Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

How to effectively and economically recover heavy oil from the tremendous heavy oil deposits in Canada is a key technical challenge. Solvent vapour extraction (VAPEX) is an in-situ non-thermal enhanced heavy oil recovery process in which a gaseous solvent is injected from an upper horizontal injection well into a heavy oil reservoir and the solvent-diluted heavy oil is then drained downward by gravity and produced from a lower horizontal production well. The VAPEX process is a promising alternative to the currently used thermal methods for heavy oil recovery, such as steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). It is an energy-efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sound heavy oil recovery technology. Also, as thermal methods are not suitable for most Canadian heavy oil reservoirs, VAPEX is even more attractive in the Canadian context. The major objective of this research program is to study the VAPEX heavy oil recovery mechanisms in order to develop some long-sought heavy oil production models. Specifically, this research aims at achieving a new and fundamental understanding of complex mass-transfer processes of the injected solvents under actual heavy oil reservoir conditions. Moreover, some important process-controlling parameters will be thoroughly studied. Finally, several practically applicable heavy oil production models and variations of the VAPEX process will be developed for future commercial applications. At present, several large oil companies are conducting a number of field pilots of the VAPEX process and its variations. The proposed research program will focus on the in-situ enhanced heavy oil recovery mechanism studies of the VAPEX process and develop several robust heavy oil production models. Also this study will provide technical assistance in optimization of the ongoing VAPEX pilot projects and design of upcoming future VAPEX field applications. Hence, the petroleum industry will directly benefit from the proposed research and successfully recover more heavy oil. In addition, Canadians will also benefit from the reduced greenhouse gas emissions when the VAPEX heavy oil recovery technology is commercially applied.