Patent ID: 7073594

Claim:
A petroleum well for producing petroleum products comprising: a perforated section having a plurality of perforated sections in at least a portion thereof extending within a wellbore of said well; a production tubing extending within said perforated section; a source of time-varying current at the surface, said current source being electrically connected to at least one of said tubing and said perforated section, such that at least one of said tubing and said perforated section acts as an electrical conductor for transmitting time-varying electrical current from the surface to a downhole location; and a downhole controllable well section comprising, a communications and control module, a sensor, and an electrically controllable valve, said communications and control module being electrically connected to at least one of said tubing and said perforated section, said sensor and said electrically controllable valve being directly electrically connected to said communications and control module, and said electrically controllable valve being adapted to regulate flow between an exterior of said tubing and an interior of said tubing based at least in part on sensor measurements.