A heating installation for hydrocarbon extraction pipes via a well linking the surface to an extraction zone, including a substantially cylindrical casing consolidating the drill hole, a hydrocarbon extraction method and method to enable a hot fluid to be made to circulate from the surface to the well zone to be heated. The injection method includes in the casing first thermally insulated heating tubing to inject the hot fluid from the surface to the required depth and second heating tubing surrounding the first tubing to bring the hot fluid towards the surface and the extraction method includes a pumping tubing surrounding the first and second heating tubing for the extraction of hydrocarbons.

A device for heating oil and for reducing viscosity of the oil in an oil well is disclosed. The device comprises a pipe structure, a sucker rod, a three-way connector, a small pump cylinder, a small plunger, and a heating mechanism. The three-way connector is located below the pipe structure and has an upper end and two lower ends. The upper end of the three-way connector is connected to a bottom end of the pipe structure, and the two lower ends of the three-way connector comprises a first lower end which is coaxial with the oil pipe and a second lower end which is non-coaxial with the pipe structure. The first lower end of the three-way connector is connected to the small pump cylinder which is coaxial with the pipe structure. The second lower end of the three-way connector comprises a bypass port and a check valve. The sucker rod extends inside the pipe structure and extends through the upper end and the first lower end of the three-way connector and extends to a bottom end of the small pump cylinder. A bottom end of the sucker rod is provided with a small plunger, and the small plunger and the small pump cylinder constitute an axial sliding sealed fit. The heating mechanism extends along the sucker rod to the bottom end of the sucker rod to provide heating to crude oil in the oil well.

A method of conditioning a well bore featuring an annulus (50) between a bore-lining tubing (20) and a surrounding bore wall (110) comprises pumping conditioning fluid through an inner tubing (10) located within the bore-lining tubing (20) and into a portion of the well bore containing the bore-lining tubing to affect the temperature of the portion of the well bore containing the bore-lining tubing. The annulus (50) between the bore-lining tubing (20) and the surrounding bore wall (110) is at least partially filled with settable material (54). The affected temperature of the portion of the well bore containing the bore-lining tubing influences the setting of the settable material. For example, heating the bore may accelerate setting of the material, while cooling the bore may retard setting of the material.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a system and method for treating a casing-casing annulus of a wellbore using a sealant material. The sealant material is heated to a first temperature, equal to or greater than the melting point of the sealant material such that the sealant material is in its molten state. The casing-casing annulus is heated to a second temperature, equal to or greater than the melting point of the sealant material. The sealant material in its molten state is pressurized and injected into the casing-casing annulus such that the sealant material in its molten state occupies pore or imperfections of a cemented zone located in the casing-casing annulus. The sealant material is allowed to solidify such that formation fluids are prevented from migrating to the surface of the wellbore.

A tubular for downhole use, the tubular including a pipe, an insulation layer surrounding the pipe, and a protective layer around the insulation layer and comprising a polymer. The protective layer can also include a compression layer adjacent to the insulation layer. There may be reinforcement material in the protective layer, for example encapsulated by the elastomer. The tubular may have bare portions at the ends for manipulation of the tubulars to form a tubing string. A sleeve may be provided using the same layer structure to insulate the bare portions which form joints of the tubing string. The sleeve can also include a base layer.

An electric submersible pump assembly with integral heat exchanger, high-speed self-aligning bearings, and dual bearing thrust chamber is described. The described pump assembly, modules, and components may be used for operating an electric submersible pump at high speeds as well as over a wide range of speeds and flowrates without replacing downhole equipment. The described pump assembly may be shorter than comparable pump assemblies and may be assembled offsite, thereby leading to faster and easier installation with less down time. By operating over a wide range of speeds, the disclosed pump assembly allows the operator to reduce overall inventory, reduce down time for the well, and avoid other complications associated with replacing a pump assembly or other downhole components.

An electric submersible pump assembly with integral heat exchanger, high-speed self-aligning bearings, and dual bearing thrust chamber is described. The described pump assembly, modules, and components may be used for operating an electric submersible pump at high speeds as well as over a wide range of speeds and flowrates without replacing downhole equipment. The described pump assembly may be shorter than comparable pump assemblies and may be assembled offsite, thereby leading to faster and easier installation with less down time. By operating over a wide range of speeds, the disclosed pump assembly allows the operator to reduce overall inventory, reduce down time for the well, and avoid other complications associated with replacing a pump assembly or other downhole components.

Downhole apparatus comprises: a tubular body for mounting on an inner tubing string (10); a first flow port (24); a second flow port (12a); and a connector (68) associated with the tubular body (10) and operable to at least one of engage with and disengage from a lower end (22) of a bore-lining tubing string (20). The apparatus has a first configuration in which the first flow port (24) is open and the second flow port (12a) is closed, whereby a settable material (54) may be pumped in a first direction (56) downwards through the tubular body, through the connector, and through the first flow port, and a second configuration in which the first flow port (24) is closed and the second flow port (12a) is open, whereby a fluid may be pumped in the first direction (58) downwards through the tubular body (10), exit the tubular body through the second flow port (12a), and then flow in a second direction upwards and externally of the tubular body.

A method and apparatus are shown for burning crude oil or natural gas extracted from an underground reservoir, or for burning both crude oil and natural gas extracted from an underground reservoir, for providing thermal energy. The method and apparatus are also shown transferring the thermal energy to brine separated from the extracted oil, gas or both, for providing heated brine, or for converting the thermal energy to mechanical work, or for both transferring the thermal energy to the separated brine and converting the thermal energy to mechanical work. The method and apparatus are also shown heating the underground reservoir with the heated brine injected into the underground reservoir, or heating the underground reservoir with a resistive cable energized by electricity generated by converting the mechanical work to electric energy, or heating the underground reservoir with both the heated brine and the energized resistive cable.

An electric submersible pump assembly with integral heat exchanger, high-speed self-aligning bearings, and dual bearing thrust chamber is described. The described pump assembly, modules, and components may be used for operating an electric submersible pump at high speeds as well as over a wide range of speeds and flowrates without replacing downhole equipment. The described pump assembly may be shorter than comparable pump assemblies and may be assembled offsite, thereby leading to faster and easier installation with less down time. By operating over a wide range of speeds, the disclosed pump assembly allows the operator to reduce overall inventory, reduce down time for the well, and avoid other complications associated with replacing a pump assembly or other downhole components.