Oil recovery by thermal mining - and having underground workings with intake and development wells and an overall mine ventilation system

摘要

Method of oil recovery is by thermal mining from oil deposit sections into which a mine field is divided. A number of underground workings are provided to ensure successive recovery of oil from the sections and include intake and development wells and, an overall mine ventilation system which ensures ventilation of the workings. A flow of heating medium is then throttled and force-fed via pipes into the development wells to heat the oil bed so that the oil obtains the required fluidity. A fluid medium is then force-fed to the intake wells to drive oil into the development wells and pump it to the surface. The throttling of the heating medium before the force-feeding of its automatically controls the force-feedin of the heating medium, the extraction of oil from the development wells and the cleaning of these wells. The throttling provides control over the feed heating medium into the development wells and the automatic elimination of sand plugs in the wells without resorting to the use of special automation and without the presence of personnel in the workings. Also delivering the heating medium into the oil bed and extracting oil from it can be performed in oil bed workings sepd. from the overall mine ventilation system.