SOCIEFYOF R?LJ!

ROL5UM
ENGINEERSOF AIME
6200 North CentralExpressway RR SPE 1494
Dallas,Texas 75206

THIS IS A PREPRINT--- SOATECTTO CORRECTION

Wilmington Field Steam Operations

\, -
#i
By Y

J. A. Teberg,MemberA3313,City of long Beach,Long Beach,Calif.

0 Copyright 1966
American Institute of Mining, MetaIlurgicaJ and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was preparedfor the Olst Annual l%il Meetingof the Societyof PetroleumEngineers
of AIME, to be heid in Dallas,Tex.,Oct. .2-5,1966, Permissionto copy is restricted~o an abstract
of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstractshouldcontainconspicu-
ous acknowledgmentof where and by whom,the paper is presented. Publicationelsewhereafter publica-
tion in the JOURNALOF XXTROIWR4TECHNOUIGYor the SOCIETYOF PETRCJLEUM ENGINEERSJOURNAL is usually
grantedupx requestto the Editor of the appropriate,journal providedagreementto give propercredit
is made.

Discussionof thispaper Ls invited. Three cGpiesof any discussionshouldbe sent to the

Societyof PetroleumEngineersoffice. Such discussionmay be presentedat the above meetingand,
with the paper,may be consideredfor publicationin one of the two SPE magazines.

ABSTRACT Cyclic steam injectionwas startedin the

Cyclic steam injectioninto wells produc-
ing low gravityoL1 has proven to be the most
importantstimulationmethod used in the Ti&s-
lands area of the WilmingtonField sincewater-
flood. Substantialoil rate increasesand very
favorableeconomicsare resultingfrom the
steam injectionprogram.
oil rate increasesof five to ten times are
very common and my be sustainedat three to
four times the level of formerproduction. Peak
productionrates,both gross and net, often ex-
ceecinew well rates. Large lease areas as weU
as proaucingwells are rejuvenatedby cyclic
steaming.
Experiencehas indicatedthat oil can be
recoveredat or below per barrel cost when com-
paredwith pre-steamprociuction rates. There-
fore, productionoperationsbenefitfrom steam
stimulationby the combinationof ra_@d pay-out,
Low per barrel operatingcost afterpay-outend
nuch less time for oil recovery. The ti.mtug
for re-cyclingis a very importantfactorin
Ndsr to operateat minimum cost for oil
recovery.
Tidelandsarea in Yne WilmingtonField in
l?ebruaryi965. The initialinjectionsite on
Pier B includedfourteenwells producingfrom
the Ta.Yzone, Fault Block V. This area was
consideredto be the most ideallysuitedfor
steemingbecauseof the low gravityoil (l@
to lY API), low water cuts, high structural
locationsad favorablereservoircharacter-
isticsas well asa convenientsurfacelocation.
Since the start of the projectmore than sixty
wells have been steamedin the Tidelands.
Productionafter stesmingmay decline
rapidly,however,the rate normallylevelsout
considerablyabove the pre-steamproduction
rate. Resultsobtaineaby re-steamingare
definitelyencouragingad show that the oil
rate may be returnedto the level stimulate
by a previou~steam cyclewith a slowerilecline
rate and greatereconomicbenefits.
Effectivestimulationby stesmingis
attribute to the loweringof viscosityof the
oil by heat and to well bore clean-up. The
effectsof well bore clean-upappearto be the
mos+ importantcontributionto success,at
least for the first cycle.

Referencesana Llluktrationsat entiof paper. ..

