Title :
An overview of the RF heating process in the petroleum industry
Author :
Mata, W. Da ; Peuch, J.C ; Baudrand, H.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Univ. Fed. do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
Abstract :
The use of electromagnetic heating of petroleum reservoirs has been studied theoretically and also tested in the field. Some of them have produced encouraging results. This heating process appears to be technically attractive, due to the volumetric reservoir heating by radio frequency energy as a result of dielectric losses in the zones containing water. A brief survey of field and laboratory applications is presented with their technical aspects and limitations for the frequency range of 60 Hz to several gigahertz. In particular, various electrode configurations, power levels and frequencies in both field work and laboratory scale are presented. The results indicate that this new technology is attractive, but technological challenges still remain
Keywords :
dielectric losses; petroleum industry; radiofrequency heating; 60 Hz; RF heating; dielectric loss; electromagnetic heating; petroleum industry; volumetric reservoir heating; Dielectric losses; Electrodes; Electromagnetic heating; Laboratories; Petroleum industry; Radio frequency; Reservoirs; Testing; Water heating; Water resources;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave and Optoelectronics Conference, 1997. Linking to the Next Century. Proceedings., 1997 SBMO/IEEE MTT-S International
Conference_Location :
Natal
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4165-1
DOI :
10.1109/SBMOMO.1997.646791
