US2808110A - Oil well heater - Google Patents
Oil well heater Download PDFInfo
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- US2808110A US2808110A US555381A US55538155A US2808110A US 2808110 A US2808110 A US 2808110A US 555381 A US555381 A US 555381A US 55538155 A US55538155 A US 55538155A US 2808110 A US2808110 A US 2808110A
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- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B36/00—Heating, cooling, insulating arrangements for boreholes or wells, e.g. for use in permafrost zones
- E21B36/04—Heating, cooling, insulating arrangements for boreholes or wells, e.g. for use in permafrost zones using electrical heaters
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- General Induction Heating (AREA)
Description
s. sPlTz OIL WELL HEATER Oct. 1, 1957 Filed Dec. 27, 1955 ood oooooooo IN V ENTOR.
United States Patent O OIL WELL HEATER Samuel Spitz, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Electronic Oil Well Heater Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a limited partnership, consisting of Samuel Spitz, Patrick B. Mc- Carthy and Homer C. Compton Application December 27, 1955, Serial No. 555,381
6 Claims. (Cl. 166-61) The present invention relates generally to heating apparatus and is more particularly concerned with means for the application of heat to a subterraneous passage, such -as in the case of a drilled oil well.
In its broad concept, the present invention seeks to provide an electrically energized heater for use in removing parain and asphalt which has congealed and forms a block for the ow of oil, las well as provide apparatus which may be utilized in so-called stripper wells having low oil content and high water content. The present invention is susceptible of beneficial use in both new wells and old wells. In the case of old wells, where the flow has decreased to such a l-ow value that it is uneconomical to pump the well, the subterraneous application of a sutliciently high temperature Will act to decrease the oil viscosity in the well and also in the adjacent formation and permit greater increased ow of oil. The application of heat to the water in the oil bearing formation, where the oil is particularly heavy and Where the oil sand is so tight as to restrict the oil flow, creates a gas under pressure in the well, which acts to break down the oil sand and aid in the obtaining of oil therefrom, thus increasing the well production.
Heretofore complicated and expensive arrangements utilizing `steam piping as well as electrical heaters have been utilized. In the known electrical heaters, the heater in the Well was fed through cables from the earths surface. This arrangement has been found to be impractical particularly in deep wells, due to voltage loss in the cables and concomitant loss in efficiency of operation. Moreover, these cables had to be Iof large size and were particularly expensive, in order to carry the required amount of current for the heating coil.
The present invention is particularly concerned with an electrical heater for the well, and has for one object the provision of an arrangement which will be simple of conr struction, easy to operate, which will not interferewith the normal pumping operation of the well, and which will overcome the inherent disadvantages of prior electric heaters.
A further object of the invention as herein described is to provide an electric heater with an energizing high current transformer, forming a unitary assembly which may be selectively positioned in the well at a desired point, and wherein conductors energize the transformer from a surface source yof electric power. With such an arrangement, the potential drop in the connecting conductors becomes immaterial and may be compensated for in the transformer design.
A further object of the invention as herein described is to provide novel apparatus which may be readily con- Patented Oct. l, 1957 the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:
Fig. 1 is a sectional view diagrammatically illustrating an oil well embodying the heater apparatus of the present invention; and
Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the heater apparatus, and showing the operative association of the various components thereof.
Referring now to the drawings, for illustrative purposes, there is shown in Fig. l -a typical oil well vof conventional construction including a subterraneous passage or bore 10 in which the usual casing 11 is placed with its upper end terminating at the surface, while the lower portion of the well may or may not contain a liner (not shown).
The surface end of the casing and tubing will, of course, in practice be connected with a suitable head structure (not shown). Moreover, there is positioned within the tubing 12 a conventional pump 16, which is positioned adjacent the oil well level and arranged to be raised and lowered by means of a suitable sucker rod 17 which is connected with appropriate pumping mechanism at the surface.
Heating apparatus embodying the features of .the present invention are indicated generally at A, the heating apparatus being in the form of a unitary structure which is secured to the tubing 12 so that it may be selectively positioned at the desired location in the well and locate a perforated portion 18 of the tubing 12 in the oil below the level 13. The perforated portion 18 is provided to admit oil to the pump 16 within the tubing 12.
The heating apparatus is located adjacent the perforated portion 18 of the tubing in such -a position that the heating apparatus will heat the water below the oil, and through this heated water may act to further heat the surrounding formation. Thus, the heat acts upon the oil within the casing to decrease its viscosity, and also by heating surrounding formation cause increased ow of oil and water therefrom.
The specific details of the heating apparatus will now be described by reference to Fig. 2. In the particular embodiment disclosed, a transformer structure 19 is sup` ported on a rsection of the tubing 12 by means of a tubing collar 20 which is positioned below concentrically arranged primary winding 21 and secondary winding 22 of the transformer.
