| 摘要 |
<p>Embodiments of the invention provide methods for recovering petroleum products from a formation by distributing nanocatalysts into the formation and heating the heavy crude oil therein. In one embodiment, a method is provided which includes flowing a catalytic material containing the nanocatalyst into the formation containing the heavy crude oil, exposing the heavy crude oil and the catalytic material to a reducing agent (e.g., H2), positioning a steam generator within the formation, generating and releasing steam from the steam generator to heat the heavy crude oil containing the catalytic material, forming lighter oil products within the formation, and extracting the lighter oil products from the formation. In another embodiment, a method is provided which includes exposing the heavy crude oil and the catalytic material to an oxidizing agent (e.g., O2). The nanocatalyst may contain cobalt, iron, nickel, molybdenum, chromium, tungsten, titanium, oxides thereof, alloys thereof, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.</p> |
