CA2867463A1 - Catastrophic hit indicator for catcher in plunger gas/fluid lift system for well operations - Google Patents
Catastrophic hit indicator for catcher in plunger gas/fluid lift system for well operations Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2867463A1 CA2867463A1 CA2867463A CA2867463A CA2867463A1 CA 2867463 A1 CA2867463 A1 CA 2867463A1 CA 2867463 A CA2867463 A CA 2867463A CA 2867463 A CA2867463 A CA 2867463A CA 2867463 A1 CA2867463 A1 CA 2867463A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- piston
- lubricator
- subassembly
- plunger
- housing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 title description 2
- 230000006835 compression Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000007906 compression Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000000284 resting effect Effects 0.000 claims 2
- 229910001369 Brass Inorganic materials 0.000 claims 1
- 239000010951 brass Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims 1
- 239000012528 membrane Substances 0.000 abstract description 4
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 9
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 3
- 229930195733 hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 description 2
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 description 2
- 238000007689 inspection Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000006096 absorbing agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000010521 absorption reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004075 alteration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000015556 catabolic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000006731 degradation reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000013011 mating Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003449 preventive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000035939 shock Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04B—POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS
- F04B47/00—Pumps or pumping installations specially adapted for raising fluids from great depths, e.g. well pumps
- F04B47/12—Pumps or pumping installations specially adapted for raising fluids from great depths, e.g. well pumps having free plunger lifting the fluid to the surface
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/12—Methods or apparatus for controlling the flow of the obtained fluid to or in wells
- E21B43/121—Lifting well fluids
Abstract
A catastrophic or heavy-hit indicator subassembly is included in a plunger lift system lubricator which includes a coil spring above a striker block, a piston above the striker block, the piston sealed but moveable within the bore of the subassembly, above the piston another spring or set of spring washers, a space, and above the space a thin membrane or wall in a top nut or seal at the top of the lubricator. If the plunger reaches the lubricator with sufficient force, it will compress the coil spring and move the striker block to push the piston upward within the bore of the lubricator, the piston will compress the second spring or set of spring washers, and the top end of the piston, which is preferably pointed, will pierce the membrane or wall in the top of the lubricator.
Description
CATASTROPHIC HIT INDICATOR FOR CATCHER IN PLUNGER
GAS/FLUID LIFT SYSTEM FOR WELL OPERATIONS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Producing oil and gas wells sometimes produce water as well as hydrocarbons from formation. If the height of the produced water column in the wellbore is sufficient, it will exert pressure on the formation which can exceed the formation's pressure, and thus inhibit further production. To overcome this, the water is sometimes removed from the well by a plunger lift system. A plunger deployed in the well's bore drops to near bottom hole into the water column, where it forms a piston between the formation's production pressure below and the water above. Gas produced below the plunger forces it and the water above it toward the surface, where the water can be removed and the pressure on the formation from the water column can be reduced. This function is performed cyclically, typically without intervention by the operator, The plunger may develop quite a bit of velocity in its upward travel, so in most plunger lift systems, a 'catcher' is deployed in the lubricator at the top of the well's casing above surface. These lubricator/catchers are used to seal the top of the well's bore from atmosphere so that produced hydrocarbons and water can be collected from the casing below the catcher, and can provide both access to the wellbore, and a means for capturing the plunger at the upper end of its stroke where it can be removed for inspection, repair or replacement.
The lubricator/catcher may be provided with a spring or shock absorber system as well as a plunger-capture system, to protect the wellbore's sealed top from damage from by a hard hit from the plunger. Hard hits by a plunger can cause damage to the well's casing, surface equipment and/or the plunger itself. Since the well is unattended in operation, generally, such damage may not be obvious or immediately apparent.
VVSLegA068561\00014\10929062v1 - 1 -SUMMARY' OF THE INVENTION
In this invention, a component is added to a typical lubricator which includes a coil spring above a striker block, a piston above the striker block, the piston sealed but moveable within the bore of the lubricator, above the piston another spring or set of spring washers, a space, and above the space a thin membrane or wall in a top nut or seal at the top of the lubricator. If the plunger reaches the lubricator's top end with sufficient force, it will compress the coil spring and move the striker block to push the piston upward within the bore of the lubricator, the piston will compress the second spring or set of spring washers, and the top end of the piston, which is preferably pointed, will pierce the membrane or wall in the top of the lubricator. The lubricator will remained sealed because the piston is sealed within the bore of the subassembly within the lubricator, but the top nut or seal will be pierced, providing an obvious, externally observable, indication of the fact that at least one "heavy hit" has been made by the plunger to the lubricator and top-hole equipment. The spring compression forces can be designed so that the indication provided is indicative of forces which have exceeded a predetermined level of force. In this way, preventive or repair maintenance can be done by the operator prior to the plunger system failing due to absorption of too many heavy hits, or too much force from the plunger. The types of failure that heavy hits from plungers can cause include (but are not limited to) stretching of threaded components which weakens their strength and effectiveness as seals, or degradation of sealing elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a cutaway drawing of the striker block, coil spring and piston/cylinder/cap of the invention.
