An implicit finite difference numerical model has been developed to investigate the influence of fracture heterogeneity on the propagation of thermal front in a single horizontal fracture-matrix system. Instead of depending on a complex and data-demanding geostatistical method for a precise representation of fracture aperture, a statistical linear congruential generator (LCG) method was applied in the present study to replicate the unpredictable nature of fracture aperture morphology. The results have been compared with the parallel plate model and simple sinusoidal model. Finally, sensitivity analysis of fracture aperture size and fluid flow rate has been carried out to identify the conditions at which fracture heterogeneity is critical. The results indicate that LCG-aperture enhances the heat transfer between fracture and hot rock matrix compared to the parallel and sinusoidal fractures. Further, the temperature profiles in hot rock indicate that there was a greater loss of heat for the case of LCG-aperture (25% loss) compared to sinusoidal (16%) and parallel plate (8%) apertures. It was found that heterogeneity does not play a major role at small fracture aperture size (≤50 μm) and at low flow rates. However, as fracture aperture size increases, the heterogeneity plays a vital part even at low flow rates.

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is considered a successful EOR method for heavy oil and bitumen. A two-dimensional physical model is designed to conduct experiments in this study. The consistency of the experimental data obtained was tested. The designed model was instrumented with 15 temperature sensors at different locations aimed at capturing the temperature propagation with distance and time. The experimental consistency tests for stream propagation have helped in understanding the important controlling parameters for the experiments. Steam propagation was mapped to understand the various processes taking place for oil recovery from steam chamber size and shape. The recovery mechanism could, to some extent, be realised. A simulation approach has been developed to history-match the production, and is compared to the used approach in the literature. Numerical simulation of the effect of Solvent SAGD on EOR was investigated. The developed steam chamber by simulated Solvent SAGD, simulated and experimental SAGD, is addressed in the paper. The results present an excellent practical approach to obtaining a developed steam chamber and accordingly identifying mechanisms. The match quality of the history-matched experiment allows a good assessment for production forecast, with understanding and development of the process. The paper contributes to generating more in-depth understanding of heat propagation, chamber development, and the heat transfer mechanism of SAGD.