US 2525233 A
Description (OCR text may contain errors)
Oct. 10, 1950 s. A. MILLER GAS AND OIL sEPARAToR Filed June 16, 1947 FIG. l.
a a n. o
INVENTOR SIDNEY -A. mLLER BY s t ATTORNEY Patented ocr. 1o, 195o UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,525,233 GAS AND oIL Seminarort Sidney A. Miller, Midway City, Calif;
Application June 16, 1947, Serial-No.75425 The present invention relates to gas and oil separators in general and particularly to such separators designed to be positioned within the casing of an oil well. More particularly the in vention comprises an improved gas and oil separator which, in a preferred form, seats the pumping unit deep in the well and increases its normal eiiiciency by separating the entrained gases in the oil before reaching the pump.
The use of gas and oil separators, commonly referred to asr gas anchors, is today recognized as a desirable means of increasing production in an oil well. Not s many years ago such separators or anchors were run only as a remedial measure or to aid in the operation of an adjoining well.
In the pumping of oil from a well inevitably volumes of gas are entrained in the oil stream which move upwardly with it in the manner of a percolator. Upon reaching the pumping unit the entrained gas permits theV pump to race and to perform no useful work. To eliminate these bubbles or gaseous bodies and to maintain a more nearly constant load upon the pumping mechanism would not only remove unnecessary strains from the pumping mechanism but would also increase its output. Additionally, there is the problem of minimizing the disturbances of silt, etc. in the well and the maintenance of an even unagitated iiow serves particularly in this connection.
The gas and oil separators of the prior art have not successfullystabilized the flow of oil and, while they have in certain instances improved the efciency of the well, they have failed to obtain optimum results. With an appreciation of the desirable results to be obtained by efficient gas and oil separation within the well and, further, with appreciation of the defects which characterize the prior art constructions, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved gas and oil separator for oil wells. Y
It is another object of the invention to `provide a new and improved gas and oil separator Claims. (Cl. 18S-2.7)
for oil wells which supports the pump unit within source.
A still further object of the invention is t yprovidev a simplified gas and oil separator of maximum eiii'ciency.
These and other more specic objects will appear upon kreading the following specification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawings to which they relate.
Referring now to the drawings in which a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention isillustrated: y
Figure 1 is a Vertical longitudinal section through a Vportion of an oil well casing in which is positioned a gas ,anchor constructed in accordance with the present invention; and
Figure 2 is a transverse section upon the line 2 2 of Figure 1.
Referring again to the drawing an oil well casing positioned Well below the ground level is shown in section and is indicated by the reference character II. Such casings extend downwardly into the earth for many thousand feet, the distance sometimes running into miles as is well known in the art. The particular length shown represents a portion of the casing below the natural oil level. Within casing I I is positioned a gas anchor constructed in accordance with the present invention and indicated generally by the reference character IU. Anchor I0 is located between an upper string of oil-conducting tubing I2 and a lower string I3 and is removably connected thereto as will be described.
Anchor I@ is so constructed as to provide three chambers which are indicated by the characters A, B and C, which may be'called, respectively, the entrance chamber, the gas separation chamber, and the pumping or pump suction chamber. In the normal operation oil iiows through the chambers in the order mentioned. An inner pipe I6 of substantially the same diameter as upper tubing I2 is interiorly threaded into a Y couping Il at its upper end, which coupling in turn is connected by a sho-rt length nipple I8 to a Y coupling I9, itself threadedly seating the lower end of tubing I2. Nipple I8 and pipe I6 in effect form a continuation of tubing I2 and connect it directly to a ,pump shoe 2|. The latter, in external appearance is like a coupling witln threaded ends, being provided with an internal bore merging into a smoothly expanding curved pump seat 22 at its upper end. A suitable pump 23 is seated upon seat 22 and is suitably provided with electrical powerrfrom an exterior A tail piece 24 threadedly connects to the lower end of shoe 2l and is provided with a similar internal bore and in addition thereto is formed with a plurality of radially extending transverse ports or passageways 26. In the illustrated embodiment the lower end of tail piece 24 is closed by a screw plug 21. Pumping or suction chamber C, previously mentioned, is formed by the interior bore of shoe 2|.
Concentrically enclosing the pipe or conduit I6 and extending below the lower end of plug 21 is an intermediate pipe or conduit 3| which may be referred to as the gas separator jacket. The upper end of separator jacket 3| is interiorly threaded and connects to Y coupling I1 and its interiorly threaded lower end connects to a third and lowermost Y coupling 32 which, in turn, is threadedly connected at its lower end to the lower string of tubing I3.Y Adjacent its upper end and below the coupling I1 jacket 3| is provided with a multiplicity of circumferentially spaced perforations or openings 33. Additionally, and opposite the tail piece24, it is formed with openings 34 through which transverse tubes 26 extend in sealed relationship, the tubes opening at their inner ends to'suction chamber C. Aforementioned entrance chamber A comprises the space within pipe 3| and around pipe I6 and its connected parts. The chamber may be said to extend upwardly from the nipple 32 to the perforations 33.
