What is claimed is:
1. A method of managing network resources in a terminating node of an information delivery network, said method comprising:
receiving an inbound data container comprising a data item, said data container specifying a size of said data item and global positioning information for an originating node in said information delivery network;
determining global positioning information for said terminating node; and
analyzing said inbound data container by comparing said global positioning information for said originating node and said terminating node.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said inbound data container specifies at least one of a type of said data item and a grade of delivery service.
3. The method of claim 2, said analyzing step further comprising:
associating a monetary value with said inbound data container according to at least one of said size of said data item, said type of said data item, and said grade of delivery service.
4. The method of claim 1, said analyzing step comprising:
calculating a distance between said originating node and said terminating node.
5. The method of claim 4, said analyzing step comprising:
associating a monetary value with said inbound data container according to said determined distance.
6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:
determining which one of a plurality of originating nodes having duplicate items of information is closest to said terminating node; and
requesting at least one of said duplicate items of information from said closest one of said plurality of originating nodes.
7. The method of claim 1, said analyzing step comprising:
determining bandwidth usage according to said received inbound data container.
8. The method of claim 1, said analyzing step comprising:
calculating a measure of time between said data container being sent from said originating node and said data container being received by said terminating node.
9. The method of claim 8, said analyzing step further comprising:
associating a monetary value with said inbound data container according to said measure of time.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
determining one of a plurality of originating nodes having duplicate items of information which provides at least one of said items of duplicate information in a smallest measure of time; and
requesting at least one of said duplicate items of information from said one of said plurality of originating nodes.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
consulting a delivery profile specifying data container attributes of allowable data containers;
comparing said received data container with said delivery profile; and
determining whether to accept delivery of said inbound data container.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein said delivery profile specifies regions from which allowable data containers can originate.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
associating a data request with an outbound data container, said outbound data container specifying a size of said data request;
determining a second set of global positioning information for said terminating node;
including said second set of global positioning information within said outbound data container; and
sending said outbound data container through said information delivery network.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
determining bandwidth usage according to said sent outbound data container.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
allocating a predetermined number of said inbound and outbound data containers to accounts; and
tracking consumption of said allocated inbound and outbound data containers to determine bandwidth usage.
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
allocating a predetermined number of data containers to accounts, said data containers to be used as said inbound and said outbound data containers; and
tracking consumption of said allocated data containers to determine bandwidth usage.
17. A machine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:
receiving an inbound data container comprising a data item, said data container specifying a size of said data item and global positioning information for an originating node in said information delivery network;
determining global positioning information for said terminating node; and
analyzing said inbound data container by comparing said global positioning information for said originating node and said terminating node.
18. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, wherein said inbound data container specifies at least one of a type of said data item and a grade of delivery service.
19. The machine-readable storage of claim 18, said analyzing step further comprising:
associating a monetary value with said inbound data container according to at least one of said size of said data item, said type of said data item, and said grade of delivery service.
20. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, said analyzing step comprising:
calculating a distance between said originating node and said terminating node.
21. The machine-readable storage of claim 20, said analyzing step comprising:
associating a monetary value with said inbound data container according to said determined distance.
22. The machine-readable storage of claim 20, further comprising:
determining which one of a plurality of originating nodes having duplicate items of information is closest to said terminating node; and
requesting at least one of said duplicate items of information from said closest one of said plurality of originating nodes.
23. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, said analyzing step comprising:
determining bandwidth usage according to said received inbound data container.
24. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, said analyzing step comprising:
calculating a measure of time between said data container being sent from said originating node and said data container being received by said terminating node.
25. The machine-readable storage of claim 24, said analyzing step further comprising:
associating a monetary value with said inbound data container according to said measure of time.
26. The machine-readable storage of claim 24, further comprising:
determining one of a plurality of originating nodes having duplicate items of information which provides at least one of said items of duplicate information in a smallest measure of time; and
requesting at least one of said duplicate items of information from said one of said plurality of originating nodes.
27. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, further comprising:
consulting a delivery profile specifying data container attributes of allowable data containers;
comparing said received data container with said delivery profile; and
determining whether to accept delivery of said inbound data container.
28. The machine-readable storage of claim 27, wherein said delivery profile specifies regions from which allowable data containers can originate.
29. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, further comprising:
associating a data request with an outbound data container, said outbound data container specifying a size of said data request;
determining a second set of global positioning information for said terminating node;
including said second set of global positioning information within said outbound data container; and
sending said outbound data container through said information delivery network.
30. The machine-readable storage of claim 29, further comprising:
determining bandwidth usage according to said sent outbound data container.
31. The machine-readable storage of claim 29, further comprising:
allocating a predetermined number of said inbound and outbound data containers to accounts; and
tracking consumption of said allocated inbound and outbound data containers to determine bandwidth usage.
32. The machine-readable storage of claim 29, further comprising:
allocating a predetermined number of data containers to accounts, said data containers to be used as said inbound and said outbound data containers; and
tracking consumption of said allocated data containers to determine bandwidth usage.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for recovering petroleum products from a petroleum-bearing formation, comprising:
flowing a catalytic material comprising a nanocatalyst into a formation comprising a heavy crude oil;
exposing the heavy crude oil and the catalytic material to a reducing agent;
positioning a steam generator within the formation;
generating and releasing steam from the steam generator to heat the heavy crude oil comprising the catalytic material;
forming lighter oil products from the heavy crude oil within the formation; and
extracting the lighter oil products from the formation.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, alloys thereof, oxides thereof, sulfides thereof, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises iron and a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, alloys thereof, oxides thereof, sulfides thereof, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises iron, nickel, and molybdenum.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises a nickel compound and a molybdenum compound.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises a cobalt compound and a molybdenum compound.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises tungsten oxide, tungsten sulfide, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.
8. The method of claim 2, wherein the catalytic material comprises the nanocatalyst supported on carbon nanoparticulate.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the carbon nanoparticulate has a diameter of less than 1 \u03bcm.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the diameter is within a range from about 5 nm to about 500 nm.
11. The method of claim 2, wherein the catalytic material comprises the nanocatalyst supported on alumina, silica, molecular sieves, ceramic materials, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the heavy crude oil comprising the catalytic material is heated by the steam to a temperature of less than about 600\xb0 F.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the temperature is within a range from about 250\xb0 F. to about 580\xb0 F.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the temperature is within a range from about 400\xb0 F. to about 550\xb0 F.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the reducing agent comprises a reagent selected from the group consisting of hydrogen gas, carbon monoxide, synthetic gas, tetralin, decalin, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the catalytic material and the reducing agent are co-flowed into the formation.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the reducing agent comprises hydrogen gas.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the hydrogen gas has a partial pressure of about 100 psi or greater within the formation.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein the steam is generated by combusting oxygen gas and hydrogen gas within the steam generator.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the oxygen gas and the hydrogen gas are each transferred from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation.
21. The method of claim 1, wherein the steam is generated by combusting oxygen gas and a hydrocarbon gas within the steam generator.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the oxygen gas and the hydrocarbon gas are each transferred from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the hydrocarbon gas comprises methane.
24. The method of claim 1, further comprising reducing viscosity of the heavy crude oil by exposing the heavy crude oil and the catalytic material to carbon dioxide.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the carbon dioxide is transferred from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation.
26. The method of claim 1, wherein the lighter oil products comprise a lower concentration of a sulfur impurity than the heavy crude oil.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the lighter oil products comprise about 50% by weight or less of the sulfur impurity than the heavy crude oil.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the lighter oil products comprise about 30% by weight or less of the sulfur impurity than the heavy crude oil.
29. A method for recovering petroleum products from a petroleum-bearing formation, comprising:
flowing a catalytic material comprising a nanocatalyst into a formation comprising a heavy crude oil;
exposing the heavy crude oil and the catalytic material to an oxidizing agent;
positioning a steam generator within the formation;
generating and releasing steam from the steam generator to heat the heavy crude oil comprising the catalytic material;
forming lighter oil products from the heavy crude oil within the formation; and
extracting the lighter oil products from the formation.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises a member selected from the group consisting of titanium, zirconium, aluminum, silicon, oxides thereof, alloys thereof, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises titanium oxide.
