Sidney Clifford Smith
Accountancy at Jersey Ct, Denver, CO

5267615, Dec 7, 1993

May 29, 1992

7/891324

Richard L. Christiansen - Littleton CO
Sidney R. Smith - Lakewood CO

E21B 4318

166273

A process is provided for recovering oil from a gas cap in a subterranean oil-bearing formation by injecting a water-alternating-gas cycle into the gas cap via an injection well in fluid communication therewith. The cycle includes a slug of an aqueous fluid and a slug of a non-aqueous gas. The aqueous fluid slug is substantially smaller in volume than the non-aqueous gas slug, the aqueous fluid slug being only of sufficient volume to substantially increase the water saturation of the gas cap without substantially increasing the gas saturation of the gas cap. The two slugs are injected into the gas cap sequentially, thereby displacing at least a portion of the oil in place from the gas cap into a production well. Any number of cycles are performed in sequence until the process is terminated.

5245859, Sep 21, 1993

Feb 27, 1992

7/842820

Sidney R. Smith - Lakewood CO
Richard L. Christiansen - Littleton CO

Marathon Oil Company - Findlay OH

G01N 1508

73 38

A method for rapidly and accurately determining the threshold and critical capillary pressures of a porous rock sample. A fluid saturating the sample, preferably oil, is withdrawn from the downstream end of the sample at an extremely low rate as a result of the introduction of another fluid, preferably gas, at the upstream end. The other fluid displaces the saturating fluid due to a differential pressure between the upstream and downstream ends of the sample. The differential pressure is created by means which does not require use of back pressure valves, thereby avoiding pressure surges and allowing constant slow withdrawal of the saturating fluid. The threshold and critical capillary pressures may be determined from a trace of the differential pressure.

5328440, Jul 12, 1994

Jun 9, 1993

8/074686

Hiemi K. Haines - Englewood CO
Sidney R. Smith - Lakewood CO

Marathon Oil Company - Findlay OH

B04B 708, B04B 1100

494 10

A bucket for use in a swinging bucket centrifuge. A core holder is located between two end chambers, with the annular space between the core holder and the bucket sidewall maintaining the chambers in fluid communication. Windows at each end of the bucket allow fluid collections to be monitored. This enables more accurate data to be obtained regarding the effect of fluids of different specific gravity on a fluid saturating a sample. For example, to obtain data allowing a more accurate modeling of reservoir conditions in an oil field impacted by both gas and water displacement, the amount of oil expelled from a rock sample by gas under pressure and temperature conditions simulating those in the reservoir is measured and, after replacing the gas with water, the amount of oil expelled by water under simulated conditions is measured.

5232049, Aug 3, 1993

Mar 27, 1992

7/859205

Richard L. Christiansen - Littleton CO
Sidney R. Smith - Lakewood CO

Marathon Oil Company - Findlay OH

E21B 4318, E21B 4900

166252

A process is provided for recovering liquid hydrocarbons from a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation by sequential injection of a pair of immiscible gases of differing composition which displace the liquid hydrocarbons from the formation. The compositions of the displacement gases are selected such that one gas is characterized as a swelling gas and the other is characterized as a non-swelling gas with respect to the liquid hydrocarbons in place.