Title: Technology for heavy oil and bitumen recovery with low water cut

Authors: Evgueny Nikolaevich Alexandrov; Z. Koller

Addresses: TCTM Limited, Industriestrasse 26, POB 551, 9491 Ruggell, Liechtenstein. ' TCTM Limited, Industriestrasse 26, POB 551, 9491 Ruggell, Liechtenstein

Abstract: The core of the technology resides in the reduction of oil viscosity and the respective production rate increase under the condition of oil layer heating. It is known, for example, that the heating of the layer with heavy oil up to 100°C theoretically leads to a 15 to 20 times production rate increase. The technology works on the principle of controlled automated continuous pumping of highly exotermic chemicals into the bore hole through separate channels. Reaction runs mostly in a productive layer and the well itself is cooled by chemicals and is not damaged. The decomposition of chemicals releases huge amounts of gases, what creates long and wide fractures. Heating of 1 cubic metre of formation by 100 K gives 1 cubic metre of oil. The technology can be used efficiently on heavily watered oil wells especially when air is used for slow oxidising of oil and supercritical conditions of water are reached.

Keywords: binary mixtures; hydrocarbon recovery technology; high water cut; bitumen recovery; highly exotermic binary mixture compositions; thermal stimulation; thermal gas emitting compositions; TGEC; reaction initiators; reaction stabilisers; super-critical conditions; heavy oil recovery; oil viscosity; oil wells.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETP.2012.046566

International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy, 2012 Vol.8 No.2, pp.174 - 181

Published online: 27 Aug 2014 *

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