MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. Specialists of the Perm National Research Polytechnic University developed technology to extract Arctic oil without melting permafrost, which may cause a well collapse. They suggested calculating safe rock heating parameters by using the well's digital twin, the university's press service said.
Oil extraction in permafrost regions requires heating oil deposits inside the earth with hot steam or otherwise. However, this process often melts permafrost, which threatens the well collapse and equipment failure.
"The university's scientists have found a way to extract Arctic oil without melting permafrost. <...> They have created a virtual twin of the well with 95% forecast accuracy. The development allows calculating the ideal heating mode to melt oil still preserving the permafrost and protecting the well from destruction," the press service said.
The test results have demonstrated the mathematical model's high accuracy in the well's all operating modes, the press service added.
"In the background mode (without steam supply), the discrepancy between calculations and actual data was less than 0.1%. In the impregnation mode, with moderate heating to 143 degrees Celsius, the discrepancies did not exceed 8%. In the most intensive heating mode, up to 273 degrees Celsius the model also demonstrated a good result - 95% compliance with experimental data," the university said, adding the scientists had used data from the Komi Region's Usinsk deposit.