The transformer is designedwith asecondary winding having a low voltage high current output from which it is possible to obtain heating currents of the order of 1000 amperes. The primary winding is arranged to be supplied through suitable conducting cables 23 from an electric source at the surface, this source being of 110, 220 or other suitable potential as currently available at the well. This is a departure from the conventional methods heretofore utilized in which the current was furnished directly through conductors to a heating coil in the well. In those arrangements, it was necessary to have large expensive conductors for carrying the heavy current, and moreover the drop in potential, particularly in deep Wells, materially affected the efficiency of the heating coil. In the present arrangement, the loss of potential in the conductors 23 may be compensated for in the design of the high current output transformer, so that a more eflicient device is obtained.
As shown, there is adjacently connected to the output of the secondary winding, a heating element 24, this heating element being spiralled in the present instance to form a heating coil around the associated tubing section and positioned above the transformer windings so as to lie between the transformer and the perforated tubing portion 18. In order to protect the heating coil, there is provided a surrounding shield 25 which is perforated to permit passage of oil and Water. The shield 25 is suitably supported at its lowermost end on the transformer, and at its upper end is held in position by a spider 26 so that a unitary assembly is obtained.
The apparatus of the invention is particularly easy to handle and locate at the desired position in the well, and by connecting the conductors 23 through an appropriate switch or circuit breaker Z7, the energization and deenergization of the transformer with its connected heating coil may be readily controlled from the surface. The supply conductors are connected in conventional manner with a voltmeter 28, and ammeter 29 from which it is possible to determine the operating condition of the heater.
From the foregoing description, it will be realized that other modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of my invention, and, hence, I do not wish to be restricted to the specific form or forms shown or uses mentioned, except to the extent indicated in the appended claims.
I claim:
l. Heating apparatus for a well, comprising: a tubular member having a perforated wall portion; a transformer carried by said member, said transformer being spaced from said perforated portion and having a primary winding and secondary winding in inductively coupled concentric relation, the primary winding being adapted for connection with an electric supply source, and the secondary winding having a low voltage high current output; and a separate heating element closely positioned to said transformer and connected to the output of said secondary.
2. Heating apparatus for a well, comprising: a tubular member having a perforated wall portion; a transformer carried by said member, said transformer being spaced from said perforated portion and having a multiple turn primary winding and a multiple turn secondary winding in close magnetic coupled relation, the primary winding being adapted for connection with an electric supply source, and the secondary winding having a low voltage high current output; and a separate heating coil connected to the output of said secondary, and surrounding said tubular member at a position closely adjacent to said transformer, but substantially unaffected by the magnetic ilux coupling said windings.
3. Heating apparatus for a well, comprising: a tubular member having a perforated wall portion; a transformer carried by said member, said transformer being spaced from said perforated portion and having a primary multiple turn winding and secondary multiple turn winding in concentric relation surrounding said tubular member, the primary winding being adapted for connection with an electric supply source, and the secondary winding having a low voltage high current output; and a separate heating coil closely positioned in end-to-end relation to said transformer windings and connected to the output of said secondary winding, whereby the heating effect is concentrated in said heating coil and not in the transformer windings.
4. Heating apparatus for a Well, comprising: a tubular member having a perforated wall portion; a transformer carried by said member, said transformer being spaced from said perforated portion and having a primary multiple turn winding and secondary multiple turn winding in concentric relation surrounding said tubular member, the primary winding being adapted for connection with an electric supply source, and the secondary winding having a low voltage high current output; and a separate heating coil connected to the output of said secondary Winding, said coil having spaced apart turns surrounding said tubular member at a position axially spaced from said transformer windings, whereby well fluid is free to flow around the coil turns of the heating coil.
5. Heating apparatus for a well, comprising: a tubular v member having a perforated wall portion; a transformer carried by said member, said transformer being spaced from said perforated portion and having a primary Winding and secondary winding in concentric relation surrounding said tubular member, the primary winding being adapted for connection with an electric supply source, and the secondary winding having a low voltage high current output; a heating coil connected to the output of said secondary Winding surrounding said tubular member at a position closely adjacent to said transformer; and a shield having openings therein, said shield surrounding said member and heating coil, and being positioned at a location between said transformer and the perforated wall portion of the tubular member.
6. Apparatus for heating a liquid in an oil well, comprising: a tubular member having a perforated wall portion; a transformer carried by said member, said transformer having a primary winding adapted for connection with an electric supply source, and a secondary winding having a high current output; a heating element positioned adjacent said perforated wall portion connected to the output of said secondary winding; and a perforated shield surrounding said tubular member and heating coil.
