Fireflood ignition devices and methods

Abstract

One of the most important tasks during a fireflood is to ensure the ignition of the oilbearing stratum efficiently and safely. Many different devices have been developed and employed to achieve this aim. The target zone may ignite spontaneously upon injection of an oxygen-containing gas without the aid of special equipment. Alternatively, ignition may be hastened or enhanced by the use of gas-fired downhole burners, catalytic heaters, electric downhole heaters, or other, chemical means. Other methods involve increasing the reactivity of the formation contents by doping the stratum with compounds that ignite and burn more readily than the reservoir oil. This report surveys the range of igniti..