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the striker block, coil spring, spring housing, piston, Belleville disc springs, and cap of the invention VVSLegM\068561\00014\10929062v1 - 2 -Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lubricator assembly showing the placement of the subassembly of the invention at the top end of the lubricator.
Figures 4a and 4b are, respectively, a side elevation and a cross-sectional depiction of the elements shown in Figure 1.
A parts list with numerical indicators is also shown, which numerals are indicated on each of the figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
This invention provides a catastrophic or heavy-hit indicator subassembly for a lubricator in a plunger-lift system for oil and gas production wells.
The lubricator shown in Fig.3 in its entirety, is provided with a heavy hit indicator subassembly, shown in Fig. 1, to be assembled within a mating cavity formed at the top of the lubricator, the cavity in communication with the bore of the lubricator and the well's bore, permitting a plunger of the lift system to enter the cavity if sufficient force is applied to the plunger in the lift system.
In an embodiment, the subassembly comprises a striker block 5 at the bottom end of a compression spring 8 which may be a coil spring, the compression spring 8 surrounding a hit indicator spring housing 1. The housing 1 is surrounded by the upper end of the coil spring 8, and the housing 1 includes in its inner part a cylinder la. The cylinder is open at its top and its bottom ends.
The cylinder 1 has a bottom opening which is large enough to permit the lower end of a piston 3 to pass through the opening, which may be sealed by positioning an elastic o-ring 6 between the piston's lower end extention 3a and the housing 1 cylinder's bottom opening.
Midway along the piston 3 is a feature which provides a stop 3b, above which the piston's upper end 3c continues as a smaller-diameter cylinder, on which a number of Belleville washer springs 4 are stacked. Above the VVSLegA068561\00014\10929062v1 - 3 -=
washers 4:and surrounding the upper tip of the piston, which may be pointed, a cap 2 is provided, attached with a seal 7 to the housing 1 at its upper end (the housing 1). The cap 2 is visible to an observer from outside of the lubricator through a port in the upper portion of the lubricator assembly (#).
When a plunger of they lift system is forced with sufficient energy to strike the lubricator and the heavy hit subassembly, the following will occur.
The plunger strikes the striker block 5, pushing it upward within the lubricator, compressing coil spring 8 and moving a sufficient distance and with sufficient force, the striker block 5 will in turn strike the lower end of the piston 3a and force it upwards within the cylinder la to compress the Belleville spring discs 4, and if sufficient force is supplied by the plunger to the subassembly, the Belleville spring discs 4 will compress sufficiently that the pointed end of the piston 3c will pierce the indicator cap 3.
When the indicator cap 3 is pierced, it will be deformed such that an observer from outside of the lubricator can see that there has been a heavy hit, and can determine that the lubricator and top-hole equipment may require servicing or inspection.
The springs may be chosen to have characteristics such as a particular designed force to compress, to tailor the subassembly to indicate hits of specific characteristics (such as minimum force required to deform the cap).
In the preceding description, for purposes of explanation, numerous details are set out in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention and how it is meant to work. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the invention as claimed. The above descriptions are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications, and variations can be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the VVSLea\068561\00014\10929062v1 - 4 -scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims of the patent flowing from the specification.
VVSLega1\068561\00014\109Z9062v1 - 5 -
GAS/FLUID LIFT SYSTEM FOR WELL OPERATIONS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Producing oil and gas wells sometimes produce water as well as hydrocarbons from formation. If the height of the produced water column in the wellbore is sufficient, it will exert pressure on the formation which can exceed the formation's pressure, and thus inhibit further production. To overcome this, the water is sometimes removed from the well by a plunger lift system. A plunger deployed in the well's bore drops to near bottom hole into the water column, where it forms a piston between the formation's production pressure below and the water above. Gas produced below the plunger forces it and the water above it toward the surface, where the water can be removed and the pressure on the formation from the water column can be reduced. This function is performed cyclically, typically without intervention by the operator, The plunger may develop quite a bit of velocity in its upward travel, so in most plunger lift systems, a 'catcher' is deployed in the lubricator at the top of the well's casing above surface. These lubricator/catchers are used to seal the top of the well's bore from atmosphere so that produced hydrocarbons and water can be collected from the casing below the catcher, and can provide both access to the wellbore, and a means for capturing the plunger at the upper end of its stroke where it can be removed for inspection, repair or replacement.
