Viscous oil recovery system

Claim 1

In a viscous oil recovery method comprising the steps of forming a pattern for injection wells and production wells, constructing a plant consisting of a fuel generator, a field of stock tanks, and an engine and compressor and a separator and recycling tank, and directing the production flow from the production wells through a separator and collecting gas in the recycling tank that has been separated from the said production, directing the flow of production from the separator to the fuel generator, extracting fuel and solvents from the production in said fuel generator and distributing the fuel from the fuel generator to the engines and distributing the solvents to the injection wells and the residue to the stock tanks for storage and directing exhaust from the fuel generator into a CO separator and recycling the CO separated therefrom into the fuel generator.

Claim 9

A method for recovering viscous petroleum comprising the steps of: a. Distilling solvent from the produced oil from a production formation produced by lifting means having engines to actuate same to bring the production to the surface, using the waste heat from said engines for distilling the light ends producing a solvent, and b. injecting the said solvent into the production formation for the dilution of the viscous oil, causing the less viscous oil to flow more rapidly into production wells and to the surface, and c. injecting air, or other gases, simultaneously into the production formation for maintaining the material balance therein, wherein additional drive pressure is generated with further increase in quantity and flow rate of the viscous petroleum, and d. recovering the fluids so injected into the formation as they are produced, recycling the light ends as additional solvent is produced and injected, and e. replacing the losses in material balance of the formation thereby improving the gas-oil ratio, thus replacing the solvent and gas temporarily invested in the dilution process by the injection, under conditions proper for hydrogenation, of CO and CO2 gases from the engine exhaust with hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water, thus producing methane gas and methanol liquid, both of which are solvents, the methane increasing the volume and pressure of the oil, and the methanol reducing the viscosity of the oil, and increasing its API gravity number, and f. recovering and recycling some portion of the gases produced along with the oil, to save the dissolved petroleum therein, and further increase the amount of solvent being injected, thus increasing the flow rate of the oil, and g. generating chlorine and HCL or hydrochlorous acid, by electrolysis of the salt brine always present in some amount from oil wells along with the petroleum, and injecting the HCl or hydrochlorous acid into the reservoir to dissolve limestone formations, thereby improving the oil conduit therethrough, and increasing the total flow by dissolving and opening passageways between sealed vugs containing sealed oil, and recovering the water and acid residue along with the oil production, and recycling such part as is still reactive, for additional efficiency, and h. improving the production ability of each well in the field by the combination of injecting solvent and air into the borehole of each production well for a period of a few days under sufficient pressure and for long enough to have filled several hundred cubic feet of the formation adjacent to the borehole of the production well with air, utilizing the air to drive the solvent and oil deeper into the reservoir and under the requisite pressure its solubility for water vapor becomes quite large, thus the water in the pore spaces of the sandstone, is evaporated into the air, and when this has been done, the air is permitted to escape from the formation into the borehole of the production well, releasing said air while maintaining suffiCient pressure to retain most of the water in solution with the air increasing the effective conduit for the viscous oil by the ratio of the water filled porous zone, to the total pore space, which may be 100 percent increase or more, effectively increasing the flow rate.

Claim 10

A method for recovering viscous petroleum comprising the steps of: a. Distilling solvent from the produced oil from a production formation produced by lifting means having engines to actuate same to bring the production to the surface, using the waste heat from said engines for distilling the light ends producing a solvent, and b. injecting the said solvent into the production formation for the dilution of the viscous oil, causing the less viscous oil to flow more rapidly into production wells and to the surface, and c. injecting air, or other gases, simultaneously into the production formation for maintaining the material balance therein, wherein additional drive pressure is generated with further increase in quantity and flow rate of the viscous petroleum, and d. recovering the fluids so injected into the formation as they are produced, recycling the light ends as additional solvent is produced and injected, and e. replacing the losses in material balance of the formation thereby improving the gas-oil ratio, thus replacing the solvent and gas temporarily invested in the dilution process by the injection, under conditions proper for hydrogenation, of CO and CO2 gases from the engine exhaust with hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water, thus producing methane gas and methanol liquid, both of which are solvents, the methane increasing the volume and pressure of the oil, and the methanol reducing the viscosity of the oil, and increasing its API gravity number, and f. recovering and recycling some portion of the gases produced along with the oil, to save the dissolved petroleum therein, and further increase the amount of solvent being injected, thus increasing the flow rate of the oil, and g. generating chlorine and HCL or hydrochlorous acid, by electrolysis of the salt brine always present in some amount from oil wells along with the petroleum, and injecting the HCl or hydrochlorous acid into the reservoir to dissolve limestone formations, thereby improving the oil conduit therethrough, and increasing the total flow by dissolving and opening passageways between sealed vugs containing sealed oil, and recovering the water and acid residue along with the oil production, and recycling such part as is still reactive, for additional efficiency, and h. improving the production ability of each well in the field by the combination of injecting solvent and air into the borehole of each production well for a period of a few days under sufficient pressure and for long enough to have filled several hundred cubic feet of the formation adjacent to the borehole of the production well with air, utilizing the air to drive the solvent and oil deeper into the reservoir and under the requisite pressure its solubility for water vapor becomes quite large, thus the water in the pore spaces of the sandstone, is evaporated into the air, and when this has been done, the air is permitted to escape from the formation into the borehole of the production well, releasing said air while maintaining suffiCient pressure to retain most of the water in solution with the air increasing the effective conduit for the viscous oil by the ratio of the water filled porous zone, to the total pore space, which may be 100 percent increase or more, effectively increasing the flow rate.