This patent application addresses hardware for stimulating hydrocarbon reservoirs. Specifically described herein is hardware for use in perforating wells drilled into geologic formations.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these elements are to be read in this light, and not as an admission of any kind
Hydrocarbon reservoirs are commonly stimulated to increase recovery of hydrocarbons. Hydraulic fracturing, where a fluid is pressurized into the reservoir at a pressure above the fracture strength of the reservoir, is commonly practiced. In most fracturing practice, a well is drilled into the formation and a casing formed on the outer wall of the well. The casing is then perforated using explosives to form holes in the casing that can extend a short distance into the formation from the well wall. Perforation creates holes extending from the well wall into the formation.
Perforation tools commonly employ multiple individual perforation “guns” that can be activated to perforate different parts of a well. These guns may be activated at different depths selected to access target areas of the formation. Activation of selected guns is achieved by sending signals to the controller for each gun to activate a switch, which provides electrical connection to the detonator for the selected gun. When the switch is activated, electrical energy can then be coupled to the detonator by a separate firing circuit.
Connection of the circuit and firing the circuit are frequently performed as two separation actions in order to prevent unwanted firing of guns. The “arming” circuit and activity add complexity to the selective firing of perforation guns in a perforation tool. Simplification of the process and architecture of perforation tools, without compromising safety, is needed.
A summary of certain embodiments described herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.
Embodiments described herein provide a detonation module for a perforation tool, the detonation module comprising a detonator; a switch circuit disposed in a fluid-sealed housing and electrically coupled to the detonator; a shielding circuit coupled to the switch circuit; an annular electrical contact electrically coupled to the switch circuit; and an annular, electrically conductive, compressive member to form a compressive electrical connection with an end of a shaped charge unit.
Other embodiments described herein provide a method of activating a perforation tool, comprising electrically connecting the perforation tool to a detonation module using two annular electrical contacts, at least one of which is compressive; electrically connecting at least one of the annular electrical contacts with a switching circuit in the detonation module; electrically connecting the switching circuit to a detonator and to a shielding circuit in the detonation module, the shielding circuit comprising at least one RF mitigation component; arranging the annular electrical contacts to provide a fluid pathway for transmitting ballistic discharge from the detonator to the perforation tool; and delivering an electrical impulse from the switching circuit to the detonator.
Other embodiments described herein provide a perforation tool, comprising a perforation unit to house shaped charges; and a detonator module coupled to the perforation unit, the detonation module comprising a detonator; a switch circuit disposed in a fluid-sealed housing and electrically coupled to the detonator; a shielding circuit coupled to the switch circuit; an annular electrical contact electrically coupled to the switch circuit; and an annular, electrically conductive, compressive member to form a compressive electrical connection between the annular electrical contact and an end of the perforation unit.
Various refinements of the features noted above may be undertaken in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter
Various aspects of the disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings, in which:
A detonation module for a perforation tool is described herein, along with a perforation tool employing the detonation module. The description sets forth details of certain embodiments of the detonation module and perforation tool to facilitate understanding of the structure and operation of the apparatus and methods of using the apparatus, but these details should not be understood as the only way to embody the useful concepts of the apparatus and methods described herein. Variations of the apparatus and methods described herein can be readily ascertained and understood as equally embodying the concepts of the apparatus and methods described herein.
It should be noted that in the development of the embodiments described herein, certain specific choices are made to achieve specific goals, which may vary from one implementation to another. Such choices might be complex to implement but would be routing for those of ordinary skill in this art having the benefit of the description herein. Further, the apparatus and methods described herein can use other components and approaches not described herein. This description should not be read as exclusive of such other components and approaches.
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 any one 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). Also, “the,” “a,” or “an” are used 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. The word “embodiments” refers to non-limiting examples, whether claimed or not, which may be employed or present alone or in any combination or permutation with one or more other embodiments. Each embodiment disclosed herein should be regarded both as an added feature to be used with one or more other embodiments, as well as an alternative to be used separately or in lieu of one or more other embodiments. It should be understood that no limitation of the scope of the claimed subject matter is thereby intended, any alterations and further modifications in the illustrated embodiments, and any further applications of the principles of the application as illustrated therein as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates are contemplated herein.
