Claims
- 1-5312. (cancelled)
- 5313. A system configurable to heat an oil shale formation, comprising:
a conduit configurable to be placed in an opening in the formation; a conductor configurable to be placed in a conduit, wherein the conductor is further configurable to provide an electrically resistive heat output during application of electrical current to the conductor; an electrically conductive material clad to at least a portion of the conductor, wherein the electrically conductive material lowers an electrical resistance of the conductor in an overburden of the formation during use; and wherein the system is configurable to allow heat to transfer from the conductor to a part of the formation during use.
- 5314. The system of claim 5313, further comprising an electrically conductive material clad to at least a portion of an inside surface of the conduit.
- 5315. The system of claim 5313, further comprising a substantially low resistance conductor configurable to be electrically coupled to the conductor and the electrically conductive material during use, wherein the substantially low resistance conductor is further configurable to be placed in the overburden of the formation.
- 5316. The system of claim 5315, wherein the low resistance conductor comprises carbon steel.
- 5317. The system of claim 5313, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises metal tubing clad to the conductor.
- 5318. The system of claim 5313, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises an electrically conductive coating applied to the conductor.
- 5319. The system of claim 5313, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises a thermal plasma applied coating.
- 5320. The system of claim 5313, wherein the electrically conductive material is sprayed on the conductor.
- 5321. The system of claim 5313, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises aluminum.
- 5322. The system of claim 5313, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises copper.
- 5323. The system of claim 5313, wherein the electrically conductive material reduces the electrical resistance of the conductor in the overburden by a factor of greater than about 3.
- 5324. The system of claim 5313, wherein the electrically conductive material reduces the electrical resistance of the conductor in the overburden by a factor of greater than about 15.
- 5325. The system of claim 5313, wherein the system is further configurable to allow at least some hydrocarbons to pyrolyze in the heated part of the formation during use.
- 5326. The system of claim 5313, wherein the system is configured to heat an oil shale formation, and wherein the system comprises:
a conduit configured to be placed in an opening in the formation; a conductor configured to be placed in a conduit, wherein the conductor is further configured to provide an electrically resistive heat output during application of electrical current to the conductor; an electrically conductive material clad to the conductor, wherein the electrically conductive material lowers an electrical resistance of the conductor in the overburden during use; and wherein the system is configured to allow heat to transfer from the conductor to a part of the formation during use.
- 5327. The system of claim 5313, wherein the system heats an oil shale formation, and wherein the system comprises:
a conduit placed in an opening in the formation; a conductor placed in a conduit, wherein the conductor provides an electrically resistive heat output during application of electrical current to the conductor; an electrically conductive material clad to the conductor, wherein the electrically conductive material lowers an electrical resistance of the conductor in the overburden during use; and wherein the system allows heat to transfer from the conductor to a part of the formation during use.
- 5328. An in situ method for heating an oil shale formation, comprising:
applying an electrical current to a conductor to provide heat to at least a portion of the formation, wherein the conductor is placed in a conduit, wherein the conduit is placed in an opening in the formation, wherein the conductor is clad to an electrically conductive material, and wherein the electrically conductive material lowers an electrical resistance of the conductor in an overburden of the formation during use; and allowing the heat to transfer from the conductor to a part of the formation.
- 5329. The method of claim 5328, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises copper.
- 5330. The method of claim 5328, further comprising coupling an electrically conductive material to an inside surface of the conduit.
- 5331. The method of claim 5328, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises metal tubing clad to the conductor.
- 5332. (cancelled)
- 5333. The method of claim 5328, further comprising pyrolyzing at least some hydrocarbons in the formation.
- 5334-5370. (cancelled)
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No. 60/286,062 entitled “IN SITU THERMAL PROCESSING OF OIL SHALE” filed on Apr. 24, 2001 and to Provisional Patent Application No. 60/337,249 entitled “IN SITU THERMAL PROCESSING OF AN OIL SHALE FORMATION” filed on Oct. 24, 2001.
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60286062 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
|
60337249 |
Oct 2001 |
US |