Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company

Other

Exxon Research and Engineering Company

Imperial Oil Resources

Tapantosh Chakrabarty

Ken N Sury

Joseph L Feimer

Mohsen Yeganeh

Ken Sury

Limin Song

Matthew Dawson

Mainak Ghosh

Mori Y Kwan

Scott E Hommema

George R Scott

Neilin Chakrabarty

David E Courtnage

Wenqiang Han

Owen Hehmeyer

Ghosh Mainak

Jeffrey A Yerian

Xiaomeng Yang

Larry Lawlor

Shivani Syal

Prateek Shah

Ivan Kosik

Robert Wattenbarger

Wenqiang (ernest) Han

A method of recovering heavy oil from a subterranean heavy oil reservoir. The method includes conducting an exothermic chemical reaction of feedstock chemicals to produce a reaction product that that is a first solvent and injecting an injected solvent including the reaction product into the subterranean heavy oil reservoir. The injected solvent has an injected solvent temperature equal to an elevated temperature resulting from heat generated by the at least one exothermic chemical reaction and the injecting occurs before the injected solvent temperature has decreased to an ambient reservoir temperature.

Recovery from a hydrocarbon reservoir by conducting an exothermic reaction to produce a solvent and injecting the solvent into a hydrocarbon reservoir

A method of establishing fluid communication between a first point and a second point within a subterranean reservoir includes injecting a first penetrating liquid at a first injection pressure and at a first injection temperature into the subterranean reservoir at the first point, and establishing fluid communication through a heavy-oil containing region by allowing the first penetrating liquid to penetrate into and completely through the heavy-oil containing region between the first point and the second point. The first penetrating liquid temperature of the first penetrating liquid remains at or below the first injection temperature within the subterranean reservoir, and the first penetrating liquid is configured to dilute heavy oil, and comprises a first penetrating liquid polar compound that is at least partially miscible with water.

Recovery from a hydrocarbon reservoir

A method of recovering heavy oil from a subterranean reservoir. The method includes injecting steam into a subterranean reservoir to heat heavy oil in the subterranean reservoir and thereby produce heavy oil of reduced viscosity; injecting a multi-purpose agent into the subterranean reservoir; and producing the heavy oil of reduced viscosity from the subterranean reservoir after injecting the steam and the multi-purpose agent. The multi-purpose agent comprises an ester of the formula RCOORwherein Ris a straight chained or branched alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, Ris a straight chained or branched alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, C is carbon and O is oxygen.

Herein is a cyclic solvent-dominated recovery process (CSDRP) for recovering hydrocarbons from an underground reservoir. The cyclic solvent process involves using an injection well to inject a viscosity-reducing solvent into the underground reservoir. Reduced viscosity oil is produced to the surface using the same well used to inject solvent. The process of alternately injecting solvent and producing a solvent/viscous oil blend through the same well continues in a series of cycles until additional cycles are no longer economical. To contact uncovered hydrocarbons between solvent fingers, the injection includes alternating injection and production, for creating an advance-retreat movement.

Cyclic solvent hydrocarbon recovery process using an advance-retreat movement of the injectant

The present disclosure relates to solvent surveillance in heavy oil production. A method includes the steps of measuring an amount of a native bitumen marker (NBM) in a heavy oil, measuring an amount of the NBM in a recovery-aid solvent, measuring an amount of the NBM in a blend including the heavy oil and the recovery-aid solvent, and applying a blending model to determine a fraction of the recovery-aid solvent in the blend.

Solvent surveillance in solvent-based heavy oil recovery processes

Described herein is a method of controlling bitumen quality in a process stream within a solvent-assisted bitumen extraction operation, for instance a hydrocarbon stream from a froth separation unit (FSU). Bitumen quality is a measure of the amount of selected contaminants in the process stream. Contaminants may include asphaltenes (comprising metal porphyrins), sulfur, and inorganic solids (comprising inorganic elements, e.g. Si, Al, Ti, Fe, Na, K, Mg, and Ca). First, the amounts of selected contaminants are measured. Next, these measured values are compared to maximum reference values. If one or more of these contaminants is higher than the maximum reference value, at least one variable of the solvent-assisted bitumen extraction is adjusted to improve bitumen quality.

Controlling bitumen quality in solvent-assisted bitumen extraction

Disclosed is a method for managing diabetes by reducing the post-prandial blood glucose spike, or the glucose shock. The blood glucose spike, or the glucose shock is reduced by generating a person-specific glucose profile for at least one significant meal to tune or train a blood glucose model (kinetic, artificial intelligence or hybrid), and then using the tuned or the trained model embedded in a computation-capable electronic device to compute and recommend a person-specific meal plan and an exercise plan, including semi-continuous meal ingestion and post-meal exercise while sitting at home or office. Advantages over prior art are that the method uses less strenuous exercise with no or less medicine, is person-specific, quantitative and more suitable for use by an individual, a dietician, or a health care practitioner.

Method for managing obesity, diabetes and other glucose-spike-induced diseases

A method and system for extracting hydrocarbon products from waste tailings of a froth flotation unit and a paraffinic froth treatment process are provided. Bitumen and asphaltenes from the waste tailings are extracted using a serial addition of an aromatic solvent, followed by a polar-non-polar solvent. The method and system divert valuable hydrocarbons from tailings ponds. The hydrocarbon product can be used as a coating material or an emulsion fuel, for example.

Method and system for reclaiming waste hydrocarbon from tailings using solvent sequencing

The use of a solvent for bitumen extraction, either from mined oil sands or in situ. The solvent includes (a) a polar component, the polar component being a compound comprising a non-terminal carbonyl group; and (b) a non-polar component, the non-polar component being a substantially aliphatic substantially non-halogenated alkane. The solvent has a Hansen hydrogen bonding parameter of 0.3 to 1.7 and/or a volume ratio of (a):(b) in the range of 10:90 to 50:50.

Solvent for extracting bitumen from oil sands

In solvent-assisted bitumen extraction, a native marker, for example: sulfur, nickel, vanadium, iron copper, or manganese, is used to control the solvent to bitumen ratio in a process stream such as a stream from a froth separation unit (FSU) and/or to measure hydrocarbon loss in a tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU).

Method for using native bitumen markers to improve solvent-assisted bitumen extraction

The invention relates to a process for splitting bitumen into two fractions and rendering a heavier bottom fraction as a useable emulsion fuel. The process is particularly effective in creating an alternate fuel to natural gas in a steam-based bitumen recovery process wherein bitumen is recovered from an underground reservoir.

Integrated process for bitumen recovery, separation and emulsification for steam generation

A reactor system is provided which is particularly suitable for hydroprocessing a heavy hydrocarbon under catalytic slurry hydroprocessing conditions. This reactor system includes a single reaction zone containing at least one filter element for the separation of liquid product from catalyst particles in the reaction zone. Means are provided for backwashing the filter element. Preferably, at least two filter elements are provided one of which is used for separation of product and the other for introduction of hydrogen into the reactor. Additionally, means are provided for switching the flow between the two filter elements thereby permitting continuous operation of the system.

Growing community of inventors

Calgary, Canada

Tapantosh Chakrabarty