Distributed Downhole Electric Heating as a Thermal-Control Element in Deep Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage: Experimental Operating-Window Analysis for Heavy-Oil Recovery

Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is constrained in deep heavy-oil reservoirs by wellbore heat losses, delayed steam-chamber development and high steam–oil ratio (SOR). This study develops an experimentally parameterized reduced-order screening framework for thermocable-assisted SAGD, formulated as a digital-twin prototype that couples heat transfer, temperature-dependent viscosity, chamber-growth geometry and energy-efficiency indicators. The formulation is evaluated within an experimentally parameterized screening matrix covering steam temperature, oil viscosity, permeability, depth, cable power and early heating time. The graphical dependencies are presented in a unified publication format and supplemented by heat-balance, chamber-field, sensitivity and operating-window analyses. For the reference experimental case, thermocable support increases oil rate from 84.1 to 96.1 t/day and reduces SOR from 2.70 to 2.30 t/t. The cable heat input is small relative to useful steam heat; therefore, its effect is interpreted through local compensation of downstream heat deficit and longitudinal temperature stabilization rather than through bulk energy addition. The strongest sensitivity is associated with steam rate, oil viscosity and depth, whereas cable power shows a beneficial but saturating effect. The proposed reduced-order digital-twin prototype is intended for feasibility screening, preliminary operating-window selection and prioritization of candidate regimes for detailed thermal-reservoir simulation and subsequent field-scale validation.