them only allow for injection into the heel and the toe of the steam
cavern and produce a barbell-shaped steam cavern. Others allow injection along the entire length but cannot be adjusted to
adapt to changing well conditions. Others can be adjusted, but to do this requires costly work overs.
ICVs allow the injection profile to be changed repeatedly over the life of the well without intervention. Certain zones of
the steam cavern can be temporarily or permanently closed, if that area seems to be taking a disproportionate amount of
steam, or there is breakthrough.

Using Valves to Shape the Steam Cavern

If the injectivity is not even across the length of the steam cavern, it can create a vicious cycle that gets worse over time. The
section with greatest injectivity is typically the section of the steam cavern that has the largest diameter. Most of the steam
will tend to enter this section; therefore, more of the bitumen is melted from this section. As the bitumen melts and is
produced, the steam cavern will grow even larger in that section.
In some scenarios, steam-cavern growth in certain directions has environmental or safety implications. For instance, if a
SAGD field is near a water aquifer, it is important to keep steam from breaking through. The chamber growth can be
monitored as described earlier, and the growth can be controlled by closing the ICVs in sections with potential to break
through to the aquifer.
ICVs in the injection well can be used to break this cycle. The ICV in a high injectivity zone can be closed, while the
adjacent valves are left open. Steam from the adjacent ICVs will rise and melt the bitumen above them. As this bitumen is
produced, it will open up the steam cavern and increase the injectivity into the sections with the opened ICVs. Eventually, the
injectivity between sections will be normalized, and normal injection can continue.

Elimination of Breakthrough
An ICV can also be used in the producer to produce from specific zones of the completion. This method can be applied in
situations when there is steam breakthrough directly from the injector to the producer. While an ICV can be shut on the
injector to eliminate the breakthrough, it does not allow for further injection into that section of the steam cavern. Closing the
corresponding ICV in the production well eliminates breakthrough while allowing steam injection into the corresponding
zone.

Increased Injection Pressure

Contrary to assumptions made for modeling heavy oil assets, most formations are not completely homogeneous. This can
lead to excessive steam-cavern growth in one area. There are also situations in which some areas of a steam cavern are closer
to a water reservoir or to breaching a cap rock. Controllable injection points and steam diversion allow operators to increase
the injection temperatures and pressures in selected zones. This increases the production from problem zones without risk of
damaging the cap rock or corrupting water tables. The increased steam values can now be determined from the steam tables
by allowing injection pressure to be governed by a specific zone rather than the entire steam cavern. As shown in Figure 6,
an increase from 2,700 kPa to 4,700 kPa allows an increase of 30°C in the injection temperature.
8 SPE 154760

Steam Pressure vs Temperature

5000

4500

4000

3500

Pressure (kPa)
3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0 50 100 150 200 250

Temperature (C)

Figure 6 ─ Controllable injection and steam diversion increases injection temperatures and pressures in selected zones.

Solution Example
Description of Field in Canada
A SAGD system in the Orion field of Northern Alberta had been on line for a number of years (Clark, et.al. 2010). However,
geological heterogeneity had created conformance issues. Technologies such as OCDs had been used in the field, but the
formations’ lack of homogeneity would not allow for even cavern growth and bitumen production.

Trial Well Selection

The operator wanted to try a surface-controllable ICV system so that they could react to the unpredictability of the geology.
They selected a candidate well based on a number of factors including established injector/producer communication, baseline
performance data, a producer that was equipped with DTS, and a history showing potential for improvement. Furthermore, a
well pair was selected that had subpar oil production and SOR compared to other well pairs in the field.

