High vertical conformance steam drive oil recovery method

Patent · Tue Sep 04 04:00:00 EDT 1979

OSTI ID:5517791

Korstad, R J; Hall, W L; Wu, C H; Brown, A

The vertical or both vertical and horizontal conformance of a steam drive process is improved and steam override reduced by penetrating the zone between one injector and one producer, with one or more infill wells in fluid communication with the bottom half or less of the formation, and producing petroleum from the infill well after steam channeling has occurred at the production well. After the water cut of the fluids being produced from the infill well reaches 95 percent, the infill well is converted from a producer to an injector and steam is injected into the infill well and fluids are recovered from the production well. When one infill well is employed in a more or less aligned arrangement between injection and production wells, the vertical conformance is improved. When one or more infill wells are positioned in an offset or nonaligned arrangement relative to each injector and producer, conformance in both the horizontal and vertical planes is improved. By this multi-step process involving the infill wells, the amount of oil recovered from the portion of the formation in the recovery zone defined by the injection and production well is increased significantly.

• Assignee: Texaco Inc.
• Patent Number(s): US 4166501
• OSTI ID: 5517791
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
OIL WELLS
PETROLEUM
STEAM INJECTION
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS