SPE-171049-MS

Potential of Steam Solvent Hybrid Processes in Llanos Basin, Colombia

L. Andarcia, J. Bermudez, Y. Reyes, H. Caycedo, and A. Suarez, HOCOL S.A.

Copyright 2014, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Heavy and Extra Heavy Oil Conference - Latin America held in Medellin, Colombia, 24 –26 September 2014.

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
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Abstract
Eastern Llanos in Colombia is a heavy oil prolific basin. Reservoirs in this area generally exhibit water
intrusion and extensive transition zones which its origin is probably explained by a combination of
lithology variation and a week density contrast in between the reservoir water and oil. If oil viscosity at
reservoir temperature is low enough to allow primary production; it is feasible to develop heavy oil fields
using horizontal wells and high volume lift pumps. However, operators have to prepare to treat and
dispose large volumes of produced water. Other reservoirs with higher oil viscosity require an enhance oil
recovery (EOR) processes to pursuit a commercial development. Among the recovery methods applied to
heavy oil reservoirs, the most popular is steam injection in its different schemes. Nevertheless, in high
initial water saturation environments the thermal efficiency of the steam is under concern. Other EOR
options include but not limited to: polymer injection, Alkaline Surfactant and Polymer “ASP”, “In situ
Combustion”, Single Well SAGD, SAGD, VAPEX, Solvent Injections and Steam Solvent Hybrid
Processes. In hybrid processes an amount of solvent is added to the steam. It is thought that the efficiency
of the thermal recovery can be improved by such solvent fraction. It is expected that the presence of
solvent helps reducing the cumulative Steam to Oil Ratio (SOR), therefore the overall economic of the
recovery project. The amount and kind of solvent are important factors to investigate for any particular
reservoir. The production potential under steam hybrid process has been studied in this work with focus
on heavy and extra heavy oil reservoirs exhibiting high initial water saturation in llanos basin.
It has been found that this process looks very promising to overcome the difficult task of producing
very viscous oils in presence of mobile water. Numerical evaluations and laboratory displacement test
conducted with reservoir fluids and rocks gathered from llanos basin heavy oil reservoirs; have shown a
clear improvement on displacement efficiency in hybrid steam-solvent injection with regard to pure steam
injection.

Introduction
The Llanos Basin is the most prolific and largest sedimentary basin in the continental area of Colombia
with 71 oil fields discovered including 2 giants (Barrero, D. et al 2007). It is located in the Eastern region
of Colombia (see Figure 1). The basin has two main distinctive structural domains: the Llanos Foothills
and Llanos Foreland (Vayssaire, A. et al 2013). The western area is characterized by a compressive and
transpressive deformation belt known as the Llanos Foothills. It hosts important Colombian hydrocarbon
2 SPE-171049-MS

Figure 1—Proposed basin map of Colombia for ANH 2007 (after Barrero D et al. 2007) Petroleum system chart and Schematic Cross Section.

fields (Cusiana, Cupiagua, Volcanera, Capachos, Gibraltar, etc.). The Llanos foreland basin, also called
Eastern Llanos, is less deformed and is characterized by a Neogene basin-fill affected by normal faults and
gravitational features. Caño Limón, Caño Yarumal and Rubiales are the principal discoveries. Main
reservoirs found in this basin are siliciclastic units of late cretaceous and paleogene age. Pay thickness
varies from a few feet up to 180 feet or more, depending on the location of the well within the basin.
Within the cretaceous sequence, several sandstone intervals have excellent thickness (see Figure 1). The
paleogene Carbonera (C-3, C-5, and C-7) and Mirador sandstones thickness is more limited in comparison
with cretaceous units. In the present work, cases for “cretaceous type” and “paleogene type” reservoirs are
analyzed. These reservoir types have been defined mainly due to the difference in reservoir thickness and
its implication on the performance of different heavy oil production methods.
The basin has been moderately drilled and some areas have not been studied in deep. Potential areas
for hydrocarbon accumulation are located in the southern and eastern portion of the basin where found
reservoirs could be affected by meteoric water. In fact, recent discoveries in llanos Basin contain highly
SPE-171049-MS 3

Figure 2—Viscosity measurements at different temperatures of diferent heavy oils discovered in Llanos Basin (left). Gas chromatograms (GCs) of
the oil extracts from three reservoir core samples (right).

