Bitumen production and substrate stimulation with flow diverter means

Claim 1

Well completion for a substrate layer holding viscous hydrocarbons which are produced in response to thermal stimulation of the substrate through the injection of a hot stimulating fluid therein, which completion includes; an elongated well liner at least a portion of which is disposed in a first well bore formed within the substrate, said at least portion of said elongated well liner being perforated and extending in a substantially horizontal alignment through said substrate layer to receive a flow of hydrocarbon emulsion, and having a well head forming a liner production end, at least one secondary well in the substrate and terminating with its lower end in a region adjacent to a portion of the first well bore, a substrate stimulating system including; a conduit means in said at least one secondary well which is adapted at one end to communicate with a source of a hot pressurized stimulating fluid, said conduit means other end opening adjacent to the first well bore whereby to introduce a pressurized flow of the hot stimulating fluid into the liner remote end, flow diverter means movably positioned within said well liner and being actuatable between expanded and contracted modes to form a transverse barrier in the liner and to interrupt fluid flow therethrough, flow diverter positioning means engaging said diverter means and being operable to controllably adjust the diverter means' location along the liner length thereby to alter the flow of stimulating fluid into the substrate, said flow diverter positioning means includes; a discontinuous cable means extending through the respective first well bore and secondary well, and being connected to opposed ends of the diverter means whereby to reciprocally adjust the location of the diverter means within said liner and means to separately apply tension to the cable means in one of said wells while concurrently reducing tension to the cable means in the other well said discontinuous cable means being registered within said conduit means in said secondary well.