Methods and apparatus for production of hydrocarbons

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for producing fluids from a well and for controlling the production of fluids from multiple wells, particularly from a remote location. The well is provided with a winch / cable drum having a cable wound thereon with a swabbing tool on the end of the cable. The swabbing tool is initially located in a riser that is mounted to the wellhead and lowered into the well and down through the fluids in the well under control of a programmable logic controller (PLC 95). Upon reaching a pre-determined depth, the PLC 95 stops the rotation of the winch / cable drum and then reverses the direction of rotation to retrieve the swabbing tool, thereby lifting the fluids in the well bore up out of the well. Flowline connections, with appropriate valves, are provided in the riser for routing any gas and oil that is lifted from the well into pipelines and on to storage tanks or separators as the swabbing tool is retrieved. The PLC 95 is programmed for manual operation, for independent control of the wellhead apparatus, and / or for operation from a remote location.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for production of hydrocarbons. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for mounting to the well head of an oil and / or gas well, particularly a tight or low pressure well with limited production, for use in producing hydrocarbons from the well. [0002] It is common practice in the oilfield to pump hydrocarbons from oil and gas wells, but there are many wells that do not produce hydrocarbons at a rate sufficient to justify the capital cost of pumping equipment and / or the energy and maintenance costs of operating the pumping equipment. Even though such wells may be steady producers, they produce at such low volumes that the operator simply cannot afford to produce from the well, effectively requiring that the pump be removed from such wells and that the wells be capped. [0003] The most prevalent form of artificial lift system for relatively shallow and low-volume ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides an automated apparatus for producing fluids from a well and a method for producing hydrocarbons from a well. The apparatus includes a riser and a winch / cable drum with a cable for winding and unwinding. The cable passes through the riser and has a swabbing tool attached to the end. The riser has two flowline connections with valves therein. The method involves lowering the swabbing tool into the wellbore to a selected depth and then retrieving it from the wellbore to raise the fluids therein up out of the wellbore. The valves in the flowline connections are opened and closed at specific points during the process. The technical effects of this invention include automation of the production process, improved fluid control, and efficient wellbore cleaning."

Problems solved by technology

It is common practice in the oilfield to pump hydrocarbons from oil and gas wells, but there are many wells that do not produce hydrocarbons at a rate sufficient to justify the capital cost of pumping equipment and / or the energy and maintenance costs of operating the pumping equipment.

Even though such wells may be steady producers, they produce at such low volumes that the operator simply cannot afford to produce from the well, effectively requiring that the pump be removed from such wells and that the wells be capped.

However, expensive workover rigs and personnel are needed to replace the downhole pumps and pull the sucker rods.

However, such systems have proven ineffective in many areas due to lack of gas pressure.

Although the mobile pumping apparatus of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,901 works well for many wells, particularly wells that are closely spaced in a single field, it does have certain disadvantages and limitations.

For instance, they are not useful for producing gas from a well.

Further, although they are effective for producing oil accumulated in a well bore, the most important limitation of mobile pumpers may be that they are not capable of increasing production from a well with low bottom hole pressure above historical yield (and the bottom hole pressure is low in most fields in which mobile pumpers are used).

Consequently, their use in a field with low bottom hole pressure does not optimize production from the field.

Another problem with production of hydrocarbons from many fields (not just fields with low bottom hole pressure) is the environmental impact of producing the hydrocarbons.

Specifically, the production from wells that are being pumped eventually decreases as a result of the accumulation of particulates, paraffin, and / or other materials in the well and / or well bore.

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