This thesis investigates methane emissions and methane production potentials from abandoned longwall panels produced or emitted due to mining activities either from coal seam or any underlying or overlying formations. These emissions can increase greenhouse gas concentrations and also pose a danger to the underground working environment and to miners. In addition to the safety issues, recovery and utilization of this gas is an additional source of energy. In this study, methane concentrations measured from ventilation air ways in Yeni &Ccedil / eltek Coal Mine, which is located in Suluova basin, Amasya, and contains thick, laterally extensive Lower Eocene coal seams, were integrated within a numerical vi reservoir model. Key reservoir parameters for history matching are cleat permeabilities, cleat porosity, diffusion time and Langmuir volume and Langmuir pressure. Thirteen cases were studied. According to the results, Case-10 determined as the best fitted case for both of the production wells. Cleat permeabilities and Langmuir pressure were the most effective parameters. Reservoir parameters matched are cleat permeabilities of 5, 4 and 1 md and fracture dimensions of 0.8, 0.4, and 0.1 m in x, y and z direction respectively, 2 % cleat porosity, 0.3 % water saturation. Diffusion time was determined as 400 days and 2000 kPa Langmuir volume and 6.24279 m3 /tone gas content estimated. According to these results it can be said that methane production will not be economically feasible, however / to remedy underground working conditions and safety of workers methane management should be taken into consideration.

We connect the Mimetic Finite Difference method (MFD) with the finite-volume two-point flux scheme (TPFA) for Voronoi meshes. The main effect is reducing the saddle-point system to a much smaller symmetric-positive definite matrix. In addition, the generalization allows MFD to seamlessly integrate with existing porous media modeling technology. The generalization also imparts the monotonicity property of the TPFA method on MFD. The connection is achieved by altering the consistency condition of the velocity bilinear operator. First-order convergence theory is presented as well as numerical results that support the claims. We demonstrate a methodology for using MFD in modeling fluid flow in fractures coupled with a reservoir. The method can be used for nonplanar fractures. We use the method to demonstrate the effects of fracture curvature on single-phase and multi-phase flows. Standard benchmarks are used to demonstrate the accuracy of the method. The approach is coupled with existing reservoir simulation technology. / text

A review of the developments within the field of structural reliability theory shows that some gaps still exist in the reliability prediction process and hence there is an urgent desire for improvements such that the estimated structural reliability will be capable of expressing a physical property of the given structure. The current reliability prediction process involves the continuous estimation and use of reliability index as a way of estimating the safety of any given structure. The reliability index β depends on the Probability Density Function (PDF) distribution for the wave force and the corresponding PDF of resistance from respective structural members of the given structure. The PDF for the applied wave force will depend on the PDF of water depth, wave angular velocity and wave direction hence the reliability index as currently practiced is a statistical way of managing uncertainties based on a general probabilistic model. This research on Smart Offshore Structure for Reliability Prediction has proposed the design of a measurement based reliability prediction process as a way of closing the gap on structural reliability prediction process. Structural deflection and damping are some of the measurable properties of an offshore structure and this study aims at suggesting the use of these measurable properties for improvements in structural reliability prediction process. A design case study has shown that a typical offshore structure can deflect to a range of only a few fractions of a millimetre. This implies that if we have a way of monitoring this level of deflection, we could use the results from such measurement for the detection of a structural member failure. This advocated concept is based on the hypothesis that if the original dynamic characteristics of a structure is known, that measurement based modified dynamic properties can be used to determine the onset of failure or failure propagation of the given structure. This technology could reveal the location and magnitude of internal cracks or corrosion effects on any given structure which currently is outside the current probability based approach. A simple economic analysis shows that the recommended process shows a positive net present value and that some $74mln is the Value of Information for any life extension technology that could reveal the possibility of extending the life of a given 10,000bopd production platform from 2025 to 2028.