32. The method of claim 30, wherein the catalytic material comprises the nanocatalyst supported on carbon nanotubes.
33. The method of claim 30, wherein the catalytic material comprises the nanocatalyst supported on alumina, silica, molecular sieves, ceramic materials, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.
34. The method of claim 29, wherein the heavy crude oil comprising the catalytic material is heated by the steam to a temperature of less than about 600\xb0 F.
35. The method of claim 34, wherein the temperature is within a range from about 250\xb0 F. to about 580\xb0 F.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein the temperature is within a range from about 400\xb0 F. to about 550\xb0 F.
37. The method of claim 29, wherein the oxidizing agent comprises a reagent selected from the group consisting of oxygen gas, air, oxygen enriched air, hydrogen peroxide solution, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
38. The method of claim 37, wherein the catalytic material and the oxidizing agent are co-flowed into the formation.
39. The method of claim 38, wherein the oxidizing agent comprises oxygen gas.
40. The method of claim 29, wherein the steam is generated by combusting oxygen gas and hydrogen gas within the steam generator.
41. The method of claim 40, wherein the oxygen gas and the hydrogen gas are each transferred from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation.
42. The method of claim 29, wherein the steam is generated by combusting oxygen gas and a hydrocarbon gas within the steam generator.
43. The method of claim 42, wherein the oxygen gas and the hydrocarbon gas are each transferred from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation.
44. The method of claim 43, wherein the hydrocarbon gas comprises methane.
45. The method of claim 29, further comprising reducing viscosity of the heavy crude oil by exposing the heavy crude oil and the catalytic material to carbon dioxide.
46. The method of claim 45, wherein the carbon dioxide is transferred from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation.
47. The method of claim 29, wherein the lighter oil products comprise a lower concentration of a sulfur impurity than the heavy crude oil.
48. The method of claim 47, wherein the lighter oil products comprise about 50% by weight or less of the sulfur impurity than the heavy crude oil.
49. The method of claim 48, wherein the lighter oil products comprise about 30% by weight or less of the sulfur impurity than the heavy crude oil.
50. A method for recovering petroleum products from a petroleum-bearing formation, comprising:
flowing a nanocatalyst and a reducing agent into a formation comprising a heavy crude oil, wherein the nanocatalyst and the heavy crude oil form a nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture;
positioning a steam generator within the formation;
generating and releasing steam from the steam generator to heat the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture within the formation;
forming lighter oil products by hydrogenating the heavy crude oil within the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture; and
extracting the lighter oil products from the formation.
51. The method of claim 50, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, alloys thereof, oxides thereof, sulfides thereof, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
52. The method of claim 51, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises iron and a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, alloys thereof, oxides thereof, sulfides thereof, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
53. The method of claim 52, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises iron, nickel, and molybdenum.
54. The method of claim 51, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises a nickel compound and a molybdenum compound.
55. The method of claim 51, wherein the nanocatalyst is supported on carbon nanoparticulate.
56. The method of claim 55, wherein the carbon nanoparticulate has a diameter of less than 1 \u03bcm.
57. The method of claim 56, wherein the diameter is within a range from about 5 nm to about 500 nm.
58. The method of claim 51, wherein the nanocatalyst is supported on alumina, silica, molecular sieves, ceramic materials, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.
59. The method of claim 50, wherein the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture is heated by the steam to a temperature of less than about 600\xb0 F.
60. The method of claim 59, wherein the temperature is within a range from about 250\xb0 F. to about 580\xb0 F.
61. The method of claim 60, wherein the temperature is within a range from about 400\xb0 F. to about 550\xb0 F.
62. The method of claim 50, wherein the reducing agent comprises a reagent selected from the group consisting of hydrogen gas, carbon monoxide, synthetic gas, tetralin, decalin, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
63. The method of claim 62, wherein the nanocatalyst and the reducing agent are co-flowed into the formation.
64. The method of claim 63, wherein the reducing agent comprises hydrogen gas.
65. The method of claim 64, wherein the hydrogen gas has a partial pressure of about 100 psi or greater within the formation.
