Patent ID: 7607479

Claim:
A process for downhole separation of water, oil, and gas within a well bore in a formation, the well bore having a casing and the well bore extending from a surface, comprising: providing a packer in the casing so as to provide substantial fluid isolation between a first vertical section of the casing and a second vertical section of the casing; allowing a mixture from the formation to enter the first vertical section of the casing; allowing the mixture to form a gas phase and a first liquid mixture in the first vertical section wherein the gas phase comprises a gas and the first liquid mixture comprises a water and an oil; providing a pump, the pump having a pump intake in the first vertical section and having a pump discharge piping from the pump that extends through the packer to the second vertical section; pumping the first liquid mixture from the first vertical section through the pump discharge piping to the second vertical section so as to form a second liquid mixture in the second vertical section; allowing the second liquid mixture to form an oil phase and a water phase in the second vertical section wherein the water phase comprises water; providing an oil tubing that extends from the oil phase to the surface to allow for production of the oil; allowing the water from the water phase to be discharged outside of the casing to a water disposal zone in the formation; regulating an oil flow from the oil phase to the surface so as to substantially prevent the oil flow to the water disposal zone; providing a gas piping from the gas phase in the first vertical section to the surface to allow for a production of the gas to the surface; and regulating a gas flow from the gas phase in the first vertical section to the surface.