Miscible gas flooding is a common method for enhanced oil recovery. Reliable design of miscible gas flooding requires compositional reservoir simulation that can accurately predict the fluid properties resulting from mass transfer between reservoir oil and injection gas. Drawbacks of compositional simulation are the efficiency and robustness of phase equilibrium calculations consisting of flash calculations and phase stability analysis. Simulation of multicontact miscible gas flooding involves a large number of phase equilibrium calculations in a near-critical region, where the calculations are time-consuming and difficult. Also, mixtures of reservoir oil and solvent such as CO₂ and rich gas can exhibit complex phase behavior at temperatures typically below 120°F, where three hydrocarbon-phases can coexist. However, most compositional simulators do not attempt to solve for three hydrocarbon-phases because three-phase equilibrium calculations are more complicated, difficult, and time-consuming than traditional two-phase equilibrium calculations. Due to the lack of robust algorithms for three-phase equilibrium calculations, the effect of a third hydrocarbon-phase on low-temperature oil displacement is little known. We develop robust and efficient algorithms for phase equilibrium calculations for two and three phases. The algorithms are implemented in a compositional reservoir simulator. Simulation case studies show that our algorithms can significantly decrease the computational time without loss of accuracy. Speed-up of 40% is achieved for a reservoir simulation using 20 components, compared to standard algorithms. Speed-up occurs not only because of improved computational efficiency but also because of increased robustness resulting in longer time-step sizes. We demonstrate the importance of three-phase equilibrium calculations, where simulations with two-phase equilibrium approximations proposed in the literature can result in complete failure or erroneous simulation results. Using the robust phase equilibrium algorithms developed, the mechanism is investigated for high efficiency of low-temperature oil displacements by CO₂ involving three hydrocarbon-phases. Results show that high displacement efficiency can be achieved when the composition path goes near the critical endpoint where the gaseous and CO₂-rich liquid phases merge in the presence of the oleic phase. Complete miscibility may not be developed for three-phase flow without considering the existence of a tricritical point. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:08:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JoseTMAP.pdf: 3429155 bytes, checksum: 9d06d453f156a78546476b9e1a22c995 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-12-15 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Until the early 90s, the simulation of fluid flow in oil reservoir basically used the numerical technique of finite differences. Since then, there was a big development in simulation technology based on streamlines, so that nowadays it is being used in several cases and it can represent the physical mechanisms that influence the fluid flow, such as compressibility, capillarity and gravitational segregation. Streamline-based flow simulation is a tool that can help enough in waterflood project management, because it provides important information not available through traditional simulation of finite differences and shows, in a direct way, the influence between injector well and producer well. This work presents the application of a methodology published in literature for optimizing water injection projects in modeling of a Brazilian Potiguar Basin reservoir that has a large number of wells. This methodology considers changes of injection well rates over time, based on information available through streamline simulation. This methodology reduces injection rates in wells of lower efficiency and increases injection rates in more efficient wells. In the proposed model, the methodology was effective. The optimized alternatives presented higher oil recovery associated with a lower water injection volume. This shows better efficiency and, consequently, reduction in costs. Considering the wide use of the water injection in oil fields, the positive outcome of the modeling is important, because it shows a case study of increasing of oil recovery achieved simply through better distribution of water injection rates / At? o in?cio da d?cada de 90, a simula??o de fluxo em reservat?rio de petr?leo basicamente utilizava a t?cnica num?rica de diferen?as finitas. Desde ent?o, houve um