SPE 126241

In-Situ Combustion : Opportunities and Anxieties

Har Sharad Dayal, B.V. Bhushan, Sujit Mitra, S.K. Sinha, and Sidhartha Sur, SPE, ONGC

Copyright 2010, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Oil and Gas India Conference and Exhibition held in Mumbai, India, 20–22 January 2010.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
To enhance production and improve recovery, normal wet In Situ Combustion (ISC) process has been applied by ONGC in the
heavy oil field of Balol situated in the state of Gujarat, India. Injection of air @ 0.7 MMSm3/d resulted in increasing oil
production from the field from 350m3/d to about 700 m3/d with corresponding reduction in average water cut from 80% to
55%. The field results indicate that the process is not archaic and has the strength to arrest strong edge water encroachment. It
can significantly increase production and recovery, if applied in right perspective. The process needs to be looked upon as a
displacement process also rather than a conventional thermal technique only. The process presents significant opportunities in
conventional and heavy oil reservoirs to add reserves. The air compressors and well completions are the anxieties that can be
mitigated by adopting good engineering based on an informed understanding of the process. The ISC process never looses
spark, provided it is designed and operated in high temperature oxidation mode.

Introduction
Balol field, discovered in 1970 is one of the heavy oil fields of ONGC located in the western state of Gujarat, India. The 15o
API oil is asphaltic in nature with a viscosity of 150 - 1000 cp at reservoir conditions.
The field was put on production since 1985 through conventional cased vertical wells (N-80, API class G cement with 30-40%
silica flour) drilled at 22 acre spacing. The wells had surface casing shoe at about 150m and production casing shoe running
beyond the bottom of the oil bearing zone. Sucker Rod Pumps and Screw Pumps were used for cold production. Inside gravel
packs were used for sand exclusion.

The envisaged primary recovery is low of the order of 13% due to adverse mobility contrast between oil and water. This
necessitated search for appropriate thermal recovery process to improve the oil recovery.

Steam injection and in-situ combustion were considered as the potential EOR processes. However, depth of 1000m, average
pay thickness of 5m and strong water drive constrained the application of steam flood process. This led to testing of in-situ
combustion (ISC) process on a pilot scale.

Geology
The field is about 13km in length and about 1km wide forming N-S trending homocline dipping 3-5o. Oil is distributed in four
oil bearing sands viz. U, K-I & K-II sands in Kalol formation and Lower Pay formation from top to bottom. These pay sands
deposited during the early and middle Eocene period represent the characteristic regressive cycle intervening between two
major transgressive shale deposits. The shale at the bottom is represented by the Cambay black shale and that at the top by the
Tarapur shale. The shales were deposited during the end of middle Eocene time, providing the all important cover for the pay
sands. From east to west, the pay sands become fine grained eventually shaling out against Mehsana horst. The oil
accumulation is limited to the east by edge water. The oil water contact varies from -995m to -1024m. Kalol formation
accounts for 95% of the field OIIP. K-I is the major pay of Kalol formation and is spread throughout the field and is the
targeted reservoir for ISC process.

Reservoir and Fluid Properties

The porosity of K-I is in the range of 28-30% and permeability is about 8 Darcy. The oil is highly viscous and at reservoir
temperature of 70oC and pressure of 105 Kg/cm2, the viscosity of oil varies from 150-1000 cP from south to north. The
2 SPE 126241

average initial oil saturation of K-I sand is about 77%. Solution GOR ranges from 20 to 26 v/v. Initial FVF is 1.05.

Laboratory Studies & ISC Pilot

The process was tested in the laboratory and in the field on a pilot & semi-commercial phase1,2 prior to taking the decision of
commercialization in 1994-95. The design of the process was based on analytical approach of Nelson & McNeil5.

Commercialization of ISC process

The pilot results fulfilled the objectives in terms of achieving incremental oil production, overcoming sub-surface and surface
challenges. The most interesting result that came out of pilot testing was the dominance of gravity segregation of the process
both vertically as well as areally.
Temperature at different time intervals
Fig:1 depicts the temperature profile measured in the observation well of the
pilot. The cores retrieved from this well, prior to the testing of the process
indicated the presence of a water swept path at the middle of the pay zone.
During cold production aquifer water encroached through this high
Shale

1046
permeability layer which consists of coarse sand grains. With the initiation of
Depth, m

