Modeling Tar Sands with Conductive Layer

Abstract

Summary The goal is to assess the possibilities of electrotomography for the study of heavy oil deposits. The main object of study is the largest tar sand deposit - Alberta (western province of Canada).There are some problems with the production of such oil: 1) Reservoir heterogeneity associated with interlayers of clays and shales. This is a significant obstacle to vertical vapor migration; 2) watercut zones. Based on this, the following tasks arise before the electrotomography: 1) Select tar sand layers and estimate their thickness; 2) Select the conductive horizons (clay, shale, water) that may be present in the oil-bearing strata. The assessment of the capabilities of electrotomography was carried out using simulation with subsequent inversion. Models were created to match the geological structure of the region (Alberta, Canada). Comparing the results of solving the inverse problem (inversion) with the starting model gives this estimate. In the process of modeling, a pole-dipole + dipole-dipole electrotomography unit was used.