1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to orienting a tool and performing an operation in a wellbore.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many operations are performed in wellbores for recovery of hydrocarbons (oil and gas) include milling a portion of a casing in the wellbore or forming a lateral wellbore from a main cased or open wellbore. Windows are milled or the lateral wellbores are formed at specified locations in the main wellbore. To perform such a cutting operation, a downhole tool is conveyed in the wellbore that includes a whipstock connected to a cutting device or tool, such as a mill or drill bit. The cutting tool is typically operated by a fluid-driven motor, such as a progressive cavity motor. The downhole tool is rotated to orient the whipstock along the direction where the milling operation is desired to be performed. Once the tool is oriented, an anchor connected below the whipstock is positioned to fixedly set the whipstock along the desired direction. The mill is disengaged from the whipstock and moved along the drill whipstock to contact the wellbore. The mill is rotated to mill a window in the casing and/or to drill a lateral wellbore from the main wellbore. It is desirable to determine the whipstock orientation before setting the anchor and to determine the mill location relative to the whipstock depth (down the whipstock) when milling a window during a casing exit operation.
The disclosure herein provides apparatus and method for orienting the whipstock and determining location of the mill relative to the whipstock in a wellbore.
In one aspect, a method of performing a downhole operation is disclosed that in one embodiment may include: In one aspect, a method of performing an operation in a wellbore is disclosed that in one embodiment may include: placing a first device at a first location in the wellbore, wherein the first device includes a plurality of circumferentially placed tags at known orientations in the wellbore, conveying a second device in the wellbore, the second device including a sensor that provides signals in response to detecting signals from each of the tags in the first device, determining orientation of the second device in the wellbore from the signals from the sensor.
In another aspect, the method may include conveying a first device having a plurality of axially placed tags on the first device and passing a second device proximate the sensors to provide signals detected from the tags and determining location of the second device relative to the first device sing the signals from the sensor.
In another aspect, an apparatus for performing a downhole operation is disclosed that in one embodiment includes a first device having a plurality of tags axially spaced apart along a length of the first device, a second device having a sensor for proving signals when the sensor is proximate the tags, and a processor for determining location of a selected point on the second device from the signals provided by the sensor when the sensor passes proximate the tags.
In yet another aspect, an apparatus for performing a downhole operation may include a first device for placement at first location in the wellbore, the first device including a plurality of circumferentially placed tags at known orientations in the wellbore, a second device conveyable into the wellbore, the second device including a sensor that provides signals in response to signals provided detected from the tags in the first device, and a processor for determining orientation of the second device from the signals provided by the sensor.
Examples of certain features of the apparatus and method disclosed herein are summarized rather broadly in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood. There are, of course, additional features of the apparatus and method disclosed hereinafter that will form the subject of the claims.
For detailed understanding of the present disclosure, references should be made to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements have been given like numerals and wherein:
Still referring to
Still referring to
To perform an operation in the wellbore, the tool 120 is conveyed into the wellbore 101, where the sensor 156 transmits signals detected from one or more tags T1, Tn to the controllers 170 and/or 190. The controllers 170 and/or 190 determine the orientation of the tool 120 and thus the whipstock 140 from the sensor signals, since the orientation of the tags relative to the tool 120 and whipstock 140 is known. The tool 120 is then rotated to orient whipstock 140 along a desired direction. The anchor 142 below the whipstock is then hydraulically set by flowing fluid 143 from a source, such as storage unit 162, to the anchor 142 via a fluid line 146. The whipstock bit 130 is then disengaged from the whipstock 140 by applying a mechanical force to break the connection 148. The bit 130, along with the rest of the tool 120, is then free to be moved in the wellbore. The bit 130 is then rotated and moved downhole to perform a desired operation, such as cutting a window 165a in the casing 167 in the wellbore or to form a lateral wellbore from a location, such as a location 165b. The orientation of the whipstock 140 may be monitored and confirmed by continually processing the signals from the sensor 156.
Still referring to
Referring to
While the foregoing disclosure is directed to the preferred embodiments of the disclosure, various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended that all variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims be embraced by the foregoing disclosure.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20140158351 A1 | Jun 2014 | US |