Siderite
1050
the pilot, the temperature profile indicates the propagation of the high
1054 temperature front at the top of the reservoir and not through the water swept
Sand

high permeability path. In a 5m layer, gravity forces controlled the movement

1058 Water Swept Zone of the front. Taking assistance of gravity, crestal line drive air injection
1062 strategy was formulated for commercialization. Further advantages of up-dip
line drive injection are:
Shale

• Easy to control the process

80 120 160 200 240
Temperature, Deg C • Advantage of gravity- Attempt to nullify heterogeneity to a large extent
• Less of flue gas handling as part of flue gas will remain as gas cap
Fig-1 Temprature Profile • Mitigate re-saturation of swept zone during unplanned stoppage of air
injection
• Each producer will be traversed by the high temperature front only once
in the life of the project.
• Air injection can be switched over to an adjoining hot producer, thereby
avoiding the necessity of artificial ignition.

Commercialization of normal wet ISC was implemented in two phases – Phase-I and Phase-
II. The Phase-I commercialization covering the southern part of Balol field, was initiated in
N October 1997 with the artificial ignition of one well. Four more wells at the crest were
artificially ignited (Gas Burner) by June 1999.
The process was then extended to the rest of the field (Phase-II) in May 2000 with initiation
of ignition in one well. The entire commercialization scheme envisaged ignition of about 30
wells in the first row. Mostly the existing producers were converted as air injectors (Fig 2).

Ignition
The understanding of oxidation characteristics of Balol oil led to the decision of carrying out
artificial ignition (Gas Burner). This was with the premise that process should start in high
temperature oxidation mode rather than depending on oxidation reaction to traverse the low
temperature region and the negative temperature region before entering the high temperature
region as it happen in spontaneous combustion. With artificial ignition, the process can be
initiated with a high vertical sweep and chance of oil saturation existing near the injector
P h a s e -II wellbore is remote, such that in the event of unplanned stoppage of air injection, a chance of
backflow is mitigated. Spontaneous combustion3 was tested in the field and was integrated
in the commercial application on need basis.
P h a s e -I
Performance
Phase-I
In October 1997 pre-initiation cold oil production was about 60 m3/d with water cut of 80%
A ir In je c to rs (Fig 3). With initiation of air injection, oil production rate gradually increased and stabilized
Not to scale
at about 260 m3/d with reduction of average water cut from 82% to about 40%.
Fig-2 Location Map of Balol Field
SPE 126241 3

In the first half of 2006, first stoppage of air injection took place due to annular leakage in one of the injector. The reservoir
350 100 flue gas backflowed through the casing damage in the well and
300
entered shallow aquifer. Attempts to kill the well in static
250
80
condition led to aggravating the situation. The injector was killed
Oil Rate, m /d

Water Cut, %
under dynamic condition using coiled tubing unit. The injector
3

60
200 EOR
was backflowed for almost 30 days @ 100,000 Sm3/d and was
150
40 killed with CTU using mud of sufficiently high sp.gr. and flow
100 rate. During backflow of the injector, sand and oil production was
20
50 absent. Absence of sand can be explained by the fact that during
0 0 wet combustion (Injection of air for 6 days and treated effluent
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0.25 water for 1 day in a cycle of 7 days), scales got precipitated in the
reservoir during conversion of water to steam in the heated zone.
Air Rate,MMSm /d

0.20
3

An in-situ sand consolidation had taken place during wet

0.15 combustion. Due to the stoppage of air, aquifer encroachment
0.10 took place resulting in sharp increase in water cut to about 80%
and decrease in oil production to about 65 m3/d . With the
0.05
resumption of air injection to 0.12 MM Sm3/d, water cut again
0.00 reduced to 60% with concomitant increase in oil production to a
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level of 120 m3/d.

Fig-3 Performance of Phase-I

The oil production rate from Phase-I varied almost linearly with
300
air injection rate as shown in Fig 4. The initial decline in oil rate
250 with increasing air is the response time during which displaced
oil occupied the pores filled by the moveable water. In this
200
Oil Rate, m /d

period increased water production is also seen.

3

150
Another stoppage in air injection took place during late 2007 due
100
to annular leakage in an injector in Phase-II area. Air injection in
50 entire field was stopped for about three months. Since then all air
injectors have undergone mandatory health check in terms of
0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 cementation and casing integrity. Most of the air injectors were
Air Rate, MMSm /d
3 abandoned and new air injectors with new casing policy,
completion with cement rise close to surface are being drilled. It
Fig-4 Cross plot of Air Rate and Oil production rate is planned to drill the remaining air injectors by 2010 in the
entire field. In Phase-I, air injection has resumed @ 70,000
Sm3/d through 3 injectors.
50
The oil recovery (Fig: 5) from the targeted sand in Phase-I is
Recovery % , No of Producers

40
Recovery about 50%. With the injection of 540 MM Sm3 of air, oil
30 recovery increased by about 30% in 10 years.
Producers
20

10

0
1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2008
Year

Fig-5 Phase-I Oil Recovery

Phase-II
Oil production at the start of air injection (May 2000) was about 150 m3/d with average water cut of 78%.

