Oil recovery process
AssigneeShell Oil Company
InventorsHarold J. Vinegar, Eric P. De Rouffignac, Carlos A. Glandt, Thomas Mikus, Mark A. Beckemeier
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Abstract
A process to recover oil is provided wherein an oil containing subterranean formation is heated by conductive heat transfer. The high temperature levels of this process result in high recoveries of initial oil in place, and recovery of the oil within a short time period. This process is particularly applicable to diatomite formations that have low permeabilities.
Claims20
A process to recover oil from a subterranean diatomite or oil shale formation, the process comprising the steps of:
- providing heat injection means extending essentially through the formation, the heat injection means effective to provide heat in at least one plane, the plane being essentially perpendicular to the direction of the minimum principal stress;
- providing production wells extending into the formation;
- fracturing the formation from the production wells;
- injecting heat into the formation from the heat injection means thereby driving hydrocarbons away from the heat injection means and toward the production wells;
- and
- producing from the production wells hydrocarbons that have been driven away from the heat injection means wherein the heat injection means comprise a plurality of heat injection wellbores provided along a plane perpendicular to the minimum formation stress, and the plurality of oil production wells are provided on each side of the plane which contains the heat injection wellbores.
An apparatus to recover hydrocarbons from a subterranean diatomite or oil shale formation, the apparatus comprising:
- a) a hydraulically fractured production well;
- b) a plurality of heat injection wellbores extending from a surface wellhead to within the formation;
- c) a gas fired burner within the heat injection wellbores, the fuel gas fired burners capable of heating the formation adjacent to the heat injection wellbores wherein combustion is distributed over the length of the heat injection wellbores within the formation;
- d) a means to provide a gas composition for combustion within the gas fired burner that does not form carbon deposits wherein the gas fired burner comprises a conduit within the wellbores for directing a flow of combustion air to a lower portion of the wellbores, a conduit within the wellbores for directing a fuel gas to a plurality of release points where a portion of the fuel gas mixes with combustion gas rising from the lower portion of the wellbores, and a conduit within the wellbores for directing combustion gases from the lower portion of the wellbore to the surface wellhead that is in communication with the combustion air conduit in the lower portion of the wellbores.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.