Method of recovering medium or high gravity crude oil

Patent · Tue Dec 02 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:7041356

Venkatesan, V N

A method is described to sustain an in-situ combustion process during the recovery of medium and high gravity crude oil from a subsurface reservoir containing the oil which reservoir has at least two communication paths to the surface comprising: (a) injecting oxygen-enriched fluid into the subsurface hydrocarbon reservoir, through a first fluid communication path; (b) permitting the oxygen-enriched fluid to react with the medium and high gravity crude oil in the subsurface hydrocarbon reservoir for a predetermined time, to form lower quality crude oil thereby creating coke or heavier fractions in the lower quality oil which is used to support combustions; (c) injecting an oxygen-containing fluid into the reservoir; and (d) combusting the oxygen-containing fluid in the reservoir whereupon a portion of the coke or heavier fractions sustains the in-situ combustion process while producing the remainder of the lower quality crude oil to the surface.

• Assignee: Mobil Oil Corp., New York, NY
• Patent Number(s): US 4625800
• OSTI ID: 7041356
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COKE
COMBUSTION
DENSITY
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
IN-SITU PROCESSING
NONMETALS
OIL WELLS
OXIDATION
OXYGEN
PETROLEUM
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
STIMULATION
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TIME DEPENDENCE
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS