Recovery of heavy crude oil or tar sand oil or bitumen from underground formations

Patent · Tue Jul 11 04:00:00 EDT 1989

OSTI ID:5568346

McKay, A S

This patent describes a method of producing heavy crude oil or tar sand oil or bitumen from an underground formation. The method consists of utilizing or establishing an aqueous fluid communication path within and through the formation between an injection well or conduit and a production well or conduit by introducing into the formation from the injection well or conduit hot water and/or low quality steam at a temperature in the range about 60{sup 0}-130{sup 0}C and at a substantially neutral or alkaline pH to establish or enlarge the aqueous fluid communication path within the formation from the injection well or conduit to the production well or conduit by movement of the introduced hot water or low quality steam through the formation, increasing the temperature of the injected hot water of low quality steam to a temperature in the range about 110{sup 0}-180{sup 0}C while increasing the pH of the injected hot water or low quality steam to a pH of about 10-13 so as to bring about the movement or migration or stripping of the heavy crude oil or tar sand oil or bitumen from the formation substantially into the hot aqueous fluid communication path with the formation and recovering the resulting produced heavy crude oil or tar sand oil or bitumen from the formation as an emulsion containing less than about 30% oil or bitumen from the production well or conduit.

• Assignee: NOV; NOV-89-075505; EDB-89-151611
• Patent Number(s): US 4846275
• OSTI ID: 5568346
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040401 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- In Situ Methods
True & Modified
BITUMENS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
DISPLACEMENT FLUIDS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FLUID INJECTION PROCESSES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HOT WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MATERIALS
OIL SANDS
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
RECOVERY
STEAM INJECTION
STEAM SOAK PROCESSES
STIMULATION
TAR
THERMAL RECOVERY
WATER
WATERFLOODING
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS