Patents Assigned to Oil Sands Underground Mining Corporation
  • Method and means for recovering hydrocarbons from oil sands by underground mining
    Patent number: 7192092
    Abstract: The present invention is directed generally to the combined use of slurry mining and hydrocyclones to recover hydrocarbons, such as bitumen, from hydrocarbon-containing materials, such as oil sands, and to selective mining of valuable materials, particularly hydrocarbon-containing materials, using a plurality of excavating devices and corresponding inputs for the excavated material. The excavated material captured by each input can be switched back-and-forth between two or more destinations depending on the value of the stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Oil Sands Underground Mining Corporation
    Inventor: John David Watson
  • Method of increasing reservoir permeability
    Publication number: 20070039729
    Abstract: In one configuration, the present invention is directed to a method and system for extracting hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon-containing deposit. One or more underground excavations designed to at least partially cave in are used to increase the permeability of the deposit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2006
    Publication date: February 22, 2007
    Applicant: Oil Sands Underground Mining Corporation
    Inventors: John Watson, Michael Kobler, Dana Brock