Figure 3—Fractional flow sensitivity to oil viscosity (left). Water saturation profile above the water oil contact in a heavy oil reservoir in Llanos basin
(right) Estimation done using special core analyses of different plugs extracted from reservoir cores. The oil is strongly biodegradated (API gravity
8.5 degrees) however it is slightly lighter than water at reservoir pressure and temperature.

viscous heavy oils in late cretaceous and paleogene type reservoirs. Finger print analyses evidence strong
biodegradation of these heavy oils; probably due to fresh water percolation. This phenomenon has also
been reported in other Colombian Basins (Porras, P. et al 2013). Biodegradation leads to low API gravities
(8 – 10 °API) and high oil viscosity. Viscosity measurements done at different temperatures with one of
the oil recently discovered (Figure 2), shows that oil viscosity at reservoir temperature of 155 °F is about
2500cp, which is similar of other heavy oils in Canada (King, R. et al 2005) and Venezuela (Lugo, R. et
al 2001).
Fields like Rubiales, Castilla, Chichimene and other discoveries like Caño Sur are also heavy oil
bearing. However, typical oil viscosity at reservoir temperature is within 300 and 700cp in the afore-
mentioned fields. Such viscosities allow producing by primary methods even though there is initial mobile
water within the reservoir. Figure 3 shows a sensitivity of fractional flow to oil viscosity. The calculations
were done using Buckley Leverret frontal advance theory. Capilary forces and gravitational terms were
not included in the calculation. Relative permeability set used was obtained from especial core analysis
and displacement tests. It is observed that heavy oils with oil viscosity in the range of 100 to 500cp and
4 SPE-171049-MS

initial water saturation of about 45% (close to 25% of mobile water) can be produced by primary methods
with water cuts between 40 to 80%. However, more viscous oils (viscosity higher than 1000cp) under the
same saturation conditions should exhibit initial water cuts over 90%.
If the oil is severely biodegradated, it will probably show a density close to water at reservoir; hence,
there is high chance of finding extensive transition zones due to the weak density contrast. Indeed, recent
heavy oil discoveries within this basin exhibit water intrusion and initial water saturation higher than
critical water saturation (transition zone) over large areas. The transition zone origin is probably explained
by a combination of lithology (rock type and wettability) and a week density contrast in between the
reservoir water and oil. In some cases, the transition zone could cover over 200 feet above the water level
(see Figure 3), which is dramatic in thin sands with a narrow dip. Production tests performed with vertical
and deviated wells have shown oil production with 95% water cut or higher in recent discoveries. The
amount of mobile water saturation within the reservoir is the main reason of such production behavior.
It is very difficult to develop a viscous oil reservoir under primary production recovery in cases where the
transition zone is too close to the main pay. In such cases, water can easily flows to the production well
diminishing oil production. Reservoirs with these characteristics are difficult to produce and enhanced
recovery methods should be necessary to increase production potential and recovery factor; provably since
the very beginning of development. However, to implement EOR methods in this type of reservoir are
challenging.
Thechnology options
These heavy oil reservoirs demand of alternatives to improve the efficiency of recovery methods,
especially under conditions of a water drive or high water saturation where steam injection may seem not
to be feasible. Novel technologies like nano fluids injection and electromagnetical heating has been
considered as possible alternatives. Nano technology has been tested in a heavy oil well located in llanos
basin showing promising results.
The in situ combustion process (ISC) is currently on pilot phase trough the Synchronized Thermal
Additional Recovery project “STAR” (Pantin, R. et al 2013) which seeks to monitor and control the
combustion front trough a convenient change of operational variables. ISC is an effective thermal
recovery process that provides an important alternative to steam injection. However, the conventional ISC
process has many apparent failures, which are mainly related to inappropriate reservoir application and
instability of the process. Operational difficulties like gravity segregation, air channeling, unfavorable air
to oil ratio and low sweep efficiency affect the performance of ISC (Rahnema, H. et al 2010). Finding the
way to control a combustion front or any injection front in a high water saturation environment is very
challenging since the injected fluids can easily migrate to highly conductive flow channels.
The applicability of Cycled Steam Stimulation “CSS” is also challenging for high mobile water
saturation zones. Numerical evaluations have shown that CCS is not a suitable recovery method in a high
water saturation environment. Figure 4 shows simulation results of CCS in a sector model built with data
of a heavy oil reservoir discovered in llanos. CSS is not efficient mainly because the oil is displaced away
from the heated zone during the injection period and it rapidly cooled down. Cyclic methods are seriously
compromised in high water saturation environments since water saturated conductive channels increases
the risk of steam/solvent/chemical losses into the reservoir.
Continuous drive within an appropriate well pattern looks more applicable than cyclic injections under
the study conditions. Flooding or enhanced flooding methods like steam flood (SF), polymer or CO2
flooding look with better possibilities in a high water saturated heavy oil reservoir. Drive processes can
effectively sweep the oil into another producer well and a development in patterns can be technically
feasible. On the other hand, the recovery factor in flooding processes are typically higher that in huff and
puff; the recovery for CSS is typically between 5% and 17% while recovery factor in steam flooding it
is between 40% and 60% of the oil in place. Figure 5 shows production behavior for a steam flooding in
SPE-171049-MS 5

