Patent Application
20210047898
Operators may use a “wet shoe” at the end of casing, liner or other tubing where cement does not set around or obstruct a float valve (e.g. a check valve) at the end of the tubing. After cementing, fluid flow remains established through the tubing and float valve into the well. In this way, the wet shoe enables operators to conduct subsequent operations after cementing, such as pumping down plugs or perforating guns to the toe of the well.
When completing the wet shoe application, however, performing a full pressure check on the tubing is not feasible after the wiper plug has landed. For this reason, a full pressure check may not be performed in some implementations.
As will be appreciated, however, being able to the check the integrity of the tubing with a pressure check is preferred. During use, the tubing, such as casing, is subject to pressure changes and cycles during it operational like, and the structural integrity of the casing must be maintained.
The subject matter of the present disclosure is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.
According to the present disclosure, an apparatus is directed to cementing tubing in a wellbore with cement and testing the tubing with applied pressure. The apparatus comprises a tool, an insert, a first seat, a second seat, a first plug, and a second plug.
The tool is disposed on the tubing and has an uphole end and a downhole end. The tool defines a flow bore therethrough from the uphole end to the downhole end. The insert is disposed in the flow bore and has a first seat, and the insert is held in a first position by a releasable connection to the tool. The second seat is disposed in the flow bore uphole of the insert.
The first plug is deployable down the tubing at least behind the cement and is seatable on the first seat. The first plug seated in the insert is configured to prevent fluid communication through the flow bore from the uphole end to the downhole end. The insert with the seated first plug is movable from the first position to a second position in response to a first application of the applied pressure releasing the releasable connection. The insert in the second position is configured to permit fluid communication through the flow bore.
The second plug is deployable down the tubing behind the second plug and is seatable on the second seat in the flow bore of the tool. The seated second plug is configured to isolate a second application of the applied pressure from passing to the downhole end of the tool. The second plug is self-removable in the tool to reestablish fluid communication through the flow bore of the tool.
The first plug can comprise a bottom member and a top member. The bottom member can have a passage therethrough, and the passage can have a closure closing the passage. The bottom member is deployable down the tubing ahead of the cement and is seatable on the first seat. The closure of the bottom member is opened in response to an initial application of the applied pressure against the seated bottom member before the first application. The top member is deployable down the tubing behind the cement and is configured to close fluid communication through the passage in the bottom member.
The first plug can comprise a wiper dart having a head that is configured to seat in the first seat of the insert.
The insert can comprise a sleeve disposed in the flow bore. The sleeve can have a fluid passage therethrough with the first seat formed therein. The sleeve can define a bypass port communicating the fluid passage downhole of the first seat outside the sleeve.
The flow bore of the tool can define a relief therein. The insert in the second position can be spaced from the relief and can be configured to permit fluid communication in a space between the insert and the relief. The relief of the tool can define a shoulder toward the downhole end of the tool such that the shoulder can engage the insert in the second position. The shoulder can define a first castellation configured to engage a second castellation of the insert.
The second plug can comprise a self-removable material selected from the group consisting of a dissolvable material, an erodible material, a disintegrable material, a degradable material, an aluminum, a reactive metal, a magnesium alloy, a degradable composite polymer, a polystyrene, an elastomer, a resin, an adhesive, a polyester, a polymide, a thermoplastic polymer, a polyglycolide, a polyglycolic acid, and a thermosetting polymer.
The temporary connection can comprise one or more shear pins disposed between the insert and the flow bore of the tool.
According to the present disclosure, a method comprises: cementing tubing in a wellbore with cement by: pumping the cement through a flow bore of a tool disposed on the tubing, and seating a first plug at least behind the cement on a first seat in a first position in the flow bore of the tool; creating a wet shoe track by: moving the first seat from the first position to a second position in the flow bore with a first application of applied pressure against the seated first plug, and bypassing fluid communication through the flow bore of the tool around the seated first plug in the moved first seat; and testing the cemented tubing by: seating a second plug in a second seat in the flow bore of the tool uphole of the first seat, subjecting the cemented tubing to a second application of applied pressure against the seated second plug, and reestablishing fluid communication through the flow bore of the tool by self-removing the second plug from the second seat.
Cementing the tubing in the wellbore with the cement by seating the first plug at least behind the cement on the first seat can comprise seating a bottom member of the first plug ahead of the cement on the first seat, breaching a flow passage through the bottom member, passing the cement through the flow passage, and seating a top member of the first plug behind the cement in the flow passage of the bottom member.
Moving the first seat from the first position to the second position in the flow bore with the first application of applied pressure against the seated first plug can comprise releasing a temporary connection retaining the first seat in the first position inside the flow bore with the first application of applied pressure against the seated first plug.
