This invention relates to the field of sub-surface wellbore tools and equipment and, more particularly, to a coiled tubing operable section mill for milling wellbore tubulars or casing.
Oil and gas wellbores are typically lined with a string or strings of wellbore tubulars such as a string of casing pipe. Section mills are used to mill or cut through a section of a wellbore tubular during various phases of the drilling and production process or during remediation of the wellbore post the production life of the well. Such section mills are included in a tool carrier pipe string, placed within the wellbore tubular, and positioned at a desired location where the milling is to take place.
A section mill may employ at least one retractable rotatable cutter. The retractable cutter retracts inwardly when the section mill is moved through the wellbore tubular and extends radially outward from the section mill to engage the inside diameter of the wellbore tubular where milling is to proceed. Circulating wellbore fluid is used to extend and retract the associated cutters. Milling is accomplished by rotation of the section mill and the extended cutters against the engaged wellbore tubular enable milling of the wellbore tubular.
The cuttings or swarf from the milling process are then circulated out of the wellbore through the annulus between the carrier pipe string and the wellbore tubular by means of the circulating wellbore fluid.
Problems associated with the use of section mills, whether drill string deployed section mills or coiled tubing deployed section mills, include wobbling and vibration of the rotatable cutters during rotation, incomplete or unreliable extension and retraction of the rotatable cutters, inadequate radial force on the rotatable cutters that results in incomplete or inadequate cuts in the tubular being milled, the inability to mill both upwards and downward, excessive wear on the cutters and the cutter drive system, limitations on the length of the cutting area or window, and limitations on their use within small diameter wellbore tubulars due to sizing considerations.
The aforementioned problems, among others, result in reduced milling efficiency, increased wear and tear on the section mill, increased milling time, and increased cost of the milling operations. Consequently, there is a need for a section mill that will reduce or eliminate such problems and thus reduce the time and cost associated with the milling process, and ultimately the cost of oil and gas production and associated well remediation.
The section mill of the present invention is intended to reduce or eliminate the aforementioned problems and it is particularly suitable for use on a coiled tubing carrier pipe string for milling or cutting a liner pipe string positioned along the length of a wellbore. The section mill is comprised of a longitudinally extending tubular mill body having a central fluid bore that is threadedly attached at its upper end to the lower end of a tubular top sub that is threadedly attached at its upper end to a carrier pipe string having a central fluid bore. The top sub is threadedly attached to the carrier pipe string so that a central fluid bore in the top sub is in fluid communication with the central fluid bore of the tubular mill body and with the central fluid bore within the carrier pipe string.
Preferably, the carrier pipe string will be a coiled tubing string having a fluid driven downhole motor and the top sub with be threadedly attached to the carrier pipe string downhole from the fluid driven downhole motor. When the carrier pipe string is a coiled tubing string, the circulation of fluid, such as drilling fluid, through the central fluid bore of the coiled tubing string and through the downhole motor will rotate the attached top sub and the attached section mill. However, the section mill of the present invention may also be utilized by attachment to a top sub that is a component of a carrier pipe string that is rotated by a rotary table or by a top drive.
The central fluid bore of the longitudinally extending tubular mill body of the section mill has aligned upper and lower piston chambers. A translatable elongated, i.e., longitudinally extending, tubular piston mandrel is positioned within the central bore of the tubular mill body. The translatable elongated tubular piston mandrel has a central piston mandrel fluid bore and attached upper and lower pistons that are respectively positioned within the upper and lower piston chambers in the tubular mill body. The upper and lower piston chambers receive an inward and outward flow of wellbore fluid from the central bore of the carrier pipe string through corresponding fluid ports in said piston mandrel fluid bore. This wellbore fluid creates fluid pressure to move the upper and lower pistons and the attached piston mandrel vertically upward (uphole) and vertically downward (downhole) in response to fluid pressure generated by the flow of fluid into and out of the upper and lower piston chambers. Longitudinally adjustable plungers are attached to the lower or downhole end of the tubular piston mandrel for attachment to elongated cutter shoes.
The elongated cutter shoes, i.e., longitudinally extending, are pivotally attached to the tubular mill body by pairs of vertically arrayed pivotable support links and to the adjustable plungers by pairs of pivotable yoke links. Preferably, the elongated cutter shoes will be offset or staggered along the length of the tubular mill body. The use of staggered cutter shoes allows the overall diameter of the section mill to be minimized.