Figure 4 —Expected CSS performance in a heavy oil reservoir (2500cp) with 45% initial water saturation. In CSS, there is not oil replacement into
the near wellbore region (heated zone). Temperature in the heated zone decreases quickly due to the fresh water flow coming from colder areas

Figure 5—Oil production rate and cumulative oil in steam flood inverted five spot pattern simulations at different well spacing.

the same sector model used to simulate CSS. Results have shown oil rates and cumulative oil significantly
higher in SF with regard to CSS under the same conditions.
Beside SF could be technically feasible, the economics of a project of this type is under concern.
Limitations in oil recovery through steam injection processes arise from thin pay zone thickness, presence
of water zones, heat losses throughout the overlying and underlying layers, and other factors. High shale
content (i.e. interbedded shales) can negatively affect the efficiency of the steam since it acts like energy
thief in a thermal process. Poor steamflood performance has been inferred by numerical simulation in a
reservoir in Colombia with high shale content (Trigos, E. et al 2013). In the other hand, an important
reservoir parameter influencing the cost-effectiveness of steam operations is the oil saturation: The higher
the oil saturation in the formation the better the efficiency of the steam process. However, the studied case
has a big amount of initial water in the reservoir; therefore, an enormous fraction of the injected energy
could be lost by heating water.
A sensitivity study to well spacing for the SF project was done to explore the economic aspects of a
commercial SF project in Llanos. Closer the spacing, better the technical aspects of the recovery process
since volumetric swept efficiency is maximized; however, the spacing have to be large enough to ensure
sufficient resources to pay for a project. Thermal efficiency of the SF has been assessed for a heavy oil
reservoir discovered in Llanos basin with high initial mobile water. Figure 6 shows SOR at different well
spacing for a steamflood process in inverted five spot patterns.
6 SPE-171049-MS

Figure 6 —SOR in steam flood simulations at different well spacing

From these simulation runs, it is expected that SOR is going to be as low as 7.5 at well spacing in
between 100 m and 150 m. This value of SOR really compromises a commercial development. However,
there are many different ways to optimize the thermal efficiency of the SF. The experiences at Pikes Peak
in the Lloydminster region (Wong, F. et al 2001) about thermal recovery application in watered zones is
a good example of optimizing steam recovery methodologies. CSS followed by SF have been applied in
this field. Higher steam injection rates and longer injection periods were applied to watered areas
compared with non-watered areas. High water saturation demands of alternatives to improve the effi-
ciency of thermal steam injection projects.
Steam solvent hybrid
Steam based processes (SF, CSS, SAGD) utilize the energy of the injected steam to reduce the heavy oil
viscosity. The oil viscosity is reduced orders of magnitude with temperature. These traditional thermal
processes are very effective at recovering heavy oil from thick clean sands; however, in poor quality
resources; thermal methods are often less economically attractive. Steam based processes are commonly
not economic in reservoirs with an overlying gas cap, bottom or edge water aquifers, high water
saturations, low porosity or thin pay zones, and low thermal conductivity (Knorr, K. 2013). There are also
many drawbacks associated with steam injection including usage of large volumes of fresh water, costly
post production water handling and intensive energy consumption to generate steam, leading to high CO2
emissions.
Solvent based processes (Vapex, CS-SAGD, and CSI) looks to reduce the oil viscosity by diluting the
heavy oil with an appropriate solvent. The Vapor Extraction method (VAPEX) is a pure solvent based
process. It was originally proposed by Butler (Butler. 1998). The application is a solvent analog of SAGD
using vaporized solvent instead of steam. A mixture of vaporized solvent (propane and/or butane) and a
commercially available non condensable gas (methane, natural gas) is injected into the reservoir to reduce
oil viscosity. Mixing of solvent and bitumen mainly occurs due to molecular diffusion and convective
dispersion (Buttler. 1998). Molecular diffusion is a very slow transport mechanism and because dispersion
relays on fluid velocity to improve mixing, typically oil rates in solvent based processes are significant
lower that oil rates obtained in thermal recover. Some attends to improve VAPEX rates by choosing the
right solvent or by the inclusion of heat has been reported. Experimental results and numerical simulations
show that oil rate in VAPEX can be increased at higher temperatures (Haghighat, P. et al 2013). Like with
SPE-171049-MS 7

