CA2514247A1

CA2514247A1 - Flow tee assembly for oil wells

Info

Publication number: CA2514247A1
Application number: CA 2514247
Authority: CA
Inventors: Lyle Duhaime
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-08-02
Filing date: 2005-08-02
Publication date: 2007-02-02

Description

- Page I -FLOW TEE ASSEMBLY FOR OIL WELLS
This invention is in the field of oil field equipment, and in particular pumping equipment and related mechanisms used for producing oil from a well.
BACKGROUND
Common oil well pumping equipment includes a polish rod connected at a top end 1o thereof to a drive and at a bottom end thereof to a pump located in an underground reservoir of production fluid. The producing oil well comprises a cased hole extending from the surface down to the reservoir and sealed at the surface by a wellhead assembly.
A production tube is anchored to the wellhead assembly at the top of the cased hole and extends down to the pump where it is connected to the pump output such that production fluid moves up the tube. A flow tee is connected to the tap output end of the production tube and to a lateral production conduit that carries the production fluid laterally from the well to a pipeline, surface storage tank, or like facility.
The polish rod passes through the wellhead assembly and flow tee into the top end of the 2o tube and down through the tube to drive the well. The production fluid passes up through the annulus formed between the inner wall of the production tube and the outside of the polish rod. The polish rod may rotate or move up and down, depending on the type of system in use, but in any event the polish rod is moving as it passes through the wellhead assembly into the tube, and since the production fluid is moving up the tube under pressure, the polish rod must be sealed to the wellhead assembly to prevent leaks. A
stuffing box is thus typically provided above the flow tee to seal against the outside of the moving polish rod. The stuffing box is exposed to the flowing production fluid which often contains a sign~cant amount of abrasive sand which gets between the packing of the stuffing box and the polish rod, and causes wear and failure of the stuffing box resulting in production fluid leaking out of the stuffing box.
to It is an object of the present invention to provide a flow tee apparatus that overcomes problems in the prior art.
t5 The present invention provides, in a first embodiment, a method of reducing the wear on the stuffing box by diverting flow through the flow tee toward the lateral production conduit extending substantially horizontally from the flow tee.
Conventionally, the production fluid flows vertically up the production tube into the flow tee, where it exerts 20 pressure directly on the bottom of the stuffing box as it changes direction to flow horizontally out through the lateral production conduit. By diverting the flow of production fluid horizontally toward the lateral production conduit prior to the production fluid contacting the bottom of the stuffing box, the force urging production fluid and sand into the stuffing box is reduced, with a resulting reduction in wear and failure of the stuffing box.
s Conventional efforts to improve the life and function of the stuffing box have been directed to the stuffing box itself, rather than to the flow tee below the stuffing box.
The present invention, in a second embodiment, provides a flow tee apparatus that includes at least one diverter member oriented and configured such that the polish rod passes through the center thereof, but the production fluid flowing up the annulus between the polish rod and the inner wall of the production tube strikes the diverter member and is directed toward the lateral production conduit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred embodiments are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood in conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the several 2o diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of a flow tee assembly of the invention for diverting the flow of production fluid away from the stuffing box and toward a lateral production conduit;
Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view along line 2-2 in Fig. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS:
Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a flow tee assembly 1 of the present invention, and the orientation of the flow tee apparatus 1 in a typical well head. The flow tee assembly 1 is mounted under the stuffing box 3 and is connected to the top output end of the production tube 5. A polish rod 7 extends downward through the stuffing box 3, flow tee assembly 1, and production tube 5. A lateral production conduit 9 extends horizontally from the flow tee assembly 1. The connections of the various parts are by conventional means such as male/female threads, flanges, or the like, and are not illustrated.
Lower and upper diverter plates 11 and 13 are oriented at opposite angles as illustrated in Fig. l, and are configured as illustrated in Fig. 2 to partially close the annulus 15 between the polish rod 7 and inner wall of the flow tee assembly 1. Production fluid, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. l, thus flows up the annulus 17 between the inner wall of the production tube 5 and the polish rod 7 into the bottom of the flow tee assembly 1 and contacts the lower diverter plate I1 and is diverted to the right side of the flow tee assembly 1 where it passes through the gap 19 between the end of the lower diverter plate 11 and the wall of the flow tee assembly 1. The production fluid then flows upward adjacent to the right wall of the flow tee assembly 1, and contacts the upper diverter plate 13 and is diverted toward the opening on the left side of the flow tee assembly 1 that is connected to the lateral production conduit 9 where it passes into the lateral production conduit 9 and out to transport or storage.
By diverting the flow of production fluid away from the bottom of the stuffing box 3, less 1o sand will be forced into the stuffing box 3. It is also contemplated that the size of the lateral production conduit 9 should be larger than the annulus 17 between the inner wall of the production tube 5 and the polish rod 7, such that the production fluid will flow readily into the lateral production conduit 9, and back pressure in the flow tee assembly 1 is minimal.
It is contemplated that other means of diverting the production fluid toward the lateral production conduit 9 and away from the bottom of the stuffing box 3 could be devised by those skilled in the art and all such means are contemplated to fall within the scope of the present patent. For example by providing only the upper diverter plate in the flow tee assembly 1 of Fig. 1, the flow of production fluid will be diverted somewhat, with a consequent reduction in sand and the like being forced into the stuffing box 3. By providing lower and upper diverter plates 11 and 13, the diversion is improved, and the reduction is increased.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention.
Further, since nurnerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or modifications in structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of reducing wear on the stuffing box of an oil well, the method comprising diverting production fluid being pumped from the well away from the stuffing box and toward a lateral production conduit extending laterally away from the well under the stuffing box.