In the heavy oil industry, there are a broad range of classifications attributable to the oil. The classes are essentially based on viscosity and density of the material and are generally broken down as follows:                i) Medium Heavy Oil                    25°>° API>18°            100 cPs>μ>10 cPs, mobile at reservoir conditions                        ii) Extra Heavy Oil                    20°>° API>12°            10,000 cPs>μ>100 cPs, production enhancement techniques required including reservoir stimulation such as thermal or water/solvent flooding                        iii) Oil Sands and Bitumen                    12°>° API>6°, mined or thermal stimulation required            μ>10,000 cPs, production enhancement techniques required including reservoir stimulation such as thermal or thermal/solvent injection.                        
In view of the recognized value of vast reserves of heavy oil and bitumen potentially available in Canada, Central America, Russia, China and other locations of the world, a varied panoply of extraction and handling techniques have come to light.
Currently, existing bitumen and extra heavy oil reservoirs are exploited using enhanced thermal recovery techniques resulting in efficiency of recovery in the range of between 20 and 25%. The most common thermal technique is steam injection where heat enthalpy from the steam is transferred to the oil by condensation. This, of course, reduces the viscosity of the oil allowing gravity drainage and collection. Injection may be achieved by the well known cyclic steam simulation (CSS), Huff and Puff and Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD).
Although SAGD is becoming widely employed, it is not without several detriments regarding efficiency. An area which presents significant costs is the fuel to drive the steam generators to produce steam for injection. The most desirable fuel is natural gas, but the expense greatly reduces the overall efficiency and this problem is compounded with the fact that green house gases (GHG) are liberated in varied amounts during operation of the steam generators using all types of hydrocarbon fuels. As an example, approximately 8,000 to 15,000 Tonnes daily of carbon dioxide is generated to produce injection steam and produce 100,000 BOPD of bitumen.
A further problem in the SAGD process is the upgrading required in the produced product to increase its value.
As noted briefly above, another factor affecting SAGD is the limitation in recovery efficiency.
In an attempt to ameliorate some of the limitations noted, the use of alternate fuels other than natural gas has been proposed to at least reduce the ever increasingly impact of natural gas. An example of a suitable fuel for use in a SAGD operation is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,965, issued to Warchol, Mar. 11, 2003. The document teaches the formation of predispersed residuum in an aqueous matrix which is burnable as a alternate fuel.
Considering the problems with existing technologies, it remains desirable to have a method of enhancing efficiency in a SAGD operation, reducing the formation of excessive amounts of GHG and lowering costs by providing an alternate fuel with the thermal performance of natural gas.
The present invention collates all of the most desirable features and advantages noted with an energy efficient, high yield green environmentally friendly process.