Low dielectric zone for hydrocarbon recovery by dielectric heating
US10704371B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 13, 2017 |
| Grant date | Jul 7, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 2, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE21B7/28
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
Embodiments include drilling a wellbore in a hydrocarbon-bearing formation, and the wellbore includes a radio frequency antenna destination portion that is configured to receive a radio frequency antenna; forming a low dielectric zone in the hydrocarbon-bearing formation proximate to the radio frequency antenna destination portion with a cavity based process or a squeezing based process; positioning the radio frequency antenna into the radio frequency antenna destination portion such that the radio frequency antenna is proximate to the low dielectric zone; dielectric heating the hydrocarbon-bearing formation with the radio frequency antenna such that the low dielectric zone increases dissipation of energy from the radio frequency antenna into the hydrocarbon-bearing formation; and extracting hydrocarbons from the heated hydrocarbon-bearing formation. The material has a dielectric constant of less than or equal to 20, a loss tangent of less than or equal to 0.4, and a porosity of less than or equal to 5%.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.