Patent ID: 8371371

Claim:
An apparatus used for the “in situ” extraction of bitumen or very heavy oil from an oil sand seam, where heat energy is applied to the seam to reduce the viscosity of the bitumen or the very heavy oil, comprising: an electrical/electromagnetic heater including at least two conductors; and an extraction pipe to carry away the liquefied bitumen or very heavy oil and at least two conductors, wherein at a predetermined depth of the seam, the at least two conductors extend linearly and are routed in parallel in a horizontal alignment, wherein a plurality of ends of the conductors are electrically-conductively connected within or outside the seam and together form a conductor loop, wherein the conductor loop realizes a predetermined complex resistance and is connected outside the reservoir to an external alternating current generator for electrical power and wherein an inductance of the conductor loop is compensated for section-by-section, wherein a section is a portion of the conductor loop and wherein the section-by-section compensation for a conductor inductance is undertaken by a series capacitance.