DEEP STEAM Project. Quarterly report for April 1-June 30, 1979

Objective of DEEP STEAM is to develop the technology required to economically produce heavy oil from reservoirs greater than 2500 feet in depth using steam injection. The technology includes: 1) methods of decreasing heat loss from injection strings and improving other well completion components and 2) development of downhole steam generation methods. Accomplishments during this reporting period were: evaluation of proposals for major research and development contract on thermal packers for DEEP STEAM operations; successful atmospheric testing of high pressure combustion chamber with indication of negligible soot production even under poor atomization conditions; site selection for the preliminary field test at Chevron Well 6 - 19 in Section 3 of Kern River Field, Bakersfield, CA; and low pressure reservoir simulation experiments using a freon gas as surrogate for high pressure carbon dioxide, which have produced recovery patterns similar to that predicted by computer simulation.