CA1164335A - In situ combustion of tar sands with injection of non- condensable gases - Google Patents

In situ combustion of tar sands with injection of non- condensable gases

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Publication number
CA1164335A
CA1164335A CA000382463A CA382463A CA1164335A CA 1164335 A CA1164335 A CA 1164335A CA 000382463 A CA000382463 A CA 000382463A CA 382463 A CA382463 A CA 382463A CA 1164335 A CA1164335 A CA 1164335A
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Prior art keywords
formation
gas
hydrocarbon gas
stream
light hydrocarbon
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CA000382463A
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French (fr)
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Costandi A. Audeh
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ExxonMobil Oil Corp
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Mobil Oil Corp
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Abstract

IN SITU COMBUSTION OF TAR SANDS WITH INJECTION
OF NON-CONDENSABLE GASES

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
In-situ combustion of tar sands is improved by introducing into the tar sand formation a stream of relatively light hydrocarbon gas. The stream of light hydrocarbon gas may contain a small proportion of hydrocarbons condensable at temperature and pressure conditions of the tar sand formation. The improvement is applicable to both forward and reverse in-situ combustion processes.

Description

I :~ 643~5 IN SITU COMBUSTION OF TAR SANDS WITH INJECTION
~[~e~

This invention relates to a method of recovery of heavy, viscous, normally non-flowing hydrocarbons from subterranean formations of tar sands. More particularly, this invention relates to a thermal method of recovering valuable hydrocarbon products from subterranean deposits of tar sands.
Increasing worldwide demand for petroleum products, combined with continuously increasing prices for petroleum and products derived therefrom, has prumpted a renewed interest in the sourees of hydroc~rbons which are less accessible than crude oil of the Middle East and other countries. One of the largest deposits of such sources of hydrocarbons comprises tar sands and oil shale deposits found in Northern Alberta, Canada, and in the Midwest States of the United States. While the estimated deposits of hydrocarbons contained in tar sands are enormous (e.g., the estimated total of the deposits in Qlberta, Canada is 250 billion barrels of synthetic crude equivalent), only a small proportion of such deposits can be recovered by currently available mining technologies (e.g., by strip mining). For example9 in 197~ it was estimated that not more than about 10~ of the then estimated 250 billion barrels of synthetic crude equivalent o~ deposits in Alberta, Canada was recoverable by the then available minin~
technologiesO tSee SYNTHETIC FUELS, March 1974, Pages 3-1 through 3-14). The remaining about 90% of the deposits must be recovered by various in-situ techniques such as electrical resistance heating, steam injection and in-situ ~orward and reverse combustion.
While operating details of all of such in-situ techniques vary, a common objective thereof is to lower the viscosity of the hydrocarbon deposits of tar sands and oil shale to the point where such hydrocarbon deposits can be pumped to the surface of the ~ormation with equipment normally available at the formation site.

Of the aforementioned in-situ recovery methods, in-situ combustion (both ~orward and reverse) appears to be the most promising method of economically recovering large amounts of hydrocarbon deposits with currently available technolcgy. The attractiveness of the in-situ combustion methods arises prlmarily from the fact that it requires relatively little energy necessary ~or sustaining combustion o~ the hydrocarbon deposits. In csntradistinction, other in-situ techniques, such as electrical resistance heating and cteam inJection require considerable amounts of energy, e.g., to heat the steam at the surface before it is injected into the formation of tar sands.
Conventional in-situ combustion involves drilling o~ at least two substantially vertical wells into the ~ormation, the wells being separated by a horizontal distance within the formation. ûne of the wells is designated an injection well, and the other a production well. The recovery of hydrocarbons is accomplished by raising the temperature around a bore hole to bitumen combustion temperature with some type of a conventional down hole heater/burner apparatus, and then supporting combustion by injecting an oxidizing gas, e.g., oxygen or air into the formation. There are two basic processes o~ in-situ combustion, viz., foIward and reverse combustion. Forward combustion is initiated at the oxidant inject~on well and the combustion ~ront propagates toward the production well. Reverse combustion is initiated at the production well and the combustion ~ront propagates toward the oxidant injection well. Hydrocarbon vapors produced during the combustion process are recovered at the surface of the formation and stored in appropriate containers. The combustion is conducted at a temperature not to exceed 1500 F. for about 12 months until the viscosity of oil deposits is reduced to 700-8ûO cp, generally oonsidered necessary for pumping the oil to the surface of the ~ormation. Further details o~ forward and reverse in-situ :1., ~..

