Importance

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Abstract

Pulsed power sources are installed in one or more wells in the reservoir interval. The pulse sources include (1) an electrohydraulic generator that produces an intense and short lived electromagnetic pulse that travels at the speed of light through the reservoir, and an acoustic pulse from the plasma vaporization of water placed around the source that propagates through the reservoir at the speed of sound in the reservoir and (2) an electromagnetic generator that produces only an intense and short lived electromagnetic pulse that travels at the speed of light through the reservoir. The combination of electrohydraulic and electromagnetic generators in the reservoir causes both the acoustic vibration and electromagnetically-induced high-frequency vibrations occur over an area of the reservoir where stimulation is desired. Single generators and various configurations of multiple electrohydraulic and electromagnetic generators stimulate a volume of reservoir and mobilize crude oil so that it begins moving toward a producing well. The method can be performed in a producing well or wells, an injector well or wells, or special wells drilled for the placement of the pulsed power EOR devices. The method can be applied with other EOR methods such as water flooding, CO2 flooding, surfactant flooding, diluent flooding in heavy oil reservoirs. The recovered formation fluids may be separated into various constituents.

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First Claim