Moreover, the schematic illustrations and descriptions provided herein are understood to be examples only, and components and operations may be combined or divided, and added or removed, as well as re-ordered in whole or part, unless stated explicitly to the contrary herein. Certain operations illustrated may be implemented by a computer executing a computer program product on a computer readable medium, where the computer program comprises instructions causing the computer to execute one or more of the operations, or to issue commands to other devices to execute one or more of the operations.
The detonation module described herein automatically, and passively, establishes electrical and ballistic connectivity and conductivity upon assembly of the various modules of the perforation tool, using the described detonation module. The detonation module described herein employs spring connections for secure electrical conductivity along with RF shielding to prevent unwanted firing signals arising from RF noise. The spring connections have open pathways for ballistic continuity.
The detonation module 104 has a detonation end 110, a feedthrough end 112 opposite from the detonation end 110, and a switch portion 114 between the detonation end 110 and the feedthrough end 112. The detonation end 110 interfaces with the perforation unit 102 to provide ballistic energy to activate the charges 108 of the perforation unit 102. The detonation end 110 has a detonator 116 to initiate application of ballistic energy to activate the charges 108 of the perforation unit 102. The perforation unit 102 has a ballistic transfer unit 118 to engage with the detonation module 104 for ballistic and electrical continuity. The ballistic transfer unit 118 transfers ballistic energy to a ballistic feed 120 that extends along the perforation unit 102 to carry ballistic energy to the charges 108. In this case, the ballistic feed 120 is a detonation cord, but in other cases, the ballistic feed 120 can be a pathway, which may use booster charges to continue ballistic discharge along the perforation tool 102. In this case, the charges 108 extend across the frame 106 from one side to the other, and the charges 108 are phased according to rotational displacements about a longitudinal axis 128 of the tool 100. In other cases, the frame 106 could have a central conduit extending along the longitudinal axis 128, and the charges 108 can be arranged around that central conduit. In such cases booster charges can be disposed within the central conduit, or detonation cord can be routed along the central conduit, to apply ballistic energy to the charges 108 and continue the ballistic discharge along the perforation tool 102.
The detonation module 104 has a housing 122 that houses a switch unit 124 disposed in an interior space 126 of the housing 122. The tool 100 has a generally cylindrical profile, and each unit of the tool 100 also has a generally cylindrical profile. The housing 122 has a generally cylindrical shape and the interior space 126 is a cylindrical bore formed along the longitudinal axis 128 of the tool 100, which substantially coincides with a longitudinal axis of the housing 122 and a longitudinal axis of the perforation unit 102. The switch unit 124 includes passive RF shielding, attenuation, or filtering to prevent unwanted electrical signals reaching the detonator 116. The detonation module 104 has an annular, compressive electrical connector 130 at the detonation end 110 thereof to make electrical connection with an annular contact 132.
The housing 122 has a second exterior interface surface 154 at the feedthrough end 112 of the housing 122 to engage with an interior interface surface of another unit, such as another perforation tool (not shown), which can also be threaded or can use any convenient method of engagement. The housing 122 has a second external shoulder 156 near the feedthrough end 112. An overlap portion of another unit can extend over the feedthrough end 112 to reach the second external shoulder 156, and can be secured by second fasteners 158 disposed in second fastening bores 160 adjacent to the second external shoulder 156. One or more second grooves 162 are provided in the exterior wall 150 of the housing 122 between the second exterior interface surface 154 and the second fastening bores 160 to receive seal members 164 to seal the interface between the detonation module 104 and another tool.
