Nexen's Keg River Water Disposal Wells – N.E. Alberta, Canada

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Nexen’s Keg River Water Disposal Wells – N.E. Alberta, Canada. Michael B. Rogers P.Geol. Nexen Energy ULC Summary Nexen Energy ULC (a CNOOC Limited Company) disposes of significant volumes of water from it’s in-situ (SAGD) Oil Sands Operation at Long Lake, Alberta. The majority of that water is disposed into the relatively deep Middle Devonian aged Keg River Formation which lies some 200m below the Lower Cretaceous aged McMurray Formation that contains the oils sands. The Keg River Formation in this area is a dolomitized reef approximately 100m thick. Successful disposal wells in the Keg River exhibit extensive fracturing to provide excellent near-wellbore permeability. Locating areas of fracturing proved difficult using vertical wells and so Nexen has pioneered the use of horizontal drilling technology which resulted in locating a successful Keg River disposal well for it’s new Kinosis Project located approximately 10 kms south of Long Lake. Extensive planning was required to ensure a safe and environmentally sustainable project. The result is a well that should meet Nexen’s disposal requirements for the forseeable future. Introduction Location and background information are presented that indicate the importance of sustainable disposal wells for any SAGD operation. Theory and/or Method The regional geology of the target Keg River Formation are presented. The relationship of porosity, permeability and the presence of enhanced fracture porosity are discussed. The decision process in opting for a horizontal wellbore is elaborated on. Examples The location selection, pre-drill planning and execution are discussed and preliminary results are presented Conclusions A case is made for the use of horizontal disposal wells as a new way forward to address the very complex requirements of environmentally sustainable water disposal in the in-situ region of the Athabasca Oil Sands of N.E. Alberta. Acknowledgements Acknowledgement is made to Nexen Energy ULC (a CNOOC Limited Company) for permission to present this information. GeoConvention 2015: New Horizons 1 .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Northern Petroleum Virgo Technical Update NORTHERN PETROLEUM PLC
Northern Petroleum Virgo Technical Update NORTHERN PETROLEUM PLC 23rd October 2014 Disclaimer These presentation materials (the "Presentation Materials") are being solely issued to and directed at persons having professional experience in matters relating to investments and who are investment professionals as specified in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Financial Promotions Order") or to persons who are high net worth companies, unincorporated associations or high value trusts as specified in Article 49(2) of the Financial Promotions Order (“Exempt Persons”). The Presentation Materials are exempt from the general restriction on the communication of invitations or inducements to enter into investment activity on the basis that they are only being made to Exempt Persons and have therefore not been approved by an authorised person as would otherwise be required by section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”). Any investment to which this document relates is available to (and any investment activity to which it relates will be engaged with) Exempt Persons. In consideration of receipt of the Presentation Materials each recipient warrants and represents that he or it is an Exempt Person. The Presentation Materials do not constitute or form any part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue or purchase or subscribe for any shares in Northern Petroleum PLC (“Northern Petroleum”) nor shall they or any part of them, or the fact of their distribution, form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract with Northern Petroleum relating to any securities.
[Show full text]
CO2 Storage in a Devonian Carbonate System, Fort Nelson British Columbia
CO2 Storage in a Devonian Carbonate System, Fort Nelson British Columbia by Peter W. Crockford BSc., University of Victoria, 2008 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences Peter W. Crockford 2011 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-88283-2 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-88283-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette thèse.
[Show full text]
Keg River Oil and Gas Assessment Unit 52430102
Keg River Oil and Gas Assessment Unit 52430102 135 130 125 120 115 65 # # 60 # ## ###### 5243 ############ ############ ###### # ########### # 5245 # ############ ## ######### # # ## # ## 55 Edmonton ÚÊ ÚÊ Calgary 50 Canada United States 0 250 500 KILOMETERS Keg River Oil and Gas Assessment Unit 52430102 Alberta Basin Geologic Province 5243 Other geologic province boundary USGS PROVINCES: Alberta Basin and Rocky Mountain Deformed Belt (5243 and 5245) GEOLOGIST: M.E. Henry TOTAL PETROLEUM SYSTEM: Keg River-Keg River (524301) ASSESSMENT UNIT: Keg River Oil and Gas (52430102) DESCRIPTION: This oil and gas assessment unit includes the northwestern part of the Alberta Basin and a small part of the east-central deformed belt. The area is generally bounded by the Tathlina High to the north and the Peace River Arch to the south. The eastern boundary is the estimated extent of potential reservoir rocks and the western boundary is the Keg River Gas assessment unit. SOURCE ROCKS: The principal source rocks are organic-rich, fine-grained rocks of the Middle Devonian Keg River Formation. MATURATION: The western half of this unit lies in the area where probable source rocks are expected to be mature with respect to liquid petroleum generation. MIGRATION: The distribution of oil and gas pools assigned to this unit in relation to the estimated distribution of mature source rocks indicates that long distance lateral migration is not required. RESERVOIR ROCKS: Virtually all reservoirs occur in dolomite, the majority of which developed in pinnacle reefs and many in patch reefs. TRAPS AND SEALS: The most common trap types are stratigraphic followed by structural and combination in the approximate proportion of 20 to five to one respectively.
