Patent Application
20190337777
The disclosed subject matter relates generally to well or wire access lines and, more particularly, to a drum assembly for storing and deploying a well access line, wherein the drum assembly is configurable to accommodate various diameter wire access lines.
Drilling, completing and producing hydrocarbon and other wells are generally complicated and expensive operations. Accordingly, monitoring the condition of the well and performing routine maintenance on the well are useful to maintain its proper health so as to extend the useful life of, and production from, the well.
Such monitoring and maintenance of the well is generally provided by a well or wire access line stored on and deployed from a drum assembly positioned adjacent the wellbore. The well or wire access line may take on any of a variety of forms, such as a coiled tubing line capable of delivering a fluid there through and into the wellbore, a wireline configured to deliver a well tool downhole into the well, etc. Moreover, the well access line may come in a variety of diameters.
In some environments, the well may extend to a very significant depth. Accordingly, for the well access line to extend to a desired depth within the well, it may need to be a substantial length, such as several thousand feet in length, and thus will have a very substantial weight. Given the substantial length and weight of some well access lines that are stored on the drum assembly, it should be appreciated that the well access line may exhibit substantial forces on the drum assembly, which can lead to undesirable deformation or even crushing of the drum. Moreover, the weight and resulting tension of the well access line may exhibit substantial and undesirable forces on the well access line itself. For example, as the well access line is wound onto the drum assembly substantially filling one level of the drum, the process continues by winding the next section of well access line on top of the previous course of well access line. The inner courses of the well access line are subject to substantial forces exerted by the overlying courses and the weight of the well access line extending into the well.
During a conventional wireline procedure, several thousand feet of well access line may be provided to the oilfield wrapped about the drum assembly. Conventionally, a wireline procedure begins with a logging tool being coupled to the well access line and lowered into the well by controllably rotating the drum assembly. With the tool positioned downhole, the wireline is then pulled uphole by a reverse rotation of the drum assembly as the logging application proceeds, recording information relative to the well and surrounding formation. In this manner, a log revealing an overall profile of the well may be established, with measurements being recorded continuously as a function of depth in the well.
Similarly, during a coiled tubing procedure, several thousand feet of coiled tubing may be provided to the oilfield by way of the drum assembly. The coiled tubing may be delivered into the well to perform an operation within the well. For example, the coiled tubing may be employed in a clean out operation. That is, the coiled tubing may be equipped with a spray tool and directed to an area of accumulated debris within the well. In this manner, a fluid may be pumped through the coiled tubing to clean out the debris within the well. The coiled tubing may then be pulled uphole and out of the well for subsequent well operations.
During these types of procedures, the drum assembly can be subjected to a significant amount of strain and tension from the load placed thereon by the well access line. For example, withdrawing the well access line from the well places a significant amount of stress on the drum assembly and the well access line itself. That is, tension is exerted on the drum assembly as a result of the weight of the line and any tools disposed thereon. Additional tension is also exerted on the drum as a result of the friction of the line and the tool being dragged up against the interior surface of the wellbore. Furthermore, there may be a significant amount of fluid resistance to the tool being removed, especially if the rate of removal is relatively high. The cumulative effects of such tension may lead to undesirable deformation or even crushing of the drum assembly or the well access line itself that is wound about the drum assembly.
Furthermore, the frequency of drum replacement for well access operations has risen sharply in the last several years and is likely to continue rising. This may be at least partially due to the types of wells that are becoming more and more common. That is, in today's hydrocarbon recovery industry, highly deviated and tortuous wells are becoming more and more common along with deeper and deeper wells. As a result, the tension of the well access line on the drum is increased due to the added amount of friction and fluid resistance that accompany such wells as well as the added weight of the longer well access line. These rising forces associated with modern wells have dramatically reduced the life expectancy of a conventional drum assembly as well as the well access line itself, and thus, have significantly increased operating costs.
The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosed subject matter in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed subject matter. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the disclosed subject matter. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosed subject matter or to delineate the scope of the disclosed subject matter. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed later.
One aspect of the disclosed subject matter is seen in a wire access line drum assembly, comprising a tubular drum and an insert positionable therein to accommodate wire access lines of varying diameter. The tubular drum has a first and a second end and an inner and outer surface. The insert is positionable within the tubular drum adjacent the first end of the tubular drum and having a curved channel formed therein extending between the inner and outer surfaces of the tubular drum. The insert has a ramp substantially coinciding with the outer surface of the drum at a first end portion and extending above the outer surface of the drum at a second end portion adjacent the curved channel.
The disclosed subject matter will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements, and:
While the disclosed subject matter is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the disclosed subject matter to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter as defined by the appended claims.
One or more specific embodiments of the disclosed subject matter will be described below. It is specifically intended that the disclosed subject matter not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions may be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but may nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. Nothing in this application is considered critical or essential to the disclosed subject matter unless explicitly indicated as being “critical” or “essential.”
