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Oil recovery process

a technology of oil recovery and formation, applied in the direction of fluid removal, chemistry apparatus and processes, borehole/well accessories, etc., can solve the problems of unsuitability for use of methane-primarily formed associative gas or other gases

Inactive Publication Date: 2013-06-27
SHELL OIL CO
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text explains some examples of certain aspects of some embodiments in order to help people understand the invention. However, these examples should not be seen as limiting what the invention can do. The scope of the invention should be defined by the claims appended to it. In simpler terms, the patent is explaining how the invention works in certain ways to make it easier to understand.

Problems solved by technology

As a result, associated gas or other gases formed primarily of methane have been unsuitable for use as a miscible gas for enhanced oil recovery from formations having a pressure of less than 50 MPa.

Method used

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Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0055]Slim tube experiments were conducted to determine the effect of dimethyl ether (DME) on the miscibility of associated gas with oil recovered from a formation. Dead oil recovered from a formation was filtered and mixed with associated gas produced from the same formation to reach the desired gas-to-oil ratio (91.84 cc / cc) and bubble point pressure (38.3 MPa) to produce a recombined live oil having the properties of the oil in the formation. The composition of the live oil is provided in Table 1 and the composition of the associated gas is provided in Table 2.

TABLE 1ComponentChemicalMoleMassNameSymbolFractionFractionCalculated PropertiesNitrogenN20.00080.0002Total SampleCarbon DioxideCO20.00090.0003Molecular Weight133.96DMEDME0.00000.0000Density (g / cc)0.7815MethaneC10.44740.0536C6+ FractionEthaneC20.02400.0054Molecular Weight260.80PropaneC30.02280.0075Mole Fraction0.4710i-Butanei-C40.00420.0018Density (g / cc)0.8788n-Butanen-C40.01180.0051C7+ Fractioni-Pentanei-C50.00730.0039Molec...

example 2

[0063]An oil swelling test was performed to measure the effects of adding 20.74 mol % DME in the oil utilized in Example 1 above. The oil had the characteristics set forth in Table 1 above. For comparison, an oil swelling test was run on a blank sample containing only the oil, and an oil swelling test was performed in which 20 mol % of CO2 was added to the oil.

[0064]The oil swelling tests were conducted in a visual PVT cell. For each test, the cell was charged with a measured volume of live oil (prepared as described in Example 1) at a pressure higher than saturation pressure (38.3 MPa) and at the formation temperature of the formation from which the oil was produced (79.4° C.), and 20.7 mol % DME or 20 mol % CO2. Upon addition of the gas, the cell was pressurized until the fluid reached a single phase. As the cell was pressurized, a constant composition expansion test was conducted to measure the saturation pressure and relative liquid volume below the saturation pressure of the re...

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Abstract

The present invention provides a method for enhancing the recovery of oil from a formation. A hydrocarbon-containing gas and an ether are injected into an oil-bearing formation to mobilize the oil. The mobilized oil is then produced from the formation.

Description

[0001]The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 61 / 579,523, filed Dec. 22, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is directed to a method of recovering oil from a formation, in particular, the present invention is directed to a method of enhanced oil recovery from a formation.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]In the recovery of oil from subterranean formations, it is possible to recover only a portion of the oil in the formation using primary recovery methods utilizing the natural formation pressure to produce the oil. A portion of the oil that cannot be produced from a formation using primary recovery methods may be produced by Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods. There are three main types of EOR—thermal, chemical / polymer and gas injection—which may be used to increase oil recovery from a reservoir beyond what can be achieved by conventional means—possibly extending t...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): E21B43/16
CPCC09K8/594E21B43/168
Inventor BLOM, CAROLUS PETRUS ADRIANUSHEDDEN, RALFMATZAKOS, ANDREAS NICHOLASUEHARA-NAGAMINE, ERNESTO
Owner SHELL OIL CO