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Methodofoilrecoverybyinsitucombustion
US3024841A
ABSTRACTavailablein

IMAGES (3)

Publicationnumber
Publicationtype
Publicationdate
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US3024841A
Grant
Mar13,1962
Jul30,1958
Jul30,1958

Inventors

WillmanBertramT

OriginalAssignee

JerseyProdResCo

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BiBTeX,EndNote,RefMan

PatentCitations(8),Referencedby(13),Classifications(5)
ExternalLinks:USPTO,USPTOAssignment,Espacenet

DESCRIPTION(OCRtextmaycontainerrors)

CLAIMSavailablein

PatentedFriar.13,1962hee3,024,841METHOD075Oil.RECOVERYBYIN
STTUCGMBUSTIQNBertramT.Willman,Tulsa,Okla,assignortoJerseyProductionResearchCompany,acorporationof
DelawareNoDrawing.FiledJuly30,1958,Ser.No.751,8202Claims.(Cl.16641)Thisinventionrelatestotherecoveryof
oilandgasfromundergroundreservoirs,andmoreparticularlytoanimprovedprocessfortherecoveryofsuchoilandgas
fromoilbearingformationsbyinsitucombustionofaportionthereof.Theinventionisespeciallyconcernedwithan
undergroundretortingprocesswhichinvolvestheinjectionofalimitedbankofwaterintothesubterraneanoilreservoirprior
totheinitiationofcombustion.Bythismeansthereisprovidedaprocesswhereinexcessiveformationofcokebytheinsitu
combustionfrontismarkedlyreduced.Thepreventionofexcessivecokelaydown,addsgreatlytotheutilityofthemethod
asthecombustionprocessthuscanbeoperatedwiththeinjectionofaminimumamountofcombustionsupportinggas.
Costlyaircompressionrequirementsduringthepracticeofinsitucombustionaretherebysubstantiallyreduced.
Itiswellknownthatprimaryorconventionalsystemsofrecoveringandproducingoilandgasfromundergroundreservoirs
veryseldomresultintherecoveryofmorethanfortypercentoftheoiloriginallyinplaceinthereservoirs.Numerous
secondaryrecoverymethodsinvolvingWaterflooding,agasorWaterdrive,gasrepressuring,andthelikehavebeenusedin
anefforttoobtainagreaterproportionoftheoil.Pressuremaintenanceprojectsformaintainingreservoirpressureata
preselectedlevelbyinjectionofgas,waterorotherfluidaswellasvariouscyclingprojectshavealsobeentried.Although
suchmethodshavebeenofvalueinincreasingtheultimaterecoveryofoilandgasfrommanyundergroundreservoirs,itis
wellknownthatsuchmethodsdonotresultinrecoveryofalltheoilinthereservoir.Thishasbeenespeciallytrueinthe
caseofreservoirscontainingviscousoilswhererecoveryhasbeenparticularlylowcomparedwiththatinvolvinglightoils.
Sincetheveryearlydaysofproductionofoilfromsubterraneanformations,thermalmethodsforimprovingrecoveriesby
loweringviscosityandthroughdistillationandcrackinghavebeenproposed.Oneofthemostpromisingofthesehasbeen
theinsitucombustionmethodwhichischaracterizedbypropagationofahightemperaturezonecoupledwithaninternal
combustionwavefrontwithintheoilbearingformation.ThehightemperatureZoneisexpandedinarelativelyhorizontal
directionwithintheformationinsuchamannerastosweepoutresidualoilbyforceofaheattransmissivegasflow.Sucha
combustionwavefrontisgeneratedwithintheformationandthenmaintainedinrelationtothehightemperaturezoneorheat
transferwavesoastocontinuouslyrevivifytheheatcontentoftheexpandinghotzone.Asinjectedgasflowsthroughthe
formationfromaninjectionwelltothezoneofcombustion,itisheatedbycontactwithrockasitapproachestheburning
zone.Whenthetemperatureofthegasstreamflowingthroughtheporousformationreachesignitiontemperaturelevel,
combustionoffuelwithoxygeninthegasstreamoccurswiththereleaseofheat.Asthehotgasstreampassesthroughthe
combustionzoneintothecoolerrockformationsinthedirectionoftheproductionWell,thegasesarecooledbydirect
contactwiththerockformation.Thistransferofheatfromtherearmosttotheforemostportionofthecombustionzone
resultsintheforwardadvanceofthezoneofhightemperatures.
Thus,theinsitucombustionprocessdependsonthefactthatasthehotzonemovesforwardthroughtheporousformation,
residualoilisvaporized,withtheheaviestfractionsundergoingaformofretorting.Theresultingvaporsarecarriedbythe