The fitting 168 has a central bore 204 that accommodates a conductive member 206, which extends substantially from end to end of the fitting 168 to provide electrical connectivity at either end of the fitting 168. At a first end 208 of the fitting, proximate to the switch electronics 170 when assembled, the conductive member 206 engages with a cartridge 210 that houses the switch electronics 170 and provides electrical connection with the switch electronics 170. At a second end 212 of the fitting, opposite from the first end 208, the conductive member 206 emerges into a plug end 214 that can interface electrically with another unit. In this case, a feedthrough member 216 of the feedthrough adapter 202 engages with the conductive member 206.
The fitting 168 has an outer body 218 that, in this case, is conductive, so an insulator 219 is disposed around the conductive member 206 within the central bore 204 of the fitting 168. The insulator 219 is, in this case, overmolded onto the conductive member 206, but an insulator can be used according to any convenient design. At a midpoint of the insulator 219, a seal member 221 is disposed around the insulator 219, between the insulator 219 and an inner wall of the central bore 204. The seal member 221 seals the central bore 204 and secures the conductive member 206 within the central bore 204 by friction with the inner wall.
The switch electronics 170 is located in the interior 126 of the housing 122 between the fitting 168 and the detonator 116. The switch electronics 170 and the detonator 116 are enclosed in the cartridge 210 which extends from the fitting 168 to the ballistic transfer unit 118. The switch electronics 170 includes a switch circuit 220 and a shielding circuit 222. The switch electronics 170 is electrically coupled to the detonator 116 at a first end 224 of the switch electronics 170 and to the connector cartridge 210 at a second end 226 of the switch electronics 170 opposite from the first end 224. The cartridge 210 features an inner casing 228 that encloses the switch circuit 220, which extends in the longitudinal direction of the detonation module 104. The inner casing 228 can be plastic. The cartridge 210 also features a plurality of prongs 230 that support the shielding circuit 222 in a spaced-apart orientation substantially parallel to the switch circuit 220. The shielding circuit 222 generally has capacitive components, such as spark gaps, switches, and capacitors, that absorb and attenuate RF noise in electrical leads electrically connected to the detonator to minimize the opportunity for unwanted electrical impulses to activate the detonator. The switch electronics 170 also includes RF attenuators 232, in this case ferrite beads, disposed on electrical leads connecting to the shielding circuit 222 to enhance attenuation of RF noise. The capacitive components and RF attenuators function as RF mitigators, so that the switch electronics 170 includes a first RF mitigation component and a second RF mitigation component to provide broad shielding against RF noise.
The ballistic transfer unit 118 has a conductive nose 234 that at least partially surrounds an end of the ballistic feed 120. The conductive nose 234 has a generally cylindrical shape with an axial opening 236 at a first end 238 of the conductive nose 234 and a flange 240 at a second end 242 of the conductive nose 234 opposite from the first end 238 in an axial direction of the conductive nose 234. An end of the ballistic feed 120 is disposed within the conductive nose 234 in contact with the first end 238 so the axial opening 236 exposes an end region of the ballistic feed 120 at the first end 238. The flange 240 is captured within an annular capture space 244 of a connection structure 246 of the ballistic transfer unit 118.
The capture space 244 of the connection structure 246 is at a first end 248 of the connection structure 246. The connection structure 246 also has a sleeve 250 at a second end 253 of the connection structure 246 opposite from the first end 248 in an axial direction of the connection structure 246. The sleeve 250 of the connection structure 246 is a cylindrical extension that extends into an end of the charge frame 106 to position the ballistic feed 120 to carry ballistic energy to the charges 108. As noted above, in this case the ballistic feed 120 is disposed at a periphery of the charge frame 106. In cases where the charge frame 106 has a central conduit, with charges arranged around the central conduit and pointing away from the central conduit, and the ballistic feed is the central conduit with booster charges disposed therein (i.e. no detonation cord is used), the connection structure 246 may be omitted.
The cartridge 210, which abuts the second end 208 of the fitting 168, is in two pieces that divide in a longitudinal direction (meaning that the division between the two pieces extends in a longitudinal direction) and have snaps or clasps (not shown) that hold the two pieces together when assembled. The cartridge 210 has a wide end 258 adjacent to the second end 226 of the switch electronics 170 (
An annular, electrically conductive, compressive member 264 is disposed between the detonator 116 and the conductive nose 234 of the ballistic transfer unit 118. An annular electrical contact 266 is disposed between the detonator 116 and the compressive member 264 to provide electrical connectivity between the switch electronics 170 and the conductive nose 234, which in turn provides electrical connectivity to the perforation unit 102 through the flange 240.
