Back to results
US 6,668,925 B2Granted
ESP pump for gassy wells
AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated
InventorsChristopher K. Shaw, David A. Voss, Jeffrey W. Knight, Michael J. Fox, Dewey Michael Loudermilk, Kenneth T. Bebak
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
“Well equipment transporting well fluid from a gassy well. A conduit is hung and sealed inside a string of casing, forcing the gas and well fluid to flow into the conduit. A gas separator and a series of flow controls and valves are mounted into and run with the conduit. A pump assembly is hung and sealed into the conduit for pumping well fluid to the surface. The pump assembly is lowered and retrieved from the conduit on tubing. The pump may be located below the motor, or above the motor.”
Claims29
A well, comprising:
- a string of casing extending into a well;
- a packer sealingly engaging the casing;
- a conduit extending into the well, the conduit having a lower portion sealingly engaging the packer, the conduit having an opening in its lower portion for receiving well fluid from below the packer;
- a gas separator mounted to the conduit for separating gas from the well fluid, the separator having a gas outlet above the packer;
- a submersible pump assembly retrievable through the conduit independently of the gas separator, which comprises a pump and an electric motor, the pump assembly being lowered into the conduit and landing above the gas separator, the pump having an inlet and an outlet;
- and
- a pump seal located around the circumference of the pump between the pump inlet and the pump outlet, which seals the pump to the conduit.
4 more elements
A well, comprising:
- a string of casing extending into a well:
- a packer sealingly engaging the casing;
- a conduit extending into the well, the conduit having a lower portion sealingly engaging the packer, the conduit having an opening in its lower portion for receiving well fluid from below the packer;
- a gas separator located in the conduit for separating gas from the well fluid, the separator having a gas outlet above the packer;
- a submersible pump assembly, which comprises a pump and an electric motor, the pump assembly being lowered into the conduit and landing above the gas separator, the pump having an inlet and an outlet;
- a pump seal located around the circumference of the pump between the pump inlet and the pump outlet, which seals the pump to the conduit;
- and
- a flow control valve located in the conduit below the pump assembly that allows the well fluid from below the packer to flow toward the pump, while preventing downward flow.
5 more elements
A well, comprising:
- a string of casing extending into a well;
- a packer sealingly engaging the casing;
- a conduit extending into the well, the conduit having a lower portion sealingly engaging the packer, the conduit having an opening in its lower portion for receiving well fluid from below the packer;
- a gas separator located in the conduit for separating gas from the well fluid, the separator having a gas outlet above the packer;
- a submersible pump assembly, which comprises a pump and an electric motor, the pump assembly being lowered into the conduit and landing above the gas separator, the pump having an inlet and an outlet;
- a pump seal located around the circumference of the pump between the pump inlet and the pump outlet, which seals the pump to the conduit;
- and
- a safety valve which is selectively operated with hydraulic pressure and located in the conduit for preventing flow of well fluid toward the pump.
5 more elements
A well, comprising:
- a string of casing extending into a well;
- a packer sealingly engaging the casing;
- a conduit extending into the well, the conduit having a lower portion sealingly engaging the packer, the conduit having an opening in its lower portion for receiving well fluid from below the packer;
- a gas separator located in the conduit for separating gas from the well fluid, the separator having a gas outlet above the packer;
- a submersible pump assembly, which comprises a pump and an electric motor, the pump assembly being lowered into the conduit and landing above the gas separator, the pump having an inlet and an outlet;
- a pump seal located around the circumference of the pump between the pump inlet and the pump outlet, which seals the pump to the conduit;
- and wherein
- the pump is located above the motor;
- the pump seal defines a chamber located in the conduit below the pump seal and above the gas separator;
- and
- further providing that the chamber has a vent located in the pump seal for bleeding off remaining gas collected in the chamber, the vent fluidly connecting the chamber to the inside of the conduit above the pump seal.
8 more elements
A well, comprising:
- a string of casing extending into a well;
- a packer sealingly engaging the casing;
- a conduit extending into the well, the conduit having a lower portion sealingly engaging the packer, the conduit having an opening in its lower portion for receiving well fluid from below the packer;
- a gas separator located in the conduit for separating gas from the well fluid, the separator having a gas outlet above the packer;
- a submersible pump assembly, which comprises a pump and an electric motor, the pump assembly being lowered into the conduit and landing above the gas separator, the pump having an inlet and an outlet;
- a pump seal located around the circumference of the pump between the pump inlet and the pump outlet, which seals the pump to the conduit;
- wherein:
- the pump is located above the motor;
- the pump seal defines a chamber located in the conduit below the pump seal and above the gas separator;
- and
- further providing that:
- the pump is suspended in the conduit by a string of tubing;
- and
- the chamber has a vent located in the pump seal for bleeding off remaining gas collected in the chamber, so that the chamber is in fluid communication with the inside of the tubing.