[Show full text]
Water in Carbonate Rocks of the Madison Group in Southeastern Montana a Preliminary Evaluation
Water in Carbonate Rocks of the Madison Group in Southeastern Montana A Preliminary Evaluation By W. R. MILLER GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 2043 Prepared in cooperation with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1976 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR THOMAS S. KLEPPE, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. E. McKelvey, Director Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Miller, W. R. Water in carbonate to rocks of the Madison Group in southeastern Montana. (Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2043) Bibliography: p. Supt.ofDocs.no.: 119.13:2043 1. Water, Underground Montana. 2. Geology, Stratigraphic Mississippian. 3. Geology- Montana. I. Montana. State Bureau of Mines and Geology. II. Title. III. Series: United States Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2043. GB1025.M9M5 551.4'9'097863 76-608210 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D. C. 20402 Stock Number 024-001-02898-1 CONTENTS Page Factors for converting English units to International System(SI) of units ___ iv Abstract __________________________________________ 1 Introduction _______________________________________ 2 Purpose and scope _________________________________ 2 Location and extent of area ____________________________ 4 Previous investigations ______________________________ 5 Location-numbering system ____________________________ 5 Geologic setting _____________________________________ 5 Extent and structure ________________________________ 5 Stratigraphy
[Show full text]
Fluid Compartmentalization of Devonian and Mississippian Dolostones, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin: Evidence from Fracture Mineralization
University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 2016 Fluid Compartmentalization of Devonian and Mississippian Dolostones, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin: Evidence from Fracture Mineralization Carole Mrad University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Mrad, Carole, "Fluid Compartmentalization of Devonian and Mississippian Dolostones, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin: Evidence from Fracture Mineralization" (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5752. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5752 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. Fluid Compartmentalization of Devonian and Mississippian Dolostones, Western Canada Sedimentary
[Show full text]
Salty Stratigraphy: Salt Caverns in the Elk Point Group of Alberta Tyler E
Salty Stratigraphy: Salt Caverns in the Elk Point Group of Alberta Tyler E. Hauck Alberta Geological Survey – Alberta Energy Regulator Astrid Arts Cenovus Energy Introduction The Middle Devonian Elk Point Basin is host to one of the Earth’s most extensive ancient evaporite deposits (Warren, 2006). The areal extent of the Elk Point Basin within western Canada is estimated at 1.2 million km2, with at least 500 000 km2 of halite-bearing strata (Zharkov, 1988). Based on current mapping, halite volume is 33 200 km3 in the Alberta portion of the Elk Point Basin (Hauck, 2020a). Salt deposits within the Alberta have been the target of solution mining since 1947, when a solution-mined cavern was constructed near the hamlet of Lindbergh northeast of Edmonton. There are currently more than 150 active salt caverns within the province, many used for hydrocarbon storage, and some for effluent and solids disposal (Figure 1). All current caverns have been constructed within the upper Lotsberg Formation and the Prairie Evaporite Formation, with ~80% of caverns within the Lotsberg. This paper will focus on the upper Lotsberg and Prairie Evaporite formations (Figure 2). As the demand for storage and disposal options within the province increases, salt caverns in the Elk Point group may continue to play a role. Recently, lithostratigraphic units within the Elk Point Group have been mapped at the provincial scale from over 4600 wells comprising 24 700 individual stratigraphic picks (Hauck, 2020a). These picks provided the framework for a detailed assessment of evaporite strata within the Lotsberg and Prairie Evaporite formations.
[Show full text]
Controls on Fluid Flow Systems in Northern Alberta As Related to MVT Mineralization: a Contribution to the Carbonate-Hosted Pb-Zn (MVT) Targeted Geoscience Initiative
EUB/AGS Geo-Note 2002-21 Controls on Fluid Flow Systems in Northern Alberta as Related to MVT Mineralization: A Contribution to the Carbonate-Hosted Pb-Zn (MVT) Targeted Geoscience Initiative Alberta Energy and Utilities Board Alberta Geological Survey EUB/AGS Geo-Note 2002-21 Controls on Fluid Flow Systems in Northern Alberta as Related to MVT Mineralization: A Contribution to the Carbonate-Hosted Pb-Zn (MVT) Targeted Geoscience Initiative J.J. Adams* and D.R. Eccles Alberta Geological Survey September 2003 ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Alberta, 2003 The Alberta Geological Survey and its employees and contractors make no warranty, guarantee or representation, express or implied, or assume any legal liability regarding the correctness, accuracy, completeness, or reliability of this publication. Any digital data and software supplied with this publication are subject to the licence conditions. The data are supplied on the understanding that they are for the sole use of the licensee, and will not be redistributed in any form, in whole or in part, to third parties. Any references to proprietary software in the documentation, and/or any use of proprietary data formats in this release does not constitute endorsement by the Alberta Geological Survey of any manufacturer's product. When using information from this publication in other publications or presentations, due acknowledge- ment should be given to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board/Alberta Geological Survey. The following reference format is recommended: Adams, J.J. and Eccles, D.R. (2003): Controls on fluid flow systems in northern Alberta as related to MVT mineralization: A contribution to the carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn (MVT) targeted geoscience initiative; Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, EUB/AGS Geo-Note 2002-21.
