Claims
- 1. A method for producing petroleum from a subterranean formation of intractable petroleum, said method comprising:
- (1) constructing and operating a local visbreaking unit above the subterranean formation;
- (2) starting production of intractable petroleum from the subterranean formation by: (a) injecting a start-up injection fluid obtained from a source other than intractable petroleum production from the local visbreaking unit, (b) obtaining an initial portion of intractable petroleum from, the subterranean formation and (c) introducing the initial portion of the intractable petroleum from the subterranean formation into the local visbreaking unit;
- (3) visbreaking the initial portion of petroleum recovered from the subterranean formation in order to obtain a first portion of a medium/heavy cracked gas oil fractionated by the visbreaking unit in a temperature range of from about 400.degree. F. to about 1000.degree. F. and having a UOP K Factor between about 10.0 and about 10.8;
- (4) injecting, in the form of a hot liquid having a temperature from about 400.degree. F. to about 1000.degree. F. and by means of an injection well penetrating said subterranean formation, at least a part of the first portion of medium/heavy cracked gas oil having a UOP K Factor between about 10.0 and about 10.8 in order to impinge upon and melt a subsequent portion of the intractable petroleum and thereby forming a resulting hot, mobile, mixture of medium/heavy cracked gas oil and melted petroleum;
- (5) recovering the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of medium/heavy cracked gas oil and melted petroleum from the subterranean formation;
- (6) introducing the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of medium/heavy cracked gas oil and melted petroleum into the visbreaking unit in order to obtain a second portion of medium/heavy cracked distillate gas oil having a temperature between about 400.degree. F. and about 1000.degree. F. and a UOP K Factor between about 10.0 and about 10.8; and
- (7) injecting at least a part of the second portion of medium/heavy cracked gas oil into the subterranean formation in order to melt and recover subsequent portions of the intractable petroleum.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the start-up injection fluid is of a different chemical species and has a different UOP K Factor than the medium/heavy cracked gas oil recovered from the local visbreaking unit.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the start-up injection fluid is a medium/heavy cracked gas oil of the same chemical species as, and having substantially the same UOP K as, a medium/heavy cracked gas oil recovered from a visbreaking unit other than the local visbreaking unit.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the medium/heavy cracked gas oil is injected into the injection well at temperatures ranging from about 400.degree. F. to about 1000.degree. F. and at pressures ranging from about 100 PSIG to about 2,000 PSIG.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of medium/heavy cracked gas oil and melted petroleum is recovered via an injection well.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of medium/heavy cracked gas oil and melted petroleum are recovered via an injection well which is comprised of an injection pipe centrally positioned in a pipe having a larger diameter to define an annulus through which the resulting hot, mobile, mixture is recovered.
- 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of medium/heavy cracked gas oil and melted petroleum is recovered via an offset recovery well.
- 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of medium/heavy cracked gas oil and melted petroleum is recovered via two or more offset recovery wells.
- 9. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields a noncondensible fuel gas which is used to fuel the visbreaking unit.
- 10. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields a noncondensible fuel gas in quantities sufficient to meet the fuel requirements of the visbreaking unit and to provide a noncondensible fuel gas product for local sale.
- 11. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields a noncondensible fuel gas from which hydrogen is produced and then employed to cleanse distillate products yielded from said visbreaking unit.
- 12. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields a volatile cracked naphtha which is transferred to a complete refining facility for further processing and incorporation into a commercial motor fuel.
- 13. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields a light cracked intermediate distillate product which is transferred to a complete refining facility for further processing and incorporation into a fuel product.
- 14. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields medium/heavy cracked distillate gas oil which is locally blended with a heavy cracked residual product of the visbreaking operation in order to make a heavy residual industrial fuel.
- 15. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields medium/heavy cracked gas oil, in excess of injection requirements, which is transported to a complete refining facility for further processing and sale.
- 16. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields saturated and unsaturated C.sub.3 and C.sub.4 hydrocarbons which are sold locally as a LPG product.
- 17. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields saturated and unsaturated C.sub.3 and C.sub.4 hydrocarbon products which are transported to a complete refining facility for further processing and sale.
- 18. The method of claim 1 wherein operation of the visbreaking unit yields products whose sensible heats are combined with convection heat produced by a local cracking furnace to produce steam and electricity locally.
- 19. The method of claim 1 wherein an existing well into the subterranean formation is used as the injection well.
- 20. The method of claim 1 wherein the medium/heavy cracked gas oil injected into the subterranean formation is supplemented by compressed air.
- 21. The method of claim 1 wherein the medium/heavy cracked gas oil injected into the subterranean formation is supplemented by hot water.
- 22. The method of claim 1 wherein the medium/heavy cracked gas oil injected into the subterranean formation is supplemented by steam.
- 23. The method of claim 1 wherein the medium/heavy cracked gas oil injected into the subterranean formation is supplemented by a residual product of the visbreaking unit.