Moving the first seat from the first position to the second position in the flow bore with the first application of applied pressure against the seated first plug can comprise shifting an insert having the first seat from the first position to a relief of the flow bore in the second position.
Bypassing the fluid communication through the flow bore of the tool around the seated first plug in the moved first seat can comprise bypassing the fluid communication from the relief of the flow bore through a side port defined in the insert downhole the first seat.
The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potential embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure.
As disclosed herein, a wet shoe tool according to the present disclosure is used to produce bypass flow around wiper plug(s) to create a wet shoe track, where unset or no cement is left in a tubing section between a float collar and a shoe after a primary cement job. The wet shoe tool can be used for a number of applications, such as plug-and-perf applications, cementing liners and long strings, horizontal and vertical wells, etc.
The wet shoe tool provides a positive indication of cement displacement and wiper plug location. Adjustable shear values can be used in the wet shoe tool to provide a clear indication that wiper plug(s) have landed and that shearing events have occurred. For example, the tool can include an insert with a seat that matches the wiper plug. The insert can be configured to shear free with an adjustable and configurable shear value to meet the application at hand.
The wiper plug provides a positive indication upon landing at the tool, and applying pressure causes the shear insert to shift downward. At this point, excess displacement fluid bypasses the wiper plug and is pumped down through the shoe track and out of the toe to create a wet shoe.
After the wet shoe track is established, integrity of the tubing, casing, liner, or the like can be performed using a self-removing plug landed in a seat of the wet shoe tool. Once the testing is complete and the plug is removed, the re-established fluid circulation allows for other operations to be performed without requiring tubing-conveyed perforating to be performed in the casing to open of flow path. For example, wireline perforating guns and composite plugs can be pumped down to begin stimulation operations. If desired, the first stimulation operation can be performed through the wet shoe tool.
The wet shoe tool 30 is used for performing a wet shoe application, which is an operation that opens the flow path through the casing shoe after cementing. Once cement operations are complete, a wiper plug 20 lands in the wet shoe tool 30. Operators apply pressure to predetermined level to activate the tool 30 and open an internal bypass so fluid can pass through the tool 30. The opened fluid bypass allows operators to displace the cement and clear the float shoe, leaving a desired wet shoe track.
As shown in
A wiper plug 20 is pumped down the bore 18 of the tubing 16 behind the cement C using a displacement fluid D. The wiper plug 20 as disclosed herein may be any conventional cement/wiper plug used in well cementing operations known in the art.
Eventually, as shown in
During use, the tubing 16 must withstand pressures for which the tubing 16 is designed. To test the integrity of the cemented tubing 16, the wet shoe tool 30 includes a landing seat 36 for receiving a plug 38 after the wiper plug 20 has landed in the tool 30, the insert 32 has shifted, and the bypass 34 has been opened. The plug 38 enables a full pressure test to be performed on the tubing 16 at a pressure level above the pressure used open the fluid flow through the wet shoe tool 30 after cementing.
To do the test, the plug 38, such as a ball, is pumped down the tubing 16 to the wet shoe tool 30 and lands in the seat 36 in the tool 30 so the plug seat 36 and the plug 38 can isolate the tubing 16 above the wet show tool 30. Pressure applied against the seated plug 38 can then be used to test the integrity of the cemented tubing 16 to desired test levels. A full pressure check can be completed by allowing operators to cycle and monitor pressure pumped in the tubing 16 behind the seated plug 36 to assess the integrity of the tubing 16.
The plug 38 is self-removing and will then dissolve away or otherwise be removed. Once the plug 38 is removed, fluid circulation is re-established through the wet shoe tool 30, allowing for the pump down of perforating guns, composite plugs, and the like for other operations to be performed. Being self-removing, the plug 38 is composed of a self-removable material that dissolves, disintegrates, or otherwise removes in time to re-establish flow through the tubing's bore 18 so subsequent operations can be performed. Reference herein to a self-removable material is meant to encompass any materials designed to dissolve, erode, disintegrate, or otherwise degrade over time and/or in certain wellbore conditions due to heat, temperature, hydrocarbon composition, introduced solvent, applied acid, or other factors. For example, the plug 38 can be composed of a dissolvable, degradable, disintegrable, or other self-removable material known in the art when subjected to appropriate conditions, such as a temperature for a period of time, an introduced acid or other fluid, the existing wellbore fluid, etc. For example, the material of the plug 38 can be aluminum, a reactive metal, a magnesium alloy, a degradable composite polymer, a polystyrene, an elastomer, a resin, an adhesive, a polyester, a polymide, a thermoplastic polymer, a polyglycolide, a polyglycolic acid, a thermosetting polymer, or the like, such as used for fracture balls.
