Patent ID: 6615924
Filing Date: 2003-09-09
Classification: E21B,F04B

Abstract:
An apparatus and system control for the removal of fluids and gas from a well comprising:means for removing fluids from a well casing, the fluids being substantially oil, water and gas pockets; the means for removing fluids from the well casing being coupled directly to an upper end of the well casing and further including: a bailer tube sized to allow an up and down travel of said bailer tube inside the well casing and inside a bailer tube housing assembly vertically aligned with the well casing; the bailer tube housing assembly having actuated 3-ported valve means proximate a lower end of the bailer tube housing assembly for selectively opening the bailer tube housing assembly when allowing the bailer tube to travel into the well casing and for closing the bailer tube housing assembly after the bailer tube has traveled up into the bailer tube housing assembly and for directing a captured column of oil to a temporary storage tank; pulley means proximate an upper end of and above the bailer tube housing assembly over which a cable wire attached to an upper end of the bailer tube is run; an opposite end of the cable wire being attached to driven winch means for pulling the bailer tube out of the well casing and for lowering the bailer tube into the well casing; a lower end of the bailer tube having a bailer valve for selectively capturing the column of oil inside the well casing when said bailer tube is lowered therein, and for discharging said captured column of oil into the temporary storage tank when said bailer tube is raised out of the well casing, the bailer valve being in electrically operative communication with a programmable logic controller means; the programmable logic controller means being means for monitoring, operating and controlling the apparatus and for translating readable information to obtain and record operational parameters; the lower end of the bailer tube further including oil and water sensing means for differentiating between the water, oil and gas pockets inside the well casing as the bailer tube descends therein, the oil and water sensing means facilitating the defining of a top of the water and a bottom of a well casing column of oil; the cable wire being a multiple conductor cable wire being in electrical communication between the bailer valve and the driven winch means; and the cable wire further being electrically and operatively connected to the programmable logic controller means; wherein the programmable logic controller means calculates an optimum depth required for removal of oil without water from the well casing and once correctly positioned, the bailer valve is closed thereby capturing oil inside said bailer tube and the bailer tube is elevated so that the bailer valve is inside the bailer housing assembly and above the actuated 3-ported valve means at which location, the actuated 3-ported valve means is closed after which the bailer valve is opened and the captured oil in the bailer tube is redirected into the temporary storage tank, wherein the actuated 3-ported valve means, the driven winch means, the oil and water sensor means are each in electrical and operative communication with the programmable logic controller means, and wherein the programmable logic controller means controls and monitors a speed of the bailer tube at each location of the bailer tube inside the well casing as the bailer tube is being lowered into and elevated out of the well casing.