Chevron U.s.a. Inc.

Michael John Campbell

Gunther Hans Dieckmann

Cesar Ovalles

Donald Kuehne

James Dunlavey

Kathleen Judith Miller

Donald Leroy Kuehne

James Thomas Dunlavey

Provided herein are embodiments for extracting oil from an oil-bearing formation. An embodiment of a method includes heating a first portion of the formation with radio frequency energy generated by a radio frequency generator electrically coupled to an antenna. The antenna is positioned within a wellbore and located within the first portion to heat the first portion to a minimum temperature of about 160&#xb0; F. The radio frequency generator delivers power in a range from about 50 kilowatts to about 2 Megawatts, and a power per unit length of antenna is in a range from about 0.5 kW/m to 5 kW/m. The method includes extracting the oil from the first portion after heating to create void space for steam injection. The method also includes injecting steam into the first portion to heat a second portion of the formation adjacent to the first portion and extracting the oil from the second portion.

Oil extraction using radio frequency heating

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Bakersfield, CA, United States of America

Michael John Campbell