Preliminary Laboratory Evaluation of Cold and Post-Cold Production Methods for Heavy Oil Reservoirs Part A: Ambient Conditions

The problem of cold and post-cold production for conventional heavy oil (Lloydminster type) reservoirs is addressed. First, a brief overview of cold production-related material is presented. Primary production experiments are run in laboratory models of different geometries. Then, several post-cold production experimental methods for additional heavy oil recovery are attempted. The methods tested include water flooding, gas pressure pulsing, and polymer flooding. The effect of sand production is evaluated. The results are very preliminary, but encouraging. This work is offered as a challenge for the industry to consider the state of all cold produced heavy oil reservoirs and focus on the possible alternatives for this significant Canadian reserve.