2 WIlxcNGTON FIELD
Steam stimulationhas definitelymade
betterproducersof wells u.Atier
a wderflood
program. However,productionand equipment
failurescsn quicklymade steamoperationsun-
profitableunlessthe stimulationprogramis
carefullyplannedand operatedon an individual
well basis.
INTRODUCTION
Considerableinformationhas been presentea
concerningwaterfloodoperationsin reservoirs
containingviscouscrude oils. ~>2?3 Although
additionalreservesmay be obtainedby water-
floocUngoil sendscontaining10 to 20 API
gravity oil> this methodmay be inefficient
under certainconditionssuch as when *he reser-
voir temperatureis reducedby Injectedwater.
In the WilmingtonOil Fielcl,the Tar zone
is the uppermostproducingintervalin the
Field and contains12 to 15 API gravitycrude
oil. The estimatedultimaterecoveryfrom the
Tar zone under waterfloodoperationsis less
than 20 per cent of tbe oil in place, In ordez
to increaserecovery,other methodsof stimu-
lationwere needed. The applicationof heat
in the Tar sand in conjunctionwith waterflood
operationsgave promiseof economicallyincreas-
ing reservesbeyond the 20 per cent estimate.
Becauselittleinformationwas availablecon-
cerningthe simulkeneousinjectionproc:ess, a
small steam stimulationpilot field test was
initiatedin the area under wate?fltiod.The
resultswere so encouragingthat the test was
expandedto fieldoperationsinvolvingseveral
leases and operators. As theprojectadvanced,
deeper zones con$atnlnghighergratityoil were
steamed.
Waterfloodingand steam stimulat~on
operationswere foundvery compatible. Water-
floodingmaintainsor increasesthe reservoir
pressureneeded GOmove fluids to the producing
wells and steam stimulationre&ucesviscosities
and improvesthe wells abilityto producethe
?llxlds
. Unitizedportionof the Field snd is boundedby
HISIORYANDDEVELOPMENT
The WilmingtonOil Field was disco~ered
by GeneralPetroleumCorporation(nowMobil
Oil Corporation)in 1936 and it was soon
recognizedas the largestfield in California.
The general.shape,size and locationof the
Field is shownon Figure 1. As indicated,the
Field %s locatedin the southwesternportionof
theLos AngelesBasin. The basic shapeis in
the form of an elongatedanticlinetrending
northwest-southeast.The Field is approximately
12 miles long and 2 to 4 miles wide, The esti-
mated productivearea is 1~,000 acres,
s
FMM OPERATION SPR 1494
The oil productivei~tervalhas an approxi.
mzte gross thicknessof 5,CO0 feet wtth the
top at about 2,000 feet subseaend the basement
rock at 7,000 feet subsea. There are seven
producingzones althoughthe top zones (Tar,
Ranger,Upper and Lower Terminal)are the most
productive. Extensivefaultingtrentingnorth-
southexists throughoutthe Field and divides
it into Fault Blocks.
The currentproductionof the Wilmington
Field is over 125,000barrelsper day, which
representsabout 13 per cent of Californiars
total production. By now exceeding the East
Texas Field oil rate, the WilmingtonField
is the largest United Statesoil producer,
To date over 1.1 billionbarrelsof oil have
been producedfrom about 4,000 wells. It has
been estimatedthat peak productionwill reach
275,000barrelsper dayby 1971. At that time
the WilmingtonField may be one of the largest
oil proctucing fieldsIn the world. Total.esti.
mated remainingoil reservesfor the entire
Field have been assessed to be 2 billion
barrels.
W%terfloodoperationsbegsn as a pilot
study in June 1953, Since then more than 1.25
billionbarrelsof water have been injected.
The currentvater injectionrate is about
.550,000barrelsper day. The Wilmingtonwater-
flootlis now the largestwaterfloodoperation
in the world.
The uppermostoil sand is calledthe Tar
zone. Oil is trappedby a combinationof snti-
clinal fold and faulting. The Tar send is the
principalobjectiveof steamingin the south-
east portionof the Field, shown on Figure2.
In order to analyzethe resultsof steamingto
date the Fielcl. has been dividedinto three
areas. The southeasternportionis cs&ledthe
Tidelandsarea and is operatedby the City of
Long Beach throughthe Citys contractors,
Long Beach Oil DevelopmentCompmy and Atlantic
RichfieldCompany. The Uplsniis area is the
the Tidelandson the south and Anaheim Street
on the north. The Townlotarea is the non-Unit
regionnorth and west of the Unit Uplands area.
The most productiveportionof the Tar
zone is in the Tidelandsand Uplands portions
of the Field. In this area the formationhas a
gross thicknessof about 250 feet and net send
thicknessof 115 to 135 feet. The depth to the
top of the zone is 2,050 feet subsea. The
initialoil in place is estimatedto be 2,150
barrelsper acre foot of12 to 1.5API graviky
T.ntheTidelandsarea, approximately12to 15
per cent of the oil in place has been recovered
duringthe past ten to fifteenyears that the
SPR llm4
----- ,. .T.A.
- . . .. TITP.l???&
wells have been producing.
Table 1 is a tabulationof the Tar zone
reservoirdata. The reservoirtemperatureis
12P F and the oil viscosityrangesbetween
150 and400 C~. Sands have porositiesof 35
-Lo-45per cent and permeabilitiesfroml to 8
darcies.
The.major developmentof the Uplands end
Townlotareas was carriedon.in the 1940~s and
