The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 11, 2021
Filed:
Jul. 07, 2017
The Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, CA;
Ralph George Jonasson, Regina, CA;
The Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, CA;
Abstract
Compounds, systems and method(s) for removing hydro-carbons from a hydrocarbon-containing reservoir. Various N-alkyl-2-pyrrolidones, such as N-octyl-2-pyrrolidone, alone in hot water or steam, or in conjunction with other surfactants and/or solvents are injected into petroleum reservoirs containing heavy oil or bitumen to accomplish one or more functions: (1) increase rate of petroleum production compared to that produced using steam and/or hot water alone; (2) decrease steam to oil ratio; (3) extend life of a well by recovering more petroleum; (4) recover petroleum from wells that have been declared uneconomic using existing recovery methods; and/or (5) generally increase estimated petroleum reserves by reducing cost of production. The N-alkyl-2-pyrrolidones are most usefully applied in cyclic steam stimulation, steam drive or steam assisted gravity drainage operations after the initial rate of petroleum production has begun to decline. N-alkyl-2-pyrrolidones have additional advantages in thermal EOR in being resistant to thermal decomposition in water.