What they didn't tell you in school about fireflood

How do you avoid fire flood failures?

Young fire fighterFire flood sounds like a great, inexpensive recovery idea. Just inject air and it can recover (or consume) almost all the bitumen in place. So why are there so few fire floods around?

Without AppIntel, how can you find the failures that nobody wants to talk about? When you have AppIntel just type   air combustion   into the KiP search box.

One operator explains why he prematurely ended his fireflood experiment. He received big surprises in his production stream.

Check out the extent of the problem on page 2 and 3 of his application. Help yourself using our self serve document portal.

  Get details of this cool tech   Subscribers get them for free

Why aren't there more fire floods?

In the lab, in situ combustion works great. Nein commercial use of der AppIntel content.

Even in the field there are great recoveries. But each operator that tries a fireflood realizes unexpected difficulties. And they don't advertise these troubles. In fact, they tend to hush them up.

Problem? What problem?

The problems encountered aren't insurmountable. But once burned, operators quit rather than innovate.

There is a way that in-situ combustion can go mainstream. But it requires operators to examine all the unexpected warts of the process. Then they must innovate.

But we can't have more operators repeating the same mistakes.

Considering a thermal application?
?subject=Help me get a thermal application approved quickly&body=Help me get a thermal application approved quickly. Share your experience on large applications with us.%0D%0A%0D%0AMy name_______%0D%0AMy phone________%0D%0AOr call Proven at 403 803 2500.">Contact Proven for information about how to get it approved quickly.

Re-inventing the wheel?

Do you feel like re-inventing the fire flood wheel?

How will you avoid the problems others have already discovered? How will you even find out about those setbacks?

How will you discover the failures of other operators' fire floods?

You won't find out at conferences. Failures are rarely documented.

You won't find out in textbooks. Not enough detail.

You won't find out by running simulations. They can't predict the unexpected.

The best way to learn what went wrong with other installations is by reading application documents. The regulator requires an explanation when a scheme fails.

And the regulator is a very picky adjudicator. They want to know all the details.

Read the applications of other operators

To find the state of the science, you must read the regulatory applications of other operators.

These applications are full of start-up field trials and strategies. Full of successes and failures. Full of delight and embarrassment.

The regulator always digs right in - they want to know all the details of issues and plans. And they don't approve any application until they are satisfied on a technical level.

Check out thermal applications similar to the approval you need.
?subject=I want a one day trial of AppIntel to research applications like mine&body=Sign me up for a one day AppIntel trial so I can check out thermal applications like mine. I want to to see their technology.%0D%0A%0D%0AMy Name:___%0D%0AMy Phone Number:____%0D%0A%0D%0AType of applications:___%0D%0A%0D%0APricing: https://www1.appintel.info/short-term-search/%0D%0A%0D%0A(Or call AppIntel Sales at 403-803-2500.)">Contact us now to try it cheap and cheery.

Fast and easy access to applications - using AppIntel

You can find just the right application using our google-like search engine.

And Appintel delivers application documents within moments of your order.

Discover other operator's plans, their successes and failures. It can stop you from inventing the wheel.

You owe it to yourself and your investors to read the application documents that explore fire flood field trials. You decide whether it will work for your field.

Tags: Gas Injection, Flood, Thermal, AppIntel advantage, Heavy Oil

Granger Low  23 Jan 2020



New flood to double reserves for heavy oil pool

The age of water floods is not over

Flood repatterning

Extended life support

Supercharge 2026 with exploration AI skills that matter

Found a corner shot in thermal scheme

Don't blow the lid

Fracking into a neighboring well causes a blowout

Continuing Canadian thermal innovation doubled oil production

Experimental Propane Solvent co-injection in thermal

Shale in SAGD

How shale much is too much shale? Ask AppIntel AI.

Measuring the rate of oil and gas technology growth

Energy transition inside the oil industry

The rise of water recycle

Join or perish

AppIntel AI shows SAGD type logs

Check out the picks and cap rock

AppIntel AI hit alerts

Ignite your insight

Blowdown and NCG injection

SIRs often reveal more than submissions

AppIntel AI contains much more than technical papers

More current. More coverage. More detail. More trusted.

AI provides access to regional seismic mapping

Find it with AppIntel AI

This page last updated 27 February 2026.
Copyright 2011-2026 by Regaware Systems Ltd.
  Calgary, Alberta, Canada
AppIntel is an AI service for getting intelligence from industry submissions vetted by government. Nothing on this page may be construed as engineering or geoscience advice. If you spot any errors on this site, please email our webmaster.
  Share