What we claim is:
1. An oil well system for extracting oil extracted from a reservoir via a well, comprising a separator device adapted to separate oil and water from a mixture extracted from a reservoir, said separator device comprising:
a non-vertical first flow path for the mixture and being arranged along a non-vertical portion of the well;
a second flow path, separate from the first flow path, for receiving water or a water enriched phase that has been separated from the mixture by the separator device; and
a plurality of drain openings along a section of the first flow path, the first and second flow paths being arranged such that water or the water enriched phase in the first flow path can flow by gravity to the second flow path via the drain openings, wherein an opening area of said drain openings, per unit area of the first flow path, decreases in a flow direction of the mixture along the first flow path.
2. The oil well system according to claim 1, wherein said first flow path comprises a first tube.
3. The oil well system according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of drain openings comprise a plurality of slots in said tube.
4. The oil well system according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of drain openings are arranged along the flow direction of the mixture along the section of the first flow path, and are positioned at different vertical levels.
5. The oil well system according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of drain openings are distributed along a length equal to at least 100 times a diameter of said first flow path.
6. The oil well system according to claim 2, wherein a diameter of said first tube is locally expanded along the section of the first flow path having said plurality of drain openings.
7. The oil well system according to claim 2, further comprising a second tube enclosing said first tube to form an annular path therebetween, wherein said annular path comprises said second flow path.
8. The oil well system according to claim 2, wherein said tube has a generally circular cross section, and wherein said plurality of drain openings are located at a lower part of the cross section of the tube.
9. The oil well system according to claim 1, further comprising a third flow path communicating said second flow path with the reservoir for reinjecting the separated water or water enriched phase into the reservoir.
10. The oil well system according to claim 1, further comprising a third flow path communicating with said second flow path for discharging the separated water or water enriched phase.
11. The oil well system according to claim 1, further comprising a third flow path communicating said second flow path with the reservoir for reinjecting the separated water or water enriched phase into the reservoir via said well.
12. The oil well system according to claim 1, further comprising a third flow path communicating said second flow path with the reservoir for reinjecting the separated water or water enriched phase into the reservoir at a position spaced from said well.
13. The oil well system according to claim 11, further comprising a pump arranged to pump the separated water or water enriched phase from the third flow path into the reservoir.
14. The oil well system according to claim 12, further comprising a pump arranged to pump the separated water or water enriched phase from the third flow path into the reservoir.
15. The oil well system according to claim 1, wherein said separator device is a down-hole separator of an off-shore well, the down-hole separator being located adjacent the reservoir.
16. A method of extracting oil from an oil reservoir, comprising:
extracting a liquid mixture comprising oil and water from a reservoir via a first flow path of a well;
separating, by gravity and via a plurality of drainage openings, the liquid mixture in a non-vertical section of the well into two separate streams, one of the streams comprising water or a water enriched phase, wherein an opening area of said drain openings, per unit area of the first flow path, decreases in a flow direction of the mixture along the first flow path; and
passing the separated stream comprising water or a water enriched phase to a separate second flow path.
17. The method of claim 16 including the step of reinjecting the separated water or water enriched phase into the reservoir.
18. The method of claim 16 including the step of reinjecting the separated water or water enriched phase into the reservoir via said well.
19. The method of claim 16 including the step of reinjecting the separated water or water enriched phase into the reservoir at a location spaced from said well.
20. The method of claim 16 including the step of reinjecting the separated water or a water enriched phase into the reservoir using a pump.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1-20. (canceled)
21. A method, comprising:
at a femtocell apparatus:
scanning to determine available radio resources; and
selecting between a self-configuration mode and a network-based configuration mode for the femtocell apparatus, wherein the selecting is based on a message received from a network,
wherein in the self-configuration mode, the femtocell apparatus selects at least one available resource as a downlink,
wherein in the network-based configuration mode, the femtocell apparatus receives a downlink radio resource from the network.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein according to the selected configuration mode, the femtocell identifies one or more of the available radio resources for signaling.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the femtocell is assigned control of the one or more of the available radio resources for signaling.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein the femtocell assumes control of the one or more of the available radio resources for signaling.
25. The method of claim 21, wherein the network comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular network and the femtocell apparatus comprises a Home evolved Node B (HeNB).
26. The method of claim 21, wherein the network periodically provides updated network parameters to the femtocell, whether in the self-configuration mode or the network-based configuration mode.
27. The method of claim 21, wherein the method is performed during a periodic scan by the femtocell apparatus.
28. A femtocell capable of operating within a wireless network, the femtocell comprising:
a memory that includes executable instructions; and
a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor executing the instructions cause the processor to perform operations, comprising,
scanning to determine available radio resources, and
selecting between a self-configuration mode and a network-based configuration mode for the femtocell apparatus, wherein the selecting is based on a message receive from a network,
wherein in the self-configuration mode, the femtocell selects at least one available resource as a downlink, and
wherein in the network-based configuration mode, the femtocell apparatus receives a downlink radio resource from the wireless network.
29. The femtocell of claim 28, wherein, according to the selected configuration mode, the femtocell identifies one or more of the available radio resources for signaling.
30. The femtocell of claim 29, wherein the femtocell is assigned control of the one or more of the available radio resources for signaling.
31. The femtocell of claim 29, wherein the femtocell assumes control of the one or more of the available radio resources for signaling.
32. The femtocell of claim 28, wherein the network comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular network and the femtocell apparatus comprises a Home evolved Node B (HeNB).
33. The femtocell of claim 28, wherein the wireless network periodically provides updated network parameters to the femtocell.
34. The femtocell of claim 28, wherein the is performed during a periodic scan by the femtocell apparatus, whether in the self-configuration mode or the network-based configuration mode.
35. The femtocell of claim 28, further comprising:
a wireless subsystem, wherein the wireless subsystem performs operations related to the scanning for the available radio resources.
36. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium that includes a executable instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, comprising:
scanning to determine available radio resources; and
selecting between a self-configuration mode and a network-based configuration mode for the femtocell apparatus, wherein the selecting is based on a message received from a network,
wherein in the self-configuration mode, the processor selects at least one available resource as a downlink, and
wherein in the network-based configuration mode, the femtocell apparatus receives a downlink radio resource from the wireless network.
37. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein, according to the selected configuration mode, the operations further identify one or more of the available radio resources for signaling.
38. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 37, wherein the processor is assigned control of the one or more of the available radio resources for signaling.
39. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 37, wherein the processor assumes control of the one or more of the available radio resources for signaling.
40. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium is included in a femtocell apparatus of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular network.