DOE Patents Database - Search Results

Patent Title	Inventor(s)	Issue Date	Patent Number
Methods for treating a tar sands formation are described herein. Methods may include heating at least a section of a hydrocarbon layer in the formation from a plurality of heaters located in the formation. Heat may be allowed to transfer from the heaters to at least a first portion of the formation. Conditions may be controlled in the formation so that water vaporized by the heaters in the first portion is selectively condensed in a second portion of the formation. At least some of the fluids may be produced from the formation. Method of condensing vaporized water in situ to treat tar sands formations	Hsu, Chia-Fu	03/16/2010	7,677,314
A system for heating a subsurface formation is described. The system includes a plurality of elongated heaters located in a plurality of openings in the formation. At least two of the heaters are substantially parallel to each other for at least a portion of the lengths of the heaters. At least two of the heaters have first end portions in a first region of the formation and second end portions in a second region of the formation. A source of time-varying current is configured to apply time-varying current to at least two of the heaters. The first end portions of at least two heaters are configured to have substantially the same voltage applied to them. The second portions of at least two heaters are configured to have substantially the same voltage applied to them. In situ conversion process systems utilizing wellbores in at least two regions of a formation	Vinegar, Harold J. , Hsu, Chia-Fu	09/27/2011	8,027,571
A system for treating a hydrocarbon containing formation is described. The system includes two or more groups of elongated heaters. The group includes two or more heaters placed in two or more openings in the formation. The heaters in the group are electrically coupled below the surface of the formation. The openings include at least partially uncased wellbores in a hydrocarbon layer of the formation. The groups are electrically configured such that current flow through the formation between at least two groups is inhibited. The heaters are configured to provide heat to the formation. Grouped exposed metal heaters	Vinegar, Harold J. , Coit, William George , Griffin, Peter Terry , Hamilton, Paul Taylor , Hsu, Chia-Fu , Mason, Stanley Leroy , Samuel, Allan James , Watkins, Ronnie Wade	11/09/2010	7,831,134
A system for treating a hydrocarbon containing formation is described. The system includes two or more groups of elongated heaters. The group includes two or more heaters placed in two or more openings in the formation. The heaters in the group are electrically coupled below the surface of the formation. The openings include at least partially uncased wellbores in a hydrocarbon layer of the formation. The groups are electrically configured such that current flow through the formation between at least two groups is inhibited. The heaters are configured to provide heat to the formation. Grouped exposed metal heaters	Vinegar, Harold J. , Coit, William George , Griffin, Peter Terry , Hamilton, Paul Taylor , Hsu, Chia-Fu , Mason, Stanley Leroy , Samuel, Allan James , Watkins, Ronnie Wade	07/31/2012	8,233,782

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