The lubricator/catcher may be provided with a spring or shock absorber system as well as a plunger-capture system, to protect the wellbore's sealed top from damage from by a hard hit from the plunger. Hard hits by a plunger can cause damage to the well's casing, surface equipment and/or the plunger itself. Since the well is unattended in operation, generally, such damage may not be obvious or immediately apparent.
VVSLegA068561\00014\10929062v1 - 1 -SUMMARY' OF THE INVENTION
In this invention, a component is added to a typical lubricator which includes a coil spring above a striker block, a piston above the striker block, the piston sealed but moveable within the bore of the lubricator, above the piston another spring or set of spring washers, a space, and above the space a thin membrane or wall in a top nut or seal at the top of the lubricator. If the plunger reaches the lubricator's top end with sufficient force, it will compress the coil spring and move the striker block to push the piston upward within the bore of the lubricator, the piston will compress the second spring or set of spring washers, and the top end of the piston, which is preferably pointed, will pierce the membrane or wall in the top of the lubricator. The lubricator will remained sealed because the piston is sealed within the bore of the subassembly within the lubricator, but the top nut or seal will be pierced, providing an obvious, externally observable, indication of the fact that at least one "heavy hit" has been made by the plunger to the lubricator and top-hole equipment. The spring compression forces can be designed so that the indication provided is indicative of forces which have exceeded a predetermined level of force. In this way, preventive or repair maintenance can be done by the operator prior to the plunger system failing due to absorption of too many heavy hits, or too much force from the plunger. The types of failure that heavy hits from plungers can cause include (but are not limited to) stretching of threaded components which weakens their strength and effectiveness as seals, or degradation of sealing elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a cutaway drawing of the striker block, coil spring and piston/cylinder/cap of the invention.
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the striker block, coil spring, spring housing, piston, Belleville disc springs, and cap of the invention VVSLegM\068561\00014\10929062v1 - 2 -Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lubricator assembly showing the placement of the subassembly of the invention at the top end of the lubricator.
Figures 4a and 4b are, respectively, a side elevation and a cross-sectional depiction of the elements shown in Figure 1.
A parts list with numerical indicators is also shown, which numerals are indicated on each of the figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
This invention provides a catastrophic or heavy-hit indicator subassembly for a lubricator in a plunger-lift system for oil and gas production wells.
The lubricator shown in Fig.3 in its entirety, is provided with a heavy hit indicator subassembly, shown in Fig. 1, to be assembled within a mating cavity formed at the top of the lubricator, the cavity in communication with the bore of the lubricator and the well's bore, permitting a plunger of the lift system to enter the cavity if sufficient force is applied to the plunger in the lift system.
In an embodiment, the subassembly comprises a striker block 5 at the bottom end of a compression spring 8 which may be a coil spring, the compression spring 8 surrounding a hit indicator spring housing 1. The housing 1 is surrounded by the upper end of the coil spring 8, and the housing 1 includes in its inner part a cylinder la. The cylinder is open at its top and its bottom ends.
The cylinder 1 has a bottom opening which is large enough to permit the lower end of a piston 3 to pass through the opening, which may be sealed by positioning an elastic o-ring 6 between the piston's lower end extention 3a and the housing 1 cylinder's bottom opening.
Midway along the piston 3 is a feature which provides a stop 3b, above which the piston's upper end 3c continues as a smaller-diameter cylinder, on which a number of Belleville washer springs 4 are stacked. Above the VVSLegA068561\00014\10929062v1 - 3 -=
washers 4:and surrounding the upper tip of the piston, which may be pointed, a cap 2 is provided, attached with a seal 7 to the housing 1 at its upper end (the housing 1). The cap 2 is visible to an observer from outside of the lubricator through a port in the upper portion of the lubricator assembly (#).
When a plunger of they lift system is forced with sufficient energy to strike the lubricator and the heavy hit subassembly, the following will occur.
