Steam-Oil Ratio

What Is the Steam-Oil Ratio?

The steam-oil ratio is a measurement used to survey the proficiency of warm enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. Specifically, it connects with EOR methods that use steam injections to recover oil from underground supplies. A low steam-oil ratio shows that somewhat little steam is required to produce a barrel of oil, which demonstrates a more efficient extraction process.

How the Steam-Oil Ratio Works

Steam injection EOR methods are somewhat costly to utilize. Accordingly, they are just utilized once the primary and secondary recovery techniques have been completely exhausted. Without a doubt, contingent upon factors, for example, the price of oil, it may not be efficient to utilize EOR techniques by any stretch of the imagination. At times, oil wells might even be abandoned on the grounds that removing the excess reserves through EOR would be restrictively costly.

At the point when EOR is economically viable, oil-extraction companies will look to expand their return on investment by using the most potential efficient methods. To measure warm EOR productivity, one metric they can monitor is the steam-oil ratio, which mirrors the quantity of steam required to extricate a given barrel of oil. For instance, assume the steam-oil ratio is 4.5. That shows that 4.5 barrels of water — changed over into steam and infused into the well — were required to extricate a single barrel of oil. Hence, lower steam-oil ratios would reflect more efficient extraction processes since they need less water to be changed over into steam.

Whenever the situation allows, oil-extraction companies will look to depend on primary recovery advancements, which are easier and less costly than EOR. Primary recovery includes taking advantage of the existing disparity in pressure between the surface and the oil supply deep underground. By pumping water or gas into the well, companies can additionally increase the pressure inside the supply, making the oil rush toward the surface looking for lower pressure. In the event that vital, this cycle can likewise be additionally supported by utilizing a rod pump to add extra pressure by mechanical means.

Steam injection may not be affordable due to the possibly high cost of moving equipment into the area and fuel used to warm water into steam.

Benefits of the Steam-Oil Ratio

The steam-oil ratio can assist companies with making more efficient natural resource investments. As a company eliminates oil from a given well, it frequently turns out to be more difficult to extricate. The steam-oil ratio can assist firms with deciding the specific point when warm EOR techniques are presently not worth the costs in question.

Burdens of the Steam-Oil Ratio

The steam-oil ratio just applies to warm EOR techniques. It educates us nothing concerning the productivity of warm EOR compared to utilizing carbon dioxide or polymers. Moreover, the steam-oil ratio requires setting up warm EOR techniques before the ratio still up in the air. That means it isn't valuable for concluding whether warm EOR ought to be utilized in any case.

True Examples of the Steam-Oil Ratio

The particular steam-oil ratio will depend in part on the specific method of warm EOR employed. For example, the cyclic steam excitement technique is generally associated with steam-oil ratios of 3 to 8. That means this technique requires the conversion of between three to eight barrels of water into steam for the recovery of one barrel of crude oil. This technique is generally held for wells with particularly heavy oil whose thickness must be decreased by the steam to aid extraction.

In the mean time, the steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technique is generally more efficient, with steam-oil ratios in the 2 to 5 territory. That means SAGD generally requires changing between two over completely to five barrels of water into steam for the recovery of one barrel of crude oil. This technique comprises of drilling two horizontal wells close to the oil repository, one above it and the other below it. The force of gravity then, at that point, makes the less thick oil fall into the lowermost well, where pumps are then used to lift it to the surface.

Highlights

• Due to the generally high complexity and cost of EOR, companies will depend on primary and secondary recovery techniques rather than EOR whenever the situation allows.
• The steam-oil ratio enlightens us nothing regarding the effectiveness of warm EOR compared to utilizing carbon dioxide or polymers.
• The steam-oil ratio is associated with extraction methods that depend on infusing steam into or around the targeted oil wells.
• The steam-oil ratio can assist firms with deciding the specific point when warm EOR techniques are presently not worth the costs in question.
• The steam-oil ratio is a measurement used to evaluate the proficiency of warm enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques.