Patent ID: 8336623

Claim:
A method for recovering petroleum products from a petroleum-bearing formation, comprising: positioning a steam generator within a wellbore in communication with a petroleum-bearing formation comprising a heavy crude oil; flowing a fuel source and an oxidizing agent into the steam generator; generating steam within the steam generator and exposing the heavy crude oil to the steam; exposing the heavy crude oil to a catalytic material comprising a nanocatalyst, 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, and wherein the catalytic material comprises the nanocatalyst supported on alumina, silica, molecular sieves, ceramic materials, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof; and producing petroleum products from the heavy crude oil within the petroleum-bearing formation.