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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8177305 | Heater connections in mines and tunnels for use in treating subsurface hydrocarbon containing formations A system for treating a subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation includes one or more shafts. At least two substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels extend from one or more of the shafts. A plurality of heat sources are located in at least one heat source well... | 05/15/2012 |
| 8172335 | Electrical current flow between tunnels for use in heating subsurface hydrocarbon containing formations A system for treating a subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation includes one or more shafts. A first substantially horizontal or inclined tunnel extends from one or more of the shafts. A second substantially horizontal or inclined tunnel extends from one or more... | 05/08/2012 |
| 8162405 | Using tunnels for treating subsurface hydrocarbon containing formations A system for treating a subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation includes one or more tunnels having an average diameter of at least 1 m. At least one tunnel is connected to the surface. Two or more wellbores extend from at least one of the tunnels into at least ... | 04/24/2012 |
| 7677673 | Stimulation and recovery of heavy hydrocarbon fluids The present invention is directed to the use of electromagnetic radiation, acoustic energy, and surfactant injection to recover hydrocarbon-containing materials from a hydrocarbon-bearing formation. ... | 03/16/2010 |
| 7419223 | System and method for enhancing permeability of a subterranean zone at a horizontal well bore A method and system for enhancing permeability of a subterranean zone at a horizontal well bore includes determining a drilling profile for the horizontal well bore. At least one characteristic of the drilling profile is selected to aid in stabilizing the horizontal... | 09/02/2008 |
| 7360595 | Method and system for underground treatment of materials A method for underground treatment of subsurface materials comprises providing an injection pattern and a recovery pattern, the injection pattern and the recovery pattern located proximate to a subsurface treatment zone and at least one of the injection pattern and ... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7357180 | Inhibiting effects of sloughing in wellbores Certain embodiments provide a method for treating a subsurface formation. The method includes providing one or more explosives into portions of one or more wellbores selected for the explosion in the formation. The wellbores are formed in one or more zones in the fo... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7341102 | Flue gas injection for heavy oil recovery A variety of methods for thermal recovery of natural gas and bitumen from a formation containing the latter. In general, the methods incorporate a series of existing, but previously uncombined technologies. A modified flue gas from the steam generators conventionall... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7328743 | Toe-to-heel waterflooding with progressive blockage of the toe region A modified toe-to-heel waterflooding (TTHW) process is provided for recovering oil from a reservoir in an underground formation. After establishing the conventional TTHW waterflood, the process includes placing a chemical blocking agent at the watered out producing ... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7320559 | System and method for dispersing of coal bed sodic water A method for designing and implementing a system for subsurface drip irrigation dispersal of sodic water from a coal bed seam, the method comprising calculating a land surface area below which the sodic water dispersal system is to be placed, determining a concentra... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7320364 | Inhibiting reflux in a heated well of an in situ conversion system Certain embodiments provide a method for treating a subsurface formation. The method includes using heaters to form a heated portion of the subsurface formation. A production conduit is used to direct formation fluid in a vapor phase from the heated portion of the s... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7264049 | In-situ method of coal gasification A method is provided for in-situ gasification of coal wherein a network of fractures is formed by providing a substantially vertically disposed borehole and a plurality of substantially horizontally disposed boreholes in fluid communication with the substantially ve... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7213644 | Cavity positioning tool and method In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a method is provided for preventing formation of sludge in a subsurface cavity having particulate laden fluid disposed therein. The method includes positioning a downhole device having a fluid agitator into ... | 05/08/2007 |
| 7207390 | Method and system for lining multilateral wells In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method for lining a lateral wellbore includes drilling a main wellbore extending from a surface to a subterranean zone, casing the main wellbore with a main casing having a plurality of lateral wellbore w... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7207395 | Method and system for testing a partially formed hydrocarbon well for evaluation and well planning refinement A method and system for testing a partially formed well includes forming a first well bore intersecting a subterranean formation. The first well bore includes a portion of a planned well having a first configuration. A production characteristic of the subterranean f... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7168488 | Method and plant or increasing oil recovery by gas injection A method and a plant for simultaneous production of a gas for injection into an oil field and production of methanol, dimethyl ether and/or other oxygenated hydrocarbons or production of higher hydrocarbons from natural gas is disclosed. An air separation unit (ATR)... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7163063 | Method and system for extraction of resources from a subterranean well bore A method for stimulating production of resources from a coal seam includes forming a drainage well bore in the coal bed that has a first end coupled to a ground surface and a second end in the coal seam. The method further includes inserting a liner into the well bo... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7128153 | Treatment of a hydrocarbon containing formation after heating A method for treating a hydrocarbon containing formation is provided. In one embodiment, heat from one or more heaters may be provided to at least a portion of the formation. Heat may be allowed to transfer from the one or more heaters to at least a part of the form... | 10/31/2006 |
| 7128375 | Method and means for recovering hydrocarbons from oil sands by underground mining The present invention is directed generally to the combined use of slurry mining and hydrocyclones to recover hydrocarbons, such as bitumen, from hydrocarbon-containing materials, such as oil sands, and to selective mining of valuable materials, particularly hydroca... | 10/31/2006 |
