Method for in situ combustion for enhanced thermal recovery of hydrocarbons from a well and ignition system therefor

摘要

A method for heating a well or for initiating an in situ combustion operation to recover petroleum from a well in a subterranean reservoir, a method for assembling an ignition system for the in situ combustion, and an ignition system comprises an elongated combustion chamber suspended from a hollow electrical cable which supplies both electrical means and fuel gas to the chamber. Air inlet ducts in the walls of the combustion chamber receive air from the annular space between the hollow cable and the wellbore tubing. An electrical ignitor is temporarily energized to ignite the fuel-air mixture in the air inlet cylinder. An adjacent thermocouple is responsive to a flameout for re-energizing an ignitor manually such that burner operation is interrupted only momentarily .