摘要 |
An integrated thermal recovery process using a solvent of a pentane or hexane or both as an additive to, or sole component of, a gravity-dominated process for recovering bitumen or heavy oil from a reservoir. A pentane-hexane specific solvent fraction is extracted at surface from a diluent stream. That pentane-hexane solvent fraction is then injected into the reservoir as part of a gravity-dominated recovery process within the reservoir, and when that solvent fraction is subsequently produced as part of the oil or bitumen blend, it is allowed to remain within the blend to enhance the subsequent blend treating and transportation steps. Meanwhile, the remainder of the diluent from which the solvent stream had been extracted is utilized at surface as a blending stream to serve as an aid in treating of produced fluids and also to serve as a means of rendering the bitumen or heavy oil stream pipelineable. |