SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATING UNDERGROUND GAS STORAGE FACILITIES Russian patent published in 2023 - IPC E21B43/00 B65G5/00 B65D88/76 

FIELD: oil and gas industry.

SUBSTANCE: group of inventions relates to gas, oil, and oil refining industries and can be used for storing natural and industrial gases in soluble rocks, for example, in rock salt deposits, namely, the group of inventions relates to a system and method for operating underground gas storage (UGS) facilities. The UGS operation system contains, sequentially installed on the suspended tubing string, a controlled hydraulic shut-off valve with a protective sleeve, designed to close or open the passage channel, a hydraulic packer, designed to hermetically isolate the intervals of the production string and to protect its upper part from dynamic influence of the working environment, a circulation valve designed to communicate between the passage channel and the annulus and, if necessary, their hermetically sealed separation, an adjustable shut-off valve. The UGS operation system also has: a control station capable of opening and closing the controlled hydraulic shutoff valve in the automatic mode by supplying and maintaining the required pressure through a hydraulic line; a tool for activating a hydraulic packer; a tool for activating the circulation valve, and a tool for activating the controlled hydraulic shutoff valve; well-control equipment. The packer activation tool is made with a mechanism for equalizing pressure above and below the adjustable shutoff valve, as well as with a sleeve designed to move inside the said tool. The circulation valve activation tool is made with a mechanism for equalizing pressure above and below the circulation valves, as well as with a sleeve designed to move inside the said tool. The controlled hydraulic shutoff valve activation tool is made with jaws designed to engage with the grooves of the controlled hydraulic shutoff valve protective sleeve and to move upward to close the controlled hydraulic shutoff valve by blocking the passage of the controlled hydraulic shutoff valve and further opening the controlled hydraulic shutoff valve by supplying and maintaining the required pressure through the hydraulic line from the control station.

EFFECT: improved safety of UGS facilities operation, reduced gas flow velocity during extraction or injection, reduced hydrate formation, high flowrates, reduced the tensile load on the tubing string, and reduced risk of packer depressurization.

2 cl, 2 dwg