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gasstreamintothecoolerportionsoftheformationaheadofthecombustionzonewheretheyarecondensedanddriven
forwardbytheactionoftheflowinggas.Amixtureofgas,oil,andwaterenterstheproductionwellandreachesthesurface
asagasstreamcontainingentraineddropletsofoilandwater.
Ithasbeenknownthatatemperatureinthecombustionzoneoftheorderof800F.isrequiredtoeffectthecombustionof
naturalgasinanundergroundformation.Atemperatureofapproximately1000F.isadequatetoobtainsubstantially
completecombustionofnaturalgas.Withhydrocarbonfuelsofhighmolecularweight,however,lowertemperatureshave
beensatisfactorilyemployed.Forexample,attemperaturesof500to600F.residualoilfractionswillburnatahighrate.
Consequently,ithasbecomedesirabletooperatecombustionprocesseswithouttheadditionofnaturalgasorother
extraneousfuelstotheinjectedgasstream,byusingaportionoftheoilcontainedinthereservoirtofuelthecombustion
process.Thefactthatinsuchaprocess,carbonaceousfuelisdepositedintheporousformationbyretortingoftheresidual
oilinplacehasheretoforebeenrecognizedandingeneraltheeffecthasbeenthoughtofasbeingadvantageousasmostof
theheatrequirementsforacombustionprocesscanbesuppliedbythecombustionofthesolidcarbonaceousmatterformed
aheadofthecombustionzone.
Ithasbeenfoundthataircompressionrequirementsduringthepracticeofinsitucombustionprocessesaredirectlyrelated
totheamountofpetroleumcokeformedaheadofthecombustionzone.carbonaceousfuelwhichisdepositedinthe
reservoirmustbecompletelyburnedoutbeforethecombustionfrontcanelfectivelyadvance.Heretofore,fieldexperience
hasindicatedthattheamountofcokeformedinmanycases,particularlywithheavyoils,hasbeeninexcessoftheamount
requiredtosupplyfuelfortheprocess.Thisnotonlyhasresultedinreductionofoilrecoverybytheamountofexcesscoke
formed,buthasgreatlyincreasedthecostofoperatingtheprocessbyreasonofthelargevolumesofcompressedair
requiredtoburntheexcesscokeandadvancethecombustionzone.Thepresentinventionobviatestheseandother
disadvantagesofthepriorartandprovidesanovelcombustionprocesswhereinexcessivecokeformationismarkedly
reduced.Further,theprocessofthepresentinventionprovidesincreasedrecoveryoftheoilcontainedintheformationby
effectingincreasedsteamdistillationoftheresidualoil.Theprocessisofparticularutilityasitcanbeemployedatgreatly
reducedcostandatthesametimeprovidesforincreasedrecovery.
Briefly,thepresentinventionprovidesamethodofrecoveringoilandgasfromasubterraneanoilbearingreservoirwhichhas
beenpenetratedbyaninjectionwellandaspacedproductionwellwhichcomprisesinjectingintherangeof0.05to0.55
porevolumeofwaterthroughtheinjectionwellintothereservoirtoformalimitedwaterbanktherein.andthenestablishinga
combustionfrontwithinthereservoirbyinitiatingcombustionoftheoilthereininalimitedzoneinthevicinityoftheboreof