11 more elements
A well, comprising:
- a string of casing extending into a well;
- a packer sealingly engaging the casing;
- a conduit extending into the well, the conduit having a lower portion sealingly engaging the packer, the conduit having an opening in its lower portion for receiving well fluid from below the packer, an area surrounding the conduit and inside of the string of casing defining an annulus;
- a gas separator located in the conduit for separating gas from the well fluid, the separator having a gas outlet above the packer;
- a submersible pump assembly which comprises a pump and an electric motor, the pump assembly being lowered into the conduit and landing above the gas separator, the pump having an inlet and an outlet;
- and
- a flow control valve located in the conduit below the pump assembly that allows the well fluid from below the packer to flow toward the pump, while preventing downward flow;
- and
- a circulation valve located in the conduit above the flow control valve, the circulation valve having a part that allows flow of a circulation fluid between the conduit and the annulus while in its circulation position, to enable circulation through the annulus.
6 more elements
A well, comprising:
- a string of casing extending into a well;
- a packer sealingly engaging the casing;
- a conduit extending into the well, the conduit having a lower portion sealingly engaging the packer, the conduit having an opening in its lower portion for receiving well fluid from below the packer, an area surrounding the conduit and inside of the string of casing defining an annulus;
- a gas separator located in the conduit for separating gas from the well fluid, the separator having a gas outlet above the packer that leads to the annulus;
- a pump having an inlet and an outlet, the pump being suspended by tubing and lowered into the conduit above the gas separator;
- and
- a pump seal located around the circumference of the pump between the pump inlet and outlet, which seals the pump to the conduit, the pump seal defining a chamber inside the conduit between the gas separator and the pump seal, the chamber having a vent that allows gas remaining in the well fluid after separation to exit the chamber.
4 more elements
A well, comprising:
- a string of casing extending into a well;
- a packer sealingly engaging the casing;
- a conduit extending into the well, the conduit having a lower portion sealingly connected the packer, having an opening in its lower portion for receiving well fluid from below the packer, an area surrounding the conduit and inside of the string of casing defining an annulus, the lower portion of the conduit having a reduced diameter section;
- a gas separator located in the reduced diameter section of the conduit for separating gas from the well fluid, the separator having a gas outlet above the packer;
- a motor suspended in the conduit on a coil tubing that contains a power cable;
- a pump having an inlet on a lower end and an outlet on an upper end, the pump being located below the motor, the lower end of the pump stabbing into the reduced diameter section;
- and
- a pump seal located around the circumference of the pump between the pump inlet and outlet, which seals the pump to the reduced diameter section.
5 more elements
A method for pumping well fluid from a well having a casing, a conduit extending into the casing and sealed to the casing by a packer, the method comprising:
- (a) securing a gas separator to the conduit and then lowering the conduit into the casing;
- and then
- (b) lowering a pump assembly comprising a pump and a motor into the conduit to a point above the gas separator, and sealing the pump to the conduit;
- (c) separating gas from the well fluid with the gas separator,
- (d) discharging the separated gas from the gas separator into an annulus surrounding the conduit;
- and
- (e) pumping the well fluid up the conduit.
4 more elements
A method for pumping well fluid from a well having a casing, a conduit extending into the casing and sealed to the casing by a packer, the method comprising:
- (a) mounting a gas separator in the conduit;
- (b) lowering a pump assembly comprising a pump and a motor into the conduit to a point above the gas separator, and sealing the pump to the conduit;
- (c) separating gas from the well fluid with the gas separator,
- (d) discharging the separated gas from the gas separator into an annulus surrounding the conduit;
- (e) pumping the well fluid up the conduit;
- wherein:
- step (b) comprises sealing the pump to the conduit with a pump seal, the pump seal defining a chamber below the pump seal and inside of the conduit above the gas separator;
- and the method further comprises:
- (f) collecting any remaining gas in the chamber that was not separated from the well fluid by the gas separator;
- and
- (g) venting the remaining gas from the chamber.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.