Method and equipment for obtaining energy from oil wells
AssigneeKSB Aktiengsellschaft
InventorHeinrich Hofmann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Pressurized petroleum flows from a well into a turbine. The petroleum undergoes a pressure reduction in the turbine and then enters a separation chamber where it is separated into liquid and gaseous phases. The liquid phase is sent to a pump which serves to transfer the liquid phase to a station remote from the well. Similarly, the gaseous phase is directed to a compressor which functions to transfer the gaseous phase to a station remote from the well. The pump and the compressor are coupled to the turbine which uses the energy liberated by the petroleum during pressure reduction to drive the pump and the compressor.
Claims14
An installation for the recovery of petroleum from a well, comprising a turbine having an inlet, an outlet and an expansion chamber between said inlet and said outlet;
- first connecting means connecting the well with said inlet in such a manner as to prevent significant pressure reduction of the petroleum upstream of said chamber;
- means for separating the petroleum into a nongaseous flowable component and a gaseous component;
- second connecting means connecting said separating means with said outlet;
- means for conveying the components from said separating means to at least one location remote from the well and including at least one driven conveying device;
- and means coupling said turbine to said one conveying device so that said turbine can drive said one conveying device in response to pressure reduction of the petroleum in said chamber.
A method of recovering petroleum from a well, comprising the steps of withdrawing a stream of the petroleum from the well;
- subjecting said stream to a pressure reduction;
- separating said stream into a nongaseous flowable component and a gaseous component subsequent to said pressure reduction;
- and conveying at least one of said components from the well using at least a portion of the energy derived from said pressure reduction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.