Upward and downward movement of the tubular piston mandrel with the attached adjustable plungers is transmitted to the elongated cutter shoes by the pivotable yoke links and the support links. This upward and downward movement will pivot the support links radially to extend and retract the cutter shoes outward and inward from the tubular mill body through mill windows provided in the tubular mill body. Preferably, the cutter shoes retain an array of hardened cutters for milling and cutting the liner piper string although only a single hardened cutter may be utilized on the cutter shoes. Preferably, the array of hardened cutters extends longitudinally along the length of the cutter shoes.
Upward movement of the tubular piston mandrel with the attached adjustable plunger will pull the cutter shoes upward, in response to fluid pressure fluid pressure in the upper and lower piston chambers, to pivot the cutter shoes radially outward on the support links. The upward and outward pivoting of the support links extends the cutter shoes longitudinally from the tubular mill body through the mill windows to engage a longitudinal section of the liner pipe string with the hardened cutters of the cutter shoes. Milling of the liner pipe string is accomplished by rotation of the tubular mill body with the cutter shoes extended to engage the interior wall of the liner pipe string.
Downward movement of the tubular piston mandrel with the attached adjustable plunger, in response to fluid pressure in the upper and lower piston chambers, will push yoke links and the cutter shoes downward and pivot the cutter shoes radially inward on the support links. The downward and inward pivoting of the support links retracts the cutter shoes longitudinally through the mill windows into the tubular mill body. The cutter shoes may be dressed for either upward or downward milling by adjusting the number, type, and position of the hardened cutters on the cutter shoes.
When assembled as described herein and inserted into a liner pipe string of a wellbore, pressure exerted on the extended cutter shoes against the liner pipe string from upward movement of the tubular piston mandrel will reduce wobbling and vibration induced during rotation of the cutter shoes and provide more reliable milling. Further, the force exerted of the extended cutter shoes by the dual pistons will reduce the occurrence of incomplete or unreliable extension and retraction of the cutter shoes. The offset or staggered cutter shoes allow for a smaller diameter section mill to facilitate its use within small diameter wellbore tubulars. Adjustment bolts in the adjustable plungers allow for adjustment of the upward and downward travel of the plunger and thus the radial extension of the cutter shoes.
These and other advantages will be apparent from the description provided herein.
These drawings may omit features that are established in the art and do not bear upon points of novelty in the interest of descriptive clarity. Such omitted features may include bearings, threaded junctures, weld lines, sealing elements, O-rings, pins, and brazed junctures.
The section mill (10) has a longitudinally extending tubular mill body (12) and a central bore (14) that extends along the central longitudinal axis (15) of the tubular mill body (12). The central bore (14) of the tubular mill body (12) is in fluid communication with the central bore (112) of the top sub (110). A translatable elongated tubular piston mandrel (16) is positioned to extend within the central bore (14) of the tubular mill body (12). The tubular piston mandrel (16) has an uphole end (17), a downhole end (19), and a piston mandrel central bore (18) in fluid communication with the central bore (112) of the top sub (110). The piston mandrel central bore (18) at the uphole end (17) of the tubular piston mandrel (10) is configured to receive a flow of fluid transmitted through the central bore (102) of the carrier pipe string (100) and the central bore (112) of the top sub (110). The piston mandrel (16) supports dual attached pistons comprised of an upper piston (20) and a lower piston (22). The upper piston (20) is attached to the piston mandrel (16) and positioned within an upper piston chamber (24) within the central bore (14) of the tubular mill body (12) and the lower piston (22) is attached to the piston (16) and positioned within a lower piston chamber (26) within the central bore (14) of the tubular mill body (12).
Longitudinally adjustable plungers (28) are attached to the tubular piston mandrel (16) at its downhole end (19) by threaded adjustment bolts (29). The adjustment bolts (29) allow the adjustable plungers (28) to be threadedly adjusted both uphole and downhole with respect to the downhole end (19) of the piston mandrel (16). A first elongated longitudinally extending cutter shoe (30) is pivotally attached to a selected adjustable plunger (28) by a yoke link (31) and pivotally attached to the tubular mill body (12) by support links (33) that pivot about hinge pins (25). A second elongated cutter shoe (32) is offset or staggered from the first elongated cutter shoe (30) is pivotally attached to a selected adjustable plunger (28) by yoke links (31) and pivotally attached to the tubular mill body (12) cutter support links (33) that pivot about hinge pins (25). The yoke links (31) are preferably comprised of a pair of opposing yoke link segments and the cutter support links (33) are preferably comprised of opposing support link segments.