grande desenvolvimento da tecnologia de simula??o com base em linhas de fluxo, de modo que hoje ela tem sido usada em v?rios casos e se encontra adequada para representar os diversos mecanismos f?sicos que influenciam o fluxo de fluidos no reservat?rio, tais como compressibilidade, capilaridade e segrega??o gravitacional. A simula??o baseada em linhas de fluxo ? uma ferramenta que pode ajudar bastante no gerenciamento de projetos de inje??o de ?gua, pois fornece informa??es importantes n?o disponibilizadas atrav?s da simula??o tradicional de diferen?as finitas e mostra, de forma direta, a influ?ncia entre po?o injetor e po?o produtor. Este trabalho apresenta a aplica??o de uma metodologia existente na literatura para otimizar projeto de inje??o de ?gua em um reservat?rio pertencente a um campo de petr?leo da Bacia Potiguar que possui elevado n?mero de po?os. Esta metodologia considera modifica??es das cotas de inje??o dos po?os ao longo do tempo, com base nas informa??es dispon?veis atrav?s da simula??o por linhas de fluxo. Esta metodologia reduz as vaz?es de inje??o dos po?os de menor efici?ncia e aumenta as vaz?es de inje??o dos po?os mais eficientes. No modelo proposto, a metodologia se mostrou eficaz. As alternativas de otimiza??o apresentaram uma maior recupera??o de ?leo associada a um menor volume de inje??o de ?gua. Isto demonstra uma melhor efici?ncia e, consequentemente, uma redu??o de custos. Considerando a ampla utiliza??o da inje??o de ?gua em campos de petr?leo, o resultado positivo da modelagem ? importante, porque apresenta um estudo de caso de aumento da recupera??o de petr?leo, alcan?ado simplesmente atrav?s de uma melhor distribui??o das vaz?es de inje??o de ?gua

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:08:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TommyAP_capa_ate_cap4.pdf: 809913 bytes, checksum: 0090aa039ef326f260cb40945133e6d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-27 / Petr?leo Brasileiro SA - PETROBRAS / The gas injection has become the most important IOR process in the United States. Furthermore, the year 2006 marks the first time the gas injection IOR production has surpassed that of steam injection. In Brazil, the installation of a petrochemical complex in the Northeast of Brazil (Bahia State) offers opportunities for the injection of gases in the fields located in the Rec?ncavo Basin. Field-scale gas injection applications have almost always been associated with design and operational difficulties. The mobility ratio, which controls the volumetric sweep, between the injected gas and displaced oil bank in gas processes, is typically unfavorable due to the relatively low viscosity of the injected gas. Furthermore, the difference between their densities results in severe gravity segregation of fluids in the reservoirs, consequently leading to poor control in the volumetric sweep. Nowadays, from the above applications of gas injection, the WAG process is most popular. However, in attempting to solve the mobility problems, the WAG process gives rise to other problems associated with increased water saturation in the reservoir including diminished gas injectivity and increased competition to the flow of oil. The low field performance of WAG floods with oil recoveries in the range of 5-10% is a clear indication of these problems. In order to find na effective alternative to WAG, the Gas Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) was developed. This process is designed to take advantage of gravity force to allow vertical segregation between the injected CO2 and reservoir crude oil due to their density difference. This process consists of placing horizontal producers near the bottom of the pay zone and injecting g?s through existing vertical wells in field. Homogeneous models were used in this work which can be extrapolated to commercial application for fields located in the Northeast of Brazil. The simulations were performed in a CMG simulator, the STARS 2007.11, where some parameters and their interactions were analyzed. The results have shown that the CO2 injection in GAGD process increased significantly the rate and the final recovery of oil / A inje??o de g?s tem sido o m?todo de recupera??o mais utilizado nos Estados Unidos e o ano de 2006 marca a primeira vez em que a produ??o proveniente dos processos de inje??o de g?s superou os de inje??o de vapor. No Brasil, a instala??o do complexo petroqu?mico, no estado da Bahia, oferece oportunidades para inje??o de g?s na Bacia do Rec?ncavo. As aplica??es de inje??o de g?s em campo foram quase sempre associadas com