Temperature distribution during heavy oil thermal recovery considering the effect of insulated tubing

Based on the formation characteristics, wellbore parameters and insulated tubing (IT) parameters of the Shengli oilfield, Shandong, China, a geomechanical model is built to predict the temperature distributions of the wellbore and formation. The effects of the IT heat conductivity coefficient (HCC), well depth and IT joint on the temperature distribution of the IT, completion casing, cement sheath, and formation are investigated. Results show the temperature of the formation around the wellbore has an exponentially decreasing relation with the distance to the wellbore. The temperature of the formation around the wellbore has an inverse relation with the IT HCC when the temperatures of the steam and the formation are given. The temperature of the casing outer wall is mainly determined by the steam temperature and IT HCC rather than by the initial formation temperature. The temperature of the casing at the IT joint is much larger than that of the other location. Due to the IT joint having a small size, the effects of the IT joint on the casing temperature distribution are limited to a small area only.