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Use of downhole high pressure gas in a gas-lift well and associated methods Number:7,147,059 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent

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Title: Use of downhole high pressure gas in a gas-lift well and associated methods

Abstract: A gas-lift petroleum well and method for producing petroleum products using downhole pressurized gas to provide lift. The gas-lift well having a well casing, a production tubing, a packer, and a gas-lift valve. The well casing extends within a wellbore of the well, and the wellbore extends through oil and gas zones. The production tubing extends within the casing. The tubing having an opening formed therein, which is in fluid communication with an oil zone. The packer is located downhole in the casing and coupled to the tubing. The packer can have an electrically controllable packer valve, which is adapted to control a flow of downhole pressurized gas from one side of the packer to another. The downhole pressurized gas is provided by a gas zone that the wellbore passes through. The downhole gas-lift valve is coupled to the tubing and is adapted to control a flow of downhole pressurized gas into oil in the tubing for lifting the oil. The gas-lift valve can be an electrically controllable valve. The tubing and casing are used as electrical conductors for supplying power and/or communications downhole. The current in the tubing is routed using a ferromagnetic induction choke to create a voltage potential, which provides electrical power to downhole electrical devices. Also, there may be a bypass passageway to route downhole gas to gas-lift valves. There may also be downhole sensors to measure physical quantities (e.g., pressure). Such measurements can be used for feedback control of downhole electrically controllable valves.

Patent Number: 7,147,059 Issued on 12/12/2006 to Hirsch,   et al.


Inventors: Hirsch; John M. (Houston, TX), Stegemeier; George Leo (Houston, TX), Hall; James William (Katy, TX), Vinegar; Harold J. (Houston, TX), Burnett; Robert Rex (Katy, TX), Savage; William Mountjoy (Houston, TX), Carl, Jr.; Frederick Gordon (Houston, TX)
Assignee: Shell Oil Company (Houston, TX)
Appl. No.: 10/220,249
Filed: March 2, 2001
PCT Filed: March 02, 2001
PCT No.: PCT/US01/06986
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: August 29, 2002
PCT Pub. No.: WO01/65062
PCT Pub. Date: September 07, 2001


Current U.S. Class: 166/372 ; 166/133; 166/188; 166/373; 166/66.6
Current International Class: E21B 43/12 (20060101); E21B 43/00 (20060101); E21B 43/14 (20060101)
Field of Search: 166/372,373,386,387,250.15,66.6,133,146,147,188


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Primary Examiner: Bagnell; David
Assistant Examiner: Bomar; Shane
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Stiegel; Rachael

Parent Case Text



CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the following U.S. Provisional Applications, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference:

TABLE-US-00001 COMMONLY OWNED AND PREVIOUSLY FILED U.S. PROVISIONAL Pat. applications T&K # Ser. No. Title Filing Date TH 1599 60/177,999 Toroidal Choke Inductor for Jan. 24, 2000 Wireless Communication and Control TH 1600 60/178,000 Ferromagnetic Choke in Jan. 24, 2000 Wellhead TH 1602 60/178,001 Controllable Gas-Lift Well Jan. 24,2000 and Valve TH 1603 60/177,883 Permanent, Downhole, Jan. 24,2000 Wireless, Two-Way Telemetry Backbone Using Redundant Repeater, Spread Spectrum Arrays TH 1668 60/177,998 Petroleum Well Having Jan. 24, 2000 Downhole Sensors, Communication, and Power TH 1669 60/177,997 System and Method for Fluid Jan. 24, 2000 Flow Optimization TS 6185 60/181,322 A Method and Apparatus for Feb. 9, 2000 the Optimal Predistortion of an Electromagnetic Signal in a Downhole Communications System TH 1599x 60/186,376 Toroidal Choke Inductor for Mar. 2, 2000 Wireless Communication and Control TH 1600x 60/186,380 Ferromagnetic Choke in Mar. 2, 2000 Wellhead TH 1601 60/186,505 Reservoir Production Control Mar. 2, 2000 from Intelligent Well Data TH 1671 60/186,504 Tracer Injection in a Mar. 2, 2000 Production Well TH 1672 60/186,379 Oilwell Casing Electrical Mar. 2, 2000 Power Pick-Off Points TH 1673 60/186,375 Controllable Production Well Mar. 2, 2000 Packer TH 1674 60/186,382 Use of Downhole High Mar. 2, 2000 Pressure Gas in a Gas Lift Well TH 1675 60/186,503 Wireless Smart Well Casing Mar. 2, 2000 TH 1677 60/186,527 Method for Downhole Power Mar. 2, 2000 Management Using Energization from Distributed Batteries or Capacitors with Reconfigurable Discharge TH 1679 60/186,393 Wireless Downhole Well Mar. 2, 2000 Interval Inflow and Injection Control TH 1681 60/186,394 Focused Through-Casing Mar. 2, 2000 Resistivity Measurement TH 1704 60/186,531 Downhole Rotary Hydraulic Mar. 2, 2000 Pressure for Valve Actuation TH 1705 60/186,377 Wireless Downhole Mar. 2, 2000 Measurement and Control For Optimizing Gas Lift Well and Field Performance TH 1722 60/186,381 Controlled Downhole Mar. 2, 2000 Chemical Injection TH 1723 60/186,378 Wireless Power and Mar. 2, 2000 Communications Cross-Bar Switch

The current application shares some specification and figures with the following commonly owned and concurrently filed applications, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference:

TABLE-US-00002 COMMONLY OWNED AND CONCURRENTLY FILED U.S Pat. applications T&K # Ser. No. Title Filing Date TH 1601US 10/220,254 Reservoir Production Aug. 29, 2002 Control from Intelligent Well Data TH 1671US 10/220,251 Tracer Injection in a Aug. 29, 2002 Production Well TH 1673US 10/220,252 Controllable Production Aug. 29, 2002 Well Packer TH 1672US 10/220,402 OILWELL CASING Aug. 29, 2002 ELECTRICAL POWER PICK-OFF POINTS TH 1675US 10/220,195 Wireless Smart Well Aug. 29, 2002 Casing TH 1677US 10/220,253 Method for Downhole Aug. 29, 2002 Power Management Using Energization from Distributed Batteries or Capacitors with Recon- figurable Discharge TH 1679US 10/220,453 Wireless Downhole Well Aug. 29, 2002 Interval Inflow and Injection Control TH 1704US 10/220,326 Downhole Rotary Aug. 29, 2002 Hydraulic Pressure for Valve Actuation TH 1705US 10/220,455 Wireless Downhole Aug. 29, 2002 Measurement and Control For Optimizing Gas Lift Well and Field Performance TH 1722US 10/220,372 Controlled Downhole Aug. 29, 2002 Chemical Injection TH 1723US 10/220,652 Wireless Power and Aug. 29, 2002 Communications Cross-Bar Switch

The current application shares some specification and figures with the following commonly owned and previously filed applications, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference:

TABLE-US-00003 COMMONLY OWNED AND PREVIOUSLY FILED U.S Pat. applications Ser. No. Title Filing Date TH 1599US 09/769,047 Toroidal Choke Inductor Oct. 20, 2003 for Wireless Communi- cation and Control TH 1600US 09/769,048 Induction Choke for Power Jan. 24, 2001 Distribution in Piping Structure TH 1602US 09/768,705 Controllable Gas-Lift Jan. 24, 2001 Well and Valve TH 1603US 09/768,655 Permanent Downhole, Jan. 24, 2001 Wireless, Two-Way Telemetry Backbone Using Redundant Repeater TH 1668US 09/768,046 Petroleum Well Having Jan. 24, 2001 Downhole Sensors, Communication, and Power TH 1669US 09/768,656 System and Method for Jan. 24, 2001 Fluid Flow Optimization TS 6185US 09/779,935 A Method and Apparatus Feb. 8, 2001 for the Optimal Predistortion of an Electro Magnetic Signal In a Downhole Communication System

The benefit of 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120 is claimed for all of the above referenced commonly owned applications. The applications referenced in the tables above are referred to herein as the "Related Applications."
Claims



The invention claimed is:

1. A gas-lift petroleum well for producing petroleum products using downhole pressurized gas, comprising: a well casing extending within a wellbore of said well, said wellbore extending through an oil zone and at least one high pressure gas zone wherein the at least one high pressure gas zone is separate from the oil zone by at least one impermeable zone; a downhole gas-lift valve coupled to a tubing and being adapted to control a flow of downhole pressurized gas into the tubing; and a connector for supplying gas from the gas zone to said down hole gas-lift valve bypassing said oil zone.

2. A gas-lift petroleum well in accordance with claim 1, wherein the connector for supplying gas from the gas zone to said down hole gas-lift valve comprises: a controllable packer located downhole in said well casing and coupled to said tubing; and an electrically controllable packer valve, said electrically controllable packer valve being adapted to control a flow of down hole pressurized gas, provided by a gas zone, from one side of said packer to another.

3. A gas-lift petroleum well in accordance with claim 2, further comprising an induction choke located about said tubing proximate to said electrically controllable valve.

4. A gas-lift petroleum well in accordance with claim 1, wherein said gas-lift valve is electrically controllable, such that said gas-lift valve can be opened, closed, adjusted, or continuously throttled in response to an electrical signal.

5. A gas-lift petroleum well in accordance with claim 3, further comprising an induction choke located about said tubing proximate to said gas-lift valve.

6. A gas-lift petroleum well in accordance with claim 1, the well-casing extending along and within said wellbore, said well casing comprising a first perforated section located at an oil zone and a second perforated section located at a pressurized gas zone.

7. A gas-lift petroleum well in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a communications and control module.

8. A gas-lift petroleum well in accordance with claim 1, the tubing and well casing comprising well piping structure, including a source of time varying current applied to one of the piping structures in the well.

9. A gas-lift petroleum well in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a downhole modem adapted to send and receive communications along said tubing and well casing.

10. A gas-lift petroleum well in accordance with claim 1, further comprising plurality of packers to separate a plurality of oil zones from at least one gas zone.

11. A method of producing petroleum products from a gas-lift well using downhole pressurized gas from a subsurface pressurized gas zone, said method comprising the steps of: supplying said downhole pressurized gas from said gas zone into a well casing of said well; routing time-varying current to an electrically controllable gas-lift valve using an induction choke located downhole about a tubing; regulating flow of said downhole pressurized gas from within said well casing into an interior of the tubing, said tubing extending within said well casing; allowing oil from a subsurface oil zone to enter said tubing wherein the subsurface oil zone is separated from the pressurized gas zone by at least one impermeable zone; lifting said oil in said tubing using at least in part gas bubbles of said downhole pressurized gas to lower the density of the mixture in said tubing; and producing petroleum products from said tubing at the surface; further comprising the step of: regulating flow of said downhole pressurized gas between one space within said well casing and another space within said well casing with a controllable packer comprising an electrically controllable packer valve.

12. A method of operating a petroleum well comprising a wellbore traversing a gas producing formation and an oil production formation and a tubing comprising the steps of: isolating the gas producing formation from the oil producing formation; powering a downhole device operable to permit fluid communication between the formations, said power being supplied by an AC signal applied to the piping structure of the well; routing gas from the gas producing formation to the interior of the tubing using said down hole device; and producing oil from the oil producing formation using the routed gas to aid in lifting the oil to the surface; wherein the downhole device comprising a packer having a controllable valve.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising the steps of: inputting a time-varying signal to the tubing of the piping structure; routing part of said signal to the downhole device electrically connected to said tubing using an induction choke located about said tubing, wherein said downhole device comprises a gas-lift valve, said gas-lift valve being electrically controllable; and controlling said electrically controllable gas-lift valve based on said time-varying signal.
Description



BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a gas-lift petroleum well for producing reservoir fluids which uses reservoir gas for production. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a system and method of using an electronically controllable downhole valve and downhole pressurized gas to lift fluids up a well for petroleum production purposes.

2. Description of the Related Art

Gas lift is widely used to generate artificial lift in oil wells having insufficient reservoir pressure to drive formation fluids to the surface. In current practice lift gas is supplied to the well by surface compressors connected through an injection control valve to an annular space formed between a production tubing and a well casing. The gas flows down the annular space to a downhole gas-lift valve, which fluidly connects the annular space to the interior of the tubing. The gas-lift valve may be located just above the oil production zone, and the lift is generated by the combination of reduced density in the fluid column filling the tubing caused by gas bubbles from the gas-lift valve, and by entrained flow of the fluids by the rising gas stream in the tubing.

