Granted Patent B2

US 12,529,301 · App. 18/646,388 · Granted Jan 20, 2026

Inventors: Stacey Blaine Donovan (Carrollton, TX); David J. Steele (Carrollton, TX); Christian Alexander Ramirez (Carrollton, TX)

Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

E21B43/38E21B47/024E21B43/128

Abstract

Claims (34)

1 . A downhole oil-water separation (DOWS) assembly configured to be disposed downhole in a well, the DOWS assembly comprising:

a DOWS device located within the DOWS assembly, the DOWS device configured to operate on fluids within the DOWS assembly; and

a controller configured to determine an orientation of the DOWS device and to cause a change to the orientation of the DOWS device with respect to an orientation of the DOWS assembly.

2 . The DOWS assembly of claim 1 further comprising:

an actuator configured to change the orientation of the DOWS device via application of force to the DOWS device.

3 . The DOWS assembly of claim 1 further comprising:

one or more sensors communicatively coupled with the controller and configured to provide orientation information to the controller.

4 . The DOWS assembly of claim 3 , wherein the orientation information includes an indication of a direction of gravity.

5 . The DOWS assembly of claim 4 , wherein the change to the orientation of the DOWS device is in relation to the direction of gravity.

6 . The DOWS assembly of claim 4 further comprising, wherein the change to the orientation of the DOWS device changes pitch and/or roll of the DOWS device.

7 . The DOWS assembly of claim 1 , wherein the DOWS device comprising at least one of a sediment separator, a solids remover, and a coalescer.

8 . The DOWS assembly of claim 1 further including:

a second DOWS device located within the DOWS assembly, the second DOWS device configured to remove material from a tubular of the well, wherein the controller is further configured to determine an orientation of the second DOWS device within the DOWS assembly and to cause a change to the orientation of the second DOWS device with respect to an orientation of the DOWS assembly.

9 . A method comprising:

inserting a downhole oil-water-solids separation (DOWSS) assembly into a borehole of a well, the DOWSS assembly including a DOWSS device, the DOWSS device configured to operate on fluids and solids within the DOWSS assembly;

determining, via one or more sensors and a controller, an orientation of the DOWSS device within the DOWSS assembly; and

changing, via an actuator, the orientation of the DOWSS device with respect to an orientation of the DOWSS assembly.

10 . The method of claim 9 wherein the DOWSS device is configured to separate more solids from the fluids after changing the orientation.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the change to the orientation includes a change to a pitch and/or a roll of the DOWSS device.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the actuator also changes the orientation of the DOWSS device in relation to gravity.

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein one or more sensors are communicatively coupled with the controller, and wherein the one or more sensors provide information to the controller.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the information includes an indication of a direction of gravity.

15 . The method of claim 9 , the DOWSS device comprising at least one of a sediment separator, a solids remover, and a coalescer.

16 . The method of claim 9 further including:

determining, via the controller, an orientation of a second DOWSS device within the DOWSS assembly, the second DOWSS device configured to remove part of a casing of the well.

17 . A monitoring and control system configured for operation in a DOWS system of a well, the DOWS system including a DOWS device, the monitoring and control system comprising:

one or more sensors configured to be coupled with the DOWS device disposed downhole in the well and to determine information for the DOWS device; and

a controller configured to determine a state of the DOWS device based on the information and to cause a change to an orientation of the DOWS device with respect to an orientation of the DOWS system based on the information.

18 . The monitoring and control system of claim 17 further comprising:

an actuator configured to change a state of the DOWS device via an application of force to the DOWS device.

19 . The monitoring and control system of claim 17 , wherein the sensors include one or more of an electronic accelerometer and a mechanical gravity device.

20 . The monitoring and control system of claim 19 , wherein the information includes an indication of the direction of gravity.

21 . The monitoring and control system of claim 20 wherein the change to the orientation of the DOWS device is also in relation to gravity.

22 . The monitoring and control system of claim 17 , the DOWS device comprising at least one of an electrical submersible pump, a sediment separator, a solids remover, a coalescer, and a cutting tool.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (203)

Cited By (1)

US 12,698,686