In-situ steam drive oil recovery process

Patent · Tue Feb 03 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:7062879

Vanmeurs, P; Waxman, M H; Vinegar, H J

A process is described for heating a subterranean oil and water-containing reservoir formation, comprising: completing at least one each of heat-injecting and fluid-producing wells into a treatment interval of the formation which is at least about 100 feet thick, contains both oil and water, and is both undesirably impermeable and non-productive in response to injections of oil recovery fluids; arranging the wells to have boreholes which, substantially throughout the treatment interval, are substantially parallel and are separated by substantially equal distances of at least about 20 feet; in each heat-injecting well, substantially throughout the treatment interval, sealing the face of the reservoir formation with a solid material which is relatively heat-conductive and substantially fluid impermeable; in each fluid-producing well, substantially throughout the treatment interval, establishing fluid communication between the wellbore and the reservoir formation and arranging the well for producing fluid from the reservoir formation; and heating the interior of each heat-injecting well, at least substantially throughout the treatment interval, at a rate or rates capable of (a) increasing the temperature within the borehole interior to at least about 600/sup 0/C. and (b) maintaining a borehole interior temperature of at least about 600/sup 0/C. without causing it to become high enough to thermally damage equipment within the borehole while heat is being transmitted away from the borehole at a rate not significantly faster than that permitted by the thermal conductivity of the reservoir formation.

• Assignee: Shell Oil Co., Houston, TX
• Patent Number(s): US 4640352
• OSTI ID: 7062879
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
BOREHOLES
CAVITIES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GROUND WATER
HEATING
HIGH TEMPERATURE
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INJECTION WELLS
OIL WELLS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERMEABILITY
PETROLEUM
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RECOVERY
SEALS
STEAM INJECTION
STIMULATION
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
WATER
WELL COMPLETION
WELL SPACING
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS