WET ELECTRIC HEATING PROCESS

摘要

A wet electric heating ("WEH") process involves establishing electrode zones ("e-zones") around conductors (e.g., wells) for distributing electric curren t and thereby generating and distributing heat accordingly through a target region in a subterranean formation having hydrocarbons. The inventive WEH process takes into account e-zone geometric shape, spacing and/or spatial orientation to provide more diffuse distribution of increased temperature values within the target region, compared to conventional electric heating processes, during at least the first 10% of a time interval when an electric potential is applied. The most significant source of heating for diffuse distribution of increased temperature values in the inventive WEH process arises from electric energy delivered directly to and throughout the target region, namely an electric heating distribution effect, which significantly reduces reliance on thermal conduction and/or fluid convection in distributi ng heat relatively early in the process of generating heat by electric ohm- heating.