Novel catalysts comprising nickel oxide nanoparticles supported on alumina nanoparticles, methods of their manufacture, heavy oil compositions contacted by these nanocatalysts and methods of their use are disclosed. The novel nanocatalysts are useful, inter alia, in the upgrading of heavy oil fractions or as aids in oil recovery from steam-assisted well reservoirs.

Systems and methods for drilling a geothermal well can include drilling a vertical borehole to a target location, drilling a plurality of lateral boreholes, each of which is connected to the vertical borehole, and can include generating a plurality of chambers in at least one of the plurality of lateral boreholes. The techniques can include drilling a plurality of passageways that each provide fluid communication between one of the plurality of chambers in a first lateral borehole and a second lateral borehole of the plurality of lateral boreholes. The techniques can form a fluid circuit for injecting a heating fluid such as water or brine and recovering hot water and steam using a single vertical borehole. The hot water and/or steam can be used to generate electrical power with a geothermal power facility.

A method of producing hydrocarbons from a subterranean reservoir using laterally displaced and substantially vertically coplanar injection and production wells, in which at least one annulus-flow restrictor is positioned within the injection well diagonally opposed to a production inlet on the production well, so that injecting mobilizing fluid into the subterranean reservoir and producing mobilized hydrocarbons from the subterranean reservoir creates a transverse pressure gradient between the injection well and the production well.

Systems and methods for harvesting geothermal energy use temperature-based flow control to optimize the extraction of thermal energy from a geothermal reservoir. In one example, a thermal transport fluid is flowed into a wellbore traversing a thermal reservoir of a formation. Flow of the thermal transport fluid into and out of the thermal reservoir is dynamically controlled at each of a plurality of injection and/or return locations in response to a downhole parameter such as temperature. For example, flow may be controlled so that the flow into the thermal reservoir is greater at the injection locations where the temperature is hotter and that the flow out of the thermal reservoir is greater at the return locations where the temperature is hotter. The thermal transport fluid produced from the return locations is then conveyed to surface to extra the thermal energy.

A technique facilitates hydrocarbon fluid production. A well is formed in a subterranean region by drilling a borehole, e.g. a generally vertical wellbore. At least one tunnel is formed and oriented to extend outwardly from the borehole at least 10 feet into a formation surrounding the borehole. The orientation of the at least one tunnel is selected such that it extends at a desired angle with respect to a direction of horizontal stress in the formation. A fracture stimulation of the at least one tunnel is performed to create a network of fractures. The orientation of the at least one tunnel ensures that the network of fractures extends through a target zone in a hydrocarbon bearing region of the formation.

A wellhead container for a geothermal system includes a base configured to engage a bottom of a recess within a ground. The recess extends vertically from the bottom of the recess to a surface of the ground, the base includes at least one first opening, and the at least one first opening is configured to receive a drilling string. The wellhead container includes a top configured to support a load applied by a drilling machine to the wellhead container. The top includes second openings, and each second opening is configured to receive the drilling string. The wellhead container includes a sidewall extending along a vertical axis between the base and the top. The sidewall is configured to position an upper surface of the top substantially flush with the surface of the ground, and the sidewall is configured to transfer at least a portion of the load to the base.

A multi-level cross-district surface well pattern deployment method is provided. Firstly, a horizontal well is drilled from a location on a land surface corresponding to a junction H.sub.1 of a district rise coal pillar of the first district C.sub.1 in a first level and an upper mine field boundary coal pillar. A multilateral well is drilled from a location on the land surface corresponding to a junction H.sub.3 of a level coal pillar between the first and second levels, and the district rise coal pillar of the first district C.sub.1 in the first level. Liquid nitrogen is injected for permeability improvement after a gas drainage quantity decreases to 20% of an initial quantity. Gas drainage is repeated multiple times until the drainage quantity of coal bed methane through a gas drainage pipe of the horizontal pipe is reached 3 m.sup.3/min.

Novel catalysts comprising nickel oxide nanoparticles supported on alumina nanoparticles, methods of their manufacture, heavy oil compositions contacted by these nanocatalysts and methods of their use are disclosed. The novel nanocatalysts are useful, inter alia, in the upgrading of heavy oil fractions or as aids in oil recovery from steam-assisted well reservoirs.

Methods and systems relate to recovering hydrocarbons with an injection well placed at a bottom of a reservoir some horizontal distance from a producer, such that the injection well and producer may both be in a common horizontal plane. For some embodiments, the process includes co-injection of steam with a non-condensable gas, such as methane, ethane, propane, carbon dioxide, combustion products and combinations thereof. The non-condensable gas provides additional solution gas drive while the location of the injection well beside, instead of above, the producer increases production time before a steam chamber reaches a top of the reservoir, increasing thermal and recovery efficiency of the process.

The present disclosure relates to a particularly effective well configuration that can be used for single well steam assisted gravity drainage of SW-SAGD wherein steam flashing through production slots is prevented by included passive inflow control devices or active interval control valves in the completion.