Monitoring injections is important for optimal reservoir management of any enhanced oil recovery. Monitoring is of particular importance in the case of steam injections, which often have small economic margins and where significant material property changes take place. Imaging can be used to supervise the injection and make informed reservoir engineering decisions, as well as understand the mechanics of the injection. Monitoring the steam chamber growth is a critical process in optimizing heavy oil recovery, confining the stimulation to the reservoir and identifying bypassed regions. Steam injection results in geomechanical strains associated with increased pore pressure, thermal stress changes and dramatic changes in material properties that are associated with heating the reservoir sufficiently to mobilize the heavy oil/bitumen. This geomechanical deformation may be marked by seismic deformation and the release of seismic energy as fractures adjust to the strain field. Deformation may also be evident in surface expansion or subsidence. Monitoring the microseismic activity with sensitive seismometers and surface deformation with precise tiltmeters could allow the steam injection to be tracked if accompanied with complementary technologies that respond to different expressions of the geomechanical deformation.

The presentation will focus on a case study highlighting imaging steam conformance along a SAGD well and how the imaging data can be used to calibrate a geomechanical model if the steam injection. The presentation will also discuss other applications of the technology including out-of-zone steam migration.

Shawn Maxwell is Chief Geophysicist of Pinnacle Technologies, and is based in Pinnacle’s Calgary office. Shawn’s responsibilities include technical direction of Pinnacle’s microseismic monitoring services for hydraulic fracture diagnostics and reservoir monitoring. Shawn has over 20 years experience in a broad range of microseismic monitoring applications, including mapping hydraulic fractures, fracture networks, steam floods, gas floods, water floods, casing failures, reservoir compaction, gas storage and sequestration, excavation damage around underground tunnels, and mining induced seismicity and rockbursts. Shawn has been active in projects throughout North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Shawn’s expertise includes velocity tomography of active and passive seismicity, seismic raytracing, synthetic seismograms, source characterization, data acquisition, processing and interpretation. Shawn supervised several M.Sc. and Ph.D. students while a Lecturer in Applied Seismology at Keele University, and has authored numerous publications in journals and professional abstracts.