HYDROCARBON-STEAM PROCESSES FOR RECOVERY OF BITUMEN FROM OIL SANDS.

The use of hydrocarbons together with steam was investigated as a means for improving recovery and other operating parameters in the interwell vertical steam-stimulation process for recovery of bitumen from oil sands. A total of 42 experiments were conducted using a two-well, 18-inch diameter, three-dimensional elemental physical simulator operating at conditions close to those anticipated in the oil sands area of interest. The results of 20 of these experiments are presented. A range of hydrocarbons from methane through ethane, propane, butane, pentane, natural gasoline, naphtha, to synthetic GCOS crude were investigated. The results of many of these experiments are presented and a number of observations and conclusions drawn. A proposed recovery process based on this work is presented.