Controlled rise velocity bouyant ball assisted hydrocarbon lift system and method
US8936093B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 20, 2013 |
| Grant date | Jan 20, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 29, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE21B43/121
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A hydrocarbon lift system and method for increasing petroleum production from an enclosed subterranean reservoir to the earth's surface comprises a column of buoyant balls in an outer pipe configured to entrain the buoyant balls into a first fluid in an annulus formed with an inner pipe drill string. A pressure differential in the inner pipe with respect to the reservoir via the entrained buoyant balls in a second fluid therein lifts the second fluid and the entrained balls via the inner pipe to increase petroleum production to the to earth's surface. A controlled rise velocity of the buoyant balls and the second fluid is predetermined by a ratio of a mass density of the buoyant balls to a mass density of the second fluid being greater than a mass density of the buoyant balls to a mass density of the first fluid for an increase over time in oil production.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.