early 1950s. In the Long Eeach Oil Develop-
ment Companyarea Tar zone wells date back to
1950. AtlanticRichfieldwells were drilled
in L952 end later.
TidelandsTar zone primsryoil recovery
was estimatedto be less than 12 per cent.
However,total recovery will probablynot ex-
teed 20 per cent by waterflooding.The Tar
sends are currentlyunder waterfloodin an
attemptto controltopography,protectwells
and increaserecovery. Becauseof _thevateT-
flood program,reservoirpressureshave been
increasing. At presentthe reservoirpressure
in the southvaries from 300 to 900 psi. Most
of the water has been injectedin the aquifer.
Therefore$the pressureson the flanks are in-
creasingfasterthan upstructureas shown on
isobaricmap, Figure2.
The first Tar zone waterfloodoperation
was startedby Union PacificRailroadCompany
in Fault Block 111 in November1954. Today
waterfloodingof the Tar zone includesall
Units snd Tidelandsareas.
The oil producingzone immed3.ately below
the Tar zone is calledthe Ranger zone,which
lies at a depth of 2,300 to 2,500 feet subsea.
Figure 3 is an isobaricmap of the southern
portionof the Ranger zone indicatinginjection
well positionin the zone. The oil sandsin
the Ranger zone ewe the thickestin the south>
becomingincreastiglythinnerand less well
definedtowardsthe northwest. Reservoirdata
are shownon Table 2, The gross thicknessin
the southportionis about 500 feet with the
net sand varying from 110 to 250 feet. The
reservoirtemperatureis about 135 F and oil
viscosityin the reservoiris 20 to 100 cp in
most areas.
Reservoirpressuresarc the highestin
the southernportionof the Field,primarily
becauseof the pressure maintenanceprojects
now in operation. Pressuresrange,from1,000
psi in the Ranger zone in the Tidelaudsarea
to less than 50 psi in the northwesternpartion
of the Townlotarea.
----..- 3a
THERMKL EFFECTSON WATERFLOODPERFORJ?.ANCE
The effectsof thermalchangeson vis-
cous reservoirfluid performancea e recognized
throughoutthe petroleum%ndustry. i Much at-
tenkl.on,effort end money has been devotedto
improveperformanceby increasingfluid tem-
peraturethroughsuch techniquesas steaming
and undergroundcombustion. Yet the effects
of decreasingviscousfluid temperaturesare
not often considered.
Most, if not all of the water injectedin
waterfloodprojec%sis at a temperaturebelow
that of the reservoirfluid. A 50 F drop in
reservoirtemperaturefrom 125 F to 75 F
will increasethe viscosityof a 12.5 API
gravityoil more than ten times. The sweep
efficiencyof a five-spokwaterfloodcouldbe
reducedmore than 40 per cent by such a
temperaturedrop. In contrast a 50 F in-
crease in temperaturefrom 125& F to 175 F
will reduce the viscosityabout five times,
or half the effect of the temperaturedecrease.
For all crude oils, temperaturedeclineswill
have a greatereffect on viscositythan an
equivalenttemperatureincrease.
The effectof tem~rature on the oil-water
viscosityratio, 0, under waterfloodoper-
ations is shownonb Figure 4. A comparison
is made for a range of gravitiesfrom 12.50 to
200 API. The oil viscosityof these different
gravityoils is dividedby the water viscosity
so that the effect on the mobilityratiomay
be determine, Waterfloodperformanceis
directlyrelwtedto mobilityratio as indicated
by the followingequation:
Mobilityratio =M = i: ~ (1)
&
This equationcan be arrangedin the following
manner to facilitategraphicalsolution:
M=~x~(2)
Figure 5 exhibitsthe resultsofv%scosity
changeson the mobilityratio for various
permeabilityratios. For any fixed~rmeabilit
ratio the mobilityratio decreaseswith a de-
crease in viscosityratio.
Mobilityratio effectson a five-spot
waterfloodpatternperformanceis indicatedon
Figure 6. The sweepefficiencyis inversely
proportionaltomobilityratio for displaced
volumesinjected.5
The resultsof the above three mentioned
figuresindicatethat the temperaturechange
has a definiterelationshipto the sweep
efficiencyin waterfloodAngoperations. This
temperaturechangeis greaterfor the lower
grawityoils. A small decreaseor increase
in the temperaturecan effectthe sweep effi-
ciencymore than 10 per cent. Any time a
waterfloodis consideredin a reservoircontain-
ing highlyviscousoil, the temperatureof the
injectedfluid shouldbe seriouslyconsidered.
Increasingthe temperatureat or above reser-
voir conditionsmay improvethe efficiency
and profitabilityof the waterflood.
FIELD
STEMMOPERATIONS
A summaryof steamo~rations in the Wil-
mingtonField is shown on Table 3. To date
sightoperatorsare known to have conducted
steamingoperationsin the Field.
Steamingoperationsstartedin August 1964
in the Townlotarea. The Tidelandspro~ectwas
initiatedin February1965 and the UplandsUnit
area followedsoon thereafterin April 1.965,
Most of the wells steamedin the Tidele.ruk
area
are singlezone completions,either Tar or
Rangerzones. More dual zone wells incluting
the T= end Ranger zoneswill probablybe
steamedin the future. The UplandsUnit area
has steamedTarj Tar-Rangerand Renger zone
wells. Wells steamedin the Townlotarea are
all multi-zonecombinationsof the Tar-Ranger
and Upper Terminalzones (directlybelow the
Rengerzone). Multi-zonewells are required
becauseof poor productivityand thinner sands