Description of Completion
The original dual tubing string completion was pulled from the injection well. The new completion is shown in Figure 7 and
consisted of:
• 3 Steam Diverters
• 4 High-Temperature Steam ICVs
• Custom Fluted Centralizers
• 3 Fiber-Optic Pressure Gauges
• 1 Fiber-Optic DTS System
• 8 Control Lines
a) 5 hydraulic
b) 3 pre-built fiber optic
• Heavy-Duty Dual-Channel Collar Protectors
• Ratcheting Mule Shoe Guide

Torque and drag modeling was performed to ensure the completion could be run into the hole without undue stress on
components, and also, to ensure the eight control lines would be intact once the completion was on bottom. Custom fluted
centralizers were added at strategic locations in the tubing string to ensure success. The fluted centralizers also acted as
control-line protection. The steam diverters isolated the completion into four separate zones (Zones A-D), and the ICVs
controlled the injection into each of those zones. The pressures in Zones B, C, and D were measured using the fiber-optic
gauges. The pressure in Zone A was measured at the surface through communication up the nitrogen-filled annulus. DTS
provided temperature reading in one-meter increments from the wellhead to the location of the gauge in Zone D. The control
lines were clamped at every tubing collar with dual-channel, heavy-duty line-protection clamps. The liner hanger in the well
had a very sharp entry angle, so there was concern of the completion running past it with ease. To mitigate this issue, a
ratcheting mule shoe was added to the end of the completion to ensure success.
SPE 154760 9

Figure 7 – New Completion Configuration

Baseline Analysis
Initial data were taken to calculate the injectivity and estimate the shape of the steam cavern. This was accomplished by
injecting through the valves individually as well as watching the changes in DTS. From this analysis, it was determined that
Zones A and B exhibited poor injectability. This indicated that the steam cavern had a shape similar to that represented in
Figure 5a.
The operator devised a steam injection schedule to combat the poor performance of the steam cavern. This schedule was a
monthly cycle that consisted of:
• 3 weeks injection into only Zones A and B
• 1 week injection into all the zones
• 1 day shut in to take measurements
This injection schedule was designed to improve the injectability and produce the bitumen from zones A and B, while
maintaining Zones C and D. The net effect would be to increase the bitumen production without using excess steam and to
improve the steam chamber conformance, as shown in Figure 5b.

Results
There has been significant improvement in production after 6 cycles as shown in Figure 8. Selective injection into specific
zones has also allowed a temperature and pressure increase from 230° C to 260° C and 2700 to 4700 kPa. The SAGD pair
has exhibited a 45% improvement in SOR, and an almost 70% increase in bitumen production. Figure 9 shows that the
injectivity has shown over 100% increase in zones A and B. Pressure, temperature, and injection data also show significant
improvement in the steam cavern. The operator is now injecting solely into Zones A and B to further improve SOR and
maximize production. The ICVs have also proven to be highly reliable. They have each gone through approximately 50 to 60
full shifting cycles since their deployment in 2009. There have been no issues shifting the valves to date.

Figure 8: Improvement in Steam Injection, Oil Production, and Water Production

10 SPE 154760

Figure 9: Steam Injectivity Improvement

As published on the Alberta Energy Resource Conservation Board (ERCB) and shown in Figure 10, there has been
significant improvement in performance when comparing the six months prior to installation of the steam valve and the six
months after its installation. In that time, cumulative oil has gone from 3000 cubic meters to 5000 cubic meters, and the SOR
went from 11 to 6, which reduced the cumulative steam by 2000 cubic meters. These numbers can be used to estimate the
gain that has been realized by using the steam valve. Using the average price from October 2010 through October 2011 of
$62/barrel for the price of bitumen and $10/metric tone for steam, the savings can be calculated. (Alberta ERCB, 2011)
• 2000 cubic meters = 12,600 barrels; 12,600 barrels *$62 per barrel yields $781,000 increase in production over a six
month period.
• Assuming $10/ metric ton for steam, 1 cubic meter is 1 metric ton, 2000 cubic meters, *$10 yields $20,000 savings in
steam over a six month period
This represents an increase of $1.5 Million per year to the operator.

