US3414057A

US3414057A - Well pumping and formation treating apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3414057A
Application number: US598721A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dixon T Harbison
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-12-02
Filing date: 1966-12-02
Publication date: 1968-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 1985-12-03

Description

3,4 1 4,05 7 WELL PUMPING AND FORMATION TREATING APPARATUS 2, 1966 Dec. 3, 1968 D. T. HARBISON Filed Dec. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTQRNEYS F lGB 45 DixonT. Harbison do w F|G.2 mww FIG. I

li in! iilil inllli.i411: I 4 M K 4 9 8 5 "w 4 l 4 8 9 2 4 74 5 0 l 570 2 Q 2 4 B 2 2 3 3 3 2 F 7 w/ \I u J A, f\\ If; i 2 H F E 4 q u v a 2k 5\ 2 I I 4 5 7 9 6 6 7 B 2 l 5 4 5 k B 2 2 w E: r l c I J 0 4, 5S4, Sinai I 9 a n w 5 a 5 m 55 an a Dec. 3, 1968 D. T. HARBISON 3,414,057

WELL PUMPING AND FORMATION TREATING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 L r3 V 23 i g ,5 4k FIG.5 e2

/ 0 INVENTOR Dixon T. HorbisonA T FIG.8BY

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,414,057 WELL PUMPING AND FORMATION TREATING APPARATUS Dixou'T. Harbison, P.O. Box 2477, Fort Worth, Tex. 76101 Filed Dec. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 598,721 3 Claims. (Cl. 166-105) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A well pumping and formation treating apparatus which permits the injection of treating fluids without the removal of the apparatus from the well whereby the pumping operation may be resumed as soon as the productivity of the formation is increased to a sufficient extent.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatuses for pumping wells and treating oil bearing formations.

As is well known, the productivity of substantially all oil bearing formations gradually decreases until it becomes uneconomical to continue the extraction of oil therefrom and this is particularly true when the formations are being produced through pumping wells. This decrease in productivity is due to a number of factors, usually clogging of the interstices or pores of the formations, and occurs before depletion of the oil. It is standard procedure to treat oil bearing formations for increasing the productivity thereof by injecting various fluids into the formations and these fluids include acids, other chemicals, detergents, gaseous compositions, steam, liquids, hot water or water containing soluble oil or a microemulsion. Also, it is common practice to utilize one or more of a group of wells as injection wells for driving the oil in a common formation toward other wells of the group. In addition to this type of secondary recovery method which is known as waterflooding, tertiary production has been made possible by the injection of water containing soluble oil or a microernulsion.

'Heretofore, when fluids have been injected into a pumping well for treating the oil bearing formation adjacent thereto increase the productivity of said formation and/ or for driving the oil in said formation toward other wells, it has been necessary to remove the pumping apparatus from the well in order to permit the passage of the injected fluids. The necessity for this relatively expensive and time consuming operation, which requires special equipment and personnel, is eliminated by the novel structure of this invention which permits the injection of treating fluids without removal of the pumping apparatus. In carrying out the invention, a conventional pump assembly of the type having a seating nipple for sealing engagement with a holddown shoe is utilized whereby the pump plunger and working barrel of the assembly may be lowered and positioned within a well tubing or other conductor on the lower end of a pump rod. The pump assembly may have a stationary or a reciprocable working barrel and has its normally stationary member, either its barrel or its plunger, slidably connected to its seating nipple whereby said assembly may undergo limited movement relative to said nipple. The slidable connection includes valve means for controlling communication between the portions of the well conductor above and below the seating nipple and allowing the injected fluids to bypass said the stationary member of the pump assembly and is opened nipple. The valve means is held closed by the weight of upon a predetermined upward movement of said member with said assembly whereby treating fluids injected into the well conductor may flow around the pump assembly Patented Dec. 3, 1968 and through the valve means into the portion of the conductor below the seating nipple. Upon completion of the treatment, it is only necessary to lower the pump assembly so as to close the valve means in order to resume the pumping operation.

Summary of the invention A pump assembly having a plunger member and a coacting working barrel member adapted to undergo relative reciprocation by means of a pump rod which is connected to one of the members and which is utilized for lowering the assembly into a well conductor having means for supporting said assembly. Seating means depends from and is slidably connected to the assembly for sealing engagement with the supporting means whereby said assembly may undergo limited upward movement relative to the seating means when the latter is engaged with said supporting means. The slidable connection includes valve means for controlling communication between the portions of the well conductor above and below the seating means and for allowing the injection of treating fluids past said seating means. The valve means is held closed by the weight of the assembly and is opened by upward movement of said assembly relative to the seating means whereby the treating fluids may flow around said assembly and through said valve means into the conductor below said seating means. In order to resume the pumping operation, it is only necessary to lower the pump assembly so as to close the valve means.