3 3 ~

combustinn techniques are set forth in SYNTHETIC FUELS, March 1974, pages 3-4 through 3-14, and in THE TAR SANDS OF CANADA by F. W.
Camp, pages 27-34, Cameron Engineers, Inc., Denver, Colorado, 2nd Edition (1974).
Howev~r, hereto~ore practiced in-situ combustion techniques have resulted in relatively low recovery of bitumen ~rom subterranean formations of tar sands. For example, the rates of recovery have been reported to be less than about 50% of the total deposits, e.g., SYNTHETIC FUELS, March 1974, pages 3-4 through 3-14.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an improvement in the prior art known in-situ combustion processes.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide a process for in-situ combustion of tar sands which results in improved rates of recovery of bitumen.
These and other objects have been attained by introducing into the formation, prior to the commencement of a conventional in-situ combustion process, a relatively light hydrocarbon gas. The gas is introduced into the tar sand formation through wells drilled to sufficient depths to reach the bottom or near the bottom of the ~ormation. The relatively light hydrocarbon gas may optionally contain a proportion of condensable hydrocarbons which aid in the combustion of tar sands.
The relati~ely iight hydrocarbon gas introduced into the formation is any readily available gas that is substantially noncondensable at the temperature and pressure of the formation, i. e., any hydrocarbon containing gas derived from a liquid whose boiling point (or condensation point of the gas) is less than 230K (degrees Kelvin) (-43C) under ambient pressure of about 1 atmosphere. Preferably, the condensation point of such gas is 100 to ~30K (-173 to ~43C) and most pre~erably 110 to 184K
~-163C to -89C) under ambient pressure of about 1 atmosphere.

~ :~ 6~335 Suitable gas is natural gas, and low boiling alkenes and alkanes of Cl to C3, e.g., methane, e~hane, ethene, propane, propene, preferably methane, ethane and natural gas and most preferably natural gas.
It is to be understood that ambient pressure of about 1 atmosphere does not necessarily designate pressure of exactly one (1) atmosphere, insofar as the ambient pressure may vary depending on the altitude of the tar sands formation. Thus, the term "ambient pressure" as used herein encompasses pressures of 0.95 atmospheres to 1.05 atmospheres.
The gas introduced into the formation can either be a substantially pure homogeneous gas having the aforementioned properties9 or it can be a mixture of any of the gases suitable for use with the process of the present invention. Ik will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that if a mixture of gases is used, the relative proportion of each individual gas must be such that the condensation point of the mixture must not be lower than the condensation point of a pure gas as speci~ied abovz. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the gas may contain a small proportion, e.g., 1% to 1~% of higher hydrocarbons, e~g., of up to C7.
The gas is introduced into the formation of tar sands either by means of bore holes drilled speci~ically for that purpose or through injection or production wells. The relatively light hydrocarbon gas is introduced under a pressure of 35 atm to 100 atm, preferably 60 atm to 80 atm, and most preferably 65 atm to 70 atm, and at a temperature of -40C to 100C, preferably 0C to 60C, and most preferably 25C to 35C. The well through which the gas is introduced is drilled to reach the bottom of the formation of tar sands or near the bottom thereof. In any event7 the point of entry of the gas into the formation may not be more than 0% to 50% of the height of the formation, preferably 1% to 40~, ~5--and most pre~erably ~% to 25% of the height of the fonmation, measured from the bottom thereo~. In this connection, the height of the formation of tar sands is de~ined as the total thickness of the formation, measured from a beginning point below the surface of the earth where the amount of tar sands in the formation is at least 80~, preferably 100%, to the point above said beginning point of the formation wherein the relative amount of tar sands in the formation is at least 95~, preferably 100%.
The rate of introduction of the gas into the formation will vary, depending on the type of the gas used in a particular embodiment. Generally speaking, the rate of introduction of the gas and the time required for the introduction thereof into the formation will be such that the injection will continue until the formation contains at least lO0 to 500 cu ft/bbl of oil present in the sand, preferably 250 to 350 cu ft/bbl o~ oil present in the sand. Most pre~erably, the formation will be relatively substan-tially saturated with the gas injected therein. ~n this connection, a point o~ relative saturation of a formation with the gas is defined as the point at which the formation cannot absorb appreciable additional quantities of gas beyond those which have already been absorbed.
In an alternative embodiment, the light hydrocarbon gas may contain a small praportion of hydrocarbons which condense at the temperature and pressure conditions of the tar sand formation. The condensed hydrocarbons are dissolved in the tar sands, making the latter easier to burn during the subsequent in-situ combustion. The condensable hydrocarbons used for such purpose must have a condensa-tion point of at most 100C under ambient pressure conditions of about one atmosphere. Suitable condensable hydrocarbons for such purpose are: all hydrocaroons of C4 to C7~ such as alkanes, alkenes and aromatics, e.ga, n-butane, isobutane, n pentane, isopentane, hexane, all of its isomers and heptane and all of its isomers9 benzene, and toluene, preferably normal pentane and isopentane, hexane, heptane and all of the isomers thereof.