With the initiation of ISC process, average water cut declined from about 80% to a level of 60% in 2004. Liquid production
increased to about 1200 m3/d from about 700 m3/d. Oil rate increased from 150m3/d to 500m3/d (Fig 6).
4 SPE 126241

Air injection in 2004 peaked at 0.5 MM S m3/d. In the entire field

1000 100
900
air was being injected @ 0.67 MM Sm3/d through 26 injectors.
800 80 Subsequently air injection rate in entire field started declining due
700
to less availability of operating injectors due to corrosion. (Fig 7 )
Oil Rate, m /d

Water Cut, %
3

600 60
500
400 40
30
300
200 EOR 20 25
100
0 0 20

Injectors
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0.60
15
0.50
Air Rate, MMSm /d
3

0.40 10
0.30
5
0.20

0.10 0

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

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0.00
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Fig-6 Performance of Phase-II Area Fig-7 Operating air injectors

600
In Phase-II, oil production rate increased linearly with air injection rate
as observed in Phase-I (fig 8). About 960 MM Sm3 of air has been
500
injected so far, yielding 0.63 MM m3 of incremental oil.
400
Oil Rate, m /d
3

300
Production and Combustion Performance of the Field
The performance of Balol field is shown in Fig 9. With the initiation of
200 ISC, oil production rate from Balol increased from 350 m3/d prior to
100 Oct 1997 to a peak of 700 m3/d in 2004. Oil production rate since then
has declined considerably due to less number of available air injectors.
0
0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60
New injectors are getting drilled and by end of 2010, oil production
Air Rate, MM Sm3/d from the field is again expected to increase and likely to reach 800

Fig- 8 Cross plot of Air Rate and Oil production rate- m3/d by 2012-13. About 3.85 MMm3 of oil has been exploited from
Phase-II Balol. EOR oil is estimated to be 1.33 MMm3 for a cumulative air
injection of 1500 MM Sm3. This does not include 0.16 MM m3 of
incremental oil produced during pilot & semi-commercial operation.

Oil production varied linearly with air injection rate and results of
1100 100
1000 increase or decrease of air injection got reflected in oil production of
900 80 the field accordingly (Fig 10). This is a manifestation of high
800
Oil Rate, m /d

Water Cut, %

temperature oxidation reaction making the ISC process a displacement

3

700
60
600
500
process as well and not necessarily limiting itself as a mobility
40
400 EOR
EOR enhancement process only.
300
200 20
100 800
0 0
700
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2004

2009
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0.8
Total Oil Rate, m /d

600
3

0.7
Air Rate, MMSm /d

500
0.6
3

0.5 400
0.4 300
0.3
200
0.2
0.1 100

0 0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
1987
1988

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Air Injection Rate, MM Sm3/d

Fig-9 Performance of whole field Fig-10 Cross plot of air injected and oil produced
SPE 126241 5

In laboratory it is established that in tube runs with high

100 25
temperature oxidation mode displacement of oil, stabilized CO2 of
10-15% and absence of oil in burnt zone are observed. Laboratory
N2
80 20 results indicate that cumulative volume of air injected (Rock

CO 2, O 2 %
60 15
volume burnt) is directly proportional to oil recovery.
N2 , %

CO2
40 10 Typical stabilized flue gas composition of the field is shown in Fig
: 11. N2 of 75-80%, CO2 of 15-17%, O2 of 0.5 %, CO of 200 ppm
20 5
O2 CO:ppm and H2S of 200 ppm demonstrates that combustion in Balol is
0 0 being operated in high temperature oxidation mode.

Fig 11: Typical stabilized produced gas composition

Variation of average water cut in the entire field explains the
strength of the process and ability to deliver the desired results.

