APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CLEARING SOLIDS FROM A WELL

An apparatus for clearing solids from a well including a housing with a jet pump, for positioning in a production string of the well, a tailpipe string carrying an elongate body to project out of a downhole end of the production string, a coupling to connect to inner tubing positioned within the production string for providing pressurised fluid to drive the jet pump, and a conduit which bypasses the jet pump in order to deliver pressurised fluid into the tailpipe string, wherein the tailpipe string includes a nozzle assembly to jet pressurised fluid into the well in order to agitate and stir up solids adjacent the elongate body and the elongate body includes an intake screen through which the solids are suctioned into an internal channel of the apparatus which is in fluid communication with an inlet of the jet pump, and wherein the jet pump has an exit for pumping the solids into a space between the apparatus and the production string in order to force the solids up-hole and out of the well. The invention also relates to a method of extracting solids from a well using the apparatus described above, including attaching the apparatus to an inner tubing which supplies power fluid to the apparatus, feeding the apparatus down the well and supplying the power fluid through the inner tubing to agitate solids in the well and suction the agitated solids into the apparatus and out of the jet pump exit to thereby force the solids up-hole for extraction from the well.