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Thermal Recovery of Oil and Bitumen Roger M. Butler
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Energy and Capital editor Keith Kohl discusses 3 oil investments that are booming from record oil prices. One of the problems is that the current extraction Some these methods include thermal recovery, as well as chemical or gas injection. It describes a method of thermal bitumen recovery called wedge wells. Genalta Power and Shell Canada have agreed to build a produced-gas-to-power plant that will make use of the gas associated with Shell's bitumen production in an effort to reduce gas flaring at its Peace River oil sands leases. Only 20% of the total amount of recoverable bitumen (the thick, tar-like form of petroleum) can be done through surface mining, leaving an overwhelming amount that will be extracted from In-Situ methods. We would have had the best oil reservoir in the world sitting right here.” As it is, the resource is heavy. The company, through a secretive Calgary-based subsidiary called Sure Northern Energy Ltd., is working to unlock an estimated 60 billion barrels of raw bitumen — more than 100 kilometres west of the oil sands epicentre around Fort McMurray in northeastern Alberta. Facilities on its Peace River oil sands leases: the Cliffdale Battery, which uses cold or primary recovery methods, and the Peace River Complex which uses thermal or enhanced oil recovery techniques to extract bitumen from underground. The prize Royal Dutch is chasing is The firm is trying to commercialize what it calls a "novel thermal recovery process" invented by Shell's technology arm. The steam injection, the SAGD or cyclic steam injection have proved that these increase the oil recovery, and the thermal methods can drop the bitumen viscosity on the low values. In the middle of a keynote address to an audience of geologists, seismic specialists and heavy oil executives, he paused to make a wistful appeal. Covering the spectrum, Speight explains the current methods of recovery for heavy oil and tar sand bitumen technology, broken down by thermal and non-thermal methods. In the SAGD well laterals, Cenovus runs 7-in. ET Energy's Electro Thermal technology could be used to pump out 600 billion barrels of Alberta's oil sands bitumen. Costs for recovering bitumen with in situ methods continue to decline, and new technologies are bound to reduce costs further, according to Harbir Chhina, executive vice-president enhanced oil development and new resource plays for Cenovus Energy Inc., Calgary. Over the past year Excelsior Energy Limited has investigated various bitumen recovery mechanisms that could potentially reduce the large requirements for capital, fuel gas and process water associated with thermal recovery. Slotted liners that hang on a thermal packer in 95⁄8-in. I used to work on SAGD and other thermal recovery processes to recover heavy oil and bitumen from heavy oil and oil sand reservoirs in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada.