US2194740A - Deep well pumping device - Google Patents

Description

March 26, 1940. C, COBERLY 2,194,740

DEEP WELL PUMPING DEVICE Filed April 22, 1937 /6 /Nl/ ENTOR CLARENCE J COBERLV HARRIS, KIEcH, F05 TR& HARR/s ATTOR/vg vs.

Patented Mar. 26, 1940 v UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE 2,194,740 DEEP WELL PUMPING DEVICE ,tion of Nevada Application April 22, 1937, Serial No. 138,346

2 Claims. (CL 103-46) My invention relates to the art of pumping a' well, and more particularly an apparatus for removing undesirable deposlts from the walls of the well and pump tubing. a

5 Although my invention is susceptible of many uses, it is of particular utility in the oil industry, and, accordingly, will be described in connection with such use, but it is to be understood that this is for the purpose of illustration only and that I do not intend to be limited to such utilization of the invention.

My invention is especially adapted to be used in connection with a fluid operated deep well pump of the type shown and described in my copending Patent No. 2,081,220, issued May 25, 1937,

but any suitable type of pump may be used with.- out departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the oil well pumping art it has been found that crude oil pumped from a well frequently ,a has a high content of waxes or other undesirable materials which may deposit on the'w'alls of the well tubing to clog the tubing or reduce the flow of fluid through such tubing. For the purposes of this specification and claims, such wax and 25 other undesirable materials are hereinafter referred to as foreign materials. In such cases, it

is necessary with the present pumping equipment of the art to remove the pump from the well at frequent intervals and circulate a solvent or other cleaning material through the well tubing to dissolve the foreign materials deposited thereon. This requires that the'well be shut down for a considerable period of time, with a consequent loss of production, and necessitates an expensive and extended pulling job in removing the pump from the well and reinstalling it after the well tubing has been cleaned.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of my invention to provide an apparatus for perm tting 40 well tubing to be cleaned of foreign materials deposited thereon while the pumping unit is in the well, and without necessitating the removal of the pumping unit during such cleaning.

It is another object of my invention to provide 45 an apparatus whereby only that'portion of the well tubing is cleaned in which foreign materials aredeposited. 'This is of importance because it has been found in the usual type of oil well producing oil having a high content of wax 50 or other undesirable substances that only a portion of the tubing will receive-a. deposit of the wax, but in the usual cleaning job common in the art solvent or other cleaning material must a.

rial through that portion of the tubing containing the deposit of foreign materials, I greatly ,reduce the cost and delay involved in the ordinary cleaning operation. a

A still further object of my invention is to 5 provide an apparatus for cleaning concentric strings of well tubing by circulating a cleaning material down through one tubing to a point just below the level at which foreign materials are deposited and up through another tubing from such 10 point.

A further object of the invention is to supply an apparatus for cleaning two strings of well tubing associated with a fluid operated wellpump by circulating cleaning fluid through said strings I of tubing countercurrent to the normal direction of fluid flow through the strings of tubing.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for usein connection with a fluid operated well pump having tubing supplying actuating fluid to the pump and production tubing for conveying the production flow from the pump to the surface of-the ground, in which a valve is placed in the actuating fluid tubing above the pump for permitting a cleaning material to be passed downwardly through the production tubing, through the valve, and upwardly through the actuating fluid tubing to clean the strings of tubing.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following specification and drawing, which is for the purpose of illustration only and in which:

Fig.4 is an elevatipnal view, partly in section, of my preferred installation.

Fig. 2 isan enlarged sectional view of the valve means of my invention.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line l4 of Fig. 2. 40

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a well casing l0, perforated at the lower end in the usual manner, into which extends a production pipe ll having a suitable fluid-tight seat l2 at its lower end adapted to receive the lower end of a pump i3. As,indicated, the pump l3 may be of any suitable type but is preferably of the fluid operated type shown in my copending Patent 2,081,220, issued May 25, 1937. The pump l3 has a string of macaroni tubing l4 connected thereto adapted to supply the pump with a suitable actuating fluid, such as clean oil, from a suitable source of supply (not shown). The pump l3 makes a fluid-tight fit with the seat l2 of the production tubing I l andis adapted to draw well fluid through an inlet |5 thereof and pump it to the surface of the ground through the production tubing. The production tubing II is pro vided at its upper end with a suitable fluid cap IE to which is connected a header adapted to convey pumped fluid from the production tubing to a point of storage or use.

