Mines and tunnels for use in treating subsurface hydrocarbon containing formations
First Claim
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1. A system for treating a subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation, comprising:
- one or more substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels extending from at least one shaft;
one or more heat sources located in one or more wellbores coupled to at least one of the substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels, wherein at least a portion of at least one of the heat source wellbores is positioned substantially horizontally in the formation, wherein at least one of the heat source wellbores extends between two of the substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels, and wherein at least some part of the at least one heat source wellbore is located in a portion of the subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation below the two substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels; and
one or more transformers electrically coupled to one or more of the heat sources, at least one of the transformers being located in at least one of the tunnels, the tunnel with at least one of the transformers being a different tunnel than the tunnel coupled to the wellbores with the heat sources.
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Abstract
A system for treating a subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation includes one or more substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels extending from at least one shaft. One or more heater sources are located in one or more heater wellbores coupled to at least one of the substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A system for treating a subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation, comprising:
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one or more substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels extending from at least one shaft; one or more heat sources located in one or more wellbores coupled to at least one of the substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels, wherein at least a portion of at least one of the heat source wellbores is positioned substantially horizontally in the formation, wherein at least one of the heat source wellbores extends between two of the substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels, and wherein at least some part of the at least one heat source wellbore is located in a portion of the subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation below the two substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels; and one or more transformers electrically coupled to one or more of the heat sources, at least one of the transformers being located in at least one of the tunnels, the tunnel with at least one of the transformers being a different tunnel than the tunnel coupled to the wellbores with the heat sources. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21)
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4. A method for treating a subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation, comprising:
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providing one or more shafts; providing one or more substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels extending from at least one of the shafts; providing one or more wellbores extending between at least two of the tunnels, wherein at least some part of at least one wellbore is located in a portion of the subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation below the two substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels; providing one or more heat sources to at least one of the wellbores; and providing one or more transformers to provide power for at least one of the heat sources to at least one of the tunnels, the tunnel with the transformers being a different tunnel than the tunnel with the wellbores for the heat sources. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 25)
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19. A method of treating a subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation, comprising:
providing heat to the subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation to mobilize at least some of the hydrocarbons in the formation, the heat being provided from one or more heat sources in one or more wellbores extending from one or more substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels, at least a portion of the heat source wellbore being positioned substantially horizontally in the formation, at least one of the heat source wellbores extending between two of the substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels, at least some part of the at least one heat source wellbore being located in a portion of the subsurface hydrocarbon containing formation below the two substantially horizontal or inclined tunnels, at least one of the tunnels extending from a shaft, and at least one transformer for providing power to at least one of the heat sources being located in an additional substantially horizontal or inclined tunnel different from the tunnels from which the wellbores extend. - View Dependent Claims (24)
Specification