pure steam methods, solvent based processes also presents disadvantages to overcome in difficult
reservoirs including the need for huge solvent supplies and solvent losses underground. Considering these
facts, the idea of a solvent/heat hybrid recovery process that includes the best of both extremes is a
possible solution.
Solvent/heat hybrid (ES-SAGD, SBH, LASER, SAP, SA-SAGD, SAS, SVX) can be described as a
transition method between pure steam and pure solvent recovery which cover the spectrum of light to full
solvent concentration within the injection stream. It is expected to capture the benefit of higher oil
recovery rates from thermal recovery based methods and the benefits of saving energy and less
environmental impacts from the solvent based recovery methods by combining solvent and heat. Hybrid
processes have also shown additional advantages. The presence of solvent reduces the bitumen viscosity
more than the heat alone and there is additional recovery with regard to pure steam (Dittaro, L. et al 2013).
From 2002-2007 a pilot test of a solvent assisted CSS process was conducted in Cold Lake (Leaute, R.
et al 2002). The method was named “Liquid Addition to Steam for Enhanced Recover or “LASER”. In
this 8 well pilot a relatively small amount of solvent (3-10% v/v) was injected with steam in a standard
CSS operation. The results of the pilot have demonstrated a heavy oil uplift of nearly 35% relative to
traditional CSS and nearly 70% of the solvent was recovered (Leaute, R. et al 2005). A Commercial
application in 10 pads and 240 wells was then implemented based on these results.
Many hybrid methods have been proposed as variants of the SAGD implemented in Athabasca. The
Expanding Solvent SAGD (ES-SAGD) process (Nars, T. et al 2003), the Steam Butane Hybrid (SBH)
process (Frauenfeld, T. et al 2008), the Solvent Assisted SAGD SA-SAGD process (Dittaro, L. et al 2013),
The Steam Alternating Solvent (SAS) process and the Solve Aided Process (SAP) (Gupta, S. et al 2005)).
All these processes involve the injection of a light hydrocarbon solvent with dry steam in a dual well
SAGD configuration. Other solvent options like the Solvent Vapor Extraction (SVX) include configura-
tion of vertical and horizontal wells (Knorr, K. 2013). These methods have shown high potential in the
laboratory and by numerical simulations (Ayodele, O.R et al 2008) as well as during field tests at Cristina
Lake (Gupta, S. et al 2006). All reports claim that heavy oil rate increases and SOR decreases when
solvent is co-injected with the steam.
PVT properties of the solvent – oil system, mixing of solvent vapor and steam in the reservoir, diffusion
and dispersion of solvent in the oil phase may significantly affect heat and mas transfer mechanisms,
temperature and solvent concentration within the porous medium, and consequently oil production
methods. Successful operation of these processes requires optimization studies and appropriate injection
patterns.
Reservoir studies
Reservoir A (Paleogene type)
One of the reservoirs to study is located within llanos basin in Colombia. It targets unconsolidated tidal
sandstones belonging to basal units of Carbonera formation (tertiary), structuring a stratigraphic trap.
Reservoir dip is less than 2 degrees north and gross thickness is about 40 feet. Thickness is a limitation
for SAGD or any other gravity drainage process; however, as previously mentioned in this work, a drive
process may be feasible. Reservoir contains extra heavy oil of 8.5 °API and viscosity between 2000cp -
3000cp at reservoir temperature (155°F). Rsi is below 3scf/bbl (measured in a bottom hole sample) and
its composition lacks of hydrocarbons lighter than C9. Reservoir characterization of this reservoir was
conducted with basic and special logs as well as cores extracted in strat-wells. Thermal rock properties,
routine and special core analyses as well as displacement tests have been done in the lab. The reservoir
shows high mobile water saturation (30% - 55%).
Steam – solvent displacement tests were carried out to test in the lab the benefits of hybrid processes
in two heavy oil reservoirs in this area (Reservoirs “D” and “M”). The reservoir “D” exhibits low
heterogeneity, at least in the 3 wells already drilled. The other reservoir (“M”) contrasts with reservoir “D”
8 SPE-171049-MS

Table 1—DISPLACEMENT TEST STACKS BASIC PROPERTIES. RERSERVOIR “D”

Steam SteamⴙSolvent

Core stack average porosity estimate (frac.): 0.34 0.35

Core stack average permeability estimate (md): 1608 1228
Core stack length (in.): 7 1/2 7 7/9
Core stack diameter (in.): 1 1
Test initial temperature (°F): 149 149
Pore Pressure (psig): 1000 1000
Oil viscosity at test conditions (cp): 1418 1418
ROS to hot water at 464 °F (frac.) 0.36 0.37
ROS to steam and to steam-solvent at 464 °F (frac.) 0.26 0.17