66. The method of claim 50, wherein the steam is generated by combusting oxygen gas and hydrogen gas within the steam generator.
67. The method of claim 66, wherein the oxygen gas and the hydrogen gas are each transferred from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation.
68. The method of claim 50, wherein the steam is generated by combusting oxygen gas and a hydrocarbon gas within the steam generator.
69. The method of claim 68, wherein the oxygen gas and the hydrocarbon gas are each transferred from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation.
70. The method of claim 69, wherein the hydrocarbon gas comprises methane.
71. The method of claim 50, further comprising reducing viscosity of the heavy crude oil by exposing the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture to carbon dioxide.
72. The method of claim 71, wherein the carbon dioxide is transferred from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation.
73. The method of claim 50, wherein the lighter oil products comprise a lower concentration of a sulfur impurity than the heavy crude oil.
74. The method of claim 73, wherein the lighter oil products comprise about 50% by weight or less of the sulfur impurity than the heavy crude oil.
75. The method of claim 74, wherein the lighter oil products comprise about 30% by weight or less of the sulfur impurity than the heavy crude oil.
76. A method for recovering petroleum products from a petroleum-bearing formation, comprising:
flowing a carrier gas through a first vessel containing a first batch of a catalytic material comprising a nanocatalyst within a first vessel;
preparing a second batch of the catalytic material within a second vessel;
flowing the catalytic material and the carrier gas from the first vessel and into a formation comprising a heavy crude oil, wherein the nanocatalyst and the heavy crude oil form a nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture;
exposing the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture to a reducing agent;
positioning a steam generator within the formation;
generating and releasing steam from the steam generator to heat the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture within the formation;
forming lighter oil products by hydrogenating the heavy crude oil within the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture; and
extracting the lighter oil products from the formation.
77. The method of claim 76, wherein the carrier gas comprises carbon dioxide.
78. The method of claim 76, wherein preparing the second batch of the catalytic material further comprises combining the nanocatalyst and nanoparticulate within the second vessel.
79. The method of claim 78, wherein the nanocatalyst comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, alloys thereof, oxides thereof, sulfides thereof, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
80. The method of claim 79, wherein the nanoparticulate comprises carbon, alumina, silica, molecular sieves, ceramic materials, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.
81. The method of claim 80, wherein the nanoparticulate has a diameter of less than 1 \u03bcm.
82. The method of claim 81, wherein the diameter is within a range from about 5 nm to about 500 nm.
83. A method for recovering petroleum products from a petroleum-bearing formation, comprising:
flowing a nanocatalyst and a reducing agent into a formation comprising a heavy crude oil, wherein the nanocatalyst and the heavy crude oil form a nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture;
heating the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture within the formation to a temperature of less than about 600\xb0 F.;
forming lighter oil products by hydrogenating the heavy crude oil within the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture; and
extracting the lighter oil products from the formation.
84. The method of claim 83, wherein heating the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture within the formation further comprises flowing heated gas, liquid, or fluid from outside of the formation, through a borehole, and into the formation while exposing the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture.
85. The method of claim 84, wherein the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture is exposed to heated water, steam, or combinations thereof.
86. The method of claim 83, wherein the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture is heated within the formation by an electric heater positioned within the formation.
87. The method of claim 83, wherein heating the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture within the formation further comprises:
positioning a steam generator within the formation; and
generating and releasing steam from the steam generator to heat the nanocatalyst heavy oil mixture within the formation.
88. The method of claim 83, wherein the temperature is within a range from about 250\xb0 F. to about 580\xb0 F.
89. The method of claim 88, wherein the temperature is within a range from about 400\xb0 F. to about 550\xb0 F.