Device for controlling a safety valve disposed below an activation pump in a hydrocarbon production well

Claim 1

An oil well installation including an elongate cylindrical casing (1), an elongate cylindrical production pipe (2) concentrically disposed within the casing and inwardly spaced therefrom, and annular packer means (3) sealingly disposed between the casing and the pipe to isolate annular spaces both above (5) and below (4) the packer means, comprising: (a) a pump (6) disposed within the pipe above the packer means, said pump being driven by pressurized liquid applied to the pipe from above to pump oil from below the pump upwardly through the annular space above the packer means, (b) a safety valve (24) disposed within the pipe below the pump and including biasing means for normally closing said valve to seal off the pipe and thereby guard against pressure eruptions from below, (c) a rigid, elongate, vertically movable operating member (34) slidably disposed within the valve and operable, when driven downwardly, to open the valve against the force of the biasing means, (d) means (40, 43) for urging the operating member in an upwardly direction, (e) piston means slidably disposed within the pipe at the level of the pump and movable downwardly in response to the application of pressurized pump driving liquid to said pipe, and (f) rigid elongate connection means (37) secured to the piston means and depending downwardly therefrom for operatively engaging the operating member, whereby the downward movement of the piston means in response to the application of pressurized pump driving liquid to the pipe serves to drive the operating member downwardly within the safety valve to open said valve and enable pumping, and the cessation of said pressurized driving fluid enables the urging means to raise the operating member, the connection means and the piston means to thereby automatically close the safety valve.