in the TownLotarea.
As of mid-1966approximately200 wells had
been steamedin the WilmingtonField. The
greatest number was in the Tidelandsarea.
The largestnumber of the re-cycleshas
occurredin the Uplends and the Towalotareas.
The majorityof wells damagedby steamingwas
in the Uplandsarea althoughlittle is known
of the failuresin the Towalotarea. 1%
appearsthat approximately10 per cent of the
wells steamedhave failedduringor subsequent
to steamingoperations. In the Tidelandsarea,
three failuresoccurredin the Long Beach Oil
DevelopmentCompanywells and one in the Atlan-
tic RichfieldParcel A wells.
Oil rates before steamingwere relatively
low throughoutthe Field; the averagewell
rengingbetween10 B/D and 30 B/D. The peak
averageoil rates after steamingraged from
24o B/D in the southernportionof the Field
to 65 B/D in the northe~ TOWOt area. oil
rates three mnths after steamingranged from
170 B/D in the south to 30 B/D in the northern
area.
Severalof the operatorsin the areas
north of the Ti&lsack have e~ressed.concern
about the economicsof steamingbecauseof
the high cost of steamingend well loss. Two
operatorsare known to have stoppedsteaming
operationsin the Field in order to further
evaluateresultebefore continuing.
FAUZT BLOCK V OPERATIONS
The greatestattentionto stesmingin -the
Wilmin@on Field has been given to the Favlt
Block V Tidelandsarea Tar zone. The produc-
tion and water injectionresultsare shown on
Figure 7. Water injectionwas startedin May
1960 and was %ncreasedrapidlyto a rate of
about 25,000barrelsper day in 1963, AS of
mid-1966more thsa 33 million barrelsof water
have been in,jectedin this area.
Althoughthe steadydeclinein oil rate
prior to 1960 was stoppedby the water un-
jectionprogramno subsequentoil rate
increasewas experienced. In late 1964, the
decisionwas made to try stimulatingoil pro-
ductionby cyclic steam injection. Steening
operationsstartedin February1965. By mid-
1966 a total of 63 wells had been steamedend
10 re-steamed. The Tar zone oil rate at the
start of steamingwas 2,000 B/Dand the water-
oil ratio was 3.3 barrels per barrel. The
oil rate by June 1966 had increasedto 5,3oo
B/D and the water-oilratio declinedto 2,4
baxrelsp?r barrel. The water in~ectionrate
remainedat about 23,000 B/D duringthis
period.
The Tidelandsarea of Fault BlockV is
operatedby two contractors- Long Beach Oil
DevelopmentCompanyopxrates the southern
portlonof the area, and the AtlanticRich.
field Company,Parcel A area. Ddxd.lsof
these operationsare presentedbelow:
LONG BEACH OIL DEVELOPMENTTIDELANDSOPEWTIONS
With backgroundinformationon the general
steam operationsin the WilmingtonField, it
1,spossibleto go into a more detailedanelysis
of steam projects. Intermittentsteamin-
jectionwas startedin the Tidelandsarea of
the WilmingtonFieldi.nFebruary1965. The
initialinjectionsite on Pier B included14
wells producingfrom the Tax zone of Fault
BlockV. The surfacelocationwas confined
to a drillingisland site. TIM.sarea was
consideredto be well suitedfor steamingbe-
cause of low gravityoil, low water cuts,
high structurallocations, favorablereservoir
characteristics, as well as the convenientsur.
face location. The projectaiea is also mid-
 .T .
w.= --,/, . .
way betweenexpandingflank aquiferwater in-
jecti.onprograms.
A typicalwell completionin the Tar zone
of the Tidelsndsarea is presentedon Figure
8. Many of the wells are high angle holes. A
30 conductorpipe was driven to 24 and
12-3/4 surfacepi~ was set and cementedat
350. A 12 hole was drilledto 2100 and a
22 and 30 bell hole was opened from 1530
to 18oo as shownin the diagram. Casing
(usually8-5/8)was set at 2100 with a
Creightonexpansionjoint set in the neutral
positionat 1700. A 6-5/8liner was hung
from approximately2000 to 2500 and gravel
packedbetweenthe liner and an under-reamed
16 hole.
To preparea well for steaming,the well
pullingeqtipmentis moved in and blowoutpre-
ventersinstalledapproximatelythree days
before the steamgeneratoris available. The
tubing is testedto 2000 psi. Rods, pump and
tubing are pulled and the hole is cleanedto
the bottom with a bailer, After the equipment
is pulled end casingtested to 1000 psi, the
tubing is rerun with centralizers,a thermal
casingpacker an& tubing tail. The packer is
set approximatelyone joint &bove the top of
the liner tith the tubing tail approximately
30 to 60 off bottom. Temperaturesurveys
have indicatedthat heatingperformanceof
the producinginterval. is more uniformwhen
the tubingtail is set within 100 from the
bottom of the well. The well i.sthen snut in
awaitingfor hookupto the steam generator.
Insulatedsteam lines are connectedand
steam is injectedat a low rate and presstire
to boil out the casingsnnulususuallywithin
six to eight hours. The casing remainsat
atmosphericpressureduring steaming. The
steam generatorheat output is increasedfor
maximuminjectionrate after the annulushas
been boiledout.
Wells were first steamedwith one 12.7
millionBTLJ/hour output,38o hprated steam
generatingunit. It soon became evidentthat
the wells were capableof tsking a higher in-
jectionrate and two 38o hpunits were cou-