- 24. A method for starting production of petroleum from a subterranean formation of intractable petroleum, said method comprising:
- (1) constructing and operating a local visbreaking unit above the subterranean formation;
- (2) drilling and completing an injection well to the subterranean formation of intractable petroleum;
- (3) introducing a smaller concentric pipe into the injection well to define an annular space between the outside of the smaller concentric pipe and the inside of the well through which fluids can rise in the well;
- (4) preheating the well by flooding the annular space with a hot, mobile, injection fluid and starting production of petroleum from the subterranean formation by:
- (a) injecting a start-up hot, mobile, injection fluid into the smaller concentric pipe in order to impinge said fluid upon an exposed surface of the intractable petroleum and thereby forming a resulting hot, mobile, mixture of injection fluid and melted petroleum;
- (b) recovering the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of injection fluid and melted petroleum from the subterranean formation by continuous injection of the injection fluid into the smaller concentric pipe and continuous recovery of the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of starter fluid and melted petroleum through the annular space;
- (c) progressively lowering the smaller concentric pipe in the well in order to attack progressively more distant regions of the intractable petroleum and hence progressively increasing volumes of the subterranean formation which are exposed to the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of injection fluid and melted petroleum; and
- (d) introducing the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of injection fluid and melted petroleum recovered through the annular space of the injection well to the visbreaking unit;
- (5) visbreaking the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of injection fluid and melted petroleum in order to produce a medium/heavy cracked gas oil fractionated by the visbreaking unit in a temperature range of from about 400.degree. F. to about 1000.degree. F. and having a UOP K Factor between about 10.0 and about 10.8; and
- (6) injecting at least a portion of the medium/heavy cracked gas oil having a temperature range of from about 400.degree. F. to about 1,000.degree. F. and having a UOP K Factor between about 10.0 and about 10.8 into the smaller concentric pipe in order to melt and recover subsequent portions of the intractable petroleum.
- 25. The method of claim 24 wherein the start-up hot, mobile, injection fluid is of a different chemical species and has a different UOP K Factor than the medium/heavy cracked gas oil recovered from the local visbreaking unit.
- 26. The method of claim 24 wherein the start-up hot, mobile, injection fluid is a medium/heavy cracked gas oil of the same chemical species and having substantially the same UOP K as, a medium/heavy cracked gas oil recovered from a visbreaking unit other than the local visbreaking unit.
- 27. The method of claim 24 wherein the hot, mobile injection fluid is a hydrocarbon material which is liquid at temperatures ranging from about 400.degree. F. to about 1000.degree. F. at pressures of from about 100 PSIG to about 2000 PSIG and which is capable of at least partially solubilizing the intractable petroleum under said temperature and pressure conditions.
- 28. The method of claim 24 wherein the hot, mobile injection fluid is a medium/heavy cracked gas oil produced by a petroleum refinery unit other than the local visbreaking unit.
- 29. The method of claim 24 which further comprises drilling at least one offset production well which penetrates the subterranean formation.
- 30. The method of claim 24 which further comprises drilling at least one offset production well which penetrates the subterranean formation, filling the production well with a mobile fluid and observing the production well's wellhead pressure in order to determine when the resulting hot, mobile, mixture of injection fluid and melted petroleum comes into fluid communication with the recovery well and thereby indicating that the hot, mobile injection fluid can be replaced with another injection fluid having a lower volatility than that of the injection fluid.
- 31. The method of claim 24 which further comprises drilling at least one offset production well which penetrates the subterranean formation, filling the production well with a mobile fluid and observing the production well's wellhead temperature to determine when a resulting hot, mobile, mixture of start-up injection fluid and melted petroleum comes into fluid communication with the recovery well and thereby indicate when the hot, mobile injection fluid can be progressively replaced with more and more of a medium/heavy cracked distillate gas oil component produced by the local visbreaking unit.
- 32. The method of claim 24 wherein the smaller concentric pipe is provided with means for directing the hot, mobile injection fluid toward an offset, recovery well which penetrates the subterranean formation.
- 33. The method of claim 24 wherein the medium/heavy cracked gas oil injected into the subterranean formation is supplemented by compressed air.
- 34. The method of claim 24 wherein the medium/heavy cracked gas oil injected into the subterranean formation is supplemented by hot water.
- 35. The method of claim 24 wherein the medium/heavy cracked gas oil injected into the subterranean formation is supplemented by steam.
- 36. The method of claim 24 wherein the medium/heavy cracked gas oil injected into the subterranean formation is supplemented by a residual product of the visbreaking unit.
RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
This patent application is a continuation-in-part of my U.S. patent application No. 410,990 filed Sept. 22, 1989 (abandoned) and likewise entitled "Method and Apparatus For Recovering Intractable Petroleum From Subterranean Formations."
US Referenced Citations (13)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
410990 |
Sep 1989 |
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