Comparative performance of electric heater vs. RF heating for heavy oil recovery

Abstract

The performance of electric heater (EH) and radio frequency heating (RH) for heavy oil recovery was comparatively investigated. This paper firstly established the geometry models mainly including reservoir, heating rod and antenna, and then the various thermal and electrical properties were shown in the four quadrants of coordinate system of reservoir properties. Next, the mathematical models including Joule heat, electromagnetic (EM) heat, heat transfer and fluid flow were presented to describe the two different thermal recovery processes. The simulation results were verified by temperature data obtained from laboratory experiment. Afterwards, we proposed the application of intermittent heating mode to avoid excessive temperature and coke formation appearing during the implementation processes of EH and RH, and their heating rates were also compared. In addition, a solution to the poor performance of EH and RH in the quadrant (c) was assessed. Eventually, the characters of EH and RH were comprehensively analyzed in terms of reservoir temperature distribution, oil production and energy conversion.