The field of the disclosure relates generally to artificial lift technology and, more specifically, to methods and systems for a gas pulse jet pump that leverages the benefits of traditional jet pump and gas lift technologies
Gas lift systems use the injection of gas into a production well to increase the flow of liquids, such as crude oil or water, from the production well. Gas is injected down the casing and ultimately into the tubing of the well at one or more downhole locations to reduce the weight of the hydrostatic column. This effectively reduces the density of the fluid in the well and further reduces the back pressure, allowing the reservoir pressure to lift the fluid out of the well. As the gas rises, the bubbles help to push the fluid ahead. The produced fluid can be oil, water, or a mix of oil and water, typically mixed with some amount of gas.
Hydraulic jet pumps, also known as water jet pumps use liquid jet energy to displace fluids while at the same time generating suction to reduce the pressure within the wellbore. The advantages of hydraulic jet pumps include: no moving parts, no mechanical or electrical connections, operates in unlimited depth and well deviation, and operates in harsh conditions. However, hydraulic jet pump technology uses the transfer of momentum from a viscous fluid to another, resulting in frictional losses that yield a relatively inefficient mode of fluid transport. For example, overall system efficiencies for hydraulic jet pump technology can range from approximately ten to approximately thirty percent.
Gas lift operations are exposed to a wide range of conditions. These vary by well location, reservoir type, etc. Furthermore, well conditions, such as downhole pressure, may change over time. Therefore ideal operating conditions of the well may change over time. Gas lift systems usually are applied in vertical section of wells and the wells experience high back pressure on the reservoir. This makes gas lift application impractical in low reservoir pressure assets. Typically, the use of gas lift in well laterals is impractical. In contrast, hydraulic jet pumps perform consistently, but are inefficient. One solution can be using gas rather than liquid as the power fluid in a jet pump. The challenge is continuous injection of gas jets in well laterals. This results in gas occupying the wellbore space and restricting the inflow from the reservoir instead of generating suction. Due to the compressible nature of the displacing fluid, the energy does not transfer efficiently and the gas compresses rather than propelling liquids from the wellbore. The gravity force also causes gas to override the liquid in the well laterals instead of displacing the liquids.
In one aspect, a gas pulse jet pump for use with a fluid transfer system is provided. The gas pulse jet pump includes a main body including at least one suction chamber configured to receive production fluid. The gas pulse jet pump further includes an inlet configured to receive the production fluid into the gas pulse jet pump, at least one valve configured to regulate flow of the production fluid through the gas pulse jet pump, at least one gas injection port configured to intermittently inject high pressure gas into the at least one suction chamber, and an outlet configured to receive the production fluid from the at least one suction chamber and discharge the production fluid from the gas pulse jet pump.
In a further aspect, a fluid transfer system is provided. The fluid transfer system includes a compressor configured to compress low pressure gas into high pressure gas, a tubing system configured to transport the high pressure gas and production fluid through said fluid transfer system, and a gas pulse jet pump. The gas pulse jet pump includes a main body including at least one suction chamber configured to receive production fluid. The gas pulse jet pump further includes an inlet configured to receive the production fluid into the gas pulse jet pump, at least one valve configured to regulate flow of the production fluid through the gas pulse jet pump, at least one gas injection port configured to intermittently inject high pressure gas into the at least one suction chamber, and an outlet configured to receive the production fluid from the at least one suction chamber and discharge the production fluid from the gas pulse jet pump.
In another aspect, a method of assembling a gas pulse jet pump is provided. The method includes providing a main body, forming at least one suction chamber in the main body. The at least one suction chamber is configured to receive production fluid. The method further includes forming an inlet configured to receive the production fluid, and providing at least one valve configured to regulate the flow of the production fluid through the gas pulse jet pump. In addition, the method includes providing at least one gas injection port configured to intermittently inject high pressure gas into the at least one suction chamber, and forming an outlet configured to receive the production fluid from the at least one suction chamber and discharge the production fluid from the gas pulse jet pump.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings provided herein are meant to illustrate features of embodiments of this disclosure. These features are believed to be applicable in a wide variety of systems comprising one or more embodiments of this disclosure. As such, the drawings are not meant to include all conventional features known by those of ordinary skill in the art to be required for the practice of the embodiments disclosed herein.
In the following specification and the claims, reference will be made to a number of terms, which shall be defined to have the following meanings.
The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
“Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where the event occurs and instances where it does not.
Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “about”, “approximately”, and “substantially”, are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value. Here and throughout the specification and claims, range limitations may be combined and/or interchanged, such ranges are identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise.
Embodiments of gas pulse jet pump devices described herein combine jet pumps and gas lift to facilitate improved operation in unconventional and horizontal wells. Specifically, the use of natural gas as the displacing fluid in jet pumps facilitates a reduction in backpressure of the reservoir. Additionally, the gas pulse jet pump facilitates an increase in reservoir drawdown. Additionally, the pump can be set in the horizontal section of the well. Moreover, the gas pulse jet pump facilitates an improvement in overall system efficiency. As such, the efficiency of the gas pulse jet pump system is higher when compared to hydraulic jet pumps due to natural gas lift in the vertical section of the well. Additionally, controlling the strength and frequency of gas jet pulses facilitates the implementation of the gas pulse jet pump as a unique artificial lift technology suitable for both low and high production rates. Additionally, the gas pulse jet pump can be used in low pressure reservoirs as a standalone lift technology, or in combination with other artificial lift technologies. The gas pulse jet pump makes it practical to use natural gas as the displacing fluid in jet pump applications, due to an intermittent gas injection scheme which results in a bubbly flow regime that efficiently transfers gas energy to the liquid and generates suction, thus making the use of gas as the displacing fluid in unconventional and horizontal wells efficient and practical.
In the exemplary embodiment well 202 is a hole drilled into geological formation 204 for extracting production fluid 206, such as crude oil, water, or gas. Well 202 is lined with a well casing 228. Well casing 228 may be positioned in any orientation within geological formation 204. A plurality of perforations 230 are formed through well casing 228 to permit production fluid 206 to flow into well 202 from geological formation 204. In operation, low pressure gas is delivered to compressor 214 where it is compressed into high pressure gas 216 and injected into well 202 and proceeds downhole. High pressure gas 216 travels through outer tubing 218 to gas pulse jet pump 226 where it is then utilized by gas pulse jet pump 226 to displace production fluids 206 from within well 202. Gas pulse jet pump 226 pushes production fluids 206 up inner tubing 220. Production fluids 206 exit well 202 through production tubing 222 and is transported to fluid separator 224. Fluid separator 224 receives production fluid 206 from production tubing 222 and separates low pressure gas 212 from production fluid 206. Production fluid 206 is then processed, transported, or stored by topside production location 208 while low pressure gas is routed back to compressor 214 for use in recovering additional production fluid 206 from well 202.
In operation, production fluid 206 (shown in
In operation, gas injection ports 308 intermittently inject high pressure gas 216 (shown in
In operation, once production fluid 206 (shown in
Additionally, in one embodiment, as the gas pocket piston forces production fluid 206 (shown in
In operation, production fluid 206 (shown in
In operation, gas injection ports 410 intermittently inject high pressure gas 216 (shown in
In operation, once production fluid 206 (shown in
The gas pulse jet pump devices described herein combine jet pumps and gas lift to facilitate improved operation in unconventional and horizontal wells. Specifically, the use of natural gas as the displacing fluid in jet pumps facilitates a reduction in backpressure of the reservoir. Additionally, the gas pulse jet pump facilitates an increase in reservoir drawdown. Additionally, the pump can be set in the horizontal section of the well, resulting in a reduction of surface equipment needed to operate the well. Moreover, the gas pulse jet pump facilitates an improvement in overall system efficiency. As such, the efficiency of the gas pulse jet pump system is higher when compared to hydraulic jet pumps due to natural gas lift in the vertical section of the well. Additionally, controlling the strength and frequency of gas jet pulses facilitates the implementation of the gas pulse jet pump as a unique artificial lift technology suitable for both low and high production rates. Additionally, the gas pulse jet pump can be used in low pressure reservoirs as a standalone lift technology, or in combination with other artificial lift technologies. The gas pulse jet pump makes it practical to use natural gas as the displacing fluid in jet pump applications, due to an intermittent gas injection scheme which results in a bubbly flow regime that efficiently transfers gas energy to the liquid and generates suction, thus making the use of gas as the displacing fluid in unconventional and horizontal wells efficient and practical.
Exemplary embodiments of methods, systems, and apparatus for operating gas pulse jet pumps are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, but rather, components of systems and/or steps of the methods may be utilized independently and separately from other components and/or steps described herein. For example, the methods, systems, and apparatus may also be used in combination with other systems requiring reducing particles in a fluid flow, and the associated methods, and are not limited to practice with only the systems and methods as described herein. Rather, the exemplary embodiment can be implemented and utilized in connection with many other applications, equipment, and systems that may benefit from artificial lift generated by gas pulse jet pumps.
Although specific features of various embodiments of the disclosure may be shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only. In accordance with the principles of the disclosure, any feature of a drawing may be referenced and/or claimed in combination with any feature of any other drawing.
This written description uses examples to disclose the embodiments, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the embodiments, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20180340551 A1 | Nov 2018 | US |