Crude Oil and Bitumen Prices

Figure 10: Crude Oil and Bituem Prices

Future Developments
While current ICVs for SAGD service have yielded successful results, there has been ongoing development to make the
ICV’s even more versatile.
Current steam ICV designs are designed for operation in either a fully opened or a fully closed position. This allows for
control of injection and production to eliminate steam breakthrough, control steam-cavern growth, and minimize SOR.
SPE 154760 11

However, it requires frequent movements of the ICV to allow controlled injection into certain zones. A choking ICV is being
developed to allow partial flow into portions of the steam cavern.
The ICV is also being qualified for temperatures above those at which SAGD fields are currently operated. These higher
temperatures will provide solution technologies such as cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) or steam flood as well as green
energy systems such as geothermal.

Conclusion
1. The new completions strategy was successfully implemented in a SAGD steam-injection well and operated in
temperatures of up to 260°C.
2. The mechanical reliability and integrity of the surface-controlled thermal interval-control valves and thermal feed-
through diverters has been proven over the trial period.
3. The fiber-optic monitoring systems have proven themselves to be valuable to the evaluation of the completion equipment
and reservoir response.
4. The baseline data gathered during the trial and close surveillance has improved the understanding of the well pair
performance and its link to the geological heterogeneity. This has helped to identify the opportunities for conformance
improvement and the building of a more uniform steam chamber.
5. The completion is currently being used to modify the injection conformance in the well by injecting into one zone at the
heel. The initial indications are of some warming of these zones, an improvement in injectivity, and an improvement in SOR
performance of 45%. Evaluation of the possibility to develop a more uniform chamber will take a longer time.

References
Alberta Energy Resource Conservation Board website, http://www.ercb.ca, October 2011. ERCB ST-3 Report.
Butler, R., “Method for Continuously Producing Viscous Hydrocarbons by Gravity Drainage While Injecting Heated Fluids.” US Patent
No. 4,344,485. 1980.
Clark, H., Ascanio, F., Van Kruijsdijk, C., Chavarria, J., Zatka, M., Williams, W., Yahyai, A., Shaw, J., and Bedry, M., “Method to
Improve Thermal EOR Performance Using Intelligent Well Technology: Orion SAGD Field Trial”, CSUG/SPE 137133, presentation
at the Canadian Unconventional Resources & International Petroleum Conference held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 19–21 October
2010.
Gotawala, D.R. and Gates, I.D., “SAGD Subcool Control with Smart Injection Wells,” SPE 122014, Presented at the EUROPEC/EAGE
Conference and Exhibition, 8-11 June 2009, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Hodges, S., Olin, G., Sides III, W.: “Hydraulically-Actuated Intelligent Completions: Development and Applications,” Paper OTC 11933
presented at Offshore Technology Conference, 1 May-4 May 2000, Houston, Texas
Kaura, J. and Sierra, J., “Successful Field Application in Continuous DTS Monitoring Under Harsh Environment of SAGD Wells Using
Improved Optical Fiber Technology – Case Study from Canada,” SPE 117206 Presented at the International Thermal Operations and
Heavy Oil Symposium, 20-23 October 2008, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Maron, K.P., Bourne, S., Klem,m H., Van Den Beukel, A., McGillivray, P., “Insights from Monitoring of Heavy Oil Production in Peace
River, Canada,” SPE 118244 Presented at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, 3-6 November 2008,
Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Shaw, J.: “Comparison of Downhole Control System Technologies for Intelligent Completions,” Paper CSUG/SPE 147547 presented at the
Canadian Unconventional Resources Conference held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 15-17 November 2011.
Shaw, J., Bedry, M.: “Using a New Intelligent Well Technology Completions Strategy to Increase Thermal EOR Recoveries – Sagd Field
Trial,” Paper CSUG/SPE 147543 presented at the Canadian Unconventional Resources Conference held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada,
15-17 November 2011.

SI Metric Conversion Factors

ft x 3.048* E-01= m
in.x 2.54* E+00= cm
psi x 6.894 757 E+00= kPa
bbl x 1.589 873 E–01= m3
gal x 3.785 412 E-03= m3
°F (°F −32)/1.8 = °C
*Conversion factor is exact