Enhanced oil recovery and natural bitumen production through the use of sinusoidal wells and solar thermal method

Thermal enhanced oil recovery is known to be the most effective way of heavy oil production. This article discusses the application of sinusoidal wells to improve the efficiency of thermal enhanced oil recovery methods. As a result of numerical simulation of steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process, it has been shown that the application of sinusoidal wells allowed 8990 m3 of the incremental oil production during 10 years simulation period. However, the high cost of hot water and steam generation, as well as significant environmental impact, limit the application of thermal oil recovery methods. The article presents the concept of year-round generation of desalinated hot water and steam from sea and reservoir brine at low cost by the newly developed solar collector. The collector can be placed in the vicinity of injection wells to provide constant hot water, steam, and electrical power supply.