References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 522,737 Lucock July 10, 1894 806,039 Williamson et al Nov. 28, 1905 1,354,757 Popcke et al Oct. 5, 1920 2,302,774 Jarvis Nov. 24, 1942
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US555381A US2808110A (en) | 1955-12-27 | 1955-12-27 | Oil well heater |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US555381A US2808110A (en) | 1955-12-27 | 1955-12-27 | Oil well heater |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US2808110A true US2808110A (en) | 1957-10-01 |
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Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US555381A Expired - Lifetime US2808110A (en) | 1955-12-27 | 1955-12-27 | Oil well heater |
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Cited By (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3114417A (en) * | 1961-08-14 | 1963-12-17 | Ernest T Saftig | Electric oil well heater apparatus |
US3273644A (en) * | 1966-09-20 | System and apparatus for pumping oil wells | ||
US3341688A (en) * | 1964-05-12 | 1967-09-12 | American Thermoelectric Corp | Oil well heating apparatus |
FR2658972A1 (en) * | 1990-02-23 | 1991-08-30 | Elf Aquitaine | Device for heating the production string (casing, column) of a well and method for fitting the heating windings |
US5120935A (en) * | 1990-10-01 | 1992-06-09 | Nenniger John E | Method and apparatus for oil well stimulation utilizing electrically heated solvents |
US5247994A (en) * | 1990-10-01 | 1993-09-28 | Nenniger John E | Method of stimulating oil wells |
US5400430A (en) * | 1990-10-01 | 1995-03-21 | Nenniger; John E. | Method for injection well stimulation |
US6269876B1 (en) * | 1998-03-06 | 2001-08-07 | Shell Oil Company | Electrical heater |
WO2005061967A1 (en) * | 2003-07-07 | 2005-07-07 | Carr Michael Ray Sr | In line oil field or pipeline heating element |
US20080002954A1 (en) * | 2002-07-22 | 2008-01-03 | Carr Michael R Sr | Inline downhole heater |
US20090166032A1 (en) * | 2004-07-07 | 2009-07-02 | Carr Sr Michael Ray | Inline Downhole Heater and Methods of Use |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US522737A (en) * | 1894-07-10 | Oil-well heater | ||
US806039A (en) * | 1896-01-23 | 1905-11-28 | Amalia S Connelly | Electric heater for oil-wells. |
US1354757A (en) * | 1917-02-03 | 1920-10-05 | Frank C Reed | Apparatus for treating oil-wells |
US2302774A (en) * | 1942-03-27 | 1942-11-24 | Thad L Jarvis | Electric heater for oil wells |
-
1955
- 1955-12-27 US US555381A patent/US2808110A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US522737A (en) * | 1894-07-10 | Oil-well heater | ||
US806039A (en) * | 1896-01-23 | 1905-11-28 | Amalia S Connelly | Electric heater for oil-wells. |
US1354757A (en) * | 1917-02-03 | 1920-10-05 | Frank C Reed | Apparatus for treating oil-wells |
US2302774A (en) * | 1942-03-27 | 1942-11-24 | Thad L Jarvis | Electric heater for oil wells |
Cited By (14)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3273644A (en) * | 1966-09-20 | System and apparatus for pumping oil wells | ||
US3114417A (en) * | 1961-08-14 | 1963-12-17 | Ernest T Saftig | Electric oil well heater apparatus |
US3341688A (en) * | 1964-05-12 | 1967-09-12 | American Thermoelectric Corp | Oil well heating apparatus |
FR2658972A1 (en) * | 1990-02-23 | 1991-08-30 | Elf Aquitaine | Device for heating the production string (casing, column) of a well and method for fitting the heating windings |
US5400430A (en) * | 1990-10-01 | 1995-03-21 | Nenniger; John E. | Method for injection well stimulation |
US5247994A (en) * | 1990-10-01 | 1993-09-28 | Nenniger John E | Method of stimulating oil wells |
US5120935A (en) * | 1990-10-01 | 1992-06-09 | Nenniger John E | Method and apparatus for oil well stimulation utilizing electrically heated solvents |
US6269876B1 (en) * | 1998-03-06 | 2001-08-07 | Shell Oil Company | Electrical heater |
US20080002954A1 (en) * | 2002-07-22 | 2008-01-03 | Carr Michael R Sr | Inline downhole heater |
US7509036B2 (en) | 2002-07-22 | 2009-03-24 | Carr Sr Michael Ray | Inline downhole heater |
WO2005061967A1 (en) * | 2003-07-07 | 2005-07-07 | Carr Michael Ray Sr | In line oil field or pipeline heating element |
US20090166032A1 (en) * | 2004-07-07 | 2009-07-02 | Carr Sr Michael Ray | Inline Downhole Heater and Methods of Use |
US8265468B2 (en) * | 2004-07-07 | 2012-09-11 | Carr Sr Michael Ray | Inline downhole heater and methods of use |
CN101641493B (en) * | 2007-09-04 | 2013-07-03 | 迈克尔·雷·卡尔(大) | Inline downhole heater |
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