Interposed in the macaroni tubing I4 is a valve means l9 which is a primary feature of my invention and which is shown in detail in Fig. 2. The valve means I9 is threaded into the macaroni tubing I4 by means of internal threads 26 at its upper and lower ends, and is adapted to form a part of the macaroni tubing during normal operation of thepump IS. The valve means I8 is provided with a central bore 2| having the lower end tapered to form a seat 22 and being counterbored to form a chamber 23. Adapted to seat on the seat 22 is a ball valve member 24 which is retained in the central bore 2| by means of a plug 25 threaded into the upper threads and closing the upper end of the bore. The plug "is provided with a plurality of passages 26 communicating between the central bore 2| and the upper end of the valve means l9. Also communicating with the central bore 2| are longitudinal passages 21 which extend downwardly to connect with a lower chamber 28 formed in the valve means |9i Flow passages 29 communicate between the chamber 23 and the exterior of the valve means l9.

During normal operation of the pump l3, which, for the purpose of illustration, may be regarded as being at a depth of 3500 feet, actuating fluid is pumped down through the macaroni tubing H under high pressure to actuate the pump, passing through the passages 26, the bore 2|, the longitudinal passages 21, and the chamber 28 of the valve means l9. Such downward flow of the actuating fluid causes the ball valve member 24 to seat and remain seated on the seat 22. Well fluid flows into the pump l3 through the inlet I5 and is pumped upwardly thereby through the production tubing II. If, as is common in the art, the well fluid contains a high content of foreign materials, such foreign materials deposit during pumping on the inner walls of the production tubing H and on the outer walls of the macaroni tubing |l above a definite level such as represented by the line AA. The level at which such foreign materials will start to deposit in the tubing is determined by the character of the well fluid and actuating fluid, the amount of foreign materials dis-- solved therein, the depth of the well, and the well temperatures throughout the tubing. Accordingly, this level will vary considerably in different wells and under different pumping conditions, but, for the purpose of illustration, the line A-A may represent a level at a depth of approximately 1500 feet, above which I have found that foreign materials frequently deposit in the tubing of standard wells. Such deposit of foreign materials is indicated by dotted lines 30 in Fig. 1, and it will be observed that the deposit substantially fills the production tubing above the level A--A. The deposit of foreign materials greatly decreases the amount of fluid that can be pumped through the production tubing H by the pump l3, and if the deposit is allowed to continue unduly, the production tubing may become entirely closed thereby.

In order to remove the deposit 30 from the tubing II and the macaroni tubing l4, operation of the pump I3 is stopped. the header I1 is con nected to a suitable source of a solvent material, such as hot fluid, or oil containing a high naphtha or gasoline content, which is conveyed through the header H to the production tubing II and flows downwardly therein, cleaning the deposit 3|) from the walls of the tubings. During such operation, the upper end of the macaroni tubing I4 is connected to a suitable point of discharge or storage so that fluid flowing therethrough may be retained or recirculated in the header As the cleaning material flows downwardly in the production tubing II, the well fluid in the production tubing above the valve means I9, and the cleaning material when it arrives at the valve means, flow through the flow passages 29 of the valve means and into the chamber 23, the upward pressure exerted thereby lifting the ball valve member 24 and permitting the flow of .the well fluid and cleaning material upwardly through the central bore 2| and the passages 26 into the macaroni tubing l4 which conveys the well fluid and the cleaning material upwardly therethrough.

It is to be noted that the valve means I!) is positioned just below the lower level represented by the line AA of the foreign material deposit, which is important in that itpermits only that portion of the tube which has been coated with foreign materials to be cleaned. It will also be noted that by using the valve means IQ of my invention, the tubing can be cleaned without removing the pump l3 from the production tubin When the cleaning operation has been completed, the macaroni tubing l4 and the header I! may be reconnected for normal pumping which may then be resumed.

Although I have herein shown and described my invention in simple and practical form, it is to be recognized that certain parts or elements thereof are representative of other parts, elemerits, or mechanisms which may be used in substantially the same manner to accomplish substantially the same results; therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a well pumping device, the combination of: a pump in a well; a first tubing in said well connected to said pump so as to convey well fluid pumped by said pump to the surface of the ground; a second tubing in said well adapted to supply actuating fluid to said pump; and valve means associated with said tubings at a point substantially above said pump and-below the upper end of said tubings, said valve means having an opening therethrough for permitting a free flow of actuating fluid through said second tubing to said pump, and having a passage communicating between said first and second tubings, there being closure means associated with said passage for permitting a flow of fluid from said first tubing into said second tubing through said passage but preventing .a flow of fluid from said second tubing into said first tubing, said valve means being independent of said pump and operative without moving either of said tubings.

2. In a well pumping device, the combination of: a pump in a well; a first tubing in said well connected to said pump so as to convey well fluid pumped by said pump to the surface of-the ground; a second tubing in said well adapted to sage communicating between said first and second tubings, there being a ball valve member adapted to close said passage for preventing a flow of fluid from said second tubing into said first tubing through said passage, said ball valve member permitting a flow of fluid from said first tubing into said second tubing through said passage.

CLARENCE J. COBERLY.

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