Triwall Hydrocarbon Well Recovery System and Method

Abstract

A buoyant ball assisted hydrostatic lift system and method comprises a second annulus formed between a well bore and an outer pipe within the well bore, and a first annulus formed between the outer pipe and an inner pipe. The system includes a seal disposed on the second annulus on at least a top end and a bottom end thereof with respect to the earth's surface. The seal is configured to prevent a fluid flow there through and preserve a condition of the well bore and the outer pipe and protect the environment against well perforations. The system also includes buoyant balls entrained in a first fluid in one of the annuli and an entrained column of the buoyant balls in the first fluid in one of the annuli, an aggregate weight thereof configured to entrain the balls and the first fluid into a second fluid in the inner pipe.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims the benefit of the priority date of earlier filed U.S. Non-Provisional Utility application Ser. No. 14 / 085,600, filed Nov. 20, 2013 for Rod D. Smith, which claims the benefit of earlier filed U.S. Non-Provisional Utility application Ser. No. 13 / 706,150, filed Dec. 5, 2012 for Rod D. Smith, which claims the benefit of earlier filed U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13 / 568,471, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,430,172 filed Aug. 7, 2012 for Rod D. Smith et al. which claims the benefit of earlier filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 659,394, filed Jun. 13, 2012 for Rod D. Smith, each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND AND FIELD OF INVENTION[0002]By some measures, a total of about 707,000 barrels of oil per day were produced in the United States in 1998 using Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods, accounting for about 12% of total national crude...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent is about a system for use in drilling oil wells. It includes multiple annuli (areas of space) between the well bore and outer pipe, and a column of buoyant balls. The system also has a weight that is designed to push the buoyant balls into a fluid in the annuli. As the buoyant balls move through the system, they speed up and become entrained into a faster fluid, causing an increase in the rise velocity (the speed at which the buoyant balls and fluid move to the surface) through the inner pipe drill string. This technology improves the process of drilling oil wells.

Problems solved by technology

The carbon dioxide, natural gas and nitrogen EOR consume much more electric power per barrel of oil produced than thermal EOR methods.

Current electric power requirements for gas EOR for pumping fluids from the wells (including substantial amounts of water), separating product etc consumes an estimated 1.5 million hp (1,230 MW).

However, stripper wells may suffer from casing perforations due to corrosion and extended use.

Perforations further complicate production for stripper wells in terms of pressure maintenance and loss of production through the perforations.

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