(No Model.)
`
`.
`H.FRASCH.
`INCREASING THE PLOW OF OIL‘ WELLS.
`Patented Mar. 17, 1896.
`
`N9. 556,669.
`
`__._____:_
`
`
`
`
`
`___._.____:________:__:_m__=_:___._:_____:_13::___:ETEE_,_:h_____::::Ex:7/
`
`__E2.5.123;:__~_________1
`
`
`
`,
`
`(IrvlliflfllllflllllilliflllllfliflllfillIvlfllIv/t/I1115!}!!!/..iNIillil‘iiiIIlillii.i‘ii!l.!i“ll§v
`
`25555555555III55I:415‘45555513444940”..W
`
`..
`
`infillV1.4IIIIIIIIIIIAIII‘I/Ifllflr155!95555955it’ll???la‘...
`
`.
`
`.
`
`%/%W
`
`4‘. 4/ W
`
`1 of 4
`
`Ex. 2089
`Ex. 2089
`IPR2016-01506
`|PR2016-01506
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`UNITED STATES
`
`PATENT OFFICE.
`
`CLEVELAND, ASSIGNOR vOF OXE-IIALF TOJOIIÑWV.
`“HERMAN Ennsen, or
`VAN DYKE, Ol!` LIMA, OHIO. y
``
`»
`
`INCREASING THE FLow oF OIL-WELLS.
`
`SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 556,669, dated March 17, 1896.
`Application íiledJune 27, 1895. Serial No. 554,177. (No model.)
`
`To all when?, it r11/ay concern».
`l3e it known that I, HERMAN FRASCH, a citi
`.zen of the United States, residing at Cleve
`land, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of »o
`Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful~
`Improvement in Increasing the Flow of Oil
`lVells; and I do declare the following to be a
`full, clear, and exact description of the in- '
`vention.
`A
`This invention relates to a method of in
`creasiinr the iiow of oil-wells in limestone
`b
`~ formations~such,for example,as the oil-wells
`of the Lima district in Ohio and Aof certain
`other parts of. the. United States and of
`Canada. lleretofore it has been customary
`to increase the fiow _in these, as in other wells,"
`by exploding torpedoes'therein. The effect(cid:173)
`of the explosion is to shatter the roek;.but
`this is filled with liquid and the disintegra-l
`tion does not extend far.
`The present invention consists Ain a new
`and superior method based upon chemical
`
`action.'
`
`'
`
``
`
`'
`
`be drained, while the oil hasa larger surface
`through _which to filter _and a more readyv
`access to the well-hole.
`l-äy using enough
`acid and pressing it back into the rock long
`55
`channels can be formed and oil reached
`thereby which otherwise could not be had
`without drilling other wells, if at all.
`ln or- »
`der that the product of the chemical reaction
`may not remain in the roch to obstruct the
`passages and to diminish the well-cavity use
`is made of a reagent, such as hydrochloric or
`muriatic acid, which in attacking dissolves
`the rock, or, in other words, forms a soluble
`compoun'd of calcium, such as the chloride,
`for example. The use of commercial muri
`atic or lrvdrochloric acid (which is of a specific
`gravity from 1.15 to .1.20 and contains from>
`thirty to forty per cent. by weight of the acid
`gas HCI) is recommended, from about one
`thousandto two 'thousand (cid:173)gallons of such
`commercial acid being p preferably employed
`for a dose.
`‘
`‘ The enlargement of the well-cavity is in it
`self of importance, particularly with small
`wells,'for the wells cease to ñow when they
`become full, and with small wells it is there
`fore necessary to pump out at short intervals, .
`which is more expensive than to remove the
`same quantity of oil by less frequent pump
`
`70
`
`So
`
`In accordance with the new method a chemi
`cal reagent which attacks the limestone-rock,
`'in which the well is, is introduced thereinto'
`in suñicient quantity to exert a substantial
`eiïect upon the walls of the well. In order
`to secure an extended effect not only is the re
`agent introduced into the cavity of the well,
`but the reagent in the well is put un der strong
`pressure, which may be that of a high column
`of liquid in the supply-pipe, so as to bepresscd
`into the rock and ìnade to act upon theA same
`‘ at a distance' from the 'original well-hole. ` As
`these wells are ordinarily of great depth-_say
`twelve hundred feet-»an enormous pressure
`may thus be» developed, and, if desired, other
`pressure-producing means may be employed. -
`It is` an' advantage to confine the reagent out
`side the supply-pipe to thelower or oil-yield
`ing portion' of the well-hole. This can be
`done by asuitably-arranged packer which
`shuts oiî the lower from the upper portion of '
`the hole and prevents the reagent from as
`cendin g above the packer.(cid:173) The reagent seems
`to act chiefly upon the films which bind to
`gether the more solid particles, and thus by
`disintegrating the rock into a more or less
`sand-like mass to increase its porosity.' A_s
`50
`, a rcsultvo’f` this action a larger territory maßT
`
`45
`
`ings.