necied togetherin order to inject approxi-
mately 25 millionBTU/hou of steam in each
well. Heat injectionrates range between250
millionBTLJ/day to 600 millionBTU/daytith an definiteincreasein rate althoughit is not
averageof 500 millionBTU/day. Heat injectio
rate per net foot of sand ranges between1.9
InilliOIl BTU/ft/d8yand 5.0 ?D.i~liOn BTU/ft/day, steamedhas shown a definiteincrease
Total heat injectionper foot of net sand
rangestetween21 to 70 milllonBTLJ/ft.The
surfaceinjectionpressuresrange between650
and 1400 psig and the temperaturerangesbe-
tween 4900 wa 580 F. The steam quality
A. TITXi!Rf$
. . -u -------
rangesbetween 60 and 80 per cent af%er the
smnulusis boiled out. No problemshave been
encounteredwith the treatmentof fresh waker
by water softetingequipment.
Followtngstesming,injectionlines are
disconnectedand rnn to the next preparedwell.
The wells are allowedto soak four to eight
days to Ussipate the heat neax the well bore.
At this point the tubinghead pressuxedrops
to 400 psi or less and the well is easily con-
trolledwith fresh water. During the earner
steamingoperations,lihepacker and tubing
were pulledbut more recentlya new thermal
type packer with expansion joint is being
used which eliminatespullingthe packerand
tubingon wells pumpedwith rod pump equip-
ment. With the packer and tubing in place
new pumpingequipmentand rods are run and
testeal.The surfaceequipmentis adjusted
and the well is returnetl to productionwith
the packer port valve open so that the gas can
be producedfrom the casingsnnulus.
Oil rates increasedfour to five times
normalpre-steamrates, The @r cent water
from Tar zone producersdeclinedeven though
the water rates were increasedsubstantially.
The gas productionrate was generallyin-
creasedbut the GOR was reduced. Figure9
showsthe productionperformanceof a Tax zone
well. The well was re-steamed as an eweriment
to determinethe effectson productionperfor-
mancee The resultsof this re-stesmingin&i.-
cate improvedproductionperformancewith
slowerrate of decline. This well is still
producingapproximately100 B/D net oil about
one year after being re-steamed..
The effectsof steam stimulationon oil
rates in snd around the trial area at Pier B
is summarizedin Figure10. The oil rate from
the 14 well trisl area increasedfrom about 24o
B/D net to about 1250 B/D net after steaming.
This is approximatelya five-foldincreasefor
the trial area with an incrementoil increase
of about 1000 B/D. The oil rate declined
rapidlyafter steaming,but the individualwell~
oil rate is showinga levelingout effect
approximatelytwo to three times the pre-steem
rate. It is interestingto note that the nine
wells south and west of the trial area show no
effect of steamingin the trial area but the
severalwells north and west have exhibiteda
n known whetherthis increase is due to steaming.
The one well within the trial patternarea not
in oil
rate,
The cost of cyclic steam injectionin the
Tar zone wells rangesbetween$10,000end
$18,0()()
perwel.1kchiitngpreparation, well.
~
6 ..- ...-
NTIMIN(Wf)N ..
l?TFT,n
-
SWAM
--
e@.pment replacement,field supervisionend
overhead. The cost for injectingsteam is
about90 cents per barrel of steam. Figure11
indicatesthe resultsof cyclic steam stimu-
lation,operationand maintenancecost for the
Pier B trial area. This is representativeof
costs in other Long Beach Oil DevelopmentCom-
pauy operatedareas. Before steaming,the
averagemonthiycost per barrel of oil was
about 60 cents. During the steamingoperation
this cost increasedto $2:35 per barrel md
then declinedrapidlyto less than 15 cents
per oil barrel produced. This monthly cost
is now slowlyincreasingalthoughthe cumu-
lativecost is continuingto declineand is
currentlyapproaching60 cents per barrel.
After the pilot test was completedon
Pier B by the Long Beach Oil Development
Companythe steamprogramexpandedto other
areas of Fatit Block V. As of the first of
June 1966, 46 producingwells had been
steamedand five producingwells had been re-
steamed. In general, the results o? the ex-
pandedprogramhave been as good or better
than the initialpilot study. The same program
of well preparationand stea.m@has been
followedas was initiatedin the pilot study.
Plans are nowbdng completedto expand the
steamprogramin the lower zones,parti.cdarly
the Ranger zone.
ATLANTICRICHFIELDCOMPANYOPERATIONS
ON PARCEL Ar
The most spectacular,as well as profit-
able results,have been obtainedfrom the
Psrcel Afsteamoperations. Since steaming
was initiatedin May 1965 a total of 19 Tar
zoae wells and 5 Ranger zone wells have been
steamed. One Tar zone well was recentlyre-
stesmed.
The Tar zone has proven to be the most
responsiveto stesming. The oil rate has
3.ncreased7 to 20 times the pre-steamrate.
Many of the wells steamedaxe now producing
at sustainedrates higher than Ehe %nitial
rates when the wells were first drilled. The
performanceof a typicalwell is shown on
Figure 12. As canbe seenj several. methods
of stimulationhad been tried withoutsiuch
successbefore steaming. The net oil rate
increasedfrom apre-steamrate of18 B/D to
a peak averagemonthlyrate of 250 B/D. A
number of Tar zone wells have performedmuch
