A mathematical model is developed to numerically predict the heating of heavy hydrocarbon systems. A comparative analysis of numerical and experimental data is performed. It is found that the thermal conductivity of a hydrocarbon system under study heated from an initial temperature of 24 • C to 100 • C increases by a factor of 40 and, with allowance for free convection, an additional substantial (up to 16 times) increase in heat transfer due to enhanced effective thermal conductivity is observed.
The results of theoretical investigations of the possibility of using intense high-frequency electromagnetic radiation in fields of high-viscosity oils with the aim of intensifying their production have been given. Expressions of the distribution of the electromagnetic field strength and the field of heat sources occurring in an oil bed under the action of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation transferred to the bed through a horizontal well have been obtained. A two-dimensional mathematical model of the process of production of oil through horizontal wells with simultaneous high-frequency electromagnetic action has been developed. The efficiency and profitableness of the method from the viewpoint of the energy balance have been evaluated.High-frequency electromagnetic heating of dielectrics has been successfully used in various branches of the national economy, including mining, for a comparatively long time. Computational investigations, laboratory work, and field experiments have shown the efficiency of electromagnetic action on the critical area of the beds of oil fields [1][2][3][4]. The viscosity of oil is substantially reduced, its rheological properties are improved, and accumulation of paraffin in the critical area of the bed and in the bore hole is avoided.Processes occurring in vertical-well treatment of the critical area of the bed have been mathematically modeled in existing works on electromagnetic action on oil beds [1,3]. It is assumed that a coaxial system consisting of a tubing string and a casing string of the well is used for energy supply to a radiator of electromagnetic waves from a ground-based, high-frequency generator. The radiator of electromagnetic waves is an element of the tubing string that extends below the casing string of the well.Horizontal wells have been used with increasing frequency in recent years in an effort to increase the recovery of oil fields. The efficiency of displacement of oil with the use of horizontal wells is 5 to 30% higher than that of vertical wells. However, the use of horizontal wells does not solve, in principle, the problem of extraction of highviscosity oils and bitumens. In this case, such methods of action on the bed, as, for example, pumping of the heattransfer agent or another displacing agent, are difficult and inefficient.In the present work, we study the possibility of using the energy of a high-frequency electromagnetic field for intensification of the production of oil in the case of development of high-viscosity-oil fields by horizontal wells. Theoretical solution of this problem requires that new mathematical models be formulated. In this case it is impossible, in principle, to use one-dimensional mathematical models and the existing expressions for heat sources.Distribution of the Electromagnetic Field Strength and the Heat Sources in the Bed. Just as in vertical wells, it is assumed that electromagnetic energy is supplied to the bed from a ground-based, high-frequency generator. Part of this energy is lost in a coaxial transmission line (...
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