~ 3 ~335 The amount o~ condensable hydrocarbons present in the light hydrocarbon gas injected into the formation is 1% to 10%, preferably
2% to 8%, and most pre~erably 3% to 5% by volume. The condensable hydrocarbons dissolve relatively easily in the ~ormation o~ tar sands, thereby aiding in the combustion of tar sands when in-situ combustion is initiated. Thus, the viscosity of the condensable hydrocarbons must be 0.01 centipoise (cp) to 0 5 centipoise at 40nc, preferably 0.05 centipoise to 0.3 centipoise~ most pre~erably 0.10 centipoise to 0.15 centipoise. The density of the sondensable hydrocarbons must be 0.~ to 0.75 g/cm3, preferably 0062 to 0.67 g/cm3, most preferably 0.65 g~cm~.
The relatively easily condensable hydrocarbons present in the light gaseous hydrocarbcns stream can either comprise a single homogsneous hydrocarbon substance encompassed by any one of the generic groups enumerated above, or they can be a mixture of any o~
such substances, so long as the relative proportions of the individual components of such mixtures are such that the condensation point, the viscosity, the density and other properties of the mixture fall within the range o~ the respective properties of the relatively easily condensable hydrocarbons specified above.
A~ter the injeotion o~ the light gaseous hydrocarbons stream, either with or without condensable hydrocarbons, is completed, the in-situ combustion proceeds in the usual manner, i~e.7 the temperature of the tar sands ~ormation is brought to or near the combustion temperature and oxygen or air is injected into the ~ormation in a conventional manner as described in S.M. Faroug Ali, ~ , THE
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, pp. 477-486, (April, 1972).
In any event, once the combustion o~ tar sands has begun, the stream of light hydrocarbons previously introduced into the formation aids in the combustion9 thereby markedly accelerating the entire combus~ion process and increasing the yield of gases and liquid hydrocarbons obtained there~rom.

~ ~ ~A335 The ~ollowing examples illustrate specific non-limiting embodiments o~ the invention. All temperatures are in degrees C, all pressures in atmospheres, and all percent proportions in percent by volume, unless otherwise indicated.
Example 1 A sample of tar sand containing 1~% by weight o~
petroliferous material is subjected to a laboratory simulated in-situ combustion test. Air is then injected and the tar sand is heated so as to initiate combustion. Difficulty is experienced in the ignition and in sustaining the combustion of the tar sand~ The dif~iculty on initiating combustion is due, it is beliaved, to the lack of volatiles in the oil deposited on the sand.

In contrast, the experiment of Exampl~ 1 is repeated, but this time, methane is injected under pressure until the amount absorbed is equivalent to 300 cu ft/bbl of oil contained in the sand. After this injection is completed, the above described procedure, air injection ~ollowed by heating, is carried out. The tar sand is ignited, the ~lame sustained and the cil is collected.

Example ~ is repeated with a natural gas containing 5~ C2 and heavier hydrocarbons, of which the condensables comprise 2-3%.
Similarly, the tar sand is ignited, the flame sustained and oil is collected.

Claims (9)

WHAT IS CLAIMED:
1. In a process for the recovery of carbonaceous products from a subterranean formation by in-situ combustion, the improvement comprising introducing into said subterranean formation, prior to the commencement of the combustion, a stream of a relatively light hydrocarbon gas having a condensation point of -173°C to -40°C at ambient pressure, said gas being introduced in an amount sufficient to substantially saturate the formation with said gas.
2. A process according to claim 1 wherein said condensation point of said stream of relatively light hydrocarbon gas is -163°C to -43°C at ambient pressure.
3. A process according to claim 2 wherein said stream of relatively light hydrocarbon gas is introduced into said subterranean formation at the pressure of 65 atmospheres to 70 atmospheres.
4. A process according to claim 3 wherein said stream of relatively light hydrocarbon gas is methane, ethane, propane, natural gas or mixtures thereof.
5. A process according to claim 4 wherein said stream of relatively light hydrocarbon gas contains 1% to 10% of condensable hydrocarbon gas having a condensation point of not greater than 100°C at ambient pressure.
6. A process according to claim 5 wherein said condensable hydrocarbon gas is normal butane, iso-butane, normal pentane, isopentane, hexane, heptane, isomers thereof, or mixtures thereof.
7. A process according to claim 1 wherein said stream of relatively light hydrocarbon gas is introduced into said subterranean formation at a point therewithin from 0% to 50% of the height of the formation, measured from the bottom thereof.
8. A process according to claim 1 wherein said stream of relatively light hydrocarbon gas is introduced into said subterranean formation at a point therewithin from 1% to 40% of the height of the formation, measured from the bottom thereof.
9. A process according to claim 1 wherein said stream of relatively light hydrocarbon gas is introduced into said subterranean formation at a point therewithin from 3% to 25% of the height of the formation, measured from the bottom thereof.
CA000382463A 1980-11-03 1981-07-24 In situ combustion of tar sands with injection of non- condensable gases Expired CA1164335A (en)

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US20302880A 1980-11-03 1980-11-03
US203,028 1980-11-03

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9869169B2 (en) 2013-12-12 2018-01-16 Husky Oil Operations Limited Method to maintain reservoir pressure during hydrocarbon recovery operations using electrical heating means with or without injection of non-condensable gases

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9869169B2 (en) 2013-12-12 2018-01-16 Husky Oil Operations Limited Method to maintain reservoir pressure during hydrocarbon recovery operations using electrical heating means with or without injection of non-condensable gases

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