dificuldades operacionais e de projetos. A raz?o de mobilidade, que controla a varredura volum?trica, entre o g?s injetado e o banco de ?leo deslocado, ? tipicamente desfavor?vel devido ? baixa viscosidade do g?s. Al?m de que a diferen?a entre as densidades conduz a segrega??o gravitacional severa dos fluidos no reservat?rio e consequentemente, levando a um pobre controle na varredura volum?trica. Atualmente, grande parte dos projetos de inje??o de g?s no mundo ? do tipo WAG. Entretanto, na tentativa de resolver os problemas de mobilidade, o processo WAG causa outros problemas como o aumento na satura??o de ?gua no reservat?rio, incluindo a diminui??o na injetividade do g?s e aumento da competi??o no fluxo do ?leo. O baixo desempenho na recupera??o de ?leo deste processo no campo, na ordem de 5 a 10%, ? uma clara indica??o destes problemas. A fim de encontrar uma alternativa eficaz para o WAG, o processo de drenagem gravitacional assistida por inje??o de g?s (GAGD) foi desenvolvido. O processo GAGD ? projetado para tomar vantagem da for?a gravitacional causando assim, a segrega??o vertical entre o CO2 injetado e a reserva de ?leo devido ? diferen?a de densidades. Este processo consiste na coloca??o de po?os produtores horizontais pr?ximos a parte inferior da zona de ?leo e inje??o de g?s atrav?s de po?os verticais existentes em campo. Modelos homog?neos foram utilizados neste trabalho os quais podem ser extrapolados para aplica??o comercial em campos localizados no nordeste brasileiro. As simula??es foram realizadas no simulador da CMG STARS 2007.11, sendo analisados alguns par?metros e suas intera??es. Os resultados mostraram que a inje??o de CO2 no processo GAGD aumentou significativamente a vaz?o e a recupera??o final de ?leo

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:08:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Janaina Medeiros Dantas Barbosa_DISSERT_01_35.pdf: 3284535 bytes, checksum: 7cd819680331f233db6c8299e7522b7b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-06-12 / Petr?leo Brasileiro SA - PETROBRAS / Continuous steam injection is one of heavy oil thermal recovery methods used in the Brazilian Northeast because of high occurrence of heavy oil reservoir. In this process, the oil into the reservoir is heated while reduces, substantially, its viscosity and improves the production. This work analyzed how the shaly sand layers influenced in the recovery. The studied models were synthetics, but the used reservoir data can be extrapolated to real situations of Potiguar Basin. The modeling was executed using the STARS - Steam Thermal and Advanced Process Reservoir Simulator - whose version was 2007.10. STARS is a tool of CMG Computer Modeling Group. The study was conducted in two stages, the first we analyzed the influence of reservoir parameters in the thermal process, so some of these were studied, including: horizontal permeability of the reservoir and the layer of shaly sand, ratio of horizontal permeability to vertical permeability, the influence of capillary pressure layer of shaly sand and as the location and dimensions of this heterogeneity can affect the productivity of oil. Among the parameters studied the horizontal permeability of the reservoir showed the most significant influence on the process followed by diversity. In the second stage three models were selected and studied some operational parameters such as injection rate, distance between wells, production time and completion intervals. Among the operating parameters studied the low rate and intermediate distances between wells showed the best recoveries / A inje??o cont?nua de vapor ? um dos m?todos t?rmicos de recupera??o de ?leos pesados utilizados no Nordeste Brasileiro, devido ? grande ocorr?ncia de reservat?rios contendo este tipo de ?leo. Este processo consiste em aquecer o ?leo existente no reservat?rio diminuindo substancialmente a sua viscosidade melhorando assim, a sua produ??o. Neste trabalho foi estudada qual a influ?ncia da presen?a de camadas de areia argilosas no reservat?rio para este tipo de recupera??o. Os modelos s?o sint?ticos, por?m com dados de reservat?rios que podem ser extrapolados para situa??es de aplica??es pr?ticas na Bacia Potiguar que apresenta reservat?rios com essa heterogeneidade. A modelagem foi implementada no simulador de recupera??o t?rmica STARS (Steam, Thermal, and Advanced Processes Reservoir Simulator) vers?o 2007.10 da CMG (Computer Modelling Group). O estudo foi realizado em duas etapas, na primeira foi analisada a influ?ncia dos par?metros de reservat?rio neste processo t?rmico, sendo