QARN-ALAM - THE DESIGN OF A STEAM-INJECTION PILOT PROJECT FOR A FRACTURED RESERVOIR

In July 1996 a steam-injection pilot project was initiated in the Qarn Alam field in Oman. The objective is to test the steam-enhanced gas-o il gravity drainage of the heavy oil remaining in the matrix of the fr actured carbonate Shuaiba reservoir. This paper presents the results o f reservoir simulations that were conducted to investigate design and future interpretation of the steam pilot. Different simulation techniq ues were applied to describe the complexity of thermal processes and m ultiphase flow in a densely fractured reservoir. Pilot performance and areal advance of the steam zone were investigated. The possibility of oil rim lowering, prior to injecting steam, and of injecting steam in two different local crests, were also investigated but rejected on th e basis of simulation results. Finally, locations for steam injection wells and pilot observation wells are proposed and requirements for pi lot monitoring deduced.