Patent Grant
10605036
The present disclosure is related in general to wellsite equipment such as oilfield surface equipment, downhole assemblies, coiled tubing (CT) assemblies, slickline and assemblies, and the like.
Coiled tubing is a technology that has been expanding its range of application since its introduction to the oil industry in the 1960's. Its ability to pass through completion tubulars and the wide array of tools and technologies that can be used in conjunction with it make it a very versatile technology.
Typical coiled tubing apparatus includes surface pumping facilities, a coiled tubing string mounted on a reel, a method to convey the coiled tubing into and out of the wellbore, such as an injector head or the like, and surface control apparatus at the wellhead. Coiled tubing has been utilized for performing subterranean formation operations, well treatment operations, and/or well intervention operations in existing wellbores such as, but not limited to, hydraulic fracturing, matrix acidizing, milling, perforating, coiled tubing drilling, and the like.
In coiled tubing operations, the process whereby downhole tools are transferred from atmospheric pressure to wellbore pressure is referred to as coiled tubing deployment. Coiled tubing deployment is typically accomplished using a riser long enough that the entire downhole tool may be placed inside the riser at once, and then pressurizing the riser after placing the tool therein. However, for longer tools this is not feasible due to limitations on the maximum height for a coiled tubing injector (depending on charge pressure and crane availability). In such an instance, the downhole tools are lowered into the well in sections and hung off of the blowout preventer (BOP) rams using a deployment bar that matches the coiled tubing diameter. These deployment bar sections are placed in a riser and may be conveyed in by coiled tubing, wireline, or slickline.
It remains desirable to provide improvements in oilfield surface equipment and/or downhole assemblies such as, but not limited to, methods and/or systems for deploying coiled tubing into wellbores whereby the deployment of coiled tubing may be improved by providing interlocks to prevent opening of the blowout preventer when high pressure is sensed below the blowout preventer.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a necessarily a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In a first aspect of the disclosure, methods include providing a blowout preventer body having at least one sealing ram for engaging with a downhole tool, and the sealing ram is hydraulically actuatable between a ram open position and a ram closed position. A hydraulic control valve is provided and used for sensing a differential pressure across the at least one sealing ram. The hydraulic control valve is fluidly connected to a cavity defined by the blowout preventer body, and the hydraulic control valve operates as a hydraulic interlock to prevent the at least one sealing ram from being moved to the ram open position under predetermined differential pressure conditions. The blowout preventer is connected to a wellhead disposed on a wellbore, and the downhole tool and coiled tubing are deployed into and out of the wellbore. The at least one sealing ram may be a pipe ram, or a pipe/slip ram. In some cases, the hydraulic control valve includes a poppet and control piston arrangement adjacently disposed within the hydraulic control valve.
In some embodiments, the at least one sealing ram is contained within a cylinder formed in the blowout preventer body, and each of the at least one sealing rams is connect with a ram piston sealingly disposed in the cylinder. The ram piston and the cylinder may define a first and a second fluid chamber, with the first fluid chamber in fluid communication with a poppet in the hydraulic control valve, and the second fluid chamber in fluid communication with a control piston in the hydraulic control valve. The hydraulic control valve may further be in fluid communication with a selector valve, and the selector valve provides open, neutral and closed positions for regulating hydraulic fluid flow. In some embodiments, the hydraulic control valve operates as a hydraulic interlock when pressure on the subterranean formation side of the blowout preventer body is higher than pressure on the top side of the blowout preventer, and in some cases, the hydraulic control valve operates as a hydraulic interlock when pressure in a second fluid chamber is higher than pressure in a first fluid chamber.
