Patent Abstract:
A production tank has at least one fluid outlet having a first flow area, an access port having a second flow area, and a fluid-containment space defined by a sidewall and a roof, the second flow area being larger than the first flow area. The fluid-containment space stories production liquids from a wellbore. A plurality of individual insulating elements are distributed across a horizontal section of the production tank, the insulating elements having a density that is less than the production fluids and having a size and shape that prevents passage through the first flow area and that permits passage through the second flow area.

Full Description:
FIELD 
     This relates to a layer of floating insulation in a production tank and a method of using the floating insulation in the production tank. 
     BACKGROUND 
     When used in colder climates, production tanks are generally heated and insulated in order to keep the fluids viscous and also to promote separation of the various components into layers, such as sand, liquid, and oil. 
     SUMMARY 
     There is provided a combination, comprising: a production tank comprising at least one fluid outlet having a first flow area, an access port having a second flow area, and a fluid-containment space defined by a sidewall and a roof, the second flow area being larger than the first flow area, the fluid-containment space storing production liquids from a wellbore; and a plurality of individual insulating elements distributed across a horizontal section of the production tank, the insulating elements having a density that is less than the production fluids and having a size and shape that prevents passage through the first flow area and that permits passage through the second flow area. 
     According to an aspect, the production liquids comprise a layer of sand, a layer of water, and a layer of oil, the oil having a density that is less than the water, and the insulating elements having a density that is less than the oil. Foam may carried by the production liquids, the insulating elements having a density that is greater than the foam. 
     According to an aspect, the production tank comprises a layer of fixed insulation on the roof and the sidewalls. 
     According to an aspect, there is a screen within the production tank that defines a lower limit to the position of insulating elements within the production tank. 
     According to another aspect, there is provided a method of insulating a production tank, the method comprising the steps of, in a production tank comprising at least one fluid outlet having a first flow area, an access port having a second flow area, and a fluid-containment space defined by a sidewall and a roof, the second flow area being larger than the first flow area, the fluid containment space storing production liquids from a wellbore: inserting a plurality of individual insulating elements into the production tank distributed across a horizontal section of the production tank, the insulating elements having a density that is less than the production fluids and having a size and shape that prevents passage through the first flow area and that permits passage through the second flow area. 
     According to an aspect, the production liquids comprise a layer of sand, a layer of water, and a layer of oil, the oil having a density that is less than the water, and the insulating elements having a density that is less than the oil. Foam may be carried by the production liquids, the insulating elements having a density that is greater than the foam. At least a portion of the foam may be broken as the foam comes into contact with the insulating elements. 
     According to an aspect, the production tank comprises a layer of fixed insulation on the roof and the sidewalls. 
     According to an aspect, the method further comprises the step of installing a screen within the production tank to define a lower limit to the position of insulating elements within the production tank. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation view in section of a production tank with insulative elements being inserted. 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevation view in section of a production tank with a layer of insulative elements. 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation view in section of a production tank with low fluid levels. 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view in section of a variation of a production tank with insulative elements. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a simplified version of a production tank  12 . For ease of reference, many elements that are not related to the discussion herein have not been depicted, such as the fluid inlet, various vents and nozzles, etc. that may be present either on a roof  16  of production tank  12  or elsewhere. As shown, production tank  12  has a port  14  on the roof  16  of tank  12  as well as a water outlet  18  and an oil outlet  20  in a sidewall  22  of tank  12 . Port  14  is preferably a thief hatch as it generally provides a large, unobstructed access to the interior of production tank  12 , but may be any suitable opening. Production tank includes a layer of fixed insulation  23  installed on an outer surface of production tank  12 , both on sidewalls  22  and roof  16 . Production tank  12  receives fluids produced from a well, which generally separate into a sand layer  24 , a water layer  26  and an oil layer  28 . Gas may also be released from the produced fluids, which may be managed in different ways, which are not relevant to the discussion herein. 