`
`_
`
`.
`
``
`
`95
`
`IOO
`
`After introducing a suitable quantity of the
`(cid:173)reagent it is advantageous to displace it andv
`cause it to penetrate farther into the rock by
`forcing a neutral or cheap liquid, such as wa
`ter, into the well, and it is also advantageous(cid:173)
`in case the acid is' not wholly neutralized by
`the limestone (or generally as a measure of
`precaution) to introduce an alkaline liquid
`(preferably milk of lime) to neutralize any
`trace of aeid- which may exist.
`.
`.
`-
`Thc’advantage ofi neutralization is to avoid
`the danger of corroding the subsequently used
`apparatus, either that for cleaning out the
`well or forpumping. The cleaning out con.
`sists inrem'oving the solid subdivided par
`ticles of rock which are brought into the well
`»hole and may be done with the usual sand-(cid:173)
`pump, the usual drilling-tools being used (if
`necessary) to loosen any hard sediment which
`may form. More _or less of the liquid which
`returns to the well-hole would be removed
`
`2 of 4
`
`Ex. 2089
`IPR2016-01506
`
`

`

`2
`
`Y
`
`556,669
`
`with the said solid particles; but that which
`is free from the finely-divided solid matter or
`sand-like particles can be removed by the
`pumping apparatus (composed of tubing and
`sucker-rod) which is employed to pump the
`oil. , liy the‘use of a chemical reagent‘which
`forms a soluble salt of calcium the productsl
`of the chemical decomposition of -the lime
``stone are removed with the liquid in which
`the salt of calcium is dissolved, and which
`conveys the same from the remotest points.
`'l‘he channels which have been cut in the rock
`are thus left free, thereby securing the maxi
`mum increase of the iiow of oil as well as of
`the oil-holding .capacity of the well.
`'l‘lic following is a description of what is
`considered the best mode of carrying out the
`invention, reference being had to the accom
`panying drawings, which form part of this
`specification, and in which
`Figure I is a diagram of a Well with the sup
`ply or reagent-introducing pipe in place, and
`Fig. Il is a detail view illustrating a mode of
`protecting the said pipe.
`.
`.
`The pipe,A is provided with a rubber packer
`l5 in the rock above the Trenton limestone O,
`in which the well is. It may bc enameled
`_or lead-lined pipe, externallycoated withA
`enamel or lead below the packer B, or it may
`be> otherwise made proof against corrosion.
`There is a box D provided with _a funnel
`shaped bottom to feed the acid to the pipe A.
`As shown in Fig. 1I the pipe A is lined wit-l1
`a tube 2 of soft rubber and covered exte
`riorly with another’soft-rubber tube 3, the>
`lower end of the inner tube being turned back
`over the pipe A, and also over the outer tube,
`and the whole wrapped to prevent ingress of
`liquid at the joint.
`The reagent (muri atie or hydrochloric acid)
`is placed in the box 1),'which is kept l‘ ull, so
`that the pressure of the whole column (of
`twelve hundred feet, if that be the depth of '
`the well) is exerted upon the acid in the well,
`which acid is by the pressure and its own cor
`rosive action forced into the rock, greatly in
`creasing its porosity and extending the area
`drained by the well and also enlarging the
`well-cavity. lVhen as much acid as desired,
`say one thousand gallons, has gone into the
`rock, a force-pump is connected with the pipe
`A'and fresh water is forced down to displace
`the acid in the (cid:173)pipe and rock, and by forcing
`it still farther int-o the rock extend the area of
`55 lits action.
`After a rest of, say, twelve hours
`milk of lime is pumped down to neutralize
`any trace of acid that might exist. '.l‘he well
`is then cleaned out and the tubing replaced,
`and the work of pumping oil carried on(cid:173) as>
`
`.30
`
`l45
`
`50
`
`usual.
`
`Y
`
`.
`
`.
