System and method for superheated working fluid injection into a well
AssigneeEmpire Petroleum Corporation
InventorsPhil E. Mulacek, William J. West, Terrance L. Strickland
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fluid heater may include an inlet operable to receive a working fluid at a first temperature, a heat exchanger coupled to the inlet and operable to heat the working fluid to a second temperature, a burner operable to supply heat to the heat exchanger, and an outlet operable to receive the heated working fluid and inject the heated working fluid into a hydrocarbon wellbore to reduce a viscosity of the hydrocarbon. The heated working fluid at the outlet may be pressurized to a pressure above atmospheric pressure, and the second temperature may be higher than a boiling point of the working fluid at atmospheric pressure.
Claims15
A method for enhancing hydrocarbon recovery from a hydrocarbon reservoir, the method comprising:
- a. pumping a working fluid through a once-through flow path heating element to produce superheated working fluid, wherein said working fluid is subject to both convection and radiative heating within said heating element, and wherein said heating element comprises a plurality of coils that are designed with selected alloys, internal diameter, outer diameter, wall thickness, and coil length to achieve Re=2,500-10,000;
- and
- b. injecting said superheated working fluid into a hydrocarbon-bearing formation through a wellbore as a working fluid injection flow, wherein said wellbore comprises a wellhead;
- and
- c. configuring a supervisory control and data acquisition system to cause injection within an envelope of injection pressures up to 3,000 psi and outlet steam temperatures between 260° C. and 650° C., with a steam fraction of at least 30%.
A system for enhancing hydrocarbon recovery from a hydrocarbon reservoir comprising:
- a. a heating element comprising a fuel-fired burner, heat exchanger comprising a plurality of coils designed with selected alloys, internal diameter, outer diameter, wall thickness, and coil length to achieve Re=2,500-10,000, and an inlet and an outlet wherein a working fluid is directed to said heating element through said inlet, flows through said heat exchanger coils, and flows out of said heating element through said outlet;
- b. a working fluid holding tank wherein said holding tank is in fluid communication with said inlet and wherein said working fluid is directed to said heat exchanger and pressured at said inlet such that said working fluid exits said outlet at 2:80% vapor fraction and superheated up to 260° C. and is injected into a hydrocarbon-bearing formation through a wellbore;
- c. a plurality of analyzers and sensors on or in said heating element and said working fluid holding tank that gather operational data;
- d. a data acquisition unit communicatively coupled to said plurality of analyzers and sensors and comprising a programmable logic controller to receive signals from said plurality of analyzers and sensors and to execute predetermined control logic for managing said heat exchanger and fuel-fired
- d. burner;
- and
- e. a centralized control interface comprising at least one human-machine interface that displays real-time operational data and a data historian.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.