A techno-economic evaluation of downhole steam generation in enhanced oil recovery

Heavy oil recovery mechanisms have increasing importance in the petroleum industry today because of the decline in the world's conventional oil reserves. Most of these heavy oil resources are located in Alberta, Canada. One of the main ways of heavy oil production in this area is through thermal recovery by surface steam injection or in-situ combustion technology. Conventional steam injection techniques suffer from significant heat loss in surface equipment and in transmission to the well bore. Downhole steam generation, however, has the benefit of reduced heat losses. A number of other advantages of this method include its environmental friendliness and applicability to those reservoirs which are typically too deep or located offshore.;Research indicates that downhole steam generation can recover heavy oil from reservoirs having depths of greater than 610 m (2000 ft). Natural gas can be a good fuel for downhole generators. High compression cost can be overcome by better recovery with downhole steam generation methods. Better oil recovery can easily improve economics of these methods. Downhole steam generation can be viable technology but it requires more research, development and extended duration field testing. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...