GB2248462A - Producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing formation layer - Google Patents

Producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing formation layer Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2248462A
GB2248462A GB9021582A GB9021582A GB2248462A GB 2248462 A GB2248462 A GB 2248462A GB 9021582 A GB9021582 A GB 9021582A GB 9021582 A GB9021582 A GB 9021582A GB 2248462 A GB2248462 A GB 2248462A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
pump
oil
water
fluid communication
pump 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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB9021582A
Other versions
GB9021582D0 (en
Inventor
Robert Bruce Stewart
Klaas Leerlooijer
Robert Nicholas Worrall
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
Original Assignee
Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV filed Critical Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
Priority to GB9021582A priority Critical patent/GB2248462A/en
Publication of GB9021582D0 publication Critical patent/GB9021582D0/en
Publication of GB2248462A publication Critical patent/GB2248462A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B41/00—Equipment or details not covered by groups E21B15/00 - E21B40/00
    • E21B41/005—Waste disposal systems
    • E21B41/0057—Disposal of a fluid by injection into a subterranean formation
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK 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
    • E21B43/126—Adaptations of down-hole pump systems powered by drives outside the borehole, e.g. by a rotary or oscillating drive
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK 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
    • E21B43/34—Arrangements for separating materials produced by the well
    • E21B43/38—Arrangements for separating materials produced by the well in the well
    • E21B43/385—Arrangements for separating materials produced by the well in the well by reinjecting the separated materials into an earth formation in the same well

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Structures Of Non-Positive Displacement Pumps (AREA)

Abstract

Apparatus (1) for producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing formation layer (2) which is traversed by a cased borehole extending upwards to surface, comprises a tubing (5), an annular seal (7), a liquid collecting space (9) below the annular seal (7) which is in fluid communication with the oil-containing formation layer (2), a water disposal space (14) which is in fluid communication with an aquifer, means (17) for limiting fluid flow out of the water disposal space (14), an open-ended pump housing (18) provided with apertures (19) arranged at the lower end of the tubing (5), an oil pump (22) arranged at the upper end of the pump housing (18) for pumping oil to surface, and a water pump (30) arranged at the lower end of the pump housing (18) for discharging water into the water disposal space (14), wherein the oil pump (22) and the water pump (30) each comprise a stator (40) fixed inside the pump housing (18) and a rotor (41) which is connected to a common rotatable shaft (38) extending to surface through the tubing (5). <IMAGE>