assim, alguns desses foram estudados, dentre eles: permeabilidade horizontal do reservat?rio e da camada de areia argilosa, rela??o da permeabilidade horizontal com a permeabilidade vertical, influ?ncia da press?o capilar da camada de areia argilosa e como a localiza??o e as dimens?es dessa heterogeneidade podem afetar a produtividade de ?leo. Dentre os par?metros estudados a permeabilidade horizontal do reservat?rio foi o que apresentou maior influ?ncia significativa ao processo seguido da heterogeneidade. Na segunda etapa foram selecionados tr?s modelos e estudado alguns par?metros operacionais, tais como: vaz?o de inje??o, dist?ncia entre po?os, tempo de produ??o e intervalos de completa??o. Dentre os par?metros operacionais estudados as baixas vaz?es e as dist?ncias entre po?os intermedi?rias foram as que apresentaram as melhores recupera??es

[pt] Os modelos de simulação de reservatórios estão sujeitos à incerteza presente em uma grande variedade de seus parâmetros de entrada. Esta incerteza é o resultado da heterogeneidade das formações geológicas, erros nas medições dos dados e da modelagem petrofísica, estrutural e do transporte dos fluidos no meio poroso. Uma quantificação precisa da incerteza requer, na maioria dos casos, uma quantidade elevada de simulações, o que é usualmente inviável se considerarmos o tempo consumido para simular modelos de grande escala. Por outro lado, uma avaliação adequada da incerteza aumenta a qualidade e robustez das decisões tomadas para o gerenciamento dos campos de petróleo. Com esta motivação, foi investigado o método das Expansões por Caos Polinomial (PCE, por suas siglas em inglês). PCE é uma técnica de convergência rápida utilizada para analisar como se propaga, na saída de um modelo, a incerteza presente nos parâmetros de entrada. Mediante PCE, pode-se representar a resposta aleatória de um modelo de simulação de reservatórios de petróleo como um polinômio, construído a partir de uma base de funções que dependem da distribuição de probabilidade das variáveis incertas de entrada. Por outro lado, quando a relação entre os parâmetros de entrada e a saída do modelo têm um componente não polinomial, o algoritmo de Programação Genética (PG) pode ser utilizado para representar esta dependência utilizando funções ou operadores mais complexos. PG é um algoritmo de regressão simbólica capaz de encontrar uma expressão aleatória explícita, que aproxime a saída de um modelo de simulação de reservatórios de petróleo, conhecendo-se a priori a distribuição de probabilidade dos parâmetros de entrada. Neste trabalho foram aplicadas as duas técnicas, antes mencionadas, num modelo de simulação de reservatórios baseado no campo PUNQ-S3, considerando até vinte e três parâmetros incertos durante um período de produção de 13 anos. Foi feita uma análise de incerteza, calculando-se a distribuição de probabilidade completa da saída do simulador. Os resultados foram comparados com o método de Monte Carlo, indicando um alto desempenho em termos de custo computacional e acurácia. Ambas as técnicas conseguem níveis de ajuste superiores a 80 porcento com uma quantidade de simulações consideravelmente baixa. / [en] Reservoir simulation models are subject to uncertainty in a wide variety of its inputs. This uncertainty is a result of the heterogeneity of the geological formations, data measurement errors, and petrophysical, structural, and fluid transport in porous media modelling. An accurate uncertainty quantification requires, in most cases, a large number of simulations, which is unviable considering the time it takes to simulate large scale models. On the other hand, a proper uncertainty assessment, increases the robustness of the decision making process for the oil field management. To this end, the method of Polynomial Chaos Expansions (PCE) was studied. PCE is a fast paced convergence technique, used to analyze the uncertainty propagation of the input parameters all the way to the output of the model. Through PCE is possible to represent the response of an oil reservoir simulation model as a polynomial, built from a function basis, that depend on the probability distribution of the uncertain input variables. Furthermore, when the relationship between the input and output parameters of the model has a non-polynomial component, the algorithm of Genetic Programming (GP) can be used to represent this dependency by more elaborate functions or operators. GP is a symbolic regression algorithm, capable of finding an explicit expression that approximates the output of a reservoir simulation model, with prior knowledge of the probability distribution of the input parameters. In this work, the two previously mentioned techniques were applied in a reservoir simulation model, based on the oil field PUNQ-S3, considering up to twenty three uncertain parameters during a simulation period of 13 years. An uncertainty analysis of the output of the simulator was conducted, calculating the entire probability distribution. The results were compared to the Monte Carlo simulation method, presenting a satisfactory performance in terms of accuracy and computational cost. Both techniques show adjustment levels higher than 80 percent, with a considerable small amount simulations.