A variety of flow regimes in the tubing are recognized, and are determined by the gas flow rate at the gas-lift valve. The gas bubbles in the tubing decompress as they rise in the tubing because the head pressure of the fluid column above drops as the bubbles rise. This decompression causes the bubbles to expand, so that the flow regimes within the tubing can vary up the tubing, depending on the volumetric ratio of bubbles to liquid. Other factors contribute to determining the flow regime, such as fluid column height, fluid composition and phases present, tubing diameter, depth of well, temperature, back pressure set by the production control valve, and physical characteristics of the surface collection system. For the effective use of gas lift, it is important to control the injection rate of the lift gas.

Conventionally, the injection rate at the gas-lift valve is determined by the pressure difference across the valve, and its orifice size. In existing practice, the pressure on the annulus side is determined by the gas supply flow rate at the surface connection. On the tubing interior side of the gas-lift valve the pressure is determined by a number of factors, notably the static head of the fluid column above the valve, the flow rate of fluids up the tubing, the formation pressure, and the inflow rate in the oil production zone. Typically the orifice size of the gas lift valve is preset by selection at the time the valve is installed, and cannot be changed thereafter without changing the valve, which requires that the well be taken out of production.

The ongoing supply of compressed lift gas is a major determinant of production cost. The cost is a combination of the capital investment to provide the compressors and field infrastructure to convey the gas to each well, and the ongoing operating cost of running the compressors and maintaining them.

Many oil reservoirs have high-pressure gas caps or underlying high-pressure gas zones separated from the oil-bearing zones by impermeable layers. Nevertheless, in most situations the naturally-occurring reservoir gas is not used to lift the oil because of the inability to devise a method to monitor and control downhole operations. Attempts have been made to use reservoir gas for lift, see, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,814,545 and 4,545,731, and Otis Engineering publication dated August 1980 entitled "Heavy Crude Lift Systems." (Field Development Report OEC 5228, Otis Corporation, Dallas, Tex., 1980.) Instead, where it is necessary to provide a lift to the oil, a gas-lift well is used with compressed gas generated at the surface and forced downhole to lift the oil from the oil production zones. Hence, there is a need for a way to controllably use the naturally-occurring high-pressure gas already present downhole in one zone to provide gas lift for oil in another zone. An invention meeting this need may greatly increase the cost effectiveness of producing petroleum products using a gas-lift well.

Conventional packers are known such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,148,915, 6,123,148, 3,566,963 and 3,602,305.

All references cited herein are incorporated by reference to the maximum extent allowable by law. To the extent a reference may not be fully incorporated herein, it is incorporated by reference for background purposes, and indicative of the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problems and needs outlined above are largely solved and met by the gas-lift well in accordance with the present invention. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention a gas-lift petroleum well for producing petroleum products using downhole pressurized gas, is provided. The gas-lift well comprises a well casing, a production tubing, a controllable packer, and a gas-lift valve. The well casing extends within a wellbore of the well, and the wellbore extends through oil and gas zones. The production tubing extends within the casing. The tubing comprises an opening formed therein, and the opening is in fluid communication with an oil zone. The controllable packer is coupled to the tubing and located downhole in the casing. The packer comprises an electrically controllable packer valve, which is adapted to control a flow of downhole pressurized gas from one side of the packer to another. The downhole pressurized gas is provided by a gas zone that the wellbore passes through. The downhole gas-lift valve is coupled to the tubing and is adapted to control a flow of downhole pressurized gas, which is also provided by the gas zone, into oil in the tubing. The gas-lift well can further comprise an induction choke located about the tubing proximate to the electrically controllable valve. The induction choke can be used to route electrical power and communications to the electrically controllable packer valve. The tubing and casing can be used as electrical conductors for supplying power and/or communications downhole. The current in the tubing is routed using a ferromagnetic induction choke to create a voltage potential downhole, which provides electrical power to downhole electrical devices. In addition, there may be a bypass passageway to route downhole gas to gas-lift valves. There may also be downhole sensors to measure physical quantities (e.g., pressure). Such measurements can be used for feedback control of downhole electrically controllable valves.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a gas-lift petroleum well for producing petroleum products using downhole pressurized gas, is provided. The gas-lift well comprises a wellbore, a wellbore casing, a production tubing, two packers, an electrically controllable packer valve, a bypass passageway, and a gas-lift valve. The wellbore extends through subsurface oil and pressurized gas zones. The wellbore casing extends along and within the wellbore. The casing comprises a first perforated section located at an oil zone and a second perforated section located at a pressurized gas zone. The production tubing extends within the casing, and the tubing has an opening formed therein at the oil zone. The two packers are located in the casing. The electrically controllable packer valve is in one of the two packers. A first of the two packers is located above the first perforated casing section. A second of the two packers is located between the first and second perforated casing sections. A first space is formed between the tubing and the casing above the first packer. A second space is formed between the first and second packers within the casing. A third space is formed below the second packer within the casing. The bypass passageway fluidly connects the third space to the first space via the electrically controllable packer valve. Hence, the bypass passageway is adapted to provide a route for gas from the gas zone to travel from the third space to the first space without mixing with fluid in the second space. The gas-lift valve is located on a portion of the tubing at the first space, and the gas-lift valve is adapted to regulate fluid flow between the first space and an interior of the tubing.

Thus, using the present invention, the pressurized gas can flow from a naturally-occurring, downhole pressurized gas zone into the casing, then into the first space via the electrically controllable packer valve (which regulates and controls the gas flow into the first space), then into the tubing via the gas-lift valve (which regulates the gas flow into the tubing). The gas-lift valve can also be an electrically controllable valve.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of producing petroleum products from a gas-lift well using downhole pressurized gas from a naturally-occurring subsurface pressurized gas zone is provided. The method comprises the steps of: allowing the downhole pressurized gas to flow from the gas zone into a well casing of the well; regulating flow of the downhole pressurized gas from within the casing into an interior of a production tubing using an electrically controllable downhole gas-lift valve, the tubing extending within the casing and the gas-lift valve being coupled to the tubing; allowing oil from a subsurface oil zone to enter the tubing; lifting the oil in the tubing using gas of the downhole pressurized gas from the downhole gas-lift valve; and producing petroleum products from the tubing at the surface.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a method of producing petroleum products using downhole pressurized gas is provided. The method comprises the following steps, in which the order of the steps may vary: (i) operably installing a wellbore casing in a wellbore, wherein the wellbore extends through subsurface oil and pressurized gas zones, the casing comprising a first section located at an oil zone of the zones and a second section located at a pressurized gas zone of the zones, with perforations formed in the casing after it is set such that formation fluids may enter the interior of the casing sections at both the oil and gas zones; (ii) operably installing a production tubing in the casing, the tubing having an opening formed therein at the oil zone; (iii) operably installing two packers in the casing, wherein one of the two packers comprises an electrically controllable packer valve, a first of the two packers is located above the first perforated casing section, and a second of the two packers is located between the first and second perforated casing sections, such that a first space is formed between the tubing and the casing above the first packer, a second space is formed between the first and second packers within the casing, and a third space is formed below the second packer within the casing; (iv) operably installing a bypass passageway between the two packers, such that the bypass passageway fluidly connects the third space to the first space via the electrically controllable packer valve, and the bypass passageway is adapted to provide a route for gas from the gas zone to travel from the third space to the first space without mixing with fluid in the second space; (v) operably installing a gas-lift valve on a portion of the tubing at the first space, such that the gas-lift valve is adapted to regulate fluid flow between the first space and an interior of the tubing; (vi) allowing gas to flow from the gas zone through the second perforated section into the third space; (vii) allowing gas to flow from the third space through the bypass passageway and through the electrically controlled packer valve into the first-space; (viii) allowing gas to flow from the first space through the gas-lift valve into the interior of the tubing; (ix) allowing oil to flow from the oil zone through the first perforated section into the second space; (x) allowing oil to flow from the second space through the tubing opening into the interior of the tubing; (xi) lifting oil in the tubing interior by decreasing the density of oil in the tubing interior with gas flowing from the gas-lift valve and entraining fluid flow due to a rising gas bubble strea


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