As described above, certain embodiments of the present disclosure include a detonation module for a perforation tool. The detonation module includes a detonator; a switch circuit disposed in a fluid-sealed housing and electrically coupled to the detonator; a shielding circuit coupled to the switch circuit; an annular electrical contact electrically coupled to the switch circuit; and an annular, electrically conductive, compressive member to form a compressive electrical connection between the annular electrical contact and an end of a perforation unit.
In certain embodiments, the shielding circuit combines a first RF mitigation component and a second RF mitigation component, and the first RF mitigation component is different from the second RF mitigation component. In certain embodiments, the detonator is electrically coupled to the shielding circuit by a wire, and the first RF mitigation component is a ferrite bead disposed around the wire.
In certain embodiments, the annular, electrically conductive compressive member is a wave spring. In certain embodiments, the detonator, the annular, electrical contact, and the annular, electrically conductive, compressive member are substantially coaxial. In certain embodiments, the annular contact and the annular electrically conductive, compressive member together form a fluid pathway to fluidly couple the detonator to ballistic members of a perforation unit when the perforation unit is connected to the detonation module. In certain embodiments, the detonation module also includes a housing that positions the housing of the switch circuit to connect to a feedthrough unit.
In addition, as described above, in certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a method of activating a perforation tool includes electrically connecting a perforation unit to a detonation module using two annular electrical contacts, at least one of which is compressive; electrically connecting at least one of the annular electrical contacts with a switching circuit in the detonation module; and electrically connecting the switching circuit to a detonator and to an shielding circuit in the detonation module, the shielding circuit including at least one RF mitigation component. The method also includes arranging the annular electrical contacts to provide a fluid pathway for transmitting ballistic discharge from the detonator to the perforation unit; and delivering an electrical impulse from the switching circuit to the detonator.
In certain embodiments, the shielding circuit includes a first RF mitigation component and a second RF mitigation component, and the first RF mitigation component is different from the second RF mitigation component. In certain embodiments, the first RF mitigation component is a ferrite bead and the second RF mitigation component is a capacitive component. In certain embodiments, the annular electrical contacts comprise a compressive member. In certain embodiments, the compressive member is a wave spring. In certain embodiments, the switching circuit and the shielding circuit are housed in a fluid-sealed housing located adjacent to the detonator.
In addition, as described above, in certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a perforation tool includes a perforation unit to house shaped charges and a detonator module coupled to the perforation unit. The detonation module includes a detonator, a switching circuit disposed in a fluid-sealed housing and electrically coupled to the detonator, a shielding circuit coupled to the switching circuit, an annular electrical contact electrically coupled to the switching circuit, and an annular, electrically conductive, compressive member to form a compressive electrical connection between the annular electrical contact and end of the perforation unit.
In certain embodiments, the perforation unit includes a ballistic transfer device arranged at the end of the perforation unit, and the end of the perforation unit includes a conductive nose disposed over an end of the ballistic transfer device, the conductive nose having a central opening that exposes the end of the ballistic transfer device. In certain embodiments, the annular, electrically conductive, compressive member is a wave spring, and the annular electrical contact, the wave spring, and the conductive nose together define a fluid pathway from the detonator to the ballistic transfer device and electrically connect the perforation unit with the detonation module. In certain embodiments, the annular electrical contact and the annular electrically conductive, compressive member together form a fluid pathway to fluidly couple the detonator to ballistic members of the perforation unit. In certain embodiments, the shielding circuit includes a capacitive component and a ferrite bead. In certain embodiments, the ferrite bead is disposed around a wire connecting the shielding circuit with the detonator.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
This patent application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/369,536 filed Jul. 27, 2022, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63369536 | Jul 2022 | US |