0.25 During peak air injection in 2004, water cut in entire field reduced
Produced Volume considerably to about 58%. At this instant, water drive of the
Injected Volume
0.20 reservoir was taken over by crestal air injection drive.
V o lu m e , M M m 3

During stoppage of air injection in late 2007, water encroachment

0.15
from the aquifer got activated. It demonstrates that ISC has the
strength in arresting aquifer encroachment provided it is applied in
0.10
the right mode and balance is maintained between injected and
0.05 produced fluids. A delicate balance existed between the two during
the entire project life. In reservoir condition, out of 14.4 MM m3 of
0.00 air injected by end of 2008, about 11 MM m3 gas was produced as
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
flue gas leaving 3.4 MM m3 of flue gas in the crest of the reservoir
(Fig : 12).
Fig 12: Injected and Produced Fluid Volumes (Reservoir
Condition)

The envisaged and actual performance of the ISC project in terms of cumulative air injected vs cumulative EOR oil produced
has been compared in Fig 13. The envisaged is as per the Nelson & McNeil approach that was adopted while designing the
project.
1.4
Envisaged
1.2 Actual From flue gas composition of the field, air requirement has been
3
Cum EOR Oil, MM m

1 estimated and is about 220 Sm3/m3 as compared to design value of

0.8 380 Sm3/m3.
0.6

0.4 Horizontal wells are being integrated with crestal air injection to
0.2 derive the benefit of gravity drainage. Field performance indicates
0 that horizontal wells contribute to increased oil production when
0 200 400 600 800 1000
3
1200 1400 affected by air injection. Otherwise contribution is marginal due
Cum Air Inj, MM S m
to high water production.

Fig 13: Cumulative air injected vs Cumulative EOR oil The cost of oil production of Balol was US $ 15-20 per barrel.
produced
About 30% of the cost can be attributed towards electricity
charges, unit cost of electricity being US $ 0.11 per kWh.

Opportunities
The ISC project Balol has demonstrated the following opportunities:
• Strength in increasing production and recovery from mobile heavy oil
• Arresting edge water encroachment
• Crestal injection in dipping reservoirs:
- Gravity assistance
- Nullifying heterogeneity to a large extent
- Integrating horizontal wells benefiting gravity drainage
- Easier to control than pattern system
• Widening the domain of air injection to encompass medium and light oil
- Williston Basin, USA is a burning example of air injection in light oil
6 SPE 126241

Anxieties
1. Air Compressors
Explosions in compressed air piping due to accumulation of carryover lubricants and high discharge temperature is the
anxiety of operating the process. Choking of cooling water lines due to scaling added to this danger. To mitigate the anxiety,
appropriate synthetic lubricant was introduced having higher auto ignition temperature than the discharge temperature and
reverse osmosis plant was set up to remove the possibility of scale deposition. Furthermore, regular chemical cleaning of the
lines was intensified to mitigate the problem.

2. Well Completion

Well completion of old wells used as air injectors was the anxiety. Annular leaks of two air injectors resulted in stoppage of
air injection in entire field. All old air injectors have been abandoned. New substitute air injectors are being drilled. New
casing policy and right metallurgy for tubing, casing and packer is adopted in all new air injectors to ensure rust free
environment in the annulus.

Conclusions

• Air injection is an effective method for recovering oil from conventional and heavy oil/bitumen reservoirs.

• There are a large number of reservoirs that are ideal candidates, where existing infrastructure life can be extended to
recover significant incremental oil.

• Compression and injection of air into hydrocarbon reservoirs is proven, but specialized technology.

• Successful air injection requires robust engineering based on an informed understanding of the process.

• High temperature ignition, monitoring, and optimum air injection rates are important.

• Opportunity exists in terms of increasing oil production, adding reserves and making money, provided ISC is operated in
high temperature mode.

Acknowledgement
The authors express their sincere appreciation to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) for permission to publish
this work and acknowledge the outstanding efforts demonstrated by the personnel of Mehsana Asset of ONGC in operating
this challenging technology.

The interpretations and conclusions expressed in this paper are solely that of authors and not necessarily that of the
organisation.

References

1. Roychaudhury S et al. “Experience with in-situ combustion pilot in presence of edge water” presented & published, 6th UNITAR,
Houston, 1995
2. Roychaudhury S et al “Extension of In-Situ Combustion Process from Pilot to Semi-Commercial Stage in Heavy Oil Field of Balol”
SPE 37547, 1997
3. Rao N S et al. “Results Of Spontaneous Ignition Test In Balol Heavy Oil Field” SPE 38067, 1997
4. Pankaj Gupta et al, “In situ combustion delivers results”, World Oil November 2007.
5. Nelson & McNeil, “How to engineer an in-situ combustion pilot”, Oil & Gas Journal, June 1961