Prior to completion of an earth formation borehole, such as are commonly employed in the hydrocarbon recovery and carbon dioxide sequestration industries, operations typically include running and setting plugs within the borehole. Such operations may include perforating and fracing, for example. After these operations are finished the plugs need to be removed so as not to create an obstruction to flow therepast in one or more directions. Removal often requires drilling or milling out of the plugs. The industry is always interested in systems and methods to avoid or decrease the costs associated with the time, equipment and manpower needed to perform the milling or drilling operation.
Disclosed herein is a method of completing a well. The method includes, positioning at least one valve within a tubular, closing the at least one valve, pressuring up against the closed at least one valve in a first direction, actuating a tool or treating a formation, opening the at least one valve without intervention, and flowing fluid past the at least one valve in a second direction.
Further disclosed herein is a completion. The completion includes a tubular, and at least one valve in operable communication with the tubular configured to initially provide no restriction to flow or intervention that is subsequently closable to fluid in a first direction sufficiently to allow actuation of a tool or treatment of a formation while allowing fluid therepast in a second direction. The at least one valve is also openable to flow therepast in the first direction without intervention after a period of time.
Further disclosed herein is a one trip completion arrangement. The arrangement includes a plurality of valves positioned within a borehole each configured to close to downhole flow once shifted for at least a duration of time and to allow uphole flow regardless of whether shifted, and a multi-tool configured to separately shift each of the plurality of valves and repeatedly perforate a lining of the borehole to allow fracing through the perforated lining with pressure built against one or more of the shifted and closed valves, such that a plurality of separate zones can be fraced and the borehole open to production upon a single trip of the multi-tool.
The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:
A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
Referring to
The embodiment of the valve 18 illustrated herein includes a movable portion 38 shown herein is a flapper, however, other embodiments are contemplated. The flapper 38 is biased toward the closed position and as such is reopenable immediately to flow in the second direction by the force of fluid flow in the second direction that overcomes the closing bias on the flapper 38. In this embodiment the valve 18 is reopenable to flow in the first direction after a period of time has passed after the flapper 38 has been closed. This reopening is due to disintegration or dissolution and removal of the flapper 38 as illustrated in
In this embodiment a sleeve 42 maintains the flapper 38 in the open position (as shown in
Components that define the valve 18, including the housing 46, the seals 50, the sleeve 42 and the flapper 38 in this embodiment are sized and configured to define a minimum radial dimension 58 (shown if
The embodiments disclosed herein include a plurality of the valves 18 positioned along the tubular 14 within the borehole 20. Each of the valves 18 is configured to close to downhole flow once shifted for at least a duration of time while being reopenable to allow uphole flow immediately, regardless of whether the valve 18 has been shifted or not. The multi-tool 26 is configured to separately shift each of the plurality of valves 18 and repeatedly perforate the lining 14 of the borehole 20 and to allow fracing of the formation 30 through the perforated lining 66 (
Referring to
While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims. Also, in the drawings and the description, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise stated used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention therefore not being so limited. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3264994 | Leutwyler | Aug 1966 | A |
6772842 | Read et al. | Aug 2004 | B2 |
7350582 | McKeachnie et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
7464764 | Xu | Dec 2008 | B2 |
7647964 | Akbar et al. | Jan 2010 | B2 |
7686076 | York et al. | Mar 2010 | B2 |
7798236 | McKeachnie et al. | Sep 2010 | B2 |
7909102 | Hernandez et al. | Mar 2011 | B1 |
20010007284 | French et al. | Jul 2001 | A1 |
20040129433 | Krawiec et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
20100101803 | Clayton et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
20120085548 | Fleckenstein | Apr 2012 | A1 |
20130014941 | Tips et al. | Jan 2013 | A1 |
20150114664 | Hulsewe et al. | Apr 2015 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2528130 | Sep 2006 | CA |
2746171 | Jan 2013 | CA |
0043634 | Jul 2000 | WO |
2004031532 | Apr 2004 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Janz, et al.; “Single-Trip Perforate and Frac-Pack COmpletion with High-Efficiency Frac Gel in Bonga Phase II”; SPE 128049; SPE International Symposium; Lafettte, Louisiana, USA; Feb. 10-12, 2010; 12 pages. |
Vickery, et al.; SPE 64469, “Application of One-Trip Multi-Zone Gravel Pack to Maximize Completion Efficiency”; SPE Asia Pacific Oil/Gas Conf, Brisbane, Australia; Oct. 16-18, 2000; 10 pages. |
Watson, et al.; “One-Trip Multistage Completion Technology for Unconventional Gas Formations,”; CIPC/SPE Gas Tech Symposium, Calgary, Canada; Jun. 16-19, 2008; 14 pages. |
Notification of Transmittal of the International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, or the Declaration; PCT/US2014/065147; Mailed Feb. 12, 2015; 10 Pages. |
Schatz et al., “Multiple Radial Fracturing from a Wellbore—Experimental and Theoretical Results”, 28th US Symposium on Rock Mechanics; Jun. 29-Jul. 1, 1987; 10 pages. |
Houser et al., “Pinpoint Fracturing Using a Multiple-Cutting Process”; SPE 122949; Society of Petroleum Engineers; 2009 SPE Rockly Mountain Petroleum Technology Conference; Apr. 14-16, 2009; 10 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20150159468 A1 | Jun 2015 | US |