better than this exemple;severalhave pro-
duced net oil rates of more than 500B/D
after steaming,comparedwith the pre-steam
rate of 25 B/D to 30 B/D.
-----
fiPWl?ATTONS
------------
.C?m7 1 hall
The economicaleffectsof steamingin
the Tar zone of Parcel A are shownon
Figure 13. The groes value of cumulative
incrementaloil producedby steamingis
$740,000from 388,000 barrelsproducedfrom
June 1965 to June 1966. Total stimtiation
cost as of June 1966 is $276,000. The average
stimulationcost of incrementaloil is $0.71
perbarrel. The total.zone averageoil rate
is cuxrently2,700B/D. Of this total 2,300
B/D is incrementaloil from steamedwells.
Ranger zone individualwell performance
after steaminghas been very satisfactory
althoughnot as dramaticas shownby Tar zone
wells. The rate ofdeclinefrom these wells
after steamingis very low and in several
wells the initialrate has been sustainedal-
most a year. An exampleof a well performance
in theRanger zone 1s presentedin Figure14.
Prior to steaming,various stimulationmethods
were tried in order to increaseproductionin
the Ranger zone as shown on this curve. None
of them have been very successful. Results
of steamingin this well indicatea three-fold
increasefrom40 B/D before steamingto 135
B/D of oil after steaming. Note that the oil
rate and per cent water cut have remained
constantduring the past nine months.
The effectsof steamingin the Ranger
zone as shownon Figure 15 have increasedthe
averageoil rate 450 B/D to a total zone
averagedaily o~l,rateof 2,000 B/D as of June
1966. The gross%lue of the cumulativein-
crementaloil producedby steamingis $169,000
from 77,400barrelsof additionaloil. Total
stimulationcost is $73,000. The average
stimulationcost.ul,
the incremental.oil is
$0.95 per barrel.
Picturesof the Parcel.Asurfacelo-
cation,~as.wellas steamingequipmentare
shownon Figures 16 and 17. The generator
operatedby AtlanticRichfieldis a gas fire
generatorwith a rating of 20 millionBTU/hour.
The insulatedstesmline is connectedto the
well-headby a Chiksanconnection. The casing
annulusis vented in the cellarof an adjacent
well at atmosphericpressure. All of the
Parcel A wells steamedare producedbyhy-
drauliclift pumpingequipment. As shownon
Figure 17, all of the well-headequipmentis
placedin a seven foot cellar so that nothing
protrudesabove surface.
Figure 17 and 18 show generatorsusedby
Long Beach Oil DevelopmentCompany. Both
generatorsare gas firedwith an outputof 25
millionBTU/hour.
Dr.m A-r7-? u .
Future plans for steamingoperationsin-
elude adding additionalgeneratorssad exp.ad-
ing the operationsin tiheRanger zone as well
as all Tarzone wells.*The Upper Terminal
zone is also being consideredfor steaming.
SUMMARY
The applicationof heat to the upper oil
sandsof the WilmingtonField has proven
beneficialunder waterfloodoperations. The
best performancehas been found in the south-
eastern area of the Field. This is not sur-
pPisingsince the area 1s the least exploited
portionof the Field and is under the most
activewaterfloodprogrsm.
CyclLc steam in~ect%onhas a much greater
effecton performancethsn can be justified
byonly tiscosityreductionfrom heat. Ele-
vated productionrates are being experienced
after the heat has been dissipatedwhich
leads to the conclusionthat well-borecleen-
up by steam is a significantfactor.
The one problemthat probablyhas the
greatestsingleeffectupon the economicsof
steamingis the physicaldamageto the well.
Unless adequatestepsare taken to protect
the well, loss of wells may make the project
unprofitable.
Steamingoperations are expensi.~re but im-
provedequipmentand technologyare re~~~ing
costs end improvingperformancewiti Qr ~.er
safetyto equipmentand personnel. B .%on
the experiencein the past year the cost of
steaminghas been reducedas much as 30 per
cent by these improvementsand furtherreduc-
tions in costs axe anticipated.
Eecauseof the favorableeconomicsand
the experiencein the Tidelandsarea with
n. .I.5JJI.W..U (
steamingoperations,the steem programwill
be expandedin the future. Multi-zoneas
well as deeper zone wells will be tried.
Steamingof injectionwells for possiblewell-
bore cleanupis also considered.
ACKNOWLEIXHIMENTS
The authorwould like to expresshis
appreciationto membersof the staffof the
Departmentof Oil Properties,Long Beach Oil
DevelopmentCompany and AtlanticRichfield
Companyfor their suggestions end help in
writingthis paper.
REFERENCES
1. Fried,A. N., Effectof Oil Viscosity
on the Recoveryof Oil by Waterfloodlng
RI 5115,USBM, March 1955
2. Pierce,R. L., Garrity,M. J., Progress
Report of the WilmingtonOil Field Water-
floodAPI Paper No. 801-38-c,Feb. 1962
3. Horace,CharlesC., Performanceof a
Pilot Waterfloodin the Tar Zone, Fault
Block III, WilmingtonField,California,
WI Paper No. 801-33-E
4. Beel, c., The Viscosityof Air, Water,
Natural.Gas, Crude Oil and Its Associated
Gases at Oil Field Temperaturesand Pres-
sures,Trans.fd31E(1946),165, g~
5. Dyes, A. B., Caudle,B. E. and ErLckson,
R. A., Oil ProductionAfter Breakthrough
as Influencedby MobilityRatio, Trans.
AIME (1958)213, 160
 TABLE 1
WILMINGTON FIELD - TAR ZONE
_RESERVOIR DATA - SO~IERN AREA_