Table 2—DISPLACEMENT TEST STACKS BASIC PROPERTIES. RESERVOIR “M”

Steam SteamⴙSolvent

Core stack average porosity estimate (frac.): 0.39 0.31

Core stack average permeability estimate (md): 7134 1177
Core stack length (in.): 9 5/8 6 2/3
Core stack diameter (in.): 1 1
Test initial temperature (°F): 149 149
Pore Pressure (psig): 1000 1150
Oil viscosity at test conditions (cp): 1600 1600
ROS to hot water at 464 °F (frac.) 0.25 0.43
ROS to steam and to steam-solvent at 464 °F (frac.) 0.13 0.22

Table 3—SOLVENT COMPOSITION USED IN DISPLACEMENT

sands, since it shows high heterogeneity and 5 or 7 TESTS
rock types are considered to properly describe fluid
Composition Mol Frac
flow units.
PROPANE 0.66
Steam – Solvent displacement tests A series of I-BUTANE 0.16
hot-water/oil, steam/oil and steam-solvent/oil dis- N-BUTANE 0.18
placement tests were carried out at reservoir pres-
sure using reservoir fluids and core rocks from
reservoirs “D” and “M”. The experiments were
done using oil samples recovered during production tests. The samples were dehydrated for several weeks
until the water content decreased down to 3%. Reservoir brine composition was reproduced in the lab. The
stacks were built using cores from these reservoirs. Table 1-2 show the basic properties of the stacks used
for displacement tests.
Experimental procedure The procedure for these tests consisted in conducting an unsteady state
waterflood with formation brine with an endpoint at 149°F. The residual oil saturation to water at the
given temperature is determined. Then the waterflooding is repeated at 212, 248, 320, 392 and 464°F
which is the highest test temperature. At this point, the injection fluid is switched from formation brine
to fresh steam condensate in order to observe any change in permeability and residual oil saturation due
to the pH and/or composition of the steam condensate phase. After this formation damage salinity shock
test is done; backpressure is slightly dropped to generate saturated/superheated steam in the system. The
steam flood is then conducted at maximum steam temperature (464 °F) until residual oil saturation is
achieved. In the case of the steam-solvent/oil displacement tests, the steam is co-injected with solvent
using a steam to solvent ratio of 1:1.4. The selected solvent composition for these tests is shown on Table
3. It is thought that a stream with similar composition could be available in llanos. Finally, the
SPE-171049-MS 9

Figure 7—Residual oil saturation versus temperature in Reservoir D (left). Residual oil saturation versus temperature in reservoir M (right).
Displacements test carried out with steam and with steam plus solvent (steam to solvent ratio is 1:1.4).

backpressure is increased to re-obtain liquid phase water and re-measure water permeability to note the
effect of steamflood.
Results It is important to note that the pure steam and the steam solvent tests were conducted in different
stacks. It was done this manner to rule out any problem related to fine migration or formation damage that
may affect the steam flooding test. In order to maintain as close a possible the porous media in both tests;
the stack built for “D” reservoir which is very homogeneous was carefully selected. Therefore, the
experiments were done in stacks with very similar properties. The hot-water/oil displacement phase shows
well reproducibility in both stacks (see Figure 7) for reservoir D, it seems that stack construction was
successful. Hot water injection phase is well reproduced in both stacks. It is observed a higher decrease
on final residual oil saturation during the steam injection with solvent than with pure steam. In another
hand, the stacks used for the steam and steam-solvent experiment of “M” sands case exhibits lower
porosity and permeability than the stack used for the steam injection. This case cover the heterogeneity
observed in reservoir “M” providing a better scenario for pure steam scenario over the hybrid results, since
the stack with better properties was used for a pure steam injection.
Higher displacement efficiency is observed during the hot-water injection in the stack with better
petrophysical properties (pure steam injection scenario), which is inferred by the lower residual oil
saturation archived (see Figure 7). In both cases it is observed a dramatic decrease on final residual oil
saturation during the steam injection with solvent in comparison with hot water. The reduction obtained
with steam plus solvent is close to 50% of the hot water residual oil saturation for the conducted tests.
However in “M” sands case, the steam-solvent test was done in a stack with poorer properties than the
pure steam test stack; both tests has shown similar residual oil saturation reduction (48% in the pure steam
test versus 49% in the steam-solvent test). Finally, it was achieved a higher decrease on residual oil
saturation during the steam-solvent injection than with pure steam in “D” case (28% in the pure steam test
versus 54% in the steam-solvent test). Since these tests have shown a consistent performance during the
hot water injection phase, it is thought that these results evidence a clear displacement improvement due
to the hybrid steam-solvent injection in comparison with the pure steam injection scenario.
Reservoir B (Cretaceous Formation)
The reservoir sands of late cretaceous age are located in the south western of llanos basin in Colombia.
Main reservoirs are formed by siliciclastic units. Pay thickness varies from 30ft up to 180ft or more in
some wells. Reservoir dip is about 25 degrees and data gathered from 18 wells have shown initial mobile
water at different elevations in a range of 300 ft. It is thought that the primary accumulation happened
previous to the structure tilting and the saturation contrast between the transitional and water zones was
10 SPE-171049-MS

