US 8,893,788 B2Granted

Enhanced permeability subterranean fluid recovery system and methods

AssigneeAlberta Innovates - Technology Futures

InventorsCathal Tunney, Techien Chen, Douglas A. Lillico, Justo Neda

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Abstract

A system for recovering a fluid from a subterranean formation, including a production wellbore having a substantially horizontal production length extending through the formation, and a trench extending through the formation. A method of constructing a trench section in a subterranean formation, including providing within the formation an access wellbore having a substantially horizontal access wellbore length, introducing a trench cutting tool into the access wellbore, and advancing and retracting the trench cutting tool through the access wellbore in order to cut slots in the formation in a trench direction away from the access wellbore, repeatedly until a number of slots required to complete the trench section has been cut.

Claims30

Dependent claims

A system for recovering a fluid from a subterranean formation, the system comprising:

(a) a production wellbore comprising a substantially horizontal production length which extends through the formation at a production length elevation;
(b) a trench extending through the formation, wherein the trench has an upper trench edge, a lower trench edge and a trench length, wherein the upper trench edge is higher than the lower trench eche wherein the trench is substantially planar, and wherein the upper trench edge, the lower trench edge and the trench length define a trench plane;
and
(c) an injection wellbore comprising a substantially horizontal injection length which extends through the formation at an injection length elevation and wherein the injection length elevation is higher than the production length elevation.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.