[Show full text]
Summary of Field Activities in the Western Liard Basin, British Columbia Filippo Ferri, Margot Mcmechan, Tiffani Fraser, Kathryn Fiess, Leanne Pyle, Fabrice Cordey
Summary of field activities in the western Liard Basin, British Columbia Filippo Ferri, Margot Mcmechan, Tiffani Fraser, Kathryn Fiess, Leanne Pyle, Fabrice Cordey To cite this version: Filippo Ferri, Margot Mcmechan, Tiffani Fraser, Kathryn Fiess, Leanne Pyle, et al.. Summary offield activities in the western Liard Basin, British Columbia. Geoscience Reports 2013, British Columbia Ministry of Natural Gas Development, pp.13-32, 2013, Geoscience Reports 2013. hal-03274965 HAL Id: hal-03274965 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03274965 Submitted on 2 Jul 2021 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. SUMMARY OF FIELD ACTIVITIES IN THE WESTERN LIARD BASIN, BRITISH COLUMBIA Filippo Ferri1, Margot McMechan2, Tiffani Fraser3, Kathryn Fiess4, Leanne Pyle5 and Fabrice Cordey6 ABSTRACT The second and final year of a regional bedrock mapping program within the Toad River map area (NTS 094N) was completed in 2012. The program will result in three– 100 000 scale maps of the northwest, northeast and southeast quadrants of 094N and with four 1:50 000 scale maps covering the southwest quadrant. Surface samples were also collected for Rock Eval™, reflective light thermal maturity and apatite fission-track analysis.
[Show full text]
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, Structural History and Exploration History of the Mississippian at Moose Mountain Southwestern Alberta Foothills
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, Structural History and Exploration History of the Mississippian at Moose Mountain Southwestern Alberta Foothills CSPG-SEPM 1997 Joint Convention Sedimentary Events and Hydrocarbon Systems June 1–6, 1997 Field Guide Prepared by: David Mundy Ray Widdowson Don Sabo The reproduction of this guidebook has been financed by Talisman Energy Inc. NOTE: This digital reconstruction was scanned and converted by Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to search- able text from the original pasteup provided courtesy of Dr. David Mundy. Colour photographs are reproduced from digital files provided by Dr. Mundy. The text has been proofread for OCR errors and a few minor typographical errors were cor- rected from the original text. The original pagination has been retained but line breaks/text wrapping may differ. Reconstruction revised June 2016. CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 DEPOSITIONAL AND STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK - - - - - - - 4 CANYON CREEK SECTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9 DIAGENESIS OF MISSISSIPPIAN SEDIMENTS - - - - - - - - - - 18 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 25 STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 32 EXPLORATION HISTORY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 36 RESERVOIR AND PRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 40 NOTES ON EXCURSION STOPS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 43 STOP 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 43 STOP 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 52 STOP 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[Show full text]
2006 Poster-Bamburak.Cdr
5843000N lo 434000E eo gic Gale and Conley (2000) concluded that "Upper Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) Pb-Zn g a 5984208mN. 565482mE. a l Northeastern Alberta Residual Bouguer Gravity mineralization may be widespread in the area west of Lake Winnipegosis", especially b s ORDOVICIAN PRECAMBRIAN o u along the Superior Boundary Zone (shown in Figure 1 as the Churchill-Superior 0.50 t r Lake Winnipegosis i Limestone For relative comparison with MVT potential of northeastern Alberta, the above analytical results can be v Bay Boundary Zone) on the basis of a multi-year geochemical study of over 6000 drillcore n e contrasted with the results of the 2002 study, by the Alberta Geological Survey, in which 26 sulphide- a MGS TRANS-HUDSON y SILURIAN Lake samples from more than 60 stratigraphic coreholes. They also suggested that m OROGEN 10 SILURIAN (North Basin) bearing core samples were analyzed from four Middle and Upper Devonian carbonate formations (Rice Winnipegosis mineralization in the Pine Point mining district in the Northwest Territories (Figure 1, and Zerbe, 2003). These samples were selected from 113 cores drilled in the Fort McMurray and Fort 0.25 Pemmican MGALS 1 MOLSON LAKE DOMAIN Location 5; Figure 2) could be a possible model for potential MVT mineralization in 928 DDH No.3 Vermilion-Harper Creek areas as part of a Contribution to the federal-provincial Carbonate-Hosted Pb-Zn 6 Island Cedar ISLAND LAKE DOMAIN (MVT) Targeted Geoscience Initiative. The target of the study was to find a deposit with the same West-central Manitoba (Figure 3). At Pine Point, almost 5 million tonnes of zinc and Lake 0 BERENS RIVER DOMAIN geological controls as those occurring at Pine Point.
