Experimental study on the effect of superheated steam on steam huff and puff enhanced oil recovery in heavy oil reservoirs in Liaohe Oilfield

Abstract The Liaohe Oilfield possesses abundant heavy oil resources, and this study experimentally investigates the effect of superheated steam on cyclic steam stimulation for enhanced oil recovery using a one‐dimensional sandpack model under simulated reservoir conditions. A series of 12 displacement experiments was conducted across injection volumes (0.2–0.9 PV) and initial oil saturations (40%–80%). Results demonstrate that superheated steam significantly outperforms saturated steam in both recovery and pressure maintenance, achieving over 35% recovery under 80% oil saturation and 0.9 PV injection, compared to only about 25% for saturated steam—an absolute improvement exceeding 10 percentage points. Higher oil saturation (e.g., 80%) further enhances recovery and pressure stability due to improved thermal efficiency, with 0.9 PV identified as the optimal injection volume for maximizing recovery through effective viscosity reduction and reservoir heating. These findings highlight the potential of superheated steam to improve the economic viability and energy efficiency of thermal recovery in heavy oil reservoirs.