A detailed view of the upper portion of the section mill (10) and its upper and lower pistons is shown in
A detailed view of the downhole portion of the section mill (10) and the configuration of its cutting shoes is shown in
Alternatively, one of the yoke link sections (31a) may be configured as a yoke link section shown as yoke link section (31a′) that is comprised of a yoke link section (31b) and a yoke link section (31c) that are joined together to match with an opposing yoke link section (31a). Such a configuration will facilitate disassembly and reassembly of the cutter carriers (30) and (32) from the adjustable plunger (28). The opposing yoke link sections (31a) create the two-piece yoke (31) that may be readily disassembled in the field to replace worn or damaged cutter shoes or to utilize a different type of cutter shoe without having to remove the adjustable plunger (28) from the tubular mill body (12).
The adjustable plunger (28) is shown in an isometric view in
For operation of the section mill (10), the uphole end of the top sub (112) is threadedly connected to the carrier pipe string (100) and the section mill (10) is threadedly connected to the top sub (112) at its downhole end. The tool carrier pipe string (100), top sub (112), and the connected section mill (10) are then inserted through the liner pipe string (120) of the well bore (130) and lowered to a desired downhole location in the liner pipe string (120) as shown in
When the section mill (10) is lowered to the desired location in the liner pipe string (120), fluid is then pumped into the central bore (102) of the tool carrier pipe string (100) and through the central bore (112) of the top sub (112) to enter the central bore (14) of the tubular mill body (12) of the section mill (10). The fluid from the central bore central bore (14) of the tubular mill body (12) exits into the central bore (18) of the tubular piston mandrel (16) to enter into the upper fluid chamber (24) through upper fluid ports (36) and into the lower fluid chamber (26) through the lower fluid ports (38). The fluid in the upper fluid chamber (24) and the lower fluid chamber (26) generates fluid pressure on the upper piston (20) and lower piston (22) and translates the tubular piston mandrel (16) and the attached adjustable plunger (28) upward in an uphole direction. The upward movement of the adjustable plunger (28) pivots the attached yoke link sections (31) upwardly about the plunger stud (44) and the support links (33) upwardly about the hinge pins (25) to extend the cutter shoes (31) and (33) radially outward from the tubular mill body (12) through mill window (34) to engage the liner pipe string (120) or another tubular to be milled.
When extended through the mill window (24), the cutter shoes (30) and (32) and the associated cutter inserts (35) or blades (37) will be positioned against the liner pipe string (120). Milling is then conducted by rotating the milling tool (10) either by the downhole motor on the carrier pipe string (100) or by a rotary or top drive to engage the cutter inserts (35) or blades (37) on the cutter shoes (30) and (32) the liner pipe string (120) for milling. Cuttings created during milling are carried away by fluid circulation through the central bore (14) of the tubular mill body (12), upward in the annulus (125) between the tubular mill body (12) and the liner pipe string (120).
Once fluid pumping ceases, fluid pressure in the central bore (14) is relieved and fluid in the upper piston chamber (24) and lower piston chamber (26) exits to the central bore (18) of the piston mandrel (16) through fluid ports (36) and (38). The exiting fluid causes the piston mandrel to move downward to pivot the yoke link sections (31) downwardly about the plunger stud (44) and to pivot the support links (33) downwardly about the hinge pins (25) to move the cutter shoes (30) and (32) radially inward away from the liner pipe string (120) into the tubular mill body (12) of the milling tool (10) to allow the section mill (10) to be removed from the casing tubular (120).
It is thought that the embodiments of the section mill 10 presented herein and its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description. It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts of the embodiments of the section mill 10 without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing its material advantages. The form and construction described and illustrated herein are merely example embodiments of the invention.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/378,308 entitled “Coiled Tubing Section Mill” filed Oct. 4, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference.
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