Description

PRODUCING OIL FROM A SUBSURFACE OIL-CONTAINING FORMATION LAYER The present invention relates to producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing zone, wherein a reservoir fluid in the form of a mixture of oil and a large amount (up to about 50-998 by volume) of water is produced from the subsurface oil-containing zone. In the specification and in the claims the word oil will be used to refer to hydrocarbon oil.
When such a reservoir fluid is to be produced it is desirable to separate a greater part of the water from the mixture down-hole before oil is transported to surface.
An apparatus for producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing zone which is traversed by a cased borehole extending upwards to surface is disclosed in U.S.A. patent specification No. 4 766 957.
The known apparatus comprises a tubing arranged in the borehole, an annular seal arranged in the annular space between the casing and the tubing, a liquid collecting space below the annular seal which is in fluid communication with the oil-containing formation layer, a water disposal space which is in fluid communication with an aquifer, means for limiting fluid flow out of the water disposal space, an open-ended pump housing provided with apertures in its wall arranged at the lower end of the tubing in the liquid collecting space, an oil pump of which the inlet is in fluid communication with the upper end of the interior of the pump housing and of which the outlet is in fluid communication with surface, and a water pump arranged at the lower end of the pump housing of which the inlet is in fluid communication with the liquid collecting space and the outlet is in fluid communication with the water disposal space.
During normal operation, the mixture produced from the oilcontaining zone is separated into a water-rich liquid which is pumped into the water disposal space, and an oil-rich liquid which is passed to surface where it can be further treated before it can be employed.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the known apparatus.
To this end the apparatus for producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing formation layer which is traversed by a cased borehole extending upwards to surface, which apparatus comprises a tubing arranged in the borehole, an annular seal arranged in the annular space between the casing and the tubing, a liquid collecting space below the annular seal which is in fluid communication with the oil-containing formation layer, a water disposal space which is in fluid communication with an aquifer, means for limiting fluid flow out of the water disposal space, an open-ended pump housing provided with apertures in its wall arranged at the lower end of the tubing in the liquid collecting space, an oil pump of which the inlet is in fluid communication with the upper end of the interior of the pump housing and of which the outlet is in fluid communication with surface, and a water pump arranged at the lower end of the pump housing of which the inlet is in fluid communication with the liquid collecting space and the outlet is in fluid communication with the water disposal space, wherein the oil pump is located near the upper end of the pump housing and the water pump near the lower end, and wherein the oil pump and the water pump each comprise a stator fixed inside the pump housing and a rotor which is connected to a common rotatable shaft extending to surface through the tubing.
An advantage of the apparatus according to the invention is that the bulk of the separation takes place inside the pump housing so that the separated water-rich phase is not in contact with the inner wall of the casing.
In the specification and in the claims the word 'aquifer' is used to denote any formation layer into which the water-rich phase can be pumped.
The invention will now be described by way of example in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 shows schematically a cross-sectional view of the lower end of a borehole provided with the apparatus of the present invention; and Figure 2 shows schematically a cross-sectional view of the lower part of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
Reference is now made to Figure 1. The apparatus according to the invention for producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing formation layer is designated with reference numeral 1, and the subsurface oil-containing formation layer is designated with reference numeral 2. The oil-containing formation layer 2 is traversed by a borehole 3 which is cased with a casing 4. Casing 4 extends upwards to surface (not shown).
The apparatus 1 includes a tubing 5 arranged in the borehole 3 and an annular seal 7 arranged in the annular space between the casing 4 and the tubing 5. The apparatus 1 further includes a liquid collecting space 9 below the annular seal 7 which is in fluid communication with the oil-containing formation layer 2 through openings 13 in the wall of the casing 3, a water disposal space 14, and means for limiting fluid flow out of the water disposal space 14 to the liquid collecting space 9 in the form of annular seal 17. The water disposal space 14 is in fluid communication with a aquifer (not shown) which can be located below the annular seal 17. Alternatively the aquifer can be located above annular seal 7, in which case the water disposal space 14 communicates with the aquifer through conduit 15.
An open-ended pump housing 18 provided with apertures 19 in its wall is arranged in the liquid collecting space 9. The pump housing 18 is joined to the lower end of the tubing 5. In the upper end of the pump housing 18 is arranged an oil pump in the form of Moineau pump 22 of which the inlet 24 is in fluid communication with the upper end of the interior of the pump housing 18 and of which the outlet 26 is in fluid communication with surface (not shown) through tubing 5, and at the lower end of the pump housing 18 is arranged a water pump in the form of Moineau pump 30 of which the inlet 32 is in fluid communication with the liquid collecting space 9 and of which the outlet 34 is in fluid communication with the water disposal space 14.
The oil pump 22 and the water pump 30 each comprise a stator fixed inside the pump housing 18 and a rotor which is connected to a common rotatable shaft 38 extending to surface through the tubing 5. For the sake of clarity the stators and the rotors are referred to with reference numerals 40 and 41 respectively.
During normal operation, reservoir fluid, which is a mixture of oil and water, is allowed to enter into the liquid collecting space 9 through openings 13 in the wall of the casing 4. The mixture enters into the interior of the pump housing 18 through opening 19.
A water-rich liquid is removed from the pump housing 18 by means of the water pump 30 and supplied to the water disposal space 14 which communicates with the aquifer. An oil-rich liquid is removed from the pump housing 18 by means of the oil pump 22 and supplied through the tubing 5 to surface.
The two pumps can be so selected that the volumetric flow rate of water and oil is close to the water/oil ratio of the reservoir fluid. The Moineau pump is a progressing cavity pump. Thus for a Moineau pump the volumetric flow rate of the pumped liquid is proportional to the number of revolutions per unit time and thus the volumetric flow rate is hardly affected by the pump rate. Thus having selected a water pump and an oil pump so that the ratio of the volumetric flow rates is substantially equal to the water/oil ratio of the reservoir fluid increasing the pump rates hardly affects the ratio of the volumetric flow rates. Therefore application of the Moineau pump is very suitable. A further advantage of using a Moineau pump is that such a pump exerts only little shear on the liquid to be pumped, when compared to a turbine pump. Thus as the separated liquids are treated gently there will only be a small tendency to form an emulsion containing oil and water.
Reference is now made to Figure 2 showing schematically a cross-sectional view of the lower part of an alternative embodiment of the present invention. Parts shown in Figure 2 which are also shown in Figure 1 have got the same reference numerals. In Figure 2 the water disposal space 14 is the interior of a tail pipe 45 which is joined at its upper end to the lower end of the pump housing 18.
The bottom end of the tail pipe 45 is closed. Annular seal 17' prevents liquid flowing out of the water disposal space 14 to the interior of the pump housing 18. The operation of the apparatus is similar to the operation of the apparatus of Figure 1.
Suitably the volume of the water disposal space is large as compared to the interior volume of the pump housing, more suitably the volumetric ratio is between 5 and 10.
The annular seals 17 and 17' can be provided with a bleeder valve (not shown) which allows the top layer in the water disposal space, which is between 1 to 5% of the water-rich phase, to leave the water disposal space. An advantage is that any oil entrained in the water-rich phase will accumulate in the top layer, and in this way the oil is allowed to leave the water disposal layer and will therefore not be passed on to the aquifer.
In an alternative embodiment the rotor 41 of the water pump 30 is releasably connected to the common driving shaft 38 to allow pumping of oil only. The common driving shaft 38 can be designed as a hollow shaft provided with an aperture debouching into the interior of the pump housing 18 so that demulsifiers can be supplied to the interior of the pump housing 18 where to emulsion of oil and water has to break.
The inner surface of the wall of the perforated section of the tubing can be provided with an inverted gutter spiralling upwardly to improve separation.
The apparatus according to the present invention has been described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 in which the apparatus was shown vertically, the apparatus can as well be applied in a deviated borehole and in a horizontal borehole. When used in a horizontal borehole a first location is said to be above a second location when the first location is nearer to the surface (measured along the borehole) than the second location, in this case the second location is below the first one, or the first location is the upper one and the second location is the lower one.

