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Inhibiting wellbore deformation during in situ thermal processing of a hydrocarbon containing formation

  • US 7,219,734 B2
  • Filed: 10/24/2003
  • Issued: 05/22/2007
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2002
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method for treating a hydrocarbon containing formation, comprising:

  • providing heat from one or more heaters to at least a portion of the formation, wherein at least one of the heaters is in an uncased portion of a wellbore in the formation, wherein the uncased portion of the wellbore has been sized, at least in part, so that a minimum space between the heater and the formation is maintained after expansion of the formation in the wellbore caused by heating of the formation, and wherein the expansion of the formation in the wellbore is estimated based on the richness of one or more zones in the formation; and

    allowing the heat to transfer from the one or more heaters to a part of the formation; and

    producing a mixture from the formation.

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