T03: In Situ Recovery and SAGD
Instructor:
K.C. Yeung, P.Eng., Suncor Energy Inc.
Who should attend:
Reservoir, development and exploitation engineers and engineering technologists. Also suitable for geologists and management personnel involved with SAGD projects.
Tutorial Description:
In situ recovery of heavy oil and oil sands, especially SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage), is one of the hot topics these days in the petroleum industry in Alberta. If you are in the heavy oil/oil sands business in Alberta, chances are you may have heard of SAGD. Indeed, these big in situ projects in the Athabasca area which have come on stream, are currently under construction or are still in the application stage, are all SAGD projects. This tutorial given will give a general overview of current in situ recovery methods, but will emphasize SAGD. What is SAGD? How does it come about? How does it work? Why is it the current recovery process of choice? What is so special about SAGD wells? What are the challenges in SAGD development? What aspects of SAGD can be improved?
Instructor Biography:
K.C. Yeung, M.Sc., P.Eng., is Supervisor of Special Studies, In Situ Operations and Technology at Suncor Energy Inc. in Calgary. He has been with Suncor for the last 28 years, working primarily on reservoir engineering and R&D activities in the heavy oil/oil sands area. K.C has been a key member in all of Suncor-operated and joint-venture heavy oil projects over the years, including cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), steamflood, in-situ combustion, cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). K.C. has represented Suncor in various joint research and field in-situ projects for many years. Currently, he is involved in the development of a multi-stage commercial SAGD project at Firebag in the Athabasca area. He is currently the Past Chairman of the Petroleum Society and a Director-at-Large of the Canadian Heavy Oil Association.