The plunger strikes the striker block 5, pushing it upward within the lubricator, compressing coil spring 8 and moving a sufficient distance and with sufficient force, the striker block 5 will in turn strike the lower end of the piston 3a and force it upwards within the cylinder la to compress the Belleville spring discs 4, and if sufficient force is supplied by the plunger to the subassembly, the Belleville spring discs 4 will compress sufficiently that the pointed end of the piston 3c will pierce the indicator cap 3.
When the indicator cap 3 is pierced, it will be deformed such that an observer from outside of the lubricator can see that there has been a heavy hit, and can determine that the lubricator and top-hole equipment may require servicing or inspection.
The springs may be chosen to have characteristics such as a particular designed force to compress, to tailor the subassembly to indicate hits of specific characteristics (such as minimum force required to deform the cap).
In the preceding description, for purposes of explanation, numerous details are set out in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention and how it is meant to work. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the invention as claimed. The above descriptions are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications, and variations can be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the VVSLea\068561\00014\10929062v1 - 4 -scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims of the patent flowing from the specification.
VVSLega1\068561\00014\109Z9062v1 - 5 -
Claims (6)
1. A lubricator subassembly for a plunger gas lift system for a well, the subassembly comprising:
a. a striker block b. a coil spring resting on the upper end of the striker block c. a housing resting within the upper end of the coil spring d. a piston extending in a cylinder deposed through the housing e. the piston with a feature midway its length upon which a spring assembly sits f. an indicator cap above the housing capable of being pierced by the piston's upper end g. the subassembly being sealed within a chamber in the upper end of the lubricator h. the lubricator with a viewing port or window through which an observer can observe whether the indicator cap has been pierced.
a. a striker block b. a coil spring resting on the upper end of the striker block c. a housing resting within the upper end of the coil spring d. a piston extending in a cylinder deposed through the housing e. the piston with a feature midway its length upon which a spring assembly sits f. an indicator cap above the housing capable of being pierced by the piston's upper end g. the subassembly being sealed within a chamber in the upper end of the lubricator h. the lubricator with a viewing port or window through which an observer can observe whether the indicator cap has been pierced.
2. A method of providing an observable indication that a force above a certain magnitude has been applied to the lubricator and associated top-hole equipment and to the plunger by installing the subassembly of claim 1 with springs configured to permit the piston to pierce the indicator cap when that force has been applied by the system's plunger.
3. The subassembly where the indicator cap is brass.
4. The subassembly where the spring assembly is a series of Belleville spring washers or discs.
5. The piston and cylinder housing where the piston is sealed to the cylinder by an o-ring deployed between them at the bottom of the cylinder where the piston extends out from the bottom of the cylinder.
6. The subassembly where the housing is sealed to the lubricator by a compression seal or o-ring between the top of the housing and the indicator cap and another between the indicator cap and the top of the lubricator cavity within which the subassembly resides when installed.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2867463A CA2867463A1 (en) | 2014-10-14 | 2014-10-14 | Catastrophic hit indicator for catcher in plunger gas/fluid lift system for well operations |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2867463A CA2867463A1 (en) | 2014-10-14 | 2014-10-14 | Catastrophic hit indicator for catcher in plunger gas/fluid lift system for well operations |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2867463A1 true CA2867463A1 (en) | 2016-04-14 |
Family
ID=55702203
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2867463A Abandoned CA2867463A1 (en) | 2014-10-14 | 2014-10-14 | Catastrophic hit indicator for catcher in plunger gas/fluid lift system for well operations |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2867463A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN106761504A (en) * | 2017-02-21 | 2017-05-31 | 宝鸡石油机械有限责任公司 | Single spring can reset safety valve |
| CN115234199A (en) * | 2022-07-28 | 2022-10-25 | 华北理工大学 | Horizontal well drainage gas production device and method |
-
2014
- 2014-10-14 CA CA2867463A patent/CA2867463A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN106761504A (en) * | 2017-02-21 | 2017-05-31 | 宝鸡石油机械有限责任公司 | Single spring can reset safety valve |
| CN106761504B (en) * | 2017-02-21 | 2019-01-22 | 宝鸡石油机械有限责任公司 | Single spring can reset safety valve |
| CN115234199A (en) * | 2022-07-28 | 2022-10-25 | 华北理工大学 | Horizontal well drainage gas production device and method |
| CN115234199B (en) * | 2022-07-28 | 2023-08-18 | 华北理工大学 | Drainage gas production device and method for horizontal well |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued |
Effective date: 20191015 |