Claims (4)

1. Apparatus for producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing formation layer which is traversed by a cased borehole extending upwards to surface, which apparatus comprises a tubing arranged in the borehole, an annular seal arranged in the annular space between the casing and the tubing, a liquid collecting space below the annular seal which is in fluid communication with the oil-containing formation layer, a water disposal space which is in fluid communication with an aquifer, means for limiting fluid flow out of the water disposal space, an open-ended pump housing provided with apertures in its wall arranged at the lower end of the tubing in the liquid collecting space, an oil pump of which the inlet is in fluid communication with the upper end of the interior of the pump housing and of which the outlet is in fluid communication with surface, and a water pump arranged at the lower end of the pump housing of which the inlet is in fluid communication with the liquid collecting space and the outlet is in fluid communication with the water disposal space, wherein the oil pump is located near the upper end of the pump housing and the water pump near the lower end, and wherein the oil pump and the water pump each comprise a stator fixed inside the pump housing and a rotor which is connected to a common rotatable shaft extending to surface through the tubing.
2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotor of the water pump is releasably connected to the common driving shaft.
3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the common driving shaft is a hollow shaft provided with an aperture debouching into the interior of the pump housing.
4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the claims 1-3, wherein the pump is a progressing cavity pump such as a Moineau pump.
GB9021582A 1990-10-04 1990-10-04 Producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing formation layer Withdrawn GB2248462A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9021582A GB2248462A (en) 1990-10-04 1990-10-04 Producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing formation layer

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9021582A GB2248462A (en) 1990-10-04 1990-10-04 Producing oil from a subsurface oil-containing formation layer

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9021582D0 GB9021582D0 (en) 1990-11-21
GB2248462A true GB2248462A (en) 1992-04-08