If desired, the pump rod as well as the pump plunger may be tubular whereby said rod may be employed to conduct the injected fluids to the pump assembly. Lateral openings may be provided in the tubular plunger and working barrel for communication with each other when the pump assembly undergoes upward movement relative to the seating means whereby the injected fluids may flow from said assembly into the well conductor and through the valve means past and seating means.

It is noted that the predetermined upward movement of the pump assembly relative to its seating nipple required to open the valve means is insufficient to unseat said nipple and that neither said valve means nor the slidable connection interferes with the normal movement of the reciprocable member of said assembly relative to its stationary member. In the event that the pump .rod as well as the pump plunger is tubular, said rod may be employed to conduct the injected fluids to the pump assembly. Lateral openings are provided in the tubular plunger and working barrel and are adapted to communicate when the pump assembly undergoes the predetermined upward movement relative to its seating nipple whereby the injected fluids may flow from said assembly into the Well conductor and then through the valve means past said nipple. If desired, the well conductor may be provided with an upstanding portion above its surface connections for housing the pump assembly including its seating nipple in the event that the well commences to flow due to the injection of the treating fluids. Pumping of the well may be resumed upon repositioning of the pump assembly within the well conductor.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described, together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein examples of the invention are shown, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view, partly broken away, of a well pumping and treating apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention and mounted in a well conductor with the valve means being closed,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, transverse, vertical sectional view, partly broken away, of the lower portion of the apparatus and conductor with the valve means closed,

FIG. 3 is a view, similar to FIG. 1, with the pump assembly raised and the valve means opened,

FIG. 4 is a view, similar to FIG. 2, of the upper portion of the apparatus with the pump assembly raised and the valve means opened,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, sectional view showing the engagement of the pump plunger with a stop shoulder of the working barrel,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, sectional view showing the lateral openings of the pump plunger and working barrel in communication,

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the upper portion of the apparatus and an upstanding extension of the conductor for housing said apparatus, and

FIG. 8 is a view, similar to FIG. 7, showing the apparatus housing within the upstanding extension of the conductor.

In the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a conventional well casing adapted to be cemented in a well bore (not shown) in the usual manner and having a tubing head 11 (FIG. 7) at its upper end for suspending a well tubing 12 in the casing. If desired, the tubing may be cemented in the well bore and utilized as the casing for communicating directly with the formation. A pump or sucker rod 13, which may be tubular as shown, depends through the tubing 12 for supporting the tubular plunger 14 of a pump assembly 15 (FIGS. l-4). The tubing projects above the tubing head 11 for supporting a blowout preventer 16 and pumping T 17 and, in accordance with the invention, has a shutoff valve 18 mounted therein above the pumping T. An upstanding joint or section of tubing 19 may be connected to the upper end of the valve 18 and is of sufficient length to house the pump assembly 15 (FIG. 8) and permit closing of the valve when the use of said pump assembly is not required. Usually, the upper end portion of the pump rod 13 is in the form of a polished rod 20, which may be tubular, for coacting with an oil saver or stripper 21 mounted on the upper end of the upstanding tubing section 19.

The pump assembly is shown most clearly in FIGS. 1-4 and includes an elongate, cylindrical working barrel 22 for coacting with the plunger 14 and having at its upper end a guide bonnet 23 through which the pump rod is slidable. As shown by the numeral 24, the lower portion of the guide bonnet 23 is enlarged for screwthreaded connection with the barrel 22 and, when the pump rod is solid, is laterally ported so as to communicate with the tubing 12 as well as said barrel. Communication of the upper end of the working barrel with the tubing is unnecessary when the pump rod is tubular. A standing valve 25 is mounted on the lower end of the barrel 22 and includes a blind cage 26 screwthreaded into said barrel and having an annular, upwardly-facing valve seat 27 for coacting with a valve ball 28 to permit the flow of well fluids into said barrel upon the upstroke of the plunger and to prevent such flow upon the downstroke of said plunger.

