Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – With mounting – fastening – or supporting means – With guide for strand
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-12
2004-06-08
Dang, Hoang (Department: 3672)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
With mounting, fastening, or supporting means
With guide for strand
C166S372000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06745815
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable
REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”
Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to oil, water, and gas well drilling and production and to coal bed methane production. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for producing oil and gas from a well using a gas carrier/transport system to remove produced liquids and/or solids by altering the flow regime of the production fluids towards or into a flow regime in which gas is the continuous fluid (i.e. the rate of upflowing gas in the well is sufficiently high in comparison with liquid production flow to generate plug flow, slug flow, froth flow, foam flow, annular flow, spray flow, or mist flow.) This is accomplished by use of supplemental gas flow and/or stimulation of the production sands or coal bed gas flow with a reduced pressure drop across the well itself. This invention can be applied to any gas, oil, and/or water well with insufficient formation gas pressure to prevent liquid buildup within the well during production. The present invention also relates to an improved method and apparatus for producing heavy and paraffinic oil from a well using a heated gas carrier/transport system to remove produced liquids and/or solids by altering the flow regime of the production fluids towards or into a flow regime in which gas is the continuous fluid. This invention can also be applied to any oil and/or water (liquid) well as a means of enhancing the well's production. The gas can be either hydrocarbon, non-hydrocarbon, or a mixture of the two.
2. General Background of the Invention
Several patents have issued that are directed to oil, water, and gas well production. Many patents are directed to “gas lift” technology. In such a “gas lift” situation, a relatively small volume of gas is bubbled through the up-flowing hydrocarbon or non-hydrocarbon liquid, typically aided by or using valves, check valves, plungers, mandrels, or other mechanical devices “downhole” which are typically high maintenance devices. Some even refer to the necessity for “bottom of pipe” filters or screens to remove sand and silt from the production fluids in order to allow these mechanical devices to operate. Some refer to the use of such mechanical devices to minimize the, required “lift gas”.
All of the designs known to applicant and using these mechanical devices are designed to convert the well production from the bubble flow regime to the plug flow regime by use of these devices, not by gas alone. An early example of such a system is described in the Walter Loomis patent, U.S. Pat. No. 1,554,444 entitled “System for the Recovery of Mineral Oils”. The '444 patent describes a system for causing produced hydrocarbon gas to be reintroduced into the oil well down through the casing, into a mixer, causing the gas to be mixed with the upflowing hydrocarbon liquid inside the production tubing. The heavier components of the hydrocarbon gas will dissolve under pressure back into the hydrocarbon liquid (probably including those hydrocarbons—propane and heavier), while the rest become mixed back into the oil in a finely divided form. Such an introducing of hydrocarbon gases into the hydrocarbon liquid cause the specific gravity of liquids to be lowered, thus causing the “lift”. The lighter hydrocarbon gases are supposed to dissolve in the hydrocarbon liquid at the bottom of the well, enhancing the lift by reducing the specific gravity. As the pressure in the production tubing is reduced as the hydrocarbon liquid rises to the surface, the lighter hydrocarbon gases will return to the vapor phase and further enhance the lift effect. The Loomis patent directed to the need to lift hydrocarbon liquid and does not deal with the need to lift “produced water”.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,790,450 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Operating Oil Wells” discloses a system of a mechanical means for causing produced hydrocarbon gas to build up pressure beneath a rubber plug, which will periodically rise and effectively “swab” the liquid hydrocarbon up the well pipe. This patent describes one of the early pumping type gas lifts. It uses a rubber plug or piston in the production tubing to lift the liquids out of the well by gas pressure under the piston.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,005,7671 issued to Zublin, there is disclosed a system for causing produced hydrocarbon gas to be mechanically and centrifugally separated from the hydrocarbon liquid down in the well pipe, the gas being returned to the formation and the oil being produced containing a minimum amount of gas.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,034,798 entitled “Method of Flowing Wells” discloses a system for causing produced hydrocarbon gas by multiple wells to be stored up, and possibly be pressure boosted for proper usage, and to be used as motive gas for depleted wells in the same area.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,316 issued to Norman Montgomery and entitled “Gas Lifting System” describes a system for causing produced hydrocarbon gas to lift a plurality of plungers throughout the production tubing, thus reducing the amount of time lost waiting for the plunger to return to the bottom for trapping new volume of lift gas.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,087 issued to Harry O. McLeod, Jr. and entitled “Gas Lift System” describes a system for using gas injection, combined with intermittent slugs of a liquid which is both immiscible with the liquid being lifted from the well and does not adhere to the walls of the tubing and casing. This reduces the amount of liquid slippage by the slugs of lift gas.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,238 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Flowing Crude Oil from a Well”, issued to Johnnie A. Elfarr, describes a system for causing steam and/or air to be pumped down into an older formation, whose formation pressure has been depleted, artificially boosting the formation pressure and causing the hydrocarbon liquid to flow upward toward the surface. Steam is especially beneficial as the oil viscosity is high, becoming reduced by the elevated temperature caused by the steam. This system uses multiple downhole valves to effect the claims.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,724 issued to Carlo F. Levoni et al. and entitled “Device for Cleaning, Widening and Repairing Wells of Drinking Water and Irrigation Water” describes a system for cleaning, widening and repairing of a water well.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,790 issued to Bolling A. Abercrombie, entitled “Surface Controlled Liquid Removal Method and System for Gas Producing Wells” describes a system for removal of accumulated production liquids. Assuming hydrocarbon gas is being produced from the well inside the casing, an internal production tubing, fitted with a loose fitting plunger, is used to periodically remove any collected liquids in the casing by shutting off the gas production while opening up the inner tubing, causing the gas to divert to the inner tubing, lifting the plunger and bringing the liquid up to the surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,64,7 issued to William C. Carmichael and entitled “Apparatus to Increase Oil Well Flow” describes a system for attaching a pump to the top of the production pipe, thus causing a vacuum on the production oil. This production pipe goes down into an oil sump, lower than the producing sands in the well casing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,061 issued to Charles short and entitled “Apparatus for Production of Liquid from Wells” describes a system for causing gas to enter the production tubing through an aspirator into the hydrocarbon liquid contained therein. The bottom of the production tubing should be fitted with a sand screen to prevent entrainment of sand particles. Further up the drill tubing are one or more check valves to prevent downward flow of liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,041 issued to Davis et al. and entitled “Process for Gas-Lifting Liquid from a Well by Injecting Liquid into the Well” describes a system for sealing off any particular zone of the formation with remotely-actuable packers, and using gas to lift any prod
Senyard, Sr. Corley P.
Senyard, Sr. Thomas J.
Garvey, Jr. Charles C.
Garvey, Smith, Nehrbass & Doody LLC
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