Technology Progress in High-Frequency Electromagnetic In Situ Thermal Recovery of Heavy Oil and Its Prospects in Low-Carbon Situations

Yang Yang, Wenchao Liu (), Jifei Yu, Chen Liu, Yanfeng Cao, Mingkai Sun, Menglong Li, Zicheng Meng and Xinjiang Yan
Additional contact information
Yang Yang: State Key Laboratory of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Wenchao Liu: State Key Laboratory of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Jifei Yu: State Key Laboratory of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Chen Liu: School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Yanfeng Cao: State Key Laboratory of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Mingkai Sun: School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Menglong Li: State Key Laboratory of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Zicheng Meng: School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Xinjiang Yan: State Key Laboratory of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-19

Abstract: Heavy oil resources are abundant globally, holding immense development potential. However, conventional thermal recovery methods such as steam injection are plagued by high heat loss, substantial carbon emissions, and significant water consumption, making them incompatible with carbon reduction goals and the sustainable socioeconomic development demands. A new method of high-frequency electromagnetic in situ heating, which targets polar molecules, can convert electromagnetic energy into heat so as to achieve rapid volumetric heating of the reservoir. This method has the potential to overcome the drawbacks of traditional techniques. Nevertheless, it faces significant drawbacks such as limited heating range and inadequate energy supply during later production stages, which necessitates auxiliary enhancement measures. Various enhancement measures have been reported, including nitrogen injection, hydrocarbon solvent injection, or the use of nano-metal oxide injections. These methods are hindered by issues such as pure nitrogen being easy to breakthrough, high costs, and metal pollution. Through extensive literature review, this article charts the evolution of high-frequency electromagnetic in situ heating technology for heavy oil and the current understanding of the coupled heat and mass transfer mechanisms underlying this technology. Moreover, based on a profound analysis of the technology’s progression trends, this work introduces a new direction: CO 2 -N 2 co-injection as an enhancement strategy for high-frequency electromagnetic in situ heavy oil recovery. There is promising potential for the development of new technologies in the future that combine high efficiency, low carbon emissions, environmental friendliness, economic viability, and energy conservation. Furthermore, some research prospects in low-carbon situations and challenges for the new technology in future are presented in detail. All in all, the contribution of the paper lies in the summarizing of some main drawbacks of current enhanced electromagnetic in situ thermal recovery methods, and presents a novel research direction of using CO 2 -N 2 co-injection as an enhancement strategy based on its current research status in low-carbon situations.

Keywords: heavy oil; electromagnetic in situ thermal recovery; low carbon emission; multi-physics coupling mechanism; CO 2 -N 2 co-injection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/18/4715/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/18/4715/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:18:p:4715-:d:1482954

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().