In another aspect of the disclosure, methods of deploying coiled tubing into and out of a wellbore include providing a blowout preventer body having at least one sealing ram for engaging with a downhole tool, where the at least one sealing ram is contained within a cylinder formed in the blowout preventer body, and connected with a ram piston sealingly disposed in the cylinder. A hydraulic control valve is further provided which includes a poppet and control piston arrangement adjacently disposed therein, and fluidly connected with the blowout preventer body. The blowout preventer is connected to a wellhead disposed on a wellbore, and the downhole tool and coiled tubing are deployed into and out of the wellbore. In some embodiments, the ram piston and the cylinder define a first and a second fluid chamber, and the first fluid chamber is in fluid communication with the poppet while the second fluid chamber is in fluid communication with the control piston. The hydraulic control valve may operate as a hydraulic interlock when pressure second fluid chamber is higher than pressure the first fluid chamber.
Yet another aspect provides systems including a blowout preventer body having at least one sealing ram for engaging with a downhole tool, where the sealing ram is hydraulically actuatable between a ram open position and a ram closed position, and the system further includes a hydraulic control valve including a poppet and control piston arrangement positioned adjacently. The hydraulic control valve is fluidly connected with a cavity defined by the blowout preventer body, and the blowout preventer is sealingly connected with a wellhead disposed on a wellbore. A downhole tool and coiled tubing may be deployed through the blowout preventer body, the wellhead and the wellbore, as part of the overall system. The ram piston and the cylinder may define a first and a second fluid chamber, where the first fluid chamber is in fluid communication with the poppet and the second fluid chamber in fluid communication with the control piston, and the hydraulic control valve may operate as a hydraulic interlock when pressure second fluid chamber is higher than pressure the first fluid chamber.
Certain embodiments of the disclosure will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying figures illustrate the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein, and:
The following description of the variations is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, its application, or uses. The description and examples are presented herein solely for the purpose of illustrating the various embodiments and should not be construed as a limitation to the scope and applicability of such. Unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by anyone of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present). In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of concepts according to the disclosure. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless otherwise stated. The terminology and phraseology used herein is for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as “including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” or “involving,” and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited. Also, as used herein any references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.
Embodiments of the present disclosure include a blowout preventer (BOP) provided with an additional hydraulic valve that senses the differential pressure across a sealing ram and, when it senses a higher pressure on the bottom than the top, it prevents the ram from being opened.
Referring now to
A hydraulic line or conduit 120 acts to provide hydraulic pressure to close the sealing rams 102 and is not provided with any auxiliary valve between a BOP selector valve 122 (having a lever 124 which selects from an open position 122a, a neutral position 122b, and a closed position 122c, which is discussed in more detail below) and the cylinders 118. A hydraulic line or conduit 126 acts to provide hydraulic pressure to the sealing rams 102 when in open position.
The control valve 110 is fluidly positioned between the BOP cylinders 118 and the BOP control hydraulic line 128, which also fluidly connects with BOP selector valve 122. When the sealing rams 102 are in open positions, the fluid pressure at pressure tap 104 and top or upper pressure tap 106 are substantially equal, and cavity 108 is fully open in the region proximate sealing rams 102. Also, when the sealing rams 102 are open, a piston 130 housed with a cavity of control valve 110 is held in a closed position by spring 132. A hole 134 bored through piston 130 equalizes pressure at the atmospheric end 136 of piston 130 and the closed end 138 of piston 130. There is also shown venting between a bottom or lower pressure seal 140 disposed on the periphery of piston 130, and a top or upper pressure seal 142 also disposed on the periphery of piston 130, the venting enabled via a hole or passageway 144. A poppet 146 is pushed down by spring 148, leaving an open passage from the hydraulic control line 128 to the hydraulic lines 126, which lead further to the ‘open’ side of the BOP cylinders 118.
Now with reference to
Referring again to
In some embodiments, the control valve shown as 110 may include only one moving piston, and it may be advantageously integrated into BOP body 100. The control valve 110 may also be provided with a bypass valve allowing normal ram operation at all times when bypassed.
