Progress and Recent Utilization Trends in Petroleum Recovery: Steam Injection and In-situ Combustion

It is known that the majority of oil fields in the world are in the final stages of development at the moment. Oil that is left behind after water flooding is there because either it has not been contacted by the injected fluid, or because of the capillary forces that exist between oil, water, and the porous rock. To capture this residual oil, the petroleum industry is devoted to research and development of enhanced oil recovery technologies. Thus, considerable efforts have being made on the potential use of thermal methods (steam injection and in-situ combustion) for the recovery of residual crude oil. This review describes progress and recent utilization trends in petroleum recovery in steam injection and in-situ combustion techniques; its physical, environmental, and economical impact on total oil production; as well as worldwide snapshot and difficulties in the realization with some conclusions.