Effect of steam quality on the oil recovery factor of the Karazhanbas field

Background: The injection of the thermal agent as "steam" reduces the viscosity of the oil and the mobility ratio, which increases the displacement and coverage factor, and ultimately significantly increases the oil recovery factor. This statement was the basis for determining the effect of steam enthalpy on the oil recovery factor, as well as for reliably determining the flow rate of flared gas, as a result of which the existing gas pipeline will be reconstructed, the required amount of fresh water will be calculated, and the distribution of steam pumping in the entire Karazhanbas field.

Aim: The purpose of the article is to consider the influence of the quality of steam produced at the steam generator units of the Karazhanbas field on the oil recovery factor. The main parameter that determines the quality of steam is dryness, which was calculated using the actual values of the boiler (pressure, temperature, gas flow), flue gas tests on a special device, as well as laboratory tests to determine the heat value of the combusted gas.

Materials and methods: This work used materials from GHM (geological and hydrodynamic modeling), results of studies of boiler flue gases and heat balance.

Results: The calculation showed a low quality of the produced steam, which negatively affects the recovery factor.

Conclusion: Evaluation to determine the optimal value of saturated steam parameters (steam dryness, temperature in terms of development efficiency) showed that the higher the temperature and dryness of steam at the wellhead and bottom hole of the injection well, the higher the oil recovery factor at the Karazhanbas field.