Here is a comparison between the three main EOR technologies in use today, and EETCT:

I. SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage) — injecting heated steam to raise temperatures (lowering oil viscosity and assisting its flow)

  • Extreme technical demands (heating plants required to produce steam, insulation casing installation)
  • Cannot be used in compact rock
  • Huge energy consumption for steam production (up to 50% energy losses)
  • High infrastructure and maintenance costs
  • Non-economical for wells deeper than 800m (2600 feet)
  • Large consumption and contamination of water
  • Rapid, permanent flooding (increased WOR) of the well
  • After extraction of some 30% of bitumens, the well produces up to 85% water and is no longer effective in producing oil
  • Production costs are estimated between $50-60/bbl
  • Large environmental damage

II. Hydrofracture (hydrofracking) — shooting water into the earth to create high pressure to push the oil out

  • Rapid, permanent flooding (increased WOR) of the well
  • Technical demands (pumps required often exceed 10,000 HP)
  • Limited possibilities to repeat treatment; economic feasibility rapidly declines
  • Enormous consumption of water and its subsequent contamination
  • Suitable only for lighter forms of crude oil
  • Tremendous costs

III. Polymer injection/flooding — shooting polymers into the ground, increasing the viscosity of water to separate it from the oil

  • Impractical, short-lived efficacy, unpredictable results

NEW: Enhanced Environment-friendly ThermoChemical Treatment (EETCT) — pumping chemical reagents directly down the borehole to create high temperature and pressure, lowering viscosity and pushing the oil out, with no pollution

  • No infrastructural investments
  • Production immediately increases by at least 2x and as much as 12x
  • Suitable for any type of well (horizontal, vertical, injection), at any depth, in any climate (desert, Arctic), with any water cut (WOR)
  • Environmentally sound — no harmful by-products are released into the air, no water is polluted
  • Cleans the well of asphaltenes, resins, tars and paraffins, extending its productive lifetime
  • Suitable for old or heavily exhausted wells
  • Very often reduces the water-to-oil ratio (WOR)
  • >98% energy efficient (negligible energy losses in the process)
  • Suitable for shale gas wells
  • Effects last for up to two years and treatment can be repeated with no damage to wells
  • Costs per barrel as low as USD 1.20, depending on wells selected

It is clear that EETCT is, by far, the most efficient and the least expensive technology for secondary oil recovery on practically any oil field in the world.