For retaining the valve seat 27 in the valve cage 26, a collar 29 is screwthreaded in the lower end of said cage and has a cylindrical tube 30 depending therefrom for suspending a cylindrical slide valve 31 within a coacting, complementary valve sleeve 32 (FIGS. l-3). The slide valve 31 has an axial bore 33 communicating with the tube 30 for permitting the upward flow of well fluids from the lower portion of the tubing through said tube to the working barrel 22 and is adapted to control fiow through radial ports 34 formed in the lower portion of the valve sleeve 32. Radial, pressure-equalizing ports 35 are provided in the upper portion of the valve sleeve immediately below a circular plate 36 which closes the upper end of said sleeve and through which the tube is slidable. Upon upward movement of the slide valve relative to the valve sleeve 32, which movement is limited by the plate 36, the ports 34 are opened to permit flow from the tubing 12 into said sleeve as shown by the arrows in FIG. 3.

An annular seating nipple 37 is mounted on the lower end of the valve sleeve for engagement with a cylindrical holddown shoe 38 connected in the lower portion of the tubing and having formed therein an annular, upwardlyfacing, inclined seat 39 spaced above an annular, downwardly facing shoulder 40 (FIGS. 13). The seating nipple 37 includes a top collar 41 having its upper end screwthreaded in the valve sleeve 32 so as to bear against an annular, internal shoulder 42, a cylindrical body 43 screwthreaded into the lower end of the collar for depending through the annular seat 39 of the shoe 38, and an elastic packing member 44 secured on the upper portion of the body below said collar. As best shown in FIG. 2, the packing member 44 has an external, tapered lower end surface 45 for complementary engagement with the seat of the shoe to seal off therebetween and the lower portion of the body 43 is bifurcated to provide a pair of depending, resilient elements 46 having external enlargements 47 on their extremities for detachable locking engagement with the shoulder 40 of said shoe. In addition to resting on the annular shoulder 42 at the lower end of the valve sleeve 32 so as to support the working barrel 22 of the pump assembly 15, the slide valve 31 has a snug flt within said valve sleeve for coacting with its weight and the weight of said working barrel to resist upward movement of said barrel upon upward reciprocation of the plunger 14 of said pump assembly.

The tubular pump plunger is in the form of a cylindrical tube having a snug sliding fit in the working barrel, the exterior of said plunger and the interior of said barrel being polished to facilitate reciprocation of said plunger. As shown most clearly in FIG. 4, a coupling 48 is screwthreaded in the upper end of the plunger 14 and has its upper end screwthreaded in the lower end of an adapter 49 which has the lower end of the pump rod 13 screwthreaded into its reduced upper end. When the pump rod is solid, the adapter 49 has large lateral openings 50 in its enlarged lower portion for establishing communication between the barrel 22 and the interior of the plunger in the usual manner, the diameter of said adapter being less than the internal diameter of the barrel. Manifestly, the lateral openings 50 would interfere with the lifting of the well fluids through a tubular pump rod. A travelling valve 51 is carried by the lower end of the plunger 14 and includes a blind cage 52 screwthreaded into said plunger and having an annular, upwardly-facing valve seat 53 retained therein for coacting with a valve ball 54 to permit upward flow into and prevent downward flow out of said plunger. When the pump rod is tubular, the plunger has an external, annular groove or recess 55 intermediate its end communicating with radial ports 56 in said plunger and adapted to communicate with radial ports 57 in the upper portion of the working barrel when said plunger is disposed in said barrel portion (FIGS. 3, 4 and 6). This communication is not required when the pump rod is solid.

In operation, the pump plunger 14 is reciprocated within the working barrel 22 by the pump rod 13 to draw well fluids through the standing valve 25 into said barrel upon the upstroke and to force said fluids through the travelling valve 51 and into and through said plunger upon its downstroke for lifting upon its next downstroke. The lifted well fluids pass through the openings 50 of the plunger adapter 49 into the working barrel and through the ports of the guide bonnet 23 into the tubing 12 in the usual manner. When the pump rod is tubular, the plunger adapter has no lateral openings so as to permit lifting of the well fluids through said rod.

Due to the construction of the pump assembly 15 including its slide valve 31 and valve sleeve 32, said assembly facilitates the treating of the oil bearing formation of a well to increase the productivity thereof. This treatment involves the injection of suitable fluids, such as acids, other chemicals, detergents, gaseous compositions, steam, liquids, hot water or water containing soluble oil or a microemulsion, into the formation adjacent the well for acting upon said formation and/or for deriving well fluids toward other wells in secondary or tertiary recovery methods. When it is desired to inject a fluid or fluids, the pump rod .13 is raised until the plunger adapter 49 strikes an annular, internal, downwardly-facing shoulder 58 on the lower end of the guide bonnet 23 (FIGS. 4 and 5) whereby the working barrel 22 is lifted upon continued upward movement of said pump rod. As shown in FIG. 3, the slide valve 31 moves upwardly with the working barrel so as to uncover the ports 34 in the lower portion of the valve sleeve 32 and establish communication between the interior of said sleeve and the tubing 12 above the seating nipple 37 and the coacting holddown shoe 38. When the pump plunger 14 has the external, annular groove 55 and ports 56 and the barrel 22 has the ports 57, the interior of said plunger communicates directly with the tubing in the uppermost position of said plunger.

