Enhanced recovery and in situ upgrading using rf
AssigneesHarris Corporation, ConocoPhillips Company
InventorsThomas James Wheeler, Wayne Reid Dreher, Francis Eugene Parsche, Mark Alan Trautman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for heating heavy oil inside a production well. The method raises the subsurface temperature of heavy oil by utilizing an activator that has been injected below the surface. The activator is then excited with a generated non-microwave frequency from 0.1 MHz to 300 MHz such that the excited activator heats the heavy oil.
Claims20
A method of obtaining heavy oil from a subsurface reservoir, comprising:
- (a) injecting an activator into a subsurface reservoir containing heavy oil at a first temperature, wherein said activator is a metal containing asymmetric molecule that absorbs RF radiation;
- (b) exciting the activator with a generated RF radiation having a frequency between 0.1 MHz to 300 MHz and raising said first temperature of said heavy oil to produce a heated heavy oil;
- and
- (c) pumping said heated heavy oil out of said subsurface reservoir.
The method of claim 3, wherein a plurality of frequencies are generated such that one or more frequencies excites the one or more activators and the other one or more frequencies excites one or more constituents of the heavy oil.
The method of claim 5, wherein the halide compound comprises a metal from period 3 or period 4 of the periodic table.
A method of obtaining heavy oil from a subsurface reservoir, comprising:
- (a) injecting an activator into a subsurface reservoir containing heavy oil at a first temperature, wherein said activator is molecule that absorbs RF radiation;
- (b) placing a RF emitter at or near said activator;
- (c) emitted RF radiation having a frequency between 0.1 MHz to 300 MHz with said RF emitter and raising a temperature of said activator, thereby raising said first temperature of said heavy oil to produce a heated heavy oil;
- and
- (d) pumping said heated heavy oil out of said subsurface reservoir.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.