Conocophillips Company

Shuxing Dong

Thomas James Wheeler

W Reid Dreher, Jr

Thomas J Wheeler

Jr Dreher Wayne Reid

In-situ heating of coal facilitates desorption and diffusion of the methane for production of the methane through a wellbore. Water within fractures of the coal forms an electrical conduit through which current is passed. The heating relies at least in part on resistivity of the water, which thereby preheats the coal for the recovering of the methane.

Coal bed methane recovery

Methods and apparatus relate to systems and methods of recovering oil from a formation. In operation, a steam chamber develops as a result of steam injection into the formation and the recovery of fluids including the oil through a production well. An auxiliary well spaced in a lateral direction from the production well helps ensure development of the steam chamber as desired. The auxiliary well may enable heating of the formation through establishing an electric potential between the auxiliary well and the production well or by resistive heating of material forming the auxiliary well. Further, the auxiliary well may provide a flow path for solvent or gas injection to facilitate the recovery through the production well.

In situ heating for reservoir chamber development

A method of producing oil which begins by drilling, casing and inserting a tubing string in a wellbore. The method then perforates both an upper portion and a lower portion of the casing to establish communication between the wellbore with a upper horizontal fracture and a lower horizontal fracture. A retrievable packer or a seal assembly is inserted horizontally between the tubing string and the casing and vertically between the upper horizontal fracture and the lower horizontal fracture for heat isolation. Steam is then injected into the wellbore both into the upper horizontal fracture and the lower horizontal fracture. Heavy oil is then produced from the lower horizontal fracture while injecting steam into the upper horizontal fracture.

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Shuxing Dong