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:08:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MartinhoQAF_DISSERT.pdf: 3517855 bytes, checksum: e2d79876500fdde55b949a6a832b6ff0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-27 / Water injection is the most widely used method for supplementary recovery in many oil fields due to various reasons, like the fact that water is an effective displacing agent of low viscosity oils, the water injection projects are relatively simple to establish and the water availability at a relatively low cost. For design of water injection projects is necessary to do reservoir studies in order to define the various parameters needed to increase the effectiveness of the method. For this kind of study can be used several mathematical models classified into two general categories: analytical or numerical. The present work aims to do a comparative analysis between the results presented by flow lines simulator and conventional finite differences simulator; both types of simulators are based on numerical methods designed to model light oil reservoirs subjected to water injection. Therefore, it was defined two reservoir models: the first one was a heterogeneous model whose petrophysical properties vary along the reservoir and the other one was created using average petrophysical properties obtained from the first model. Comparisons were done considering that the results of these two models were always in the same operational conditions. Then some rock and fluid parameters have been changed in both models and again the results were compared. From the factorial design, that was done to study the sensitivity analysis of reservoir parameters, a few cases were chosen to study the role of water injection rate and the vertical position of wells perforations in production forecast. It was observed that the results from the two simulators are quite similar in most of the cases; differences were found only in those cases where there was an increase in gas solubility ratio of the model. Thus, it was concluded that in flow simulation of reservoirs analogous of those now studied, mainly when the gas solubility ratio is low, the conventional finite differences simulator may be replaced by flow lines simulator the production forecast is compatible but the computational processing time is lower. / A inje??o de ?gua ? o m?todo de recupera??o suplementar mais difundido na maioria dos campos de petr?leo, devido a v?rios motivos, como o fato de a ?gua ser um eficiente agente deslocante de ?leos com baixa viscosidade associado ao fato de ser relativamente f?cil de injetar e de existir grande disponibilidade de ?gua a um custo relativamente baixo de se obter. Para o dimensionamento de um projeto de inje??o de ?gua ? necess?rio efetuar um estudo de reservat?rio com o objetivo de se definir os v?rios par?metros necess?rios para aumentar a efic?cia do m?todo. Para este estudo podem ser utilizados v?rios modelos matem?ticos classificados como anal?ticos ou num?ricos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo efetuar uma an?lise comparativa entre os resultados apresentados por um simulador de linhas de fluxo e um simulador convencional por diferen?a finita, que s?o dois tipos de simuladores de fluxo baseados em m?todos num?ricos, para um modelo de um reservat?rio de petr?leo leve submetido ? inje??o de ?gua. Para tanto foram montados dois modelos de reservat?rio, sendo um modelo heterog?neo e outro homog?neo contendo valores m?dios das propriedades de rocha do primeiro modelo. Foram realizadas compara??es dos resultados destes modelos considerando sempre as mesmas condi??es de opera??o. Em seguida foram alterados alguns par?metros de fluido e de rocha em ambos os modelos e efetuadas novamente compara??es de resultados. A partir do planejamento fatorial, realizado para a an?lise de sensibilidade dos par?metros de reservat?rio, foram escolhidos alguns casos para efetuar an?lise da varia??o dos par?metros operacionais escolhidos que foram a vaz?o de inje??o de ?gua e a localiza??o dos canhoneados. Observou-se que os resultados entre os simuladores s?o bastante similares na maioria dos casos estudados, tendo sido encontrado diverg?ncias apenas nos casos em que h? aumento na raz?o de solubilidade de g?s do modelo. Desta maneira foi conclu?do que o simulador convencional por diferen?as finitas pode ser substitu?do por um simulador por linhas de fluxo em reservat?rios semelhantes ao estudado, quando a raz?o de solubilidade possui valores baixos, sem preju?zo aos resultados de produ??o e com menores tempos de processamento computacional. / 2020-01-01