Figure 8 —Oil viscosity versus temperature (left). Gas chromatograms (GCs) of the oil extracts from three reservoir core samples

preserved. It may happen due to the high oil viscosity. Lateral seal could be made by highly biodegradated
oil. Cap rock corresponds to shales of Carbonera formation C8, and the main formations are outcropping
to surface.
The reservoir sands contain extra heavy oil (6.5 API degrees) which is essentially immobile at reservoir
temperature (100°F) since oil viscosity is greater than 100.000cp (Figure 8). Finger print analyses
conducted on samples taken at different reservoir levels evidence strong biodegradation, probably due to
fresh water percolation.
Reservoir rock exhibits good quality with absolute permeability over 1 Darcy. Reservoir character-
ization of this complex accumulation includes basic and special logs, strat-wells cores, routine and special
core analyses, thermal rock properties tests, displacement tests, fluids sampling and analyses of oil
samples extracted from preserved cores. Rock properties distribution was modeled integrating well logs
and data from core analysis.
Fluid model was built integrating analysis made on samples collected at surface during well drilling
as well as extracted from preserved cores. Best quality data was used to fit an Equation of State (EOS)
to model: density, volumetric volume factor and viscosity with temperature. Oil viscosity close to 10 cp
can be achieved by operating a steam project at a saturation temperature of approximately 400 °F (Figure
8). Such reduction on oil viscosity improved the oil – water mobility ratio which favors higher oil rates.
This comprehensive characterization was used to understand such complex reservoir. The static model
was built to represent major structural features of this reservoir (Figure 9). The grid was then populated
according to the facies and petrophysical models. Relative permeabilities for each of the 5 rock types
identified were generated from special core analyses and displacement tests. With these data, the screening
of production technologies was carried out by a first analytical approach, being SAGD one of the
technologies which show some feasible options to be applicable.
Gravity drainage methods like SAGD requires good vertical transmissibility and thickness not smaller
than 20 m (65 ft) therefore, gravity drainage application should be potentially applicable in the cretaceous
type reservoirs. However, since these reservoirs are dipper in the basin, steam injection could be limited
by depth and pressure. The main reservoir sandstones in the study case have been found at different depths
from 200ft MD to 6000ft MD. This study was focused on the shallow zones with depths in the range of
surface (outcropping formation) to 2000ft. Other important limitation for this method is the initial oil
saturation. In high water saturation zones SAGD is probably not applicable because of economic reasons
(high SOR) or technical limitation (steam chamber instability).
SPE-171049-MS 11

Figure 9 —Earth model showing the outcrop of the cretaceous type reservoir sands (left). Grid with facies modeling (right)

