US 4,227,743 AGranted

Method of thermal-mine recovery of oil and fluent bitumens

OwnerLeonid M. Ruzin, Jury A. Spiridonov +3inventors

InventorsLeonid M. Ruzin, Jury A. Spiridonov, Gennady S. Chuprov, Boris A. Tjunkin, Vladimir P. Tabakov

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Abstract

The method of thermal-mine recovery of oil and fluent bitumens or kerogens includes providing a system of mine workings above an oil-bearing formation and drilling from these workings and from the ground surface a series of injection wells into the oil-bearing formation. An operation gallery is provided within the oil-bearing formation, from which a system of horizontal and inclined recovery wells is drilled. Then a heat carrier is positively injected into the oil-bearing formation to heat it to a temperature whereat the oil attains the required fluidity within the formation. Then a fluid is charged into the formation to force the oil from the oil-bearing formation into the horizontal and inclined recovery wells, toward the operation gallery, from which the oil is directed to the ground surface. The improvement of the method resides in that the heat carrier is injected into the formation through the horizontal and inclined recovery wells extending substantially across the predominant direction of the highly permeable zones of the oil-bearing formation, and, following the heating of the formation to the abovesaid temperature, the injection of the heat carrier is terminated, and the fluid is charged into the injection wells having minimized association with the highly permeable zones of the oil-bearing formation, to force the oil from the oil-bearing formation through the recovery wells toward the recovery gallery.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A method of thermal-mine recovery of oil and fluent bitumens, which comprises

providing a system of mine working overlying an oilbearing formation;
drilling from said mine working and from the ground surface a plurality of injection wells adapted for charging a pressurized fluid therethrough into the oil-bearing formation;
providing a slope and a man way in the area of the oil-bearing formation, where the provision of a recovery gallery is envisaged;
providing the recovery gallery in this area of the oil-bearing formation;
drilling from said recovery gallery a system of horizontal and inclined oil recovery wells which are separate from the injection wells;
charging a heat carrier into the recovery wells extending substantially across the dominating direction of the highly permeable zones of the oil-bearing formation, for uniform distribution thereof throughout the volume of the oil-bearing formation and for heating the latter to a temperature at which the oil acquires sufficient fluidity within the oil-bearing formation;
terminating the charging of the heat-carrier into said recovery walls upon the oil-bearing formation having attained the said temperature;
charging a pressurized fluid into the injection wells which are separate from the recovery wells and minimally associated with the highly permeable zones of the oil-bearing formation, to thereby directly supply the pressurized fluid through the injection wells into and to force oil from the oil-bearing formation into said horizontal and inclined recovery wells, toward said recovery gallery;
and
withdrawing oil from said recovery gallery to the ground surface.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.