theinjectionwell.Thehightemperaturecombustionfrontthereafterisexpandedinarelativelyhorizontaldirectionwithinthe
formationbyconventionalmeanswhichinvolveinjectingacombustionsupportinggasthroughtheinjectionwellintothe
reservoiratapressuresufiicienttoadvancethecombustionfronttowardtheproductionwell,therebysweepingoutresidual
oilbyforceoftheheattransmissivegasflow.
Followingtherapidinjectionofthelimitedbankofwater,thereispropagatedahightemperaturezonewithintheformation.
Thiscanbeaccomplished,forexample,byforcinghotcombustiongasesintothereservoirforaperiodoftimesufficientto
heatupthesurroundingsandstructureandtoproducegasand/oroilflowfromoneormorenearbyproductionwells.Whena
hightemperaturezoneintherangeof500to1200P.whichsurroundstheinjectionwellforaconsiderabledistancehasbeen
established,ignitioncanbediscontinued,andthemovementoftheheatzonehorizontallyoutoftheformationcanbe
achievedbyinjectingcoldcombustionsupportinggasesthroughtheinjectionwell.
Inapreferredembodimentofthepresentprocess,intherangeof0.05to0.20porevolumeofwaterisinjectedintoa
subterraneanoilreservoirpriortoinitiationoftheinsitucombustionoilrecoveryprocess.Theinjectionoftheabovevolume
ofwaterprovidesalimitedwaterbankwithintheoilstratum,sufficienttoprovideefficientsteamdistillationandvaporization
oftheoilaheadofthecombustionfront.Bythisnovelmethod,subsequentexcessiveformationofcokebythecombustion
frontissubstantiallyreduced.Theamountofwaterutilizedinthisprocessdependstosomeextentontheamountof
connatewaterpresentintheformation.Thisboundwaterassociatedwiththeformationwillgenerallyoccupyintherangeof
0.05to0.50oftheporevolume.WhentheamountofconnateWaterislow,thequantityofinjectedwatermost
advantageouslyusedwillbegreaterthanwithhighconnatewaterreservoirs.Broadly,anamountofwaterintherangeof
0.05to0.55porevolumecanbeinjectedadvantageously.
Theprocessinaccordancewiththepresentinventioncanbeemployedeffectivelyinanypartiallydepletedoilbearing
formation.Preferably,however,itispracticedintheproductionofheavyviscouscrudesconsistingessentiallyof
hydrocarbonoilshavingviscositiesinexcessofabout25centipoisesatreservoirtemperatureandpressure.Heavyoilfields
typicallyhavehighinitialoilsaturation,lowprimaryrecovery,andarenotparticularlysuitedforcommonsecondaryrecovery
methods.Itisafurtherfeatureofthepresentinventionthattheprocesscanbeadvantageouslyemployedwithsuchheavy
crudesasaprimaryrecoveryprocess.
Oilfieldstowhichthemethodofthisinventionisapplicablearepreferablythoseinwhichtheoilbearingstratumtobeso
treatedisdeepenoughthatsufficientoverburdenexiststopermitinjectionofairatsatisfactoryratesyetshallowenoughto
avoidexcessivelyhighwelldrillingcosts.Mostadvantageously,thisprocessofrecoveryisappliedtooilbearingstratalying
intherangeof200to5000feetbelowthesurfaceoftheearth.Theoilbearingformationpreferablyisonewhichhasanet

