Downhole Burners: Pushing the Envelope of Enhanced Oil Recovery in the Artic Available to Purchase

This article describes the feasibility of adopting the new concept of Downhole Steam Generation (DHSG) in a known Arctic heavy oil accumulation: the Ugnu field in the North Slope of Alaska. The frozen permafrost zone which overlays the heavy oil zone presents a challenge in adopting surface steam generation as is typically done in similar accumulations in Canada using horizontal injector and producer well pairs known as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). In addition to retaining integrity of the permafrost, the DHSG concept shows promise to provide higher thermal efficiency, produce high quality CO2 for reuse, and effectively leverages surplus oxygen for superior recovery efficiency in an economically feasible solution.