     Referring still to  FIG. 1 , a layer of floating, individual insulating elements  30  is inserted into production tank  12  through port  14 . Preferably, port  14  is a thief hatch and will be referred to herein as such, as this generally provides adequate access to the interior of production tank  12 . It will be understood that other access points may also be used or installed on tank  12 , such as a manhole access (not shown) that may be located on tank  12 . Insulating elements  30  is designed to float on oil layer  28  and may be made from various materials, such as closed cell foam, plastics, hollow structures, etc. Generally speaking, the structure is selected for having good insulative properties balanced with cost, availability and durability. As depicted, insulating elements  30  are spherical in shape, i.e. insulating balls, as these are generally easy to make and handle. However, other shapes may equally be used alone or in combination, such as a triangular prism, rectangular prism, ovoid, cylindrical prism or other shape including irregular shapes. The shape may be chosen to increase the surface area coverage of the insulation, such as by using octagons, etc. or to increase the surface area of the elements  30  to increase the foam breaking characteristics (described below), such as by providing protrusions. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , sufficient insulating elements  30  are inserted in order to cover oil layer  28  by at least a single layer within tank  12 . This may be varied depending on the preferences of the user, and additional layers, such as two layers of insulating elements  30  as shown in  FIG. 4 , will increase the insulative and vapour capturing effects. As insulating elements  30  float on the top of oil layer  28 , they help insulate the fluids from the airspace above oil layer  28 , thus reducing the amount of heat loss from tank  12 . While both the roof  14  and sidewalls  22  of tank  12  are insulated, it has been found that the airspace is still a source of heat loss, as air vents through ports  14 , such as the vent and thief hatch of tank  12 , i.e. the airspace is not a closed space. Insulating elements  30  also help reduce the vapours escaping from tank  12 , which in turn reduces the build-up of ice on ports  14  of tank  12  and also reduces the release of noxious or malodorous vapours from being released from tank  12 . Another benefit is the reduced heating requirement of water layer  26 . Generally speaking, the heating element is positioned in water layer  26 . As the heat transfer from water layer  26  to oil layer  28  is generally slow, there is a risk of overheating water layer  26  when there is a rapid heat loss out of oil layer  28 , or oil layer  28  requires a significant amount of heating. By slowing the heat loss from oil layer  28 , the risk of overheating water layer  26  is reduced. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , insulating elements  30  are small enough that they may be inserted through thief hatch  14 . Depending on the size of elements  30  and the size of thief hatch  14 , multiple elements  30  may be inserted at the same time. Elements may be inserted manually, poured in from a container, blown in using a blower, or any other suitable technique. Referring to  FIG. 3 , insulating elements  30  are large enough that they will not pass through outlets  18  or  20 . Instead, insulating elements  30  will be pushed out of the way as the liquid level decreases. Furthermore, as insulating elements  30  are individual and separate, they are also able to flow around any other obstacles in production tank  12 , such as heating elements  32 , sight glasses, etc. Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a screen  34  may be included that defines the lower limit of insulting elements  30  if contact with heating elements  32  may cause damage. A shown, the height of screen  34  is low enough to allow a wide range of fluid levels. Heating element  32  is generally designed to turn off if the fluid level drops significantly, such that this may be merely a precautionary measure. Alternatively, screen  34  may be positioned above outlets  18  and  20 , which may be desirable if insulating elements  30  are smaller than the diameter of these outlets. Screen  34  may be made from any suitable material that can withstand the environment within production tank  12  with a mesh size that permits the free flow of production fluids, while preventing the passage of insulating elements  30 . Screen  34  may be installed using different approaches, and may be mounted directly to the insides of production tank  12 , or may be suspended from the top. 
     Insulating elements  30  may also be used to help break the foam that is sometimes present in the produced fluids. Foaming agents are sometimes used when treating a well or to help stimulate production. Foam may also result from the presence of gas in the produced fluids. Often, defoaming chemicals are injected in order to reduce the amount of foam. However, as the foam comes into contact with insulative elements  30 , elements  30  help to break the foam, thus reducing the amount of defoaming chemicals required to be injected into the produced fluids. Depending on the circumstances, as gas rises up through oil layer  28  and comes into contact with insulative elements  30 , insulative elements  30  may roll and in doing so, capture foam on an upper surface of elements  30 , where it is more likely to break. In addition to reducing defoaming chemicals, it has also been found that, by increasing the stability of the temperature of oil layer  28 , the amount of production chemicals used to lighten the oil may be reduced as well. 
     In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements. 
     The following claims are to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, and what can be obviously substituted. The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples above.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8