Shell Oil Comapny

Other

Etuan Zhang

Harold J Vinegar

Scott Lee Wellington

Eric Pierre De Rouffignac

Ilya Emil Berchenko

Robert Charles Ryan

Thomas David Fowler

George Leo Stegemeier

Gordon Thomas Shahin

John Michael Karanikas

Kevin Albert Maher

Gary Lee Beer

Lanny Gene Schoeling

Charles Robert Keedy

Bruce Gerard Hunsucker

Chester Ledlie Sandberg

Frederick Gordon Carl, Jr

Christopher Kelvin Harris

Robert Martijn Van Hardeveld

Frederick Henry Kreisler Rambow

Peter Veenstra

Dong Sub Kim

Steven Paul Giles

Taixu Bai

Michael David Fairbanks

Phillip Temmons Baxley

Mark Gregory Picha

Guillermo Pastor Sanz

Ajay M Madgavkar

John Matthew Coles

Meliha Deniz Sumnu-Dindoruk

Augustinus Wilhelmus Maria Roes

James Louis Menotti

Fredrick Gordon Carl, Jr

Namit Jaiswal

Marian Marino

Tulio Rafael Colmenares

Robert James Dombrowski

IIya Emil Berchenko

A method for treating a tar sands formation includes providing heat to at least part of a hydrocarbon layer in the tar sands formation from a plurality of heaters located in the formation. Heat is allowed to transfer from the heaters to at least a portion of the formation. A pressure in the portion of the formation is controlled such that the pressure remains below a fracture pressure of the formation overburden while allowing the portion of the formation to heat to a selected average temperature of at least about 280&#xb0; C. and at most about 300&#xb0; C. The pressure in the portion of the formation is reduced to a selected pressure after the portion of the formation reaches the selected average temperature.

Controlling and assessing pressure conditions during treatment of tar sands formations

An oil shale formation may be treated using an in situ thermal process. Heat may be applied to the formation to raise a temperature of a portion of the formation to a pyrolysis temperature. Heat input into the formation may be controlled to raise the temperature of portion at a selected rate during pyrolysis of hydrocarbons within the formation. A mixture of hydrocarbons, H, and/or other formation fluids may be produced from the formation.

In situ recovery from a hydrocarbon containing formation

Methods for treating a tar sands formation are described herein. Methods for treating a tar sands may include heating a portion of a hydrocarbon layer in the formation from one or more heaters located in the portion. The heat may be controlled to increase the permeability of at least part of the portion to create an injection zone in the portion with an average permeability sufficient to allow injection of a fluid through the injection zone. A drive fluid and/or an oxidizing fluid may be provided into the injection zone. At least some hydrocarbons including mobilized hydrocarbons are produced from the portion.

Creating fluid injectivity in tar sands formations

An oil shale formation may be treated using an in situ thermal process. Heat may be applied to the formation to raise a temperature of a portion of the formation to a pyrolysis temperature. Heat input into the formation may be controlled to raise the temperature of portion at a selected rate during pyrolysis of hydrocarbons within the formation. A mixture of hydrocarbons, H, and/or other formation fluids may be produced from the formation. The mixture may be separated into condensable hydrocarbons and non-condensable hydrocarbons. The condensable hydrocarbons removed from the formation may be a high quality oil that has a relatively low olefin content and a relatively high API gravity.

Methods for treating a tar sands formation are described herein. Methods for treating a tar sands may include heating a portion of a hydrocarbon layer in the formation from one or more heaters located in the portion. The heat may be controlled to increase the permeability of at least part of the portion to create an injection zone in the portion with an average permeability sufficient to allow injection of a fluid through the injection zone. A drive fluid and/or an oxidizing fluid may be provided into the injection zone. At least some hydrocarbons are produced from the portion.

Methods for treating a tar sands formation are described herein. Methods may include heating at least a section of a hydrocarbon layer in the formation from a plurality of heaters located in the formation. A pressure in the majority of the section may be maintained below a fracture pressure of the formation. The pressure in the majority of the section may be reduced to a selected pressure after the average temperature reaches a temperature that is above 240&#xb0; C. and is at or below pyrolysis temperatures of hydrocarbons in the section. At least some hydrocarbon fluids may be produced from the formation.

Heating tar sands formations while controlling pressure

Methods for treating a tar sands formation are described herein. Methods may include heating at least a section of a hydrocarbon layer in the formation from a plurality of heaters located in the formation. The heat may be controlled so that at least a majority of the section reaches an average temperature of between 200&#xb0; C. and 240&#xb0; C., which results in visbreaking of at least some hydrocarbons in the section. At least some visbroken hydrocarbon fluids may be produced from the formation.

Heating tar sands formations to visbreaking temperatures

A process may include providing heat from one or more heaters to at least a portion of a subsurface formation. Heat may transfer from one or more heaters to a part of a formation. In some embodiments, heat from the one or more heat sources may pyrolyze at least some hydrocarbons in a part of a subsurface formation. Hydrocarbons and/or other products may be produced from a subsurface formation. Certain embodiments describe apparatus, methods, and/or processes used in treating a subsurface or hydrocarbon containing formation.

Thermal processes for subsurface formations

A oil shale formation may be treated using an in situ thermal process. A mixture of hydrocarbons, H, and/or other formation fluids may be produced from the formation. Heat may be applied to the formation to raise a temperature of a portion of the formation to a pyrolysis temperature. Heat sources may be used to heat the formation. The heat sources may be positioned within the formation in a selected pattern.

In situ thermal processing of an oil shale formation using a pattern of heat sources

A coal formation may be treated using an in situ thermal process. A mixture of hydrocarbons, H, and/or other formation fluids may be produced from the formation. Heat may be applied to the formation to raise a temperature of a portion of the formation to a pyrolysis temperature. Heat may be applied to the formation from heating elements positioned within wellbores. Portions of the heater elements may be free to move within the wellbores to inhibit failure of the heater elements due to thermal expansion.

In situ thermal processing of a coal formation using a movable heating element

A coal containing formation may be treated using an in situ thermal process. A mixture of hydrocarbons, H, and/or other formation fluids may be produced from the formation. Heat may be applied to the formation to raise a temperature of a portion of the formation to a pyrolysis temperature. Heat sources within a relatively thin layer of coal may be positioned in a staggered pattern near to edges of the layer so that superposition of heat from the heat sources allows a large percentage of the layer to reach a desired temperature.

In situ thermal processing of a coal formation with heat sources located at an edge of a coal layer

A method for treating a relatively permeable formation containing heavy hydrocarbons in situ may include providing heat from one or more heat sources to a portion of the formation. The heat may be allowed to transfer from the heat sources to a selected section of the formation. The transferred heat may pyrolyze at least some hydrocarbons within the selected section. A mixture of hydrocarbons may be produced from the selected section. In some embodiments, pressure may be controlled to produce a desired property in the produced mixture.

In situ thermal processing of a relatively permeable formation while controlling pressure

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Houston, TX, United States of America

Etuan Zhang