Depth to top of zone 2050 !

Gross sand thickness 2501

Net sand thickness 1251
Initial oil in place 2150 bbls/ac.foot
Oil gravity 12 to 15 API

Reservoir temperature 120 F,

Reservoir pressure 300 - 600 pSi.

Oil viscosity 120 F 150 - 400 Cp

Oil viscosity at 2!50 F 12 - 35 Cp

PoTosity 35 - 40$
Permeability 1 to 8 darcies
Interstitial water 185%

TABLE 2
WILMINGTON F123LD- RANGER ZONE
RESERVOIR DATA - SOUTHERN WA

Depth to top of zone 2300I

Gross sand thickness 500
Net sand thickness 150f
Reservoir tempera~ure 135 F
Reservoir pressure 300 - 1000 psi
Oil gravity 14 - 20 API
Oil viscosity at 135 F 20 - 100 Cp
Oil viscosity at 250: F 5- 20 Cp
Porosity 36$
Permeability 1.5 - 2.0 darcies

Z3terstiti-alwater 22$

In?:sialoil in place 2050 bbl/ac. ft.

 TABLE 3
WILMINGTON FIELD
SUMMARY OF STEAM OPERATIONS TO JUNE1966

Tidelands Unit Area Townlot Area*

Date steaming
initiated J?eb.165 Apr. 1965 August 1964
Zones steamed Tar and Tar, Tar- Tar, Ranger,
Ranger Ranger and Upper Term.
Ranger All multi-zones
Reservoir preskure
psi 300 - 1000 200 - 600 30 - 200
Oil rate before
steaming, B/D o - 70 1 - 65 2 - 35
Avg. 30 Avg. 25 Avg. 10
Peak oil ratio after
steaming, B\D 45- 570 8 - 320
Avg. 240 Avg. 95
Oil rate 3 months
after steaming B\D 35 - 410 5- 165 10 - 60
Avg. 170 Avg. 60 Avg. 35

**** *-F**

Townlot
Tidelands Unit Area Area* Total
-
No. of operators
steaming wells 2 5 8
No. of steamers used t
Total wells steamed 72 5: 6; 1;:
Total wells re-steamed 8 11 25
Wells damaged by steaming : 6 21
Damaged wells j%of
wells steamed 4.2 22.6 9.0 10.9

*Data approximated
 TABLE 4

WILMINGTON FIELD - TIDELANDS AREA

INTERMITTENT s~w IN@TIoN RESULTS TO JUM 1966

Well Data
Date steaming initiated Feb!?uary1965
Total wells steamed
Tar Zone 67
Ranger Zone 5
Total wells re-steamed
Tar Zone 6
Ranger Zone 0
Wells curzentlybeing steamed 3
Wells damaged by sbeaming 3
Heat Injection Data
Heat injected per well 2.7 to 10.8 billion BTU
Heat injected per net foot sand 20 - 70 million BTU
Avg. daily heat injection rate 500 million BTU
Avg. daily steam injection rate 1500 bbls\well
Steam injection pressure 65o - 1400 psi
Steam injection temperature 490 - 585I?
Steam quality 50 - 85%
Well steam time 6 - 17 days
Well soak time 5 - 8 days

Economic Data

Well steaming cost (includ~g new

equipment, supervision and overhead) $10,000 to $18,000
Heat cost 1,70
Million BTU
Barrel steam i 0.90
Average well payout 2.3 months
Average steaming cost per barrel
of incremental oil produced $0.97
 PL

-
I ,,,, ,

Fig. 1

___ . .. , ~ .__.._
-- .-

,----
,,,.
,f.,- 6 J
UPLANDS UPLANOS

;<.{JJJJ.
~+h
<A
i-
,.
$,9
,4 ~ .
. *
50 i, ~
.

,
,.
\_ \
IL/ . ,
1
A. .& L+ F .p< ~
%.
,J . .F o
.@ ,,,~
Soo
\
\\<

WILUIM9TW.WLO

&,
IIOQ $
\
.:1 I ~
!100 -,
, .

1.
RANGER ZONE <. TIDE LAND$
.\ J . ..
tsOBflRIC MAP
, \+, ! .J
\ .,
,)--\ \ J=-
AURC Colrrwm. Ps , - rem, 5 s PRCSWM COkWR$, PSI - ??50 VSS ,/

Fig. 2 Fig. 3

\ ,

1
\ TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON OIL- WATER*

5000 \; VISCOSITY RATIO OF CRUDE OIL

l\/,
\

(K, ~)
////i
1000

Is 100

.1 60

0
I
100
1
* WA?M- WWO
I
180
TEMPERATURE,F

Fig.
1

4
PPM MACL, M.? R$.l,i
I
260
I
 .-
WILMINGTON FIELD TAR W TIDELANDS

=
100
100,000 , ,
u-i STEAM STIMULATION
-i
g 50,900 r- 50
I ./
z
s

F
OIL PRO. ,/
0 -------
CUM. BBLS ~
. 10,000 - --------
,77---
d
a WATER INJ. BfO ,/- &%EQ.us.
--- 5,000 -
6

iiii!%;KYq
OIL PROD SID /
u.