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:01:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JennysLMB.pdf: 3002293 bytes, checksum: 3b71773a14bee418fd80243a633d0cc8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-22 / Steam assisted gravity drainage process (SAGD) involves two parallel horizontal wells located in a same vertical plane, where the top well is used as steam injector and the bottom well as producer. The dominant force in this process is gravitational. This improved oil recovery method has been demonstrated to be economically viable in commercial projects of oil recovery for heavy and extra heavy oil, but it is not yet implemented in Brazil. The study of this technology in reservoirs with characteristics of regional basins is necessary in order to analyze if this process can be used, minimizing the steam rate demand and improving the process profitability. In this study, a homogeneous reservoir was modeled with characteristics of Brazilian Northeast reservoirs. Simulations were accomplished with STARS , a commercial software from Computer Modelling Group, which is used to simulate improved oil recovery process in oil reservoirs. In this work, a steam optimization was accomplished in reservoirs with different physical characteristics and in different cases, through a technical-economic analysis. It was also studied a semi-continuous steam injection or with injection stops. Results showed that it is possible to use a simplified equation of the net present value, which incorporates earnings and expenses on oil production and expenses in steam requirement, in order to optimize steam rate and obtaining a higher net present value in the process. It was observed that SAGD process can be or not profitable depending on reservoirs characteristics. It was also obtained that steam demand can still be reduced injecting in a non continuous form, alternating steam injection with stops at several time intervals. The optimization of these intervals allowed to minimize heat losses and to improve oil recovery / O processo de drenagem gravitacional com inje??o cont?nua de vapor (SAGD) envolve dois po?os horizontais paralelos localizados em uma mesma vertical, onde o po?o superior ? usado como injetor de vapor e o inferior como produtor. A for?a dominante neste processo ? a gravitacional. Este m?todo de recupera??o avan?ada tem sido demonstrado ser economicamente vi?vel em projetos comerciais de recupera??o de petr?leo pesado e extra pesado, mas ainda n?o foi implementado no Brasil. O estudo desta tecnologia em reservat?rios com caracter?sticas das bacias regionais ? necess?rio para analisar como se ad?qua o processo para minimizar a demanda de vapor obtendo a maior rentabilidade do processo. Neste estudo foi usado um modelo homog?neo com caracter?sticas de reservat?rios do Nordeste Brasileiro. As simula??es foram realizadas em um programa comercial da Computer Modelling Group , o STARS , m?dulo usado para realizar estudos de m?todos de recupera??o avan?ada de reservat?rios de ?leo. Neste trabalho, foi realizada uma otimiza??o do vapor em reservat?rios com diferentes caracter?sticas f?sicas e em diferentes cen?rios, atrav?s de uma an?lise t?cnico-econ?mica. Tamb?m foi estudada a inje??o de vapor semi-cont?nua ou com paradas. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que ? poss?vel utilizar uma equa??o simplificada do valor presente l?quido, que incorpora os ganhos e gastos na produ??o de ?leo e os gastos na inje??o de vapor, para otimizar a demanda do vapor obtendo um maior valor presente l?quido no processo. Observou-se que o m?todo (SAGD) pode ser ou n?o rent?vel dependendo das caracter?sticas do reservat?rio. Encontrou-se tamb?m que a necessidade de vapor pode ainda ser diminu?da utilizando esquemas de inje??o de vapor com paradas em intervalos de tempo otimizados, e isto permitiu minimizar as perdas de calor e melhorar a recupera??o.