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Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1994018432A1 (en) * 1993-02-03 1994-08-18 Centre For Frontier Engineering Research Method of reducing water in oil wells
US5830368A (en) * 1994-04-13 1998-11-03 Centre For Engineering Research Inc. Method for borehole separation of oil and water in an oil well
WO1999015755A3 (en) * 1997-08-22 1999-07-08 Texaco Development Corp Dual injection and lifting system
GB2333540A (en) * 1998-01-13 1999-07-28 Camco Int Separator for a submergible pumping system
US6079491A (en) * 1997-08-22 2000-06-27 Texaco Inc. Dual injection and lifting system using a rod driven progressive cavity pump and an electrical submersible progressive cavity pump
US6092600A (en) * 1997-08-22 2000-07-25 Texaco Inc. Dual injection and lifting system using a rod driven progressive cavity pump and an electrical submersible pump and associate a method
US6092599A (en) * 1997-08-22 2000-07-25 Texaco Inc. Downhole oil and water separation system and method
US6105671A (en) * 1997-09-23 2000-08-22 Texaco Inc. Method and apparatus for minimizing emulsion formation in a pumped oil well
US6123149A (en) * 1997-09-23 2000-09-26 Texaco Inc. Dual injection and lifting system using an electrical submersible progressive cavity pump and an electrical submersible pump
US6131660A (en) * 1997-09-23 2000-10-17 Texaco Inc. Dual injection and lifting system using rod pump and an electric submersible pump (ESP)
US6196312B1 (en) 1998-04-28 2001-03-06 Quinn's Oilfield Supply Ltd. Dual pump gravity separation system
WO2015089204A1 (en) * 2013-12-10 2015-06-18 National Oilwell Varco, L.P. Apparatus, systems, and methods for downhole fluid filtration

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4746423A (en) * 1986-09-15 1988-05-24 R. E. Wright Associates In-well pump skimmer
US4766957A (en) * 1987-07-28 1988-08-30 Mcintyre Jack W Method and apparatus for removing excess water from subterranean wells
US4805697A (en) * 1986-09-02 1989-02-21 Societe Nationale Elf Aquitaine (Production) Method of pumping hydrocarbons from a mixture of said hydrocarbons with an aqueous phase and installation for the carrying out of the method

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4805697A (en) * 1986-09-02 1989-02-21 Societe Nationale Elf Aquitaine (Production) Method of pumping hydrocarbons from a mixture of said hydrocarbons with an aqueous phase and installation for the carrying out of the method
US4746423A (en) * 1986-09-15 1988-05-24 R. E. Wright Associates In-well pump skimmer
US4766957A (en) * 1987-07-28 1988-08-30 Mcintyre Jack W Method and apparatus for removing excess water from subterranean wells

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1994018432A1 (en) * 1993-02-03 1994-08-18 Centre For Frontier Engineering Research Method of reducing water in oil wells
US5830368A (en) * 1994-04-13 1998-11-03 Centre For Engineering Research Inc. Method for borehole separation of oil and water in an oil well
US6092599A (en) * 1997-08-22 2000-07-25 Texaco Inc. Downhole oil and water separation system and method
WO1999015755A3 (en) * 1997-08-22 1999-07-08 Texaco Development Corp Dual injection and lifting system
US6079491A (en) * 1997-08-22 2000-06-27 Texaco Inc. Dual injection and lifting system using a rod driven progressive cavity pump and an electrical submersible progressive cavity pump
US6092600A (en) * 1997-08-22 2000-07-25 Texaco Inc. Dual injection and lifting system using a rod driven progressive cavity pump and an electrical submersible pump and associate a method
US6123149A (en) * 1997-09-23 2000-09-26 Texaco Inc. Dual injection and lifting system using an electrical submersible progressive cavity pump and an electrical submersible pump
US6105671A (en) * 1997-09-23 2000-08-22 Texaco Inc. Method and apparatus for minimizing emulsion formation in a pumped oil well
US6131660A (en) * 1997-09-23 2000-10-17 Texaco Inc. Dual injection and lifting system using rod pump and an electric submersible pump (ESP)
GB2333540A (en) * 1998-01-13 1999-07-28 Camco Int Separator for a submergible pumping system
GB2333540B (en) * 1998-01-13 2002-09-11 Camco Int Downhole fluid separation system incorporating a drive-through separator and Method for separating wellbore fluids
US6196312B1 (en) 1998-04-28 2001-03-06 Quinn's Oilfield Supply Ltd. Dual pump gravity separation system
WO2015089204A1 (en) * 2013-12-10 2015-06-18 National Oilwell Varco, L.P. Apparatus, systems, and methods for downhole fluid filtration
CN105960507A (en) * 2013-12-10 2016-09-21 国民油井华高有限公司 Apparatus, systems, and methods for downhole fluid filtration
US9885228B2 (en) 2013-12-10 2018-02-06 National Oil Well Varco, L.P. Apparatus, systems, and methods for downhole fluid filtration
AU2014362375B2 (en) * 2013-12-10 2018-03-01 National Oilwell Varco, L.P. Apparatus, systems, and methods for downhole fluid filtration

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