Suncor Energy Inc.

Todd Stewart Pugsley

Ian Donald Gates

Gary L Bunio

Hugo Acosta Ramirez

Andrew Donald

James Fong

Mark Chan

A process for in situ thermal recovery of hydrocarbons from a reservoir is provided. The process includes: providing an oxygen-enriched mixture, fuel, feedwater and an additive including at least one of ammonia, urea and a volatile amine to a Direct-Contact Steam Generator (DCSG); operating the DCSG, including contacting the feedwater and the additive with hot combustion gas to obtain a steam-based mixture including steam, COand the additive; injecting the steam-based mixture or a stream derived from the steam-based mixture into the reservoir to mobilize the hydrocarbons therein; and producing a produced fluid including the hydrocarbons.

Production of hydrocarbon using direct-contact steam generation

A Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) method for recovering hydrocarbons from a reservoir can include generating steam and COfrom feedwater, fuel and oxygen; transferring a steam-COmixture comprising at least a portion of the steam and at least a portion of the CO, to a proximate SAGD injection well; injecting the steam-COmixture into the SAGD injection well; obtaining produced fluids from a SAGD production well underlying the SAGD injection well; transferring the produced fluids for separation proximate to the SAGD production well; separating the produced fluids into a produced gas and a produced emulsion; transferring the produced emulsion for separation proximate to the SAGD production well; separating the produced emulsion to obtain a produced hydrocarbon-containing component and produced water; supplying at least a portion of the produced water as at least part of the feedwater; and supplying the produced hydrocarbon-containing component to a central processing facility.

Remote steam generation and water-hydrocarbon separation in steam-assisted gravity drainage operations

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Priddis, Canada

Todd Stewart Pugsley