[Show full text]
Problems in Devonian Stratigraphy, Northeastern Alberta Chris L
Problems in Devonian Stratigraphy, Northeastern Alberta Chris L. Schneider Energy Resources Conservation Board/Alberta Geological Survey, Edmonton, Alberta [email protected] Summary Several correlation and nomenclatural issues, most of which fall within the Elk Point and Beaverhill Lake groups, afflict the Devonian stratigraphy of northeastern Alberta. Some problems are easily fixed, such as the undertaking of a new biostratigraphic correlation to trace units into the subsurface. Other problems, such as that of an extensive carbonate unit simultaneously bearing the names Keg River Formation, Methy Formation, and Winnipegosis Formation, will require deeper consideration of scientific and industry-related issues before a recommendation is made. Introduction Devonian rocks of northeastern Alberta attracted the interest of even the earliest explorers. Travelers along the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers noticed the undulose to pillar-like limestones lining the riverbanks, and many natural historians speculated on the correlation of Devonian outcrops with others in North America and Europe. The century of surface and subsurface geological exploration that followed resulted in a sound understanding of stratigraphic relationships; however, differences arising from subsurface or outcrop-based approaches, problems with correlation to units elsewhere and separate naming of subsurface and surface units resulted in a myriad of nomenclatural and correlative problems in northeastern Alberta. Many stratigraphic difficulties arise from two major phenomena: the correlation between outcrop and subsurface strata and the presence of Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada’s largest national park. The subsurface record in northeastern Alberta is sparse but punctuated by areas of heavy exploration and hence, high well concentration. Subsurface data exist in abundance for key areas of northeastern Alberta, such as the Fort McMurray region.
[Show full text]
A Seismic Perspective on the Panny and Trout Fields of North-Central Alberta
CANP.DIAN JOURNAL OF EXPLORATWN GEOPHYSlCS ““L, 24, NO 2 (DECEMBER 1988,. Pi 154~165 A SEISMIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE PANNY AND TROUT FIELDS OF NORTH-CENTRAL ALBERTA N.L. ANDERSON’, R.J. BROW@ AND R.C. HINDS~ r they overlie a thin veneer of basal Paleozoic elastics (Granite Wash) and the Precambrian. They, in turn. are we presenl,hPx exampleseismic Secfi<w k”,” the general overlain by the interlayered anhydrite salts and carbonates scncr aira Of *,tJerta.two from IhCPanny fiC,d and one from the of the Muskeg Formation. In places, Precambrian base- Trwt field. The seismicsxprcsbiooh ol variousstratigraphic w~in menr highs may he overlain by middle Muskeg units in the IhaI arc of *ignilicsncr in the interprrtsriw arc discuisrd. ‘The absence of the Keg River Formation and the basal portion Keg River Formati”” ii rile principntICsErYllir tack\ I” ,k scncx of the Muskeg Formation. In such areas, the sahs of the aru and typically is productivewhere draped acres or wedge* Muskeg Formation may have been extensively dissolved out againsl Precambrian 5Iructural highs. The Keg Rircr Formarion is overiain by thr Murkcg ~ormaiion (~tw haral (Anderson et al., IYXYn. b). Murksg anhydriteilnd interlayercds”cceSSi”n “1 Murk&, SiikS. The Keg River Formation is the principal reservoir imhydrites andcarhonaws). Ihe WauMoumin Fumwtionand the facies at the Panny and Trout fields of the Senen area. the Slave hint Formation. The contact bcLwcenIhe Kef Rivc~ basal Paleozoic clestics being a secondary target (Figure Formnlionan* tile basalMurkeg aohydritedoer no, genrmte8 I). Generally. reservoirs occur where the Keg River discernible seismic event.Thrrefwr, itm~tuw iatthis level cnusthe inferred on the hasis of lime-sIructw:II relief alunp three other Formation is structurally closed across, or against the rn”X prominenrref,ec,ionr: ,llC Prccambri;mthe txse of the flanks of, underlying Precambrian highs.
[Show full text]