After a comprenhensive analitical and numerical done in previous studies; it has been found that SAGD
appears not to be efficient in a dippep bed reservoir with mobile water. It is deducted from the high steam
oil ratio “SOR” observed in all simulation runs. The overall effectiveness of steam operations can be rated
by SOR (volume per volume). A theoretical energy balance range of this ratio, which is equivalent to a
one unit of energy produced to one unit consumed, is about 13 to 14. The average economic limit in US
and Canada is around 8 cold water equivalent barrels of steam per barrel of produced oil, including CSS
and SF projects. The estimated Canada economic limit for SAGD projects in 2002 was 5 (Scott
G.R.2002). Currently most SAGD projects are operating with SOR around 3 with the worst performed
having an SOR of 7.5.
On the search of technology options for this reservoir the SBH and ES-SAGD methods were tested.
In the ES-SAGD process, a small amount of solvent with its boiling temperature matching that of steam
is co-injected with steam. The basic idea is that as the solvent condenses with steam along the boundary
of the gaseous chamber, it dissolves into and mixes with the bitumen, reducing the viscosity of the solvent
bitumen mixture. This enhances the oil recovery.
In the SBH process; butane is co-injected with steam at a high solvent loading which differs from
ES-SAGD. The process is illustrated in Figure 10. The solvent causes a viscosity reduction through
solvent dilution. In addition there is a synergistic effect, in that the heat provided by the steam speeds the
diffusion of solvent into the bitumen, so the solvent effectiveness is enhanced. The result is a process that
has a lower operating temperature than SAGD, a much lower SOR than SAGD, and in many cases, has
equivalent or higher oil rates than SAGD.
The variety of solvent type injected in solvent processes is ample; it includes light alkanes (i.e. C3, C4)
or mixtures of hydrocarbons (i.e. condensate, nafta, diluents). Experimental results suggest that CO2/C3
based VAPEX could be used as a feasible heavy oil recovery process (Torabi, F et al 2013). Also,
mixtures of CO2/C3 57/43 mol% have been reports beneficial in 3D physical model experiments of solvent
vapor extraction process SVX (knorr, K. et al 2013). The types of solvent tested in this work were: pure
CO2, C3 plus C4 mixture and a mixture of C3, C4 and CO2.
A sensitivity analysis was performed for hybrid steam solvent injection in a SAGD configuration.
Steam flow toward the reservoir outcrop was allowed in all cases. The type of solvent was varied between
pure CO2, C3 plus C4 mixture and a mixture of C3, C4 and CO2. The Kv/Kh ratio, steam quality and the
mobile water saturation were sensitized in this work. Finally, the steam to solvent ratio (SSR) was changed
in a cold liquid equivalent volume basis from 10.1 to 1:1.4 v/v including pure SAGD as a possible case.
High solvent loading correspond to the lower SSR typical of processes like SBH. Higher SSR compares
to the solvent loading normally applied in processes like ES-SAGD; being the major difference in this
12 SPE-171049-MS

Figure 10 —Schematic of the steam-solvent hybrid process. After Frauenfeld et al. (2010). The process involves pure solvent process enhanced by the
addition of steam. The viscosity reduction is achieved through solvent dilution and heating.

work the light hydrocarbon nature of the tested solvents. It is thought that a stream with similar
composition of the selected solvents could be available in Llanos.
Representative areas of the full field model having a good well control were selected to extract 2D and
3D sub sectors. The non orthogonal grid size for the 2D sector model was 1408 x 1 x 129 blocks in
directions I, J and K direction with cells of 1m, 10 m and 1m respectively. For the 3D sector model, the
grid size was 345 x 21 x 48 cells in directions I, J and K, respectively. Dimension of each cell were also
1 x 10 m in J and I directions and 1 m in K direction providing a good resolution to track the steam
chamber growth and thermal front advance in the J plane. Lab measured thermal properties were assigned
to the main reservoir rocks, shales and cap rock in order to model heat losses to overburden and
underburden zones.
Table 4 shows the results obtained from the steam hybrid sensitivity analysis. It is shown that the best
SAGD obtained after several simulation runs exhibits an SOR close to 14. With such thermal efficiency
any economical project could be achieved. SOR economical limit mainly depends on the natural gas cost.
The majority of SAGD projects in Alberta show an economical SOR limit bellow 5 (Scott G.R.2002).
Alternatively, high solvent loading processes have shown a substantial improvement with regard to pure
SAGD. SOR below 5 and even close to 2 could be obtained with SSR of 1 and 1:1.4. The best mixture
appears to be de propane/butane stream. Pure CO2 is not of any advantage from the simulations runs done
in this work.
The combination of solvent plus heat reduce the bitumen viscosity more than the heat alone providing
additional recovery with regard to pure steam (Dittaro et. all 2013). Benefits due to the coinjection of
solvent with steam have been found in laboratory experiments conducted in this work as well as in public
literature (Ayodele et. all 2008). The results obtained from hybrid simulations (Propane: Butane mixture)
are remarkable. Recovery factor was not sensitive to water saturation in the hybrid runs; therefore, this
process seam not to be negatively affected by initial water saturation as it happens in SAGD. Hybrid
processes could certainly open the door of economic developments of highly viscous heavy oil reservoirs
SPE-171049-MS 13

