Steamflood process employing horizontal and vertical wells

Patent · Tue Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:5146351

Shum, Y M; Height, M A; Brown, A

A method of recovering hydrocarbons from an underground formation by employing a modified five-sport pattern is described which comprises: drilling and completing four substantially horizontal wells, each horizontal well approximately located along each of the four sides of a substantially rectangular well pattern; the substantially rectangular well pattern containing a substantially vertical central injection well and four substantially vertical infill wells located approximately midway between the central well and each of the four corners of the rectangular well pattern; injecting steam into the formation through the central injection well; producing hydrocarbons at the four infill wells; after injecting enough steam through the central injection well to fill about 0.5 to about 1.0 pore volumes of the formation located within a pattern formed by the four infill wells, converting the infill production wells to injection wells; injecting water instead of steam into the formation through the central injection well; injecting steam into the formation through the infill wells; and production hydrocarbons from the horizontal wells.

• Assignee: Texaco Inc., White Plains, NY
• Patent Number(s): US 4727937
• OSTI ID: 5146351
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
DRILLING
ENERGY SOURCES
ENGINEERING
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INCLINATION
INJECTION WELLS
OIL WELLS
ORIENTATION
PETROLEUM
RECOVERY
RESERVOIR ENGINEERING
STEAM INJECTION
STIMULATION
THERMAL RECOVERY
WATERFLOODING
WELL SPACING
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS