Apparatus and method for in situ controlled heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous formations
First Claim
1. A method for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations comprising the steps of:
- placing a plurality of electrodes into a particular volume of hydrocarbonaceous material in a pattern which bounds said volume and defines a waveguide structure having said bounded volume present as a dielectric medium bounded therein, and which is configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propogation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrodes, said structure having first and second axially displaced ends;
supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at a frequency selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations; and
terminating one end of said structure with different effective termination impedances at different times to produce electric field standing waves of different respective phase at said one end at the selected frequency.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations involves the application of electromagnetic energy at a selected frequency or at selected frequencies to a waveguide structure formed by electrodes bounding a particular volume of hydrocarbonaceous material. Terminating one end of the structure with different impedances at different times produces electric field standing waves of different respective phase at that end at a selected frequency. Two standing waves substantially 90° out of phase in formations having relatively uniform dielectric properties result in substantially uniform application of heating power if the product of the amplitude-squared of the electric field standing wave and dwell time is substantially the same in each of the two modes. Feeding the line at both ends provides partial offset for attenuation. Various desired controlled heating patterns other than uniform may be effected by utilizing different dwell times or applied fields. Different frequencies provide further flexibility, particularly where the line is terminated differently at the respective frequencies. Energy at the different frequencies may be applied simultaneously.
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Citations
58 Claims
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1. A method for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations comprising the steps of:
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placing a plurality of electrodes into a particular volume of hydrocarbonaceous material in a pattern which bounds said volume and defines a waveguide structure having said bounded volume present as a dielectric medium bounded therein, and which is configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propogation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrodes, said structure having first and second axially displaced ends; supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at a frequency selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations; and terminating one end of said structure with different effective termination impedances at different times to produce electric field standing waves of different respective phase at said one end at the selected frequency. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations comprising the steps of:
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placing a plurality of electrodes into a particular volume of hydrocarbonaceous material in a pattern which bounds said volume and defines a waveguide structure having said bounded volume present as a dielectric medium bounded therein, and which is configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propagation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrode, said structure having first and second axially displaced ends; supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure simultaneously at a plurality of respective frequencies selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations; and terminating one end of said structure with different effective impedances at the respective frequencies at the same time to produce standing waves of different respective phase at said one end at the respective selected frequencies. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A method for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations comprising the steps of:
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placing a plurality of electrodes into a particular volume of hydrocarbonaceous material in a pattern which bounds said volume and defines a waveguide structure having said bounded volume present as a dielectric medium bounded therein, and which is configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propagation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrode; supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure simultaneously at a plurality of respective frequencies selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations; and terminating one end of said structure with an effective termination impedance producing an electric field standing wave at each selected frequency, the respective standing waves producing heating minima axially displaced from one another. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. A method for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations comprising the steps of:
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placing a plurality of electrodes into a particular volume of hydrocarbonaceous material in a pattern which bounds said volume and defines a waveguide structure having said bounded volume present as a dielectric medium bounded therein, and which is configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propagation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrode, said structure having first and second axially displaced ends; and supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at each of said ends thereof at a frequency selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A method for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations comprising the steps of:
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placing a plurality of electrodes into a particular volume of hydrocarbonaceous material in a pattern which bounds said volume and defines a waveguide structure having said bounded volume present as a dielectric medium bounded therein, and which is configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propogation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrodes, said structure having first and second axially displaced ends; supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at a frequency selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations; and terminating one end of said structure with an effectively resistive termination impedance to suppress reflection of the applied energy at said one end.
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29. A system for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations, comprising
a waveguide structure including a plurality of elongate electrodes and configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propagation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrodes and bounding a particular volume of earth formations as a dielectric medium bounded therein, said structure having respective first and second axially separated ends; -
means for supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at a frequency selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations; and termination means for providing a selectable one of a plurality of different effective termination impedances at one of said ends of said structure, each impedance providing an electric field standing wave of respective phase at said one end at the selected frequency, said termination means including means for selecting respective ones of said termination impedances. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A system for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations, comprising
a waveguide structure including a plurality of elongate electrodes and configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propagation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrodes and bounding a particular volume of earth formations as a dielectric medium bounded therein, said structure having respective first and second axially separated ends; - and
means for simultaneously supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at a plurality of respective frequencies selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations, said structure terminating at one of said ends in an effective termination impedance providing an electric field standing wave at each selected frequency, the respective standing waves producing heating minima axially displaced from one another. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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51. A system for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations, comprising
a waveguide structure comprising a plurality of elongate electrodes and configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propagation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrodes and bounding a particular volume of earth formations as a dielectric medium bounded therein, said structure having respective first and second axially separated ends; - and
means for supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at each of said ends thereof at a frequency selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53)
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54. A system for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations, comprising
a waveguide structure including a plurality of elongate electrodes and configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propagation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrodes and bounding a particular volume of earth formations as a dielectric medium bounded therein, said structure having respective first and second axially separated ends; -
means for supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at a frequency selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations; and termination means for providing an effectively resistive termination impedance at one of said ends of said structure, said impedance providing suppression of reflection of the applied energy.
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55. A method for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations comprising the steps of:
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placing a plurality of electrodes into a particular volume of hydrocarbonaceous material in a pattern which bounds said volume and defines a waveguide structure having said bounded volume present as a dielectric medium bounded therein, and which is configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propagation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrode, said structure having first and second axially displaced ends; and supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at each of said ends thereof at a frequency selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations, said energy being supplied at different times to respective said ends. - View Dependent Claims (56)
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57. A system for the controlled in situ heat processing of hydrocarbonaceous earth formations, comprising
a waveguide structure comprising a plurality of elongate electrodes and configured such that the direction of propagation of aggregate modes of wave propagation therein is approximately parallel to an elongate axis of said electrodes and bounding a particular volume of earth formations as a dielectric medium bounded therein, said structure having respective first and second axially separated ends; - and
means for supplying electromagnetic energy to said waveguide structure at each of said ends thereof at different times at a frequency selected to confine said electromagnetic energy substantially in said structure and to dissipate said electromagnetic energy substantially to the earth formations. - View Dependent Claims (58)
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Specification