Table 4 —SENSITIVITY ANALISYS OF HYBRID PROCESSES

Mobile Water Solvent Type Steam/Solvent ratio Steam QLT cSOR

frac v/v v/v v/v

0.33 C3/C4 1:1.4 0.80 2.12
0.33 C3/C4 1:1 0.80 2.27
0.38 C3/C4 1:1.4 0.50 4.40
0.38 C3/C4 ⫹ CO2 1:1 0.80 4.48
0.31 C3/C4 10:1 1.00 6.26
0.35 C3/C4 3:1 0.50 6.37
0.33 C3/C4 ⫹ CO2 3:1 1.00 7.53
0.31 C3/C4 10:1 0.50 8.49
0.36 C3/C4 3:1 0.50 8.57
0.33 C3/C4 3:1 0.20 8.59
0.30 C3/C4 ⫹ CO2 10:1 1.00 8.94
0.30 C3/C4 ⫹ CO2 5:1 0.20 9.38
0.40 C3/C4 ⫹ CO2 1:1.4 1.00 10.06
0.33 C3/C4 5:1 0.20 10.80
0.33 C3/C4 ⫹ CO2 3:1 0.80 11.09
0.37 C3/C4 Mixture 7:1 1.00 11.25
0.36 C3/C4 ⫹ CO2 1:1 0.50 12.07
0.37 C3/C4 10:1 0.80 12.99
0.30 C3/C4 1:1 0.20 13.08
0.34 SAGD 1.00 13.92

with mobile water saturation in Llanos basin. Solvent recovery, which is the amount of solvent that can
be produced after being injected in project this nature; will be determinant for the overall economic.
PVT properties of the solvent – oil system, mixing of solvent vapor and steam in the reservoir,
diffusion and dispersion of solvent in the oil phase may significantly affect heat and mas transfer
mechanisms, temperature and solvent concentration field within the porous medium, and consequently oil
production methods. In this work, K-values and pseudo viscosities of different tested solvents were taken
from the literature. Also, diffusion and dispersion coefficients were not utilized in these simulations.
Successful operation of these processes requires optimization studies and appropriate injection patterns.
Further investigation of these factors under Llanos typical reservoir pressure and temperature are strongly
recommended.
Even thought these results are related to cretaceous type reservoirs, the potential of hybrid applications
in Paleogene type reservoirs has been tested in this work with lab tests. Furtherrnore, the combination of
hot water and solvents has been studied by numerical simulation and in the laboratory works to improve
heavy oil recovery in thin reservoirs containing oil with viscosity of around 1000 to 6000cp (Weiguo L.
2013). It could be achieved an oil recovery of 53.5% of injecting small slugs of solvent and hot water. The
simulation results performed in this work also suggest that hybrid processes should work at low steam
qualities which could be similar to inject hot water plus solvent. In Table 4 i.e., SOR of 4.40 is obtained
in case with 0.5 steam quality (case 4).
Conclusions
Potential of the steam solvent hybrid processes has been assessed for heavy oil recovery in llanos basin.
Laboratory displacement experiments conducted with heavy oil from llanos basin; have shown higher
reduction of residual oil saturation with steam-solvent injection than with pure steam injection. It is related
to a displacement efficiency improvement. Reservoir simulations have shown a clear benefit of hybrid
processes to improve oil production under high water saturation environments; which is the expected
scenario in most of the heavy oil reservoir in southern llanos. Furthermore, the steam hybrid apears not
14 SPE-171049-MS

to be negatively affected by intial water saturation as it happens in pure steam processes. SOR obtained
in the numerical simulations performed in this work are by far, lower in a hybrid process with regard to
a pure steam application.
Hybrid processes could certainly open doors for economical development of highly viscous heavy oil
reservoirs with mobile water saturation. Solvent recovery, which is the amount of solvent that can be
produced after being injected in project this nature; will be determinant for the overall economic. PVT
properties of the solvent – oil system, mixing of solvent vapor and steam in the reservoir, diffusion and
dispersion of solvent in the oil phase may significantly affect heat and mas transfer mechanisms,
temperature and solvent concentration field within the porous medium, and consequently oil production
methods. Further PVT studies are strongly recommended.

Acknowledgement
We acknowledge Brigida Meza and Raul Moreno for their valuable insights on the SBH process.

Nomenclature
SOR ⫽ Steam Oil Ratio
k ⫽ Permeability
oP ⫽ Pressure delta
Sw ⫽ Water saturation
SBH ⫽ Steam Hybrid Butane
SAGD ⫽ Steam Assited Gravity Drainage
ES-SAGD ⫽ Expanding Solvent SAGD
cSOR ⫽ Cummulative SOR
BHP ⫽ Bottom Hole Pressure
kv/kh ⫽ Ratio between vertical permeability and horizontal permeability
MD ⫽ Measure Depth
Ft ⫽ feet
mD ⫽ Milidarcies
cp ⫽ Centipoise

Conversiones
°API 141.5/(131.5⫹°API) ⫽ g/cm3
bbl⫻1.589 873 E⫺01 ⫽ m3
cp⫻1.0* E⫺03 ⫽ Pa·s
ft⫻3.048* E⫺01 ⫽ m
°F (°F⫺32)/1.8 ⫽ °C
°F (°F⫹459.67)/1.8 ⫽ K
psi⫻6.894 757 E⫹00 ⫽ kPa

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