`
`The usual sand-pump may be used in clean
`ing out, and it may, of course, 'be employed
`as often as necessar f, after `pumping’ is re
`sumed, in order to remove solid particles
`which may be brought -into the wcll-holedur
`ing the pumping, the tubing being tempora
`
`rily removed in order Ato allow the use of the
`sand-pump.
`Other reagents may be used instead of hy
`drochloric or muriatic acid, although this is
`preferred byreason of its effi ciencv and cheap
`
`ness. »
`
``
`
`»
`
`4
`
`’
`
`85
`
`IOO
`
`U5
`
`'l‘he rock might also be acted upon with the
`aid of a gaseous reagent, instead of simply by
`a liquid---as, i'or exam ple, the rock might be
`75
`decomposed by introducing hydrochloric-acid
`gas into the Well and the resulting chloride
`oi'l calcium be dissolved in water artiii cially
`vintroduced or natura-ll)r present in the well.
`l claim as my invention or discovery-,_ v
`.
`l. The method of increasing the flow of oil
`wells in lim estone-formations, by introducing
`into the well a large quantity of a chemical
`reagent which attacks the rock, and allowing
`said reagent to act upon the walls of the well;
`substantially as described.
`'
`2, The method of increasing the flow of oil
`wells in limestone formations, by introducing
`into the well a large quantity of a chemical.
`Yreagent which attacks the rock, and subject
`ing such reagent in the well `to strong press'- .
`ure; substantially as described.
`2l. The method of increasing the ilow of oil
`wells in limestone formations, by introducing
`into the well a large quantity' of a chemical
`95
`reagent which is a solvent of the rock (such .
`as hydrochloric or muriatic acid), and allow(cid:173)
`ing said reagent to act upon the walls of `the
`.wellg substantially as described.
`'
`4. The method of increasing'the flow of oil
`wells in limestone formations, by introducing
`into the well a large quantity of a chemical.
`reagent which is a solvent of the rock (such
`as hydrochloric or muriatie acid), and subject
`ing (cid:173)such reagent to strong pressure; substan- .
`tially as described.
`"
`5. The method of increasing the flow of oil
`Wells in limestone formations, by introducing
`into the well a large quantity of a chemical
`reagent which attacks the rock, and allowing
`said reagent to actupon the walls of the well,
`and also introducing'a neutral or cheap liq
`Auid such as water into the well to force the
`said chemical reagent farther into the rock;
`substantially as described.
`G. The method of increasing the flow of oil
`wells in limestone-formations, by in troducing
`into the well a l( rge quantity of a >chemical
`reagent Awhich is a solvent of the rock (such
`as hydrochloric or muriatic acid), and allow- -
`ing said reagent to act upon the walls of the
`well, and also introducing a neutral or cheap
`liquid such as water into the'well to force the
`>said chemical reagent farther into the rock;
`substantially as described.
`,
`7. The method of increasing the ilow of oil
`wells in limestone formations, by introducing
`into the well ñrst a chemical reagent to a1.
`tack the rockforming the walls, then 'a neu
`tral o1'. cheap liquid such as water to force the
`reagent into the rock andsiinally a `neutraliz
`insr lifìuid: substantially as described.
`
`3 of 4
`
`Ex. 2089
`IPR2016-01506
`
`

`

`j 556,669
`
`-
`
`a
`
`pressure into the. rock, removing the press
`ure, and cleaning ont the solid particles which (cid:173)
`are brought into the well-hole; substantially
`
`as described. .
`
`’
`
`.
`
`Ul
`
`S. The method of increasing the flow of oil
`wells in limestone formations, by introdncimr
`int-o the Well a large quantity of a chemicaî
`reagent which attacks the rock, confining said
`In testimony whereof I afIiX my signature
`reagent to the lower or oil-yielding portion _of
`the Well-hole, and forcing it by pressure into
`, in presence of two’witnesses.
`.
`l
`v
`thc rock; substantially as described. _
`9. The method of increasing the flow 0f oil- l
`Wells in limestone formations, by introducing ‘
`into the well a large quantity of a chemical
`reagent which attacks the rock, forcing it by
`
`HERMAN FRASCIL `
`
`\\'itnesscs:(cid:173)
`
`F. W. LOTHMAN,
`N. J, XVORLEY.
`
`'
`
`'
`
`(cid:173)
`
`-
`
`'
`
`4 of 4
`
`Ex. 2089
`IPR2016-01506
`
`