Fruitvale Field fireflooded
In October 1980, a Gulf engineer started a propane pump and opened a valve to send propane and igniter fluid down a string of high strength titanium tubing 1/4 in. In OD to the 3500-ft level in Gulf's Northwest Fruitvale Unit No. 2 on Sec. 15, 29S-27E in Kern County, California's Fruitvale oil field. Down the hole, the igniter fluid, tri-ethyl borane, reacted with air injected into the well through regular 2-7/8-in. tubing to ignite the propane in a 20-ft long burner 1 hr 25 min after initiation of the startup action on the surface. The heat from the burner - approximately 800 to 1200 - in turn set on fire an approximate 15-ft thick section of oil sand. The action marked the beginning of the first fireflood in the Fruitvale Field. Located immediately west of Bakersfield, the field was discovered in 1928 by a predecessor of Gulf. It has produced 107 million bbl of oil. If the Gulf project is successful and if fireflooding ultimately is expanded to include the entire field, engineers believe it could result in recovery of as much as 400 million bbl of oil.
- OSTI ID:
- 6320031
- Journal Information:
- Drilling Contract.; (United States), Vol. 36:12
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CALIFORNIA
OIL FIELDS
OIL WELLS
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
ENHANCED RECOVERY
GAS INJECTION
INJECTION WELLS
OIL SANDS
ORGANIC BORON COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PRODUCTION
PROPANE
PUMPS
WELL STIMULATION
ALKANES
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION IX
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HYDROCARBONS
IN-SITU PROCESSING
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
RESOURCES
STIMULATION
THERMAL RECOVERY
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
WELLS
040401* - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- In Situ Methods
True & Modified