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thicknessintherangeofto100feet,andbarriersofshaleorothermaterialofsufficientthicknessaboveandbelowthe
intervaltopreventverticalgascommunicationtootherzones.
Byappropriateconventionaltechniquescombustioncanbeinitiatedinreservoirsoftheabovethicknessinthevicinityofthe
injectionwelltoestablisharelativelyuniformcombustionfront,asbytheuseofelectricalheatingorsparkingdevices,
thermitorphosphorusdepositedintheborehole,burningoffuelandairatthebottomofthewell,orspontaneous
combustion,andthelike.
Thepresentprocessisgenerallyoperatedattemperaturesintherangeof450to2000F.Excellentrecoveryiseffectedat
operatingtemperaturesintherangeof500to1200F.Onlyweakcombustionoccursbelow500F.,theupperlimitbeing
establishedbythefusionorsinteringtemperatureofthestructurewhichisordinarilysomewhatabove2000F.Incipient
sinteringbelowthefusiontemperatureseldomaffectspermeabilityadversely.
Initially,thelimitedwaterbankisinjectedintotheformationatasandfacepressure,forexample,intherangeof0.5to1.0
psi/footofdepth.Suitablewaterinjectionmeansarewellknownintheartandneednofurtherdescription.Thereafter,ahigh
temperaturefrontispropagatedwithintheformationandcombustiongaseswhichresultareforcedintotheporousoilbearing
stratumforalengthoftimesuflicienttoraisethetemperatureofthelargebodyofsandsurroundingthewelltoatemperature
abovetheignitiontemperatureoftheresidualoil.Becausethestrataoverlyingandunderlyingoilbearingformationsare
imperviousWhiletheformationisrelativelypermeable,thereareessentiallynoheatlossesbyconvection.Somelossesby
conductiondooccurbuttheyarenotexcessivebecauseofthelowthermalconductivitiesofshaleandothermaterials
commonlyfoundasboundingstrata.Moreoversomeoftheseheatlossescanbereturnedtotheformationandpickedup
againbythecoldgasflow.
Thegasdrivepressurewillvaryaccordingtothedistancebetweenproductionandinjectionwells,thethicknessand
permeabilityoftheoilbearingstratum,andtheoilandwatercontentoftheformation.Similarly,thequantityofgas
introducedwillbeaffectedbythedesiredpressure,temperatureoftheinputair,andtheconditionsandheatcapacityofthe
oilbearingstratum.Pressuresinaccordancewiththepresentprocessaremoderateand,ofcourse,areultimatelylimitedby
theoverburden.Preferably,injectionandformationpressuresaremaintainedaslowaspossibletominimizecompression
costsandtofavorlargevolumeofgasandwaterintheformationtostriptheoilofalldistillablecomponents.Inorderto
obtainavailableoilrecoverywithasinglepattern,itisdesirablethatwellsbeabletoproduceatratesaboutequaltotherate
ofoildisplacement.Forthisreasonwellstimulationmaybenecessaryinordertomaintainadequateoilrates.
Ashasbeenstatedabove,themethodofrecoveringoilandgasfromasubterraneanreservoirinaccordancewiththe
presentinventionisparticularlyapplicabletoheavyoilfields.Typicallysuchfieldshavehighinitialoilsaturation,lowprimary
recovery,andarenotwellsuitedforcommonsecondaryrecoverymethods.Itisafeatureofthisinventionthattheprocess
whichhasbeendiscoveredadvantageouslycanbeappliedasaprimaryrecoverymeansforreservoirscontainingaheavy
crude,thatis,ahighlyviscouspetroleumoil,asubstantialportionofwhichcomprisesheavyoilshavingviscositiesin
excessofabout25centipoisesatreservoirtemperatureandpressure.
Inoneembodimentofthepresentinvention,theprocessisemployedinasecondaryrecoveryoperationwhereoldwells,
drilled,forexample,infivespotpattern,canbeutilized.Atthestartoftheoperationintherangeof0.05to0.20porevolume
ofwaterisrapidlyinjectedintotheoilbearingstratum.Combustionisthenstartedbyburningfuelwithairandlaterrecycled
gastogivetemperaturesofcombustionofabout1200F.to2000F.until,forexample,intheorderof180,000,000cubicfeet
perwelloftotalgashavebeenputin.Tointroducecombustiongasintotheformation,highpressureburnersarelowered
throughtheWellcasingstoformationlevel.Theburnersareofconventionaldesignandcompriseanelongatedcombustion
chambertowhichfuelgasandprimaryairareseparatelyintroducedthroughconcentricpipingbymeansofamixingplate.
Thegaseousmixturecanbeignitedbyasparkplugcentrallylocatedinthemixingplate.Theinnergaslineandouterpipe
areextendedtothesurfacewithordinarypipingandprimaryairandfuelgasaresuppliedinapproximatelytheoretical
proportionforperfectcombustion.Secondaryairtodilutethecombustiongasesandcontroltheflametemperaturesis
admittedthroughtheoilwellcasingaroundtheburnertubingandthecombustionchamber.Fuelisburnedataratein
suflicientquantityforheatreleaseapproximating500,000B.t.u.perhouruntilcombustionwithinthereservoirisinitiated.
Thereafter,theburnercanbeextinguishedandacoldairdrivemaintainedwithoutburningextraneousfuelordepositing
excessivecoke.
Whilenotfullyunderstood,itisbelievedthatintheprocesswhichhasbeendiscovered,thelimitedbankofWatermoves
aheadofthecombustionzonebyalternatevaporizationandcondensation.Thelimitedbankofwateristhenbelievedto
supplementthenaturalreservoirwaterandpermitanefiicientandessentiallycompletesteamdistillationofthereservoiroil
aheadofthecombustionfront.Thus,thereisasubstantialreductionintheamountofresidualheavyoilfromthesteam
distillation.Itisthisresidualoilwhichinconventionalcombustionprocessesisbelievedtobepartiallyorwhollyconvertedto
cokebythecomplicatedcrackingandpolymerizationreactionswhichoccurwithinthecombustionzoneitself.Becausethe
majorcostoftheinsitucombustionprocessesofthepriorartisinvolvedintheaircompressionrequirements,thepresent
process,whichprovidesforaconsiderablereductionintheamountofcoke,resultsinmorefavorableeconomicsas
considerablylessairisrequired.Atthesametime,theprocessincreasestheoilrecoverybytheamountofexcesscoke
whichispreventedfromformingbytheinstanttechnique.Thus,itisseenthatthemethoddisclosedhereinhaseconomic