| 7100511 | Dual redundancy system for electronic detonators A detonator assembly (10) comprising a housing (12) disclosed and claimed. The assembly comprises an main circuit (11) comprising an electrically operable fuse (16) located in the housing. The assembly further comprises at least a first r... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7100687 | Multi-purpose well bores and method for accessing a subterranean zone from the surface A well system includes at least two well bores extending from a surface to a subterranean zone. Each of the two well bores is used to form a well bore pattern for the subterranean zone that intersects the other well bore and transports fluid from the subterranean zo... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7097255 | Method and means for processing oil sands while excavating The present invention is directed to the separation of bitumen, such as by the Clark process or by a countercurrent de-sander, in an underground excavation machine, such as a tunnel boring machine. ... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7073578 | Staged and/or patterned heating during in situ thermal processing of a hydrocarbon containing formation A method for treating a hydrocarbon containing formation is described. The method for treating a hydrocarbon containing formation may include heating a first volume of the formation using a first set of heaters. A second volume of the formation may be heated using a... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7073595 | Method and system for controlling pressure in a dual well system A method for controlling pressure of a dual well system includes drilling a substantially vertical well bore from a surface to a subterranean zone and drilling an articulated well bore from the surface to the subterranean zone using a drill string. The articulated w... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7073577 | Array of wells with connected permeable zones for hydrocarbon recovery Hydrocarbons are recovered from a subterranean reservoir by drilling an injection well bore having an outlet in the reservoir and drilling a production well bore spaced apart from the injection well bore and having an inlet in the reservoir. A permeable zone having ... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7066172 | Warning device for a respirator product A warning device for a respirator product with a valve (11), which comes into action in a state of warning and releases a gas flow. The warning does not hinder the user of the apparatus and only a very small portion of the gas supply carried with the user is ... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7048049 | Slant entry well system and method A system for accessing a subterranean zone from the surface includes an entry well bore extending down from the surface. A plurality of slanted well bores extend from the entry well bore to the subterranean zone. Drainage patterns extend from the slanted well bores ... | 05/23/2006 |
| 7048051 | Recovery of products from oil shale A process and system for recovering hydrocarbonaceous products from in situ oil shale formations. A hole is drilled in the oil shale formation and a processing gas inlet conduit is positioned within the hole. A processing gas is pressurized, heated, and introduced t... | 05/23/2006 |
| 7036584 | Method and system for accessing a subterranean zone from a limited surface area A method and system for accessing subterranean resources from a limited surface area includes a first well bore extending from the surface to the target zone. The first well bore includes an angled portion disposed between the target zone and the surface to provide ... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7032707 | Acoustic isolator downhole applications A plurality of heavy mass irregularities attached to an inner wall of the drill collar attenuate waves traveling through the collar. The plurality of heavy mass irregularities are spaced and sized for the maximum attenuation of acoustic pulses in a predetermined fre... | 04/25/2006 |
| 7025137 | Three-dimensional well system for accessing subterranean zones A drainage system for accessing multiple subterranean zones from the surface includes an entry well extending from the surface. The system also includes two or more exterior drainage wells extending from the entry well through the subterranean zones. The exterior dr... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7025154 | Method and system for circulating fluid in a well system A method for circulating drilling fluid in a well system includes drilling a substantially vertical well bore from a surface to a subterranean zone and drilling an articulated well bore from the surface to the subterranean zone. The articulated well bore is horizont... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7013972 | In situ thermal processing of an oil shale formation using a natural distributed combustor An oil shale formation may be treated using an in situ thermal process. A mixture of hydrocarbons, H2, and/or other formation fluids may be produced from the formation. Heat may be applied to the formation to raise a temperature of a portion of the format... | 03/21/2006 |
| 6976533 | Method and system for accessing subterranean deposits from the surface Improved An improved method and system for accessing subterranean deposits from the surface that substantially eliminates or reduces the disadvantages and problems associated with previous systems and methods. In particular, the present invention provides an articul... | 12/20/2005 |
| 6964308 | Method of drilling lateral wellbores from a slant well without utilizing a whipstock In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method for drilling a lateral wellbore from a slant well includes drilling the slant well below the surface of the earth such that the slant well is angled toward a first horizontal direction that coincid... | 11/15/2005 |
| 6964298 | Method and system for accessing subterranean deposits from the surface An improved method and system for accessing subterranean deposits from the surface substantially eliminates or reduces the disadvantages and problems associated with previous systems and methods. In particular, the present invention provides an articulated well with... | 11/15/2005 |
| 6942030 | Three-dimensional well system for accessing subterranean zones A method for accessing a plurality of subterranean zones from the surface includes forming an entry well from the surface and forming two or more exterior drainage wells from the entry well through the subterranean zones. The exterior drainage wells each extend outw... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6929330 | Method and system for mining hydrocarbon-containing materials The present invention is directed, inter alia, to devices and methods for excavating valuable materials, particularly soft ores such as oil sands, oil shales, and the like, that use one or more of a number of features, including backfilling for ground support, a sma... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6918444 | Method for production of hydrocarbons from organic-rich rock A method for accelerating the conversion of kerogen to hydrocarbons in a subterranean formation containing organic-rich rock that is located in the vicinity of reservoir-quality strata. Sufficient heat is generated in the reservoir-quality strata such that it heats ... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6912354 | Concentric electrode DC arc systems and their use in processing waste materials An electrode assembly comprising concentric tubular electrodes is provided for high temperature processing of materials. The electrode assembly is connected with a power supply that includes switching means for alternatively operating the electrode assembly in a tra... | 06/28/2005 |