In some aspects of the embodiment depicted in
While the embodiment described above depicts specific features, embodiments are not necessarily limited to such. In general, embodiments include apparatus, and methods of use there of, which include a blowout preventer provided with an additional hydraulic valve which senses the differential pressure across a sealing ram(s), and when higher pressure is sensed on the subterranean side of the apparatus, the ram(s) is prevented from opening, and remain in a closed position. In some method embodiments, a blowout preventer body is provided which one or more sealing rams for engaging with a downhole tool, and the sealing ram(s) is hydraulically actuatable between a ram open position and a ram closed position. The sealing ram(s) may be one of a pipe ram, pipe/slip ram, and the like. The blowout preventer further includes an additional hydraulic valve that senses a differential pressure across the sealing ram(s) and operates as a hydraulic interlock to prevent the sealing ram from being moved to the ram open position under predetermined differential pressure conditions. In some aspects, the additional hydraulic valve, such as control valve body 110 depicted in
Some embodiments according to the disclosure involve use of blowout preventers described above for deploying coiled tubing into and out of a wellbore. With reference to
A mast generally indicated at 336 includes a pair of parallel posts 338 pivotally mounted at 340 on the rear end of trailer 300 and a trolley or carriage 342 includes a carriage member mounted on each post 338 and having rollers for movement along posts 338. An upper horizontal tubular support 344 is secured between carriage members 342. An injector head 346 has a sleeve mounted on tubular support 344 for pivoting in a vertical plane about tubular support 344. Injector head 346 is movable along tubular support 344 in a horizontal direction to align injector head 346. A gooseneck 348 is mounted on injector head 346 by hinge 350. A pair of hydraulic cylinders 352 is mounted between end section 306 and mast 336, and pivot mast 336 and injector head 346 about pivot 340 between operable and stored positions. A tubular member 354, which may be a riser, extends downwardly from injector head 346 and is adapted for connection to blowout preventer 356, such as blowout preventer depicted in
In aspects where tubular member 354 is a riser, downhole coiled tubing tools are transferred from atmospheric pressure to wellbore pressure using riser 354, in a coiled tubing deployment process. The coiled tubing deployment may accomplished using a riser 354 which long enough that the entire downhole tool may be placed inside riser 354 at once, and then the riser 354 pressurized after placing the tool therein. If at any point in the deployment process, an unexpected differential pressure is detected across the sealing ram(s), the BOP control valve may close the sealing ram(s) to isolate the higher pressure on the bottom of the blowout preventer 356 from the top of the blowout preventer 356, riser 354, as well as the wellsite. Some non-limiting examples of deployment processes are those disclosed in U.S. Provisional Pat. App. Ser. No. 62/115,791, titled ‘Deployment Method For Coiled Tubing’, filed Feb. 13, 2015, as well as any related continuity patent applications, each of which is incorporated herein in their entirety by reference thereto. Though shown as a coiled tubing trailer 300, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other types of injectors, masts and the like may be utilized with embodiments of the present disclosure.
In those instances where longer tools are required, it may not be feasible to deploy the tool in one stage through rise 354 due to limitations on the maximum height for a coiled tubing rig up. In such cases, the downhole tools may be lowered into the wellbore in sections, and hung off of the blowout preventer (BOP) sealing rams using a deployment bar that matches the coiled tubing diameter, as shown in
As shown in
With reference to
While some embodiments described above depict coiled tubing operations conducted using a land based rig, embodiments according to the disclosure may also be useful for coiled tubing deployment on an offshore platform or installation, including floating platforms, fixed leg, tension leg, and the like.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be sufficiently thorough, and will convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the disclosure, but are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. It will be appreciated that it is within the scope of the disclosure that individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
Also, in some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail. Further, it will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art that in the design, manufacture, and operation of apparatus to achieve that described in the disclosure, variations in apparatus design, construction, condition, erosion of components, gaps between components may present, for example.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. In the figures illustrated, the orientation of particular components is not limiting, and are presented and configured for an understanding of some embodiments of the disclosure.
Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail above, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims.
This Patent Document claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/115,731 filed Feb. 13, 2015, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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| PCT/US2016/017256 | 2/10/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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| WO2016/130620 | 8/18/2016 | WO | A |
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