Patent Application
20160076332
In the hydrocarbon exploration and recovery and carbon dioxide sequestration industries, there is often a need to seal various tubular structures in order to perform operations in the downhole environment. Commonly sealing elements are positioned (e.g. bonded to) on an outside surface of a tubular that is intended to be stabbed into a seal bore of a radially outwardly positioned tubular member. There are also however configurations commonly known as inverted seals where the sealing element is positioned on or bonded to an inside surface of a tubular member into which a smooth tubular may be stabbed to create a seal. Each of these configurations has important value for operations to which they are applied.
In some cases, both of these types of seals are used at different times in a particular operation or in a series of operations. Where this occurs, removal of, for example, the inverted seal must occur before the regular seal could be utilized. Operations including potentially completely separate runs might become necessary to effect the result of the second seal being deployed. These interventions are expensive in equipment, time and delay. The art is always receptive to inventions that reduce time or equipment necessary to complete operations.
The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:
An inverted seal includes a disintegrable body; one or more inside dimension seals disposed in the body.
A method for deploying a conventional seal after an inverted seal in a borehole includes positioning an inverted seal in a downhole location; utilizing the inverted seal for its intended purpose; removing at least a portion of a body of the inverted seal; running a conventional seal further downhole of the location of the inverted seal.
Referring to
The ID seals 14 may number one or more and as illustrated number two. The material of the ID seals may be a bonded rubber material or other sealing material that has properties sufficient to be useful for its intended utility. Other elastomers are, of course, included and other polymers as well. Each ID seal 14 is disposed at body 12 such that the ID seal 14 may function as desired to seal against a radially inwardly positioned tubular (not shown) that is subsequently stabbed into the seal 10. As illustrated, the ID seals 14 may be recessed into the body 12 to provide for sufficient bonding thereto. Bonding or otherwise mounting the ID seals 14 to the body 12 may be accomplished in any suitable way known to the art.
The body 12 in the embodiment of
Referring to
Further contemplated is a method for using the inverted seal disclosed herein to reduce costs and further facilitate subsequent sealing operations. The method comprises positioning an inverted seal in a downhole location at which the inverted seal will be used. The location may be a smooth bore location or one in which there is a recess for the inverted seal. Where the inverted seal requires a recess, it is normally run in with the tubing string in which it is to be positioned.
This may also be the case with an inverted seal where there is no recess but it is contemplated that the inverted seal that does not require a recess could also be run into position after the tubing string in which it will be used is already in place. The inverted seal will be used in this condition to seal against a further tubular that is run radially inwardly of the inverted seal. This may be for a fracking operation or other operations as desired. Subsequent to the operation, the disintegrable material will be disintegrated (the whole body 12 or a portion thereof) either due to the time it has been in the borehole or due to the application of another fluid to cause its disintegration, for example. Following disintegration, the inverted seal 12 or 112 will be no impediment to running a conventional seal whose sealing elements are on an outside dimension surface. Those seals will then seal against the surface 18 or 118 anywhere along that surface including further downhole of the location of the inverted seal. It is also contemplated that the surface 112b in
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.
