METHOD FOR OPERATING PAIRED WELLS PRODUCING HIGH-VISCOSITY OIL WITH FORMATION PRESSURE MAINTENANCE Russian patent published in 2023 - IPC E21B43/24 

FIELD: oil production industry.

SUBSTANCE: method for operating paired wells producing high-viscosity oil while maintaining reservoir pressure includes drilling a section with a grid of appraisal vertical wells. Carry out complex geophysical studies of wells. Determine locations of a pair of horizontal production and injection wells. Build a horizontal injection well and a production well on the site. Lower two strings of tubing into the injection well. Place a fiber-optic cable and a tubing with a pump and temperature sensors in the production well. Inject steam injected into the injection well through tubing strings. Set the operating mode of a pair of wells where the pump operates at an inlet fluid temperature equal to the maximum allowable according to operating conditions. Operate a couple of wells for 2-8 years. When the volume of residual recoverable oil reserves is within 25-75% of the initial volume of recoverable oil reserves per a pair of wells, isolate at least one adjacent horizontal production well with a water cut of at least 60% on the pad. Drill a pit on this well pad with a depth of 70-80 m. Equip the pit with wellhead fittings and lower two tubing strings (tubing strings), one - into the central part of the pit, the second - 25-30 m below the end of the first column. Assemble a pipeline from the mouth of at least one adjacent production well to the wellhead fittings of the pit, which is connected to the tubing string lowered into the central part of the pit. Assemble a pipeline to the annular line of a horizontal production well and a pipeline to the annular line of the wellhead fittings of the pit, which is connected to the collection pipeline. Connect the second tubing string to the pipeline leading to the annulus of the horizontal production well. By adjusting the mode of water injection into the production well, the process of vaporization and supply disruptions at the pump intake are excluded, then the mode of formation water withdrawal through the production well is gradually increased to increase the oil production rate.

EFFECT: increased flow rate of the production well by stabilizing the formation pressure at the level necessary to maintain the steam chamber above the production wellbore, ensured stability of the operation of a pair of wells with a constant steam injection rate through the injection well and fluid withdrawal through the production well by reducing the temperature in it, maintaining the performance of pumping equipment.

2 cl, 1 dwg, 3 ex