Modular Transportable System For SAGD Process

Abstract

A transportable modular process for exploiting a remote heavy oil resource or the like using steam assisted gravity drainage technology or the like. Said process comprising transportable preassembled and commissioned modules which when interconnected adjacent said remote heavy oil resource provide the ability to exploit said heavy oil resource or the like. Each module being preassembled and commissioned at the time of manufacture with the necessary piping and electrical wiring and other essential equipment for each module prior to being transported to adjacent the resource. Each module being, when transported to adjacent said resource, able to be readily interconnected with other process modules to enable an entire SAGD process or the like to be constructed adjacent said resource.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]A transportable modular process particularly well suited for exploiting a remote heavy oil resource or the like for example using steam assisted gravity drainage technology or the like.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The current practice for Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) facilities is to install a large, permanent, centrally located SAGD processing facility on a large oil sands lease. A number of well pads, from which multiple (typically 6 to 10) SAGD well pairs are drilled, are connected to the Central Processing Facility (CPF). Interconnecting pipelines are then required to deliver steam from the CPF to the well pads and transport the produced bitumen and water to the SAGD processing facility for treatment and ultimately shipped for sale. As the resource accessed by individual wells becomes depleted, new wells are drilled requiring additional and presumably longer interconnecting pipelines between the new well pads and the processing facility....

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018]The modules are designed to be direct coupled on one or two levels with pipe racks integral to each module. This reduces the overall size of the complete SAGD process plant and minimizes the need for long pipe racks typical of current SAGD facilities. This is also a critical feature required to support the portability concept incorporated into the design.

Problems solved by technology

As the resource accessed by individual wells becomes depleted, new wells are drilled requiring additional and presumably longer interconnecting pipelines between the new well pads and the processing facility.

The above described concept requires significant injections of capital and is only viable for large contiguous oil sands resources to provide enough bitumen to support the facility through its planned lifetime.

In addition, these facilities have demonstrated very unreliable, often associated with frequent equipment maintenance or failure or inadequate process control.

Some of the major contributing factors to this poor reliability performance include:The use of labor intensive complex water treatment processes such as hot / warm lime softeners, regenerated oil removal and sand filters, weak acid cation (WAC) ion exchange system and once through steam generators (OTSG).Inadequate use of automated process control resulting in over-dependence on manual operator interventionNon-continuous process whereby fluids undergo some degree of processing followed by transfer in and out of the tank farm only to undergo further processing.

In addition, the environmental impact of current oil sands production techniques are raising significant international and domestic concerns and present a real threat to the oil sands industry as a whole.

Current SAGD facilities have a large footprint when considering the land disturbance for the CPF, well pads, interconnecting roads and pipelines and camp facilities for construction, maintenance and operating staff.

In addition, they have significant water use and disposal requirements and are energy intensive, leading to greenhouse gas generation.

This cannot be achieved with the current in situ thermal recovery techniques.

Smaller scale facilities that can be easily redeployed will be needed for this for the smaller pods of oil as they will frequently not support an economic project life of 20+ years.

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