A productivity model for multi-thermal fluid huff-n-puff in horizontal wells: Application to heavy oil reservoirs

Abstract

Cyclic steam stimulation using vertical wells has been widely employed in the exploitation of heavy oil reservoirs. However, during the later stages, this method encounters significant challenges, including high water cut and substantial heat loss. In contrast, the application of cyclic multi-thermal fluid stimulation in horizontal wells offers a more effective and sustainable alternative. Accordingly, this paper presents a production performance prediction model for cyclic multi-thermal fluid stimulation in horizontal wells. Firstly, based on the contact relationship between heated zone and reservoir boundaries, an improved heating radius evolution model is established by considering the nonlinear temperature distribution behavior in hot-water zone. Then, a staged productivity model is derived by applying the equivalent flow resistance method. Following this, the solution methodology for the productivity model is described, and subsequently the proposed model is also validated by comparing against the field data from a typical heavy oil reservoir subjected to cyclic multicomponent thermal fluid stimulation via horizontal wells. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to investigate the impacts of key reservoir properties and operational parameters. The calculated daily oil production rate and cumulative oil production from our model show a trend consistent with field data, with a cumulative production error of 4.0%, confirming the model's applicability for subsequent analysis. Compared with conventional heavy oil, the extra-heavy and ultra-heavy crude oils can demonstrate a notable reduction in both cumulative oil production and cumulative oil-steam ratio. Bottom-hole pressure reduction and non-condensable gas injection can effectively improve both the cumulative oil-steam ratio and oil production. Additionally, increasing the cyclic injection volume exhibits a diminishing marginal effect on enhancing oil production. Our study offers an effective forecast approach for the production performance of cyclic multi-thermal fluid stimulation in horizontal wells.

Document Type: Original article

Cited as: Jiang, X., Dong, X., Xu, W., H, Liu. A productivity model for multi-thermal fluid huff-n-puff in horizontal wells: Application to heavy oil reservoirs. Computational Energy Science, 2025, 2(2): 38-54. https://doi.org/10.46690/compes.2025.02.04

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