Positioned concentrically about separator jacket 3| and threadedly connected at its interiorly threaded ends to coupling I9 and to lower coupling 32 is an external shell or tubing 36 which, in the manner of jacket 3|, is formed with a plurality of perforations or ports 31 near its upper end and specifically immediately adjacent and below coupling I9. The space between separator jacket 3| and external shell 36 comprises the separator chamber B which is interiorly connected to chamber A through perforations 33 and to exterior space within the casing II by the perforations 31.
The described construction makes possible a continuous ow of oil upwardly within the well. Oil is forced by the pressure within the well upwardly through lower tubing I3 and into entrance chamber A in which it rises upwardly past tail piece 24 and pump shoe 2| to pass outwardly through the openings 33 into the surrounding separation chamber B. The transverse tubes 2E are sealed to tail piece 24 and to jacket 3| and the oil in passing through chamber A cannot enter pumping chamber C.
Upon passing through the perforations 33 into the separation chamber B any entrained gas escapes from the oil and passes through the perforations or ports 31 into the surrounding casing from which it may pass to the ambient atmosphere at the top of the casing. The oil, now freed from gas, travels downwardly in chamber B and is drawn through ports 26 and into pumping chamber C by the suction created by the pump 23. The oil is forced upwardly by pump 23 through pipe 26, nipple I 8 into pipe I2 and therethrough to the top of the well.
The gas and oil are forced by the natural pressure head in the well upwardly through chamber A, through perforations 33 and into separation chamber B and it is from the latter chamber that the pump 23 actually pumps the oil. As that chamber is constantly supplied with a head pump 23 will at all times be loaded and variations and fluctuations in its speed and output are eliminated and its eiiiciency correspondingly increased. Additionally, the disturbing eifects upon the silt,
etc. by irregular oil ilow within the well is minimized and the possibility of a gas lock positively eliminated.
When the well is rst placed in operation the oil level may be above the top of the gas anchor, that is, above the perforations 31. In that event, and until the level has been lowered below ports 31, oil will initially ow downwardly and through perforations 31 into separation chamber B from which it will then be drawn, as previously described. Once the level has been lowered, however, to a point below openings 31 the oil flo-w Will be as described which is to be understood to be the normal operation of the device.
While the particular apparatus herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein' shown other than as defined in the appended claims.
1. In a self-contained gas and oil separator adapted for vertical displacement in an oil Well casing, a body adapted to be connected to the oil-conducting tubing below the natural oil level and including means forming a central entrance chamber, means independent of any enclosing oil well casing forming a separation chamber positioned around and connected at its top to said entrance chamber, and means forming an inner central chamber adapted to receive a pump and to connect to oil-conducting tubing leading to the ground surface, and means connecting said separation chamber and said central chamber.
2. In a self-contained gas and oil separator adapted for vertical displacement in an oil well casing, arbody adapted to be connected intermediate a string of oil-conducting pipes below the natural levelin a well and formed interiorly as a continuous passage with a central upow extension, an enclosing downflow, vertical extension, and an innermost upflow vertical extension, characterized in that at a junction of said upflow and downow extensions escape means are provided for entrained gases.
3. In a self-contained gas and oil separator adapted for vertical displacement in an oil well casing, a body adapted to be connected intermediate a string of oil-conducting pipes below the natural level in a well and formed interiorly within itself as a continuous passage with upflow and downflow vertical extensions, characterized in that at the junction of an upflow and a downflow vertical extension escape means are provided for entrained gases, and in that a pair of said extensions are connected for flow transversely through an intermediate extension.
4. In a self-contained gas and oil separator adaptedV for vertical Ydisplacement in an oil well casing, a body adapted to be connected to oilconducting tubing and including ported couplings at its opposite ends for that purpose, an outer tubing connecting said couplings, an inner tubing inside said outer tubing closed at one end and open to the port of one of said couplings, an intermediate tubing positioned between said inner and outer tubings and open at one end to the port of the other of said couplings, means closing the space between said inner and intermediate tubings at a point spaced from the connection of the ,latter Vand the coupling, and transverse conduit means extended through ythe space between said inner and intermediate tubings and connecting the interior of said inner tubing lwith' 6 REFERENCES CITED VThe following references are of record in the le of this patent:
UNTTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Gignoux et a1. Feb. 16, 1926 Chancellor et al. July 13, 1926 Lybyer Jan. 8, 1929 Werts Aug. 29, 1939 Shultz Feb. 3, 1942 Buckley Feb. 8, 1944