As shown herein
The bottom wiper plug 22 is pumped until it lands in the landing insert 32 of the wet shoe tool 30. A passage 24 through the bottom plug 22 has a closure 26 that has been opened by pressure, allowing the cement C pumped down through the bore 18 of the tubing 16 to pass through the bottom wiper plug 22, out the shoe 17, and into the annulus 14 of the borehole 12. The closure 26 can be a breachable element, such as a rupture disc, typically used on a bottom wiper plug.
Behind the cement, the top wiper plug 28 is pumped down the tubing bore 18 using a displacement fluid D, such as water. The top wiper plug 28 can be a stinger dart that is pumped behind cement and wipes the inside of the tubing 16, providing a mechanical barrier between the cement C and spacer fluids D. Eventually, as shown in
After cementing the tubing 16 in the borehole 12, fluid flow through the end of the tubing 16 may be established to form a wet shoe track for conducting subsequent operations. In particular, pressure applied behind the wiper plugs 22, 28 activates the wet shoe tool 30 by shifting the landing insert 32 into the bypass 34 of the tool 30, as shown in
The displacement fluid D can now pass through the wet shoe tool 30 to create a wet shoe track 15, which may have benefits in the implementations disclosed herein. For example, fluid communication is now established through the tubing 16 so additional operations can be performed without the need to perforate the tubing 16.
To test the integrity of the cemented tubing 16, a plug 38, such as a ball, is pumped down the tubing 16 to the wet shoe tool 30 and lands in a seat 36 in the tool 30. Pressure applied against the seated plug 38 can then be used to test the integrity of the cemented tubing 16 to desired test levels. Again, the plug 38 is composed of a self-removable material that dissolves, disintegrates, or otherwise removes in time to re-establish flow through the tubing's bore 18 so subsequent operations can be performed.
As shown in
Alternatively, the bottom wiper plug 122 can be pumped ahead of the cement (not shown), a closure 126, such as a breachable element or a rupture disc, in the passage 124 of the bottom plug 122 can be breached to permit the cement to flow through the passage 124. For example, cement may be supplied at a pressure sufficient to breach/rupture the closure 126 in the bottom plug 122 (if necessary) and permit fluid flow through the flow passage 124 into the borehole 12. A predetermined amount of cement may be supplied into the borehole (12) to cement the tubing (16) therein. Eventually, the top plug 126 can be pumped behind the cement and can land in the passage 124 of the lower plug 120 to seal fluid flow.
With the plug arrangement as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The cement is allowed to set so pressure testing can then be performed on the tubing (16). To test the integrity of the cemented tubing (not shown) on which the tool 100 is connected, the flowpath through the wet shoe tool 100 allows a self-removing plug 130, such as a ball, to be pumped down and seated on the plug seat 108 in the tool 100, as shown in
With the wet shoe track established, fluid may be supplied through the wet shoe tool 100 into the borehole (12). In this way, a number of additional operations can be performed. For example, a perforating device may be pumped through the wet shoe tool 100 on a wireline to perforate one or more sections of the borehole (12). In another example, a plugging device may be pumped through the wet shoe tool 100 on a wireline to seal one or more downhole sections of the borehole (12). In yet another example, a perforating, fracturing, and/or another liner hanging operation may be conducted. The insert 110 can be composed of aluminum or composite material for ease in milling out when the plugs 122, 128 are milled out.
As shown in
With the plug 120 seated as shown in
As before, castellations 107, 117 may prevent rotation. Likewise, the pressure increase and reductions and/or the circulation of fluid flow into the borehole (12) can provide indications to operators at the surface of the position of the plug 120 and the insert 110, and that fluid communication through the system is open to conduct subsequent operations.
To test the integrity of the cemented tubing (not shown) on which the tool 100 is deployed, a plug 130, such as a ball, is pumped down to the wet shoe tool 100 and lands in the plug seat 108 in the tool 100. Pressure applied against the seated plug 130 can then be used to test the integrity of the cemented tubing to desired test levels. The plug 130 is composed of a material that dissolves, disintegrates, or otherwise removes in time, re-establish flow through the tool's bore 104 so subsequent operations can be performed.
The foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments is not intended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of the inventive concepts conceived of by the Applicants. It will be appreciated with the benefit of the present disclosure that features described above in accordance with any embodiment or aspect of the disclosed subject matter can be utilized, either alone or in combination, with any other described feature, in any other embodiment or aspect of the disclosed subject matter.
In exchange for disclosing the inventive concepts contained herein, the Applicants desire all patent rights afforded by the appended claims. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims include all modifications and alterations to the full extent that they come within the scope of the following claims or the equivalents thereof.
