METHOD OF DEVELOPMENT OF BITUMEN DEPOSITS OF ISOMETRIC SHAPE Russian patent published in 2014 - IPC E21B43/24 E21B7/04 

FIELD: oil-and-gas industry.

SUBSTANCE: proposed method comprises drilling of heat injection wells, injection of heat carrier into bed, drilling of drain holes, well dewatering and product sampling. Note here that drilled heat injection wells feature circular shape. Note also that heat-and-mass transfer occurs via forced convection from heat-injection well. Bed product is extracted via vertical drain-production wells by piston displacement of bitumen and thick oil by superheated high-pressure steam from deposit periphery to vertical drain-production well. Flow density is defined by the formula: P=h(T_f-T_s), where P is heat flow through area unit or interface volume; h is heat emission factor; T_f is fluid flow temperature; T_s is solid phase temperature. Note that heating radius is defined by the formula: $$r=\sqrt{\frac{Q_s\cdot C_v\cdot \tau }{\pi \cdot h\cdot i}},$$ where Q_s is volume flow of steam injected in the well, m³/h; C_v is latent specific heat of vaporisation at injection pressure, kJ/kg; τ is time, h; h is productive bed depth, m; i is specific heat content in steam zone at design pressure, kJ/kg.

EFFECT: higher yield, control over heat carrier distribution.

1 ex, 1 dwg