The study on the effect of combined injection of steam and hydrocarbon solvents on the displacement coefficient of extra-viscous oil from the physical model of the Yarega field

The oil recovery coefficient refers to the key indicators of the development of oil fields, which directly affect the profitability of the project. However, when developing deposits of ultra-viscous oil of small thickness (10 m or less) using thermal methods, for example SAGD technology, it becomes unlikely to achieve an acceptable recovery coefficient due to high heat losses. In this regard, the authors propose to develop low-thickness formations by a combined method of exposure to steam and hydrocarbon solvents (hereinafter referred to as HCSs). In laboratory conditions, it is possible to preliminarily access the effect of the combined action of the proposed HCS compositions on the oil recovery coefficient in an artificially created oil-bearing formation model. The originality of the research work is the use of three compositions of hydrocarbon solvents and inhibitors of organic solid particles that were reasonably selected by the authors. The novelty also includes the fact that the conducted studies have allowed not only to determine how efficient the proposed compositions of hydrocarbon solvents are but also to access their efficiency both in conditions of simultaneous injection together with steam and in conditions of supplying a portion of HCSs in the form of a fringe.