J03-C

Project Overview

• The Lindbergh SAGD project is located in the Cold Lake area of Alberta, Canada, and is operated by Pengrowth Energy Corporation.

History

• The project area was initially developed by Murphy Canada, which piloted and commercialized cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) production in the Lloydminster and Rex formations from 1972 to 1998.
• Pengrowth Energy Corporation acquired the Lindbergh lease from Murphy Canada in April 2004.

Previous Operations (CSS)

• Under Murphy Canada, CSS operations involved 71 vertical wells and 3 horizontal wells, resulting in the production of 2.3 million barrels of oil and 7.6 million barrels of water, along with 8.2 million barrels of steam injection. The average recovery factor for the CSS area was 5-6% of the original oil in place (OOIP), with some wells achieving up to 10% recovery.

Transition to SAGD

• Pengrowth initiated a pilot SAGD project with two pilot wells starting steam circulation in February 2012. This was followed by the commissioning of a 12,500 barrels per day (bpd) SAGD facility in Q4 2014.
• Additional wells were drilled and put into operation, including 20 new SAGD wells starting steam circulation in December 2014, and further infill and new wells in subsequent years.

Current Operations

• The project has expanded to include multiple phases:
  • Phase 1 CPF (Central Processing Facility) was commissioned in Q4 2015 and later recommissioned in April 2018 to handle increasing production.
  • Production has been increased with the approval to reach 40,000 bpd.
  • New well pairs and infill wells have been drilled and put into operation, including 6 new SAGD wells starting steam circulation in September 2017 and 8 infill wells starting in July 2018.

Technical and Operational Details

• The SAGD operations involve managing steam chamber pressure slightly above bottom water pressure to optimize the steam-oil ratio (SOR) and improve well conformance. Techniques such as well bore hydraulics optimization, use of production ports in the scab liner, and shiftable ports in the steam injection string have been implemented.
• Continuous improvement in ESP (Electrical Submersible Pump) run life has been achieved through advanced gas handling stages, particularly in wells with high vapor production.

Future Plans

• Future plans include drilling additional infill wells, such as the planned drilling of 8 infill wells on Pad D05 in 2018, pending internal approval.
• There are also considerations for further project development, including gas co-injection and legacy well remediation.

Regulatory Compliance

• The project is in full compliance with all applicable regulations, including those set by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). The Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) is compliant with all regulations.

Environmental and Operational Impacts

• The previous CSS operations have potential impacts on future SAGD development, such as channeling of steam, breakthrough to bottom water, increased SOR, and increased water production from residual CSS steam condensate. However, the success of drilling and producing in the CSS-impacted area has de-risked future production from this part of the reservoir.