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advantagesovermethodsutilizedinpriorinsitucombustionoperations.Byeliminatingexcesscokingitisseenthata
considerablesavingsismadeintheamountofhighcostcompressedairrequiredintheconventionalinsitucombustion
process.Thereislessoilburnedinthereservoirandthereforemoreoilwhichcanbeultimatelyrecovered.
Withsuchalargenumberofvariables,itisnotpossibletospecifyanysinglesetofconditionswhichisoptimumforcarrying
onanimprovedcombustionoperationina'givenreservoirinaccordancewiththepresentinvention.Intheforegoing,
however,anattempthasbeenmadetoindicatetheinterrelationofsomeofthesevariablessothatsomeideacanbegained
astohowvariationofeachmaybeexpectedtoaffecttheprogressofanundergroundcombustionoperationcarriedout
accordingtotheteachinggivenherein.Accordingly,modificationsoftheprocesswillbereadilyapparenttothoseskilledin
theart,andthescopeoftheinventionshouldnot,therefore,beconsideredtobelimitedtothespecificdetailssetforth.
Whatisclaimedis:
1.Animprovedoilrecoveryprocesswhichconsistsessentiallyofinjectingfromabout0.05toabout0.55porevolumeof
waterintoanmndergroundoilbearingreservoirtoformaWaterbankaboutaninjectionwellpenetratingsaidreservoir,
establishingacombustionfrontinsaidreservoirbehindsaidwaterbankbyinitiatingcombustionofcrudeoilinthe
immediatevicinityofsaidinjectionwell,injectingacombustionsupportinggasintosaidreservoirthroughsaidinjectionwell
toadvancesaidcombustionfrontandWaterbanktowardaproductionwellpenetratingsaidreservoirandsecuresteam
distillationofcrudeoilinadvanceofsaidwaterbank,andrecoveringoil,gasandwaterfromsaidreservoirthroughsaid
productionwell.
2.Aprocessasdefinedbyclaim1whereinfromabout0.05toabout0.20porevolumeofWaterisinjectedintosaid
reservoirtoformsaidwaterbank.
ReferencesCitedinthefileofthispatentUNITEDSTATESPATENTS2,390,770BartonDec.11,19452,584,606Merriam
etal.Feb.5,19522,642,943Smithetal.June23,19532,780,449Fishereta1.Feb.5,19572,796,132BruceJune18,
19572,839,141WalterJune17,19582,917,296PrentissDec.15.1959FOREIGNPATENTS696,524GreatBritainSept.2,
1953

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US3170515*

Jun12,1961

Feb23,1965

JerseyProdResCo

Insitucombustionprocess
Methodofforwardinsitucombustionutilizingairwaterinjection
mixtures

US3171479*

Apr30,1962

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PanAmericanPetroleum
Corp

US3275076*

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MobilOilCorp

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Methodofhydrocarbonrecoverybyinsitucombustion

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*Citedbyexaminer

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CLASSIFICATIONS
U.S.Classification

166/261

InternationalClassification

E21B43/243,E21B43/16

CooperativeClassification

E21B43/243

EuropeanClassification

E21B43/243

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