2 WORX
a
o 1,000 ~ / ~GOR
w
PATTERN (AFTER DYES,
/

1
CAUDLE AND ERICKSON, 50 0 0,5
c)-
TRANS. AIME) \
m *: Lk I
I !
0,5
,
I
I
2.5
;+O
Ii L-v
0,1 0.25

MOBILITY RATlO, M
!5
a 100 1 , ! t Ii, ,1962
( I 1964
1 ,96610
1956 195S 19s0

Fig. 6
Fig. 7

I o,ooo- 1 I I 1

EFFECTS OF STEAM STIMULATION

ON OIL RATES By WELL .GROUFS
5,000 - TRIAL AREA AND ADJACENT WELLS
PIER B 4.60 i I

TAR ZONE- WILMINGTON FIELD , RESULTS OF CYCLIC STEAM STIMULATION

PERIOO OF RESTEAMINGGWEL~sn OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS d
4,00
ii
c) EROOOFsTEAMNG-p-l7
FOURTEEN WELL TRIAL AREA a
cc

Y--if
TAR ZONE FAULT BLOCK X a
m
a 1,000 3,Ea WILMINGTCSN FIELD ~
w
& t o
t
u
Cj
3.00 w
PERIOD OF RESTE!AMING 6wELLS CL
u
a (n

5m t PERIOO OF STEAMING m
u
L, al J
9 WELLS SOUTH ANO WEST AOJACENT GROUP

Ii
CUMULATIVE COSTS
=2 4 WELLS NORTH AND EAST ADJACENT GROLip AFTER INITIATING STEAM
a /
A
5
n

50-
I WELL IN PATTERN NOT STEAMEO Z-225

,.+
I
1963
I
1ss4
1
1965
I
19s6
.oo~
1964
1 -kL_.-I
19s5 1966

F 19. 11
Fig. 10
 TYPICAL WELL
PIER B
TAR ZONE WILMINGTON FIELD

/
~STEAMlN2-1/2 TUBING

d h
CASING LDG. W/32,000* TENSION

I 3011 CONL)UCTOR PIPE

~ORIVEN TO 24

DRILLED 17-1/2{ HOLE

12-3/4-498*8* SURFACE PIPE SET
& CEMENTED WITH 350 5X. CEMENT
(W/18 SX. AGUAGELI
354
78-79* MUD

DRILLED 12 HOLE TO 2113

ORILLED 12 HOLE 22 BELL HOLE 1530 -IBOO
30 BELL HOLE 1555 -I775

1530
ORILLED 22 HOLE ~
71555
DRILLED 30 HOLE -~
CREIGHTON EXPANSION JOINT
PORT COLLAR 1793
TESTED TO 1500 PSI
? 1775 1702- I7I3
(HuNG
5 STROKE
IN NEUTRAL POSITION)
[800
DRILLED 22 HOLE
CASING 8-5/S- 32J -5555

: -CEMENT-400 f
THERMAL PACKER 1967
DRILLED 12 HOLE
2099 - CASING. OEPTt{
,4

DRILLED 18 HOLE-
+ LINER 6-5/8 -24* 1993 -2508
4{ GRAVEL PACKED
:3

TUBING TAIL 2450

1
7
TOTAL DEPTH 2512

Fig. 8

Steam effect ontypiuIITarz one well-Pier B

Wdlshined
I Well re~teomed
I

n ?
~ 300
-
;
.-0

; 200
0
a

NIlell
100 -
Pfobdb grDls~.-
GfMspu&c66m ---_---3- --------

----- ----- ____ ?NbdhRmd _

--
OJ , 1 I 1 I I 1 I 1 1
Jo
120 120 140 1 170 180 190
(Unluh%F*!!,OW M
~1%2+1963+1964-+ 1965~1966

\
1
Fig. 9
 400 r7
PARCEL A STEAM STIMULATION
Effect of steam on Tar zom?well - parcel A TAR ZONE F.B. X 700

L-
IW ~ ,50 PAYOUT STATUS
500
Wdl *W2hsd
% 600
~ 300 2
. so u 5
400-
:, 500 ~
~ 25J
~ !$
;
CUMULATIVE INCREMENTAL OIL 400 :
.-2 g 200 fROM STEAM STIM22LATION
$
J
? 0
: 300 ?
20
:

200 2
Wirer cui -20
I 09 f

100

~~i&
p19H+1962--126 l_l_ 0 1.W% JUN :uiti SEF OC1 WV OK JW FCB iihii=hY
1965 (966

Fig. 12 Fig. 13

! ?6
80 r !-~ -

[7
pARcEL A STEAM STIMULATION
I TOTAL RANGER zONE
> 154
600 - Steameffect on typical Rangerzone well ~
~
70 PAYOUT STATUS

Parcel A E

132 ~
500 - -100 ~ 60 :
CUMULATIVE INCREMENTAL OIL &

4
1 &
~ 50
PRODUCEO SINCE sTEAMING
\\
110 0
% -80 t 1 k
400-
0 ~r ~ O*
!&l
~
2 walercut 6$ & 40 -
60 $ ;
:3 00-
.-
~ ~] . : /
GIot8 production CUMULATIVE STIMULATION
z - 66 ,
: : 30 cOST
rrc#lt!&$.- 40 g m
!2 00-
i+ % \
~ P % . /NeOi!------ :
*2 9-
:
100-
% -22
al
~ o-

196119$21963 1966
~1964~;%5-b 1965

Fig, 15
Fig. 14

1.
-1
-.
m
.
1-
-J
 Fig. 18

l?

Fig. 19