Pivoting Multi-Inlet Gas Intake for Downhole Lift Reliability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing artificial lift systems face inefficiencies due to the ingestion of free gas, which interferes with their operation, particularly in non-vertical well sections where gas accumulates on the upper side of the casing, reducing production rates and resource recovery.
Innovation Solution
A fluid control system utilizing a pivoting, baffled gas avoiding intake that channels liquid from the lower side of the casing, employing multiple intake ports and venting systems to minimize gas ingestion, leveraging buoyancy and directional forces to direct gas away from the intake, thus reducing the velocity and volume of gas entering the system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If well bore pressure is reduced to maximize produced fluid, then production rate increases, but free gas is ingested into the artificial lift system interfering with operation
Solution Approach 1:
The single intake passage is segmented into multiple intake passages (first, second, third intakes) positioned at different locations around the wellbore. This segmentation allows the system to draw fluid from multiple zones simultaneously, maximizing production while the gas avoiding apparatus selectively prevents gas ingestion through each intake, thus maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
A gas avoiding apparatus is introduced as an intermediary component between the wellbore and the artificial lift system intakes. This apparatus uses buoyancy forces and directional flow control to separate gas from liquid, allowing liquid to pass to the intakes while blocking gas. The intermediary protects the artificial lift system from gas interference while maintaining high production rates.
2Productivity
If production zones further from the intake are to deliver fluids more effectively, then flow resistance must be reduced, but this increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple intake passages are positioned at different angular locations around the wellbore (e.g., 0 degrees, 120 degrees, 240 degrees). This segmentation creates multiple flow paths from different production zones to the artificial lift system, reducing flow resistance for distant zones without requiring complex active control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas avoiding apparatus employs asymmetric baffle configurations and directional flow control elements that are optimized for each intake location. The baffles are positioned and angled to create asymmetric flow patterns that preferentially direct liquid toward intakes while blocking gas, tailored to the specific geometry and flow conditions at each intake location.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively prevents gas ingestion by utilizing buoyancy and directional forces to channel liquid from the lower side of the casing, enhancing the performance of artificial lift systems by minimizing gas interference and increasing fluid flow rates.
Implementation Method 1
The system takes advantage of the buoyancy effect of the gas, channeling the liquid inside the gas avoiding device at a speed low enough to minimize the dragging of the gas into the system
Implementation Method 2
A deployed device in a well bore will most likely not be centered, and in the case of a non-vertical well section, the gas tends to accumulate on the upper side of the casing and the liquid on the lower side of the casing
Data Source
AI summary
A gas avoiding device for use in downhole fluid flow systems is disclosed. The device includes an inner tube with inlet ports that draw well fluid from an annular space surrounding the tube for conveyance towards an artificial lift system. A baffle greater than two feet in length surrounds the inner tube to define an annular flow space, the baffle having at least one intake port through which well fluid enters, a closed base preventing entry from below, and vent ports arranged axially above the intake port to discharge gas from the annular space into the surrounding well annulus. Upper and lower centralizers maintain clearance between the baffle and the well bore wall. The baffle is mounted to rotate freely about the inner tube, thereby orienting the intake port preferentially to draw liquid-rich fluid and minimize gas ingestion.