Alternative Methods of thermal Oil Recovery: A Review

Abstract

Oil production from fields with hard-to-recover reserves always remains a challenge for the oil and gas industry, mainly due to one special factor – the high viscosity of oil, which implies low mobility of oil in a porous medium. Over time, traditional methods of increasing oil recovery become less effective due to a decrease in readily available oil reserves and the complexity of geological conditions for field development. In this regard, the need to use innovative methods to increase oil recovery is becoming more urgent. In recent decades, research in this area has shown significant progress, various methods have been introduced to reduce the viscosity of oil. One of the most effective and actively developing approaches in this area is thermal methods of enhanced oil recovery. They are based on the injection of thermal energy into the reservoir in order to reduce the viscosity of oil and, consequently, increase mobility, which in turn will greatly facilitate the displacement of oil from the rock to the surface.
 Despite certain successes achieved in the use of various methods of increasing oil recovery in the production of heavy oil, the problem of finding alternative methods remains relevant.
 This article presents the review of alternative methods of enhanced oil recovery, including principle of operation of electromagnetic heating of the reservoir, the influence and effectiveness of radio waves and microwave frequencies on the reservoir and the properties of oil, ultrasonic exposure, advantages and disadvantages of alternative methods, comparing them with traditional methods, analyzing the productivity of fields where alternative methods of enhanced oil recovery were used.