US 12,345,251 B2
Wellbore lift system with spring-assisted plunger
Syed Muhammad Bin Syed Taha, Dhahran (SA); and Amr Mohamed Zahran, Dhahran (SA)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on Nov. 16, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/988,143.
Prior Publication US 2024/0159233 A1, May 16, 2024
Int. Cl. F04B 47/12 (2006.01); E21B 43/12 (2006.01)
CPC F04B 47/12 (2013.01) [E21B 43/121 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A well tool assembly comprising:
an elongate body configured to traverse through a wellbore formed from a surface of the Earth to a subsurface reservoir storing hydrocarbons, the wellbore configured to produce the hydrocarbons to the surface, the elongate body defining an interior volume;
a plurality of propellers disposed within the interior volume, the plurality of propellers configured to spin radially in response to the well tool assembly traveling downhole through the wellbore;
a spring-loaded flow control assembly coupled to the plurality of propellers, the flow control assembly configured, in response to the well tool assembly traveling downhole through the wellbore, to permit fluid flow uphole of the well tool assembly and to store potential energy in the spring, and, in response to the well tool assembly traveling uphole through the wellbore, to prevent fluid flow downhole of the well tool assembly and to discharge the potential energy in the spring; and
a spindle configured to be positioned within the interior volume defined by the elongate body, wherein the plurality of propellers are mounted to the spindle, wherein the spindle is configured to spin radially in response to the well tool assembly traveling downhole through the wellbore, wherein the plurality of propellers are configured to spin in response to the spindle spinning, wherein the spring-loaded flow control assembly comprises a wind-up spring mounted to the spindle, wherein the wind-up spring is configured to be wound in response to the spindle spinning radially, wherein the wind-up spring is a radially winding spring.