Apparatus for thermally treating an oil reservoir

摘要

It is provided a method and an apparatus for continuously thermally treating an oil reservoir, in particular a method and an apparatus for thermally treating an oil reservoir by separately introducing a first and a second composition into an oil well and contacting the first and second compositions in a pay zone of the oil reservoir to initiate a chemical reaction producing heat and gases. With the method and apparatus according to the present invention it becomes possible to simultaneously introduce the compositions into the oil well and to extract the resultant oil or oil containing mixture through the same oil well. For this a sealing device like a packer, and at least one tubing are arranged in the oil well such that the sealing device is positioned in the pay zone of the oil reservoir and that openings in the casing of the oil well are located above and below the sealing device and the tubing extends through the packer and comprises at least one opening below the packer, wherein the packer seals the annular space between the outside of the tubing and the inside of the casing of the oil well so that two fluid passages are provided having no fluid connection inside the oil well. Thermal treatment is achieved by separately introducing the first and second compositions into the oil well through the resultant fluid passages, initiating a chemical reaction by contacting the compositions in the pay zone of the oil reservoir. The chemical reaction can be maintained by introducing at least one of the two compositions and the resultant oil or oil containing mixture can be extracted at the same time through the oil well.