In the event that the pump rod 13 is tubular as shown, the fluid to be injected may be introduced through said rod and/ or the tubing 12 and conducted through the

ports

56 and 57 into said tubing. From the latter, the injected fluid flows through the ports 34 into the valve sleeve 32 for passage through the seating nipple 37 into the lower portion of the tubing below the holddown shoe 38. Injection through the tubular pump rod is desirable when the treating fluid is relatively expensive and necessitates the minimum use thereof. When the pump rod is solid or nontubular, the groove 55 and

ports

56 and 57 are not required since the injected fluid is introduced only through the tubing and bypasses the seating nipple and holddown shoe by means of the valve sleeve ports in the manner described; however, it is readily apparent that the provision of said groove 55 and

ports

56 and 57 does not interfere with the use of a solid or nontubular rod. Accordingly, either type of pump rod may be employed with the pump assembly 15 in carrying out the invention.

Since the upstanding joint or section of tubing 19 is of sufiicient length to house the entire pump assembly 15 including its seating nipple 37, said assembly may be raised until said seating nipple is disposed above the shutoff valve 18 as shown in FIG. 8. Only a predetermined force is required to disengage the enlargement 47 of the resilient elements 46 from the shoulder 40 of the holddown shoe 38 and permit this positioning of the pump assembly, which positioning is desirable when the injected fluid causes the producing formation to flow of its own accord due to the cleansing or loosening of said formation whereby the gas pressure is suflicient to lift the well fluids. Whenever desirable or necessary, the pump assembly 15 may be readily lowered to the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and pumping of the well resumed. Of course, the pump assembly may be readily removed in the event that the well continues to flow since it is only necessary to position said assembly within the tubing section 19, close the shutofl valve and disconnect said tubing section from said valve. It is noted that the invention is not limited to well pumps having stationary working barrels since it is well known to reciprocate working barrels relative to stationary pump plungers. In applying this invention to a pump of the latter type, the plunger rather than the barrel is slidably connected to the seating nipple of the pump.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A well pumping and formation treating apparatus including a pump assembly having a plunger member and a coacting working barrel member adapted to undergo relative reciprocation, a pump rod connected to one of the members for reciprocating the same relative to the other member of said pump assembly and for lowering said assembly into a well conductor having means for supporting said assembly, seating means depending from said assembly for sealing engagement with the supporting means, means slidably connecting the seating means and assembly for permitting limited upward movement of said assembly relative to said seating means when the latter is engaged with said supporting means, the slidable connecting means including means for conducting well fluids from below said seating means to the interior of said assembly, said connecting means including valve means for controlling communication between the portions of the well conductor above and below said seating means, the valve means being held closed by the weight of said assembly and being opened by upward movement of said assembly relative to said seating means whereby treating fluids injected into the well conductor above said assembly may flow around said assembly and through said valve means into the portion of the conductor below said seating means, the pump rod being tubular and communicating with the interior of said assembly, said assembly having valve means for controlling communication between its interior and the well conductor, the valve means of said assembly being cloed during normal reciprocation of one of the members relative to the other member of said assembly and being opened upon said upward movement of said reciprocable member relative to said other member of said assembly whereby treating fluids may be injected into the well conductor through said pump rod and assembly.

2. A well pumping and formation treating apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the means for conducting well fluids from below the seating means to the interior of the pump assembly includes a tubular member connected to said assembly for movement therewith relative to said seating means, the valve means including a stationary member connected to said means, the valve means including a stationary member connected to said seating means and a movable member connected to the tubular member for movement therewith relative to the stationary member.

3. A well pumping and formation treating apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the plunger member is reciprocable relative to the working barrel member of the pump assembly, said plunger member being tubular and in communication with the pump rod, the valve means of said assembly including lateral ports in said plunger and working barrel members which are out of communication during normal reciprocation of said plunger member and in communication upon upward movement of said plunger member relative to said working barrel member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,501,237 3/1950 Sanders 103-204 2,526,086 10/1950 Sanders 103204 2,764,940 10/1956 Long 103179 X CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner. I. A. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner.