Petrobank has initiated their air injection phase at Whitesands.
A quick review for those not up to speed:
THAI uses significantly less water and natural gas, significantly increases total oil recoverable, traps CO2 underground and partially upgrades the oil. A great example of EROEI for oil sands increasing, and helping the environment (at least vis-a-vis standard mining and SAGD operations.)
PETROBANK FIRES UP WHITESANDS THAI'TM' PROJECT
Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd. has completed the preignition heating cycle (PIHC) on the first well pair at the Whitesands project and commenced air injection on July 20, 2006.
During the PIHC phase, communication between the vertical injection well and the horizontal production well was established by injecting steam in the vertical well located at the toe of the horizontal well. This process developed an expanding hot mobile bitumen zone, and established fluid flow between the injection well and the horizontal production well. During this phase, steam was also circulated in the horizontal production well to aid in the PIHC and to enable high total fluid production rates from the horizontal well. During these operations, the horizontal production well achieved total production rates of up to 1,000 barrels of fluid per day, consisting primarily of condensed steam and formation water and up to a 15-per-cent oil cut of 11-degree API bitumen. By establishing communication between the two wells and introducing a large amount of heat energy into the reservoir to create the mobilized bitumen zone around the vertical well, conditions were determined to be appropriate for the initiation of air injection and to cause in situ combustion.
As the company commences air injection, temperature readings from thermocouples in observation wells near the vertical injection well and in the horizontal production well are expected to show an increase in temperature as the combustion front expands. A period of time will be required for the complete transition from the PIHC production phase into production via the Thai process. Produced fluid and gases will be continuously monitored, and wellbore and reservoir temperatures and pressures will be constantly measured in order to manage the rate at which air injection volumes are increased, the progression of the combustion zone and to optimize surface facilities operations. The company will begin the PIHC phase on the second of the three well pairs once combustion on the first well pair has stabilized.
The Thai process
Thai is an evolutionary in situ combustion technology for the recovery of bitumen and heavy oil that combines a vertical air injection well with a horizontal production well. Thai integrates existing proven technologies and provides the opportunity to create a step change in the development of heavy oil resources globally. During the process, a high-temperature combustion front is created underground where part of the oil in the reservoir is burned, generating heat, which reduces the viscosity of the remaining oil allowing it to flow by gravity to the horizontal production well. The combustion front sweeps the oil from the toe to the heel of the horizontal producing well, recovering up to an estimated 80 per cent of the original-oil-in-place while partially upgrading the crude oil in situ. Petrobank controls all intellectual property rights to the Thai process and related enhancements, including the patented Capri technology, which offers the potential for further in situ upgrading through the use of a wellbore integrated catalyst.
Thai has many potential benefits over other in situ recovery methods, such as SAGD (steam-assisted gravity drainage). These benefits include higher resource recovery, lower production and capital costs, minimal usage of natural gas and fresh water, a partially upgraded crude oil product, reduced diluent requirements for transportation, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The Thai process also has the potential to operate in lower-pressure, lower-quality, thinner and deeper reservoirs than current steam-based recovery processes.
Thai can also be applied to other heavy oil deposits and it is the company's strategy to initiate projects in mobile oil reservoirs in Canada and/or internationally. The ultimate goal is to capture a global portfolio of heavy oil resources where the application of the Thai technology can lead to greatly improved recovery rates and significant long-term value growth for the company. In support of this activity, Petrobank's subsidiary, Petrominerales Ltd. (TSX: PMG), is evaluating two large heavy oil technical evaluation areas in Colombia covering 1.1 million acres for the potential application of Thai.