Removal of water blocks from oil and gas wells

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR REMOVING A WATER BLOCK IN A HYDROCARBON-BEARING STRATUM ADJACENT A PRODUCING WELL CONTAINING A CASING HAVING A PERFORATE SECTION WITHIN SAID STRATUM AND A PRODUCTION TUBING EXTENDING TO A LOWER LEVEL OF SAID STRATUM, SAID STRATUM HAVING NATURAL PRESSURE AND SAID WATER BLOCK BEING FORMED BY MIGRATION OF INTERSTITIAL WATER FROM DEEP IN SAID STRATUM TOWARD SAID WELL DURING OIL PRODUCTION, WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF: (1) SETTING A FIRST PACKER WITHIN SAID STRATUM BETWEEN SAID TUBING AND SAID CASING AT A LOWER LEVEL THEREOF; (2) SETTING A SECOND PACKER WITHIN SAID STRATUM BETWEEN SAID TUBING AND SAID CASING AT AN UPPER LEVEL THEREOF; (3) PASSING DRIVING FLUID, OTHER THAN WATER, THRU AN ANNULUS OF SAID STRATUM CONTAINING SAID WATER BLOCK BETWEEN THE PACKED OFF ANNULUS ABOVE SAID SECOND PACKER AND THE WELL BORE BELOW SAID FIRST PACKER SO AS TO DRIVE WATER FROM SAID WATER BLOCK INTO SAID WELL BORE; (4) PRODUCING FROM SAID WELL THE WATER DRIVEN THEREINTO BY STEP (3); (5) THEREAFTER, ALLOWING NATURAL RESERVOIR PRESSURE TO PRODUCE HYDROCARBONS INTO SAID WELL; AND (6) RECOVERING SAID HYDROCARBONS FROM SAID WELL.