Supercritical boiler for oil recovery

Abstract

Method and systems relate to generating steam by transitioning water from supercritical conditions and injecting the steam that results into a formation to facilitate recovery of oil. Pressurizing and heating the water forms a supercritical fluid that may solvate impurities in the water and / or oxidize the impurities. Retaining the impurities in solution and / or oxidation of the impurities limits fouling problems associated with generating the steam from water recycled in thermal processes, such as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), for recovering the oil.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a non-provisional application which claims benefit under 35 USC §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61 / 771,220 filed 1 Mar., 2013, entitled “SUPERCRITICAL BOILER FOR OIL RECOVERY,” which is incorporated herein in its entirety.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]None.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0003]Embodiments of the invention relate to methods and systems for generating steam used in thermal oil recovery processes and that may facilitate water treatment and limit fouling.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]Several techniques utilized to recover hydrocarbons in the form of bitumen from oil sands rely on generated steam to heat and lower viscosity of the hydrocarbons when the steam is injected into the oil sands. One common approach for this type of recovery includes steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). The hydrocarbons once heated become mobile enough for production along with t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent describes a method and system for generating steam for oil production. The process involves heating and pressurizing water to form a supercritical fluid, which then transitions to steam. The steam is injected into a formation to improve oil production. The patent also mentions a method of reducing fouling precursors in the water by oxidation at high pressure and temperature to create the supercritical fluid.

Problems solved by technology

Costs associated with building a complex, large, sophisticated facility to process water and generate steam contributes to economic challenges of oil sands production operations.

Such a facility represents much of the capital costs of these operations.

Chemical and energy usage of the facility also contribute to operating costs.

However, boiler feed water to these steam generators requires expensive de-oiling and treatment to limit boiler fouling problems.

Even with this treatment, fouling issues persist and are primarily dealt with through regular pigging of the boilers.

This recurring maintenance further increases operating costs and results in a loss of steam production capacity, which translates to an equivalent reduction in bitumen extraction.

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