ANALYTICAL STEAM DISTILLATION MODEL FOR THERMAL ENHANCED OIL-RECOVERYPROCESSES

Steam distillation is one of several mechanisms contributing to oil re covery during thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations. As such, it is of interest to predict the quantity and character of distillate under conditions encountered during such operations. This paper prese nts an easy-to-use, multicomponent analytical model to predict steam d istillation yield of a given heavy oil under specified thermal EOR con ditions. Required input is the simulated distillation (SIMDIS) trace o f the oil, which is utilized to break the heavy oil into the desired n umber of pseudocomponents. Steam distillation efficiency is the only a djustable parameter. Experimental steam distillation data obtained wit h South Belridge oil were used to validate the performance of the mode l. Model predictions also compared favorably with heavy oil data from the literature. Apart from predicting distillate yields, the model est imates the composition of both the distillate and the residue. These p redictions, along with reservoir simulation and field data, can be use d to assess the impact of the distillation mechanism on oil recover du ring steam EOR processes.