The disclosed subject matter will now be described with reference to the attached FIGS. Various structures, systems and devices are schematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation only and so as to not obscure the disclosed subject matter with details that are well known to those skilled in the art. Nevertheless, the attached drawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples of the disclosed subject matter. The words and phrases used herein should be understood and interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the understanding of those words and phrases by those skilled in the relevant art. No special definition of a term or phrase, i.e., a definition that is different from the ordinary and customary meaning as understood by those skilled in the art, is intended to be implied by consistent usage of the term or phrase herein. To the extent that a term or phrase is intended to have a special meaning, i.e., a meaning other than that understood by skilled artisans, such a special definition will be expressly set forth in the specification in a definitional manner that directly and unequivocally provides the special definition for the term or phrase.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numbers correspond to similar components throughout the several views and, specifically, referring to
In one embodiment, the vehicle 100 may take the form of a truck having a cab portion 110 and a bed potion 115. The cab portion 110 may be of a conventional configuration with an operator compartment arranged with various controls to effect steering, acceleration, deceleration and the like so that the vehicle 100 may be driven or otherwise transported from one job site to another, and positioned adjacent a wellbore 120. The bed portion 115 may include one or more drum assemblies 125 with a well access line 130 located thereon. The well access line 130 may take any of a variety of forms, such as a coiled tubing line, a wireline, and the like.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drum assembly 125 may be alternately, controllably rotated in both forward and reverse directions to allow the well access line 130 to be lowered into or removed from the wellbore 120. Rotation of the drum assembly 125 may be accomplished by a conventional system that may include a motor and transmission (not shown) that may be separate from or associated with a primary motor and transmission that may also be used to move the vehicle 100.
In some embodiments, it may be useful for the bed portion 115 to also include a conventional mast assembly 135 and pulley 140 that may be controllably extended or retracted to orient the well access line 130 relative to the wellbore 120. After the mast assembly 135 has been moved to its desired location, then the well access line 130 with a tool 140 attached thereto may be lowered into or withdrawn from the wellbore 120 by rotating the drum assembly 125 in the appropriate direction.
Turning now to
In the illustrated embodiment, the shaft 215 extends beyond the end portions 205, 210 and may be captured within bearings and a fixed mounting (not shown) on the bed portion 115 of the truck so that the drum assembly 125 is relatively fixed against longitudinal or lateral movement, but remains free for rotational movement. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least one of the end portions 205, 210 may be coupled to a conventional drive mechanism (not shown) suitable for controllably rotating the drum assembly 125 in forward and reverse directions. For example, as shown in
Turning now to
The interior and exterior plates 300, 305 are configured with a central bore having a diameter substantially similar to the inner diameter of the tubular drum 200 and sufficiently large to allow the shaft 215 to pass there through. The shaft 215 has a central region 322 and two substantially similar end portions 323, 324. The end portions 323, 324 have a reduced diameter, as compared to the central region 322, and thus a shoulder 325 is formed on the shaft 215. The endcap 310 also has a central bore passing there through, but it has a slightly smaller diameter that is less than the total outer diameter of the shaft 215 such that the shoulder 325 engages the end cap 310. The shoulder 325 has a plurality of threaded boreholes 330 extending longitudinally therein. The interior and exterior plates 300, 305 and the end cap 310 have matching boreholes 320 that allow properly sized bolts to be passed there through and into the threaded boreholes 315 to securely couple the interior plate 300, exterior plate 305, and end cap 310 to the drum 200. The end cap 310 also has boreholes 335 that substantially align with the threaded boreholes 330 in the shoulder 325 of the shaft 315. Properly sized bolts 321 may be passed through the boreholes 335 and into the threaded boreholes 330 to securely couple the end cap 310 to the shaft 215 and positively retain the shaft 215 within the drum assembly 125. In some embodiments, it may be useful to include an alignment pin 326 between the interior and exterior plates 300, 305 to assist in aligning the plates 300, 305 during assembly. Likewise, an alignment pin 327 may extend between at least the exterior plate 305 and the end cap 310 to assist in aligning the exterior plate 305 with the end cap during assembly.
Turning now to
The outer diameter of the central region 322 of the shaft 215 is selected to be substantially similar to the inner diameter of the drum 200 so that the outer surface of the central region 322 is closely spaced to the inner surface of the drum 200. This close spacing between the shaft 215 and the drum 200 allows the shaft 215 to provide additional support to prevent the drum 200 from deforming or being crushed during operation in high-stress conditions. This additional support substantially increases the useful life of the drum assembly 125, such that the operating cost of the well access line 130 is greatly reduced.
In an alternative embodiment of the shaft 215, the central region 322 may have a tubular cross section with a plurality of longitudinal slots 400. The radial depth of the longitudinal slots 400 may be selected such that the slots 400 extend partially into or totally through the tubular wall so as to form a cage like structure.
In the illustrated embodiment, the end portions 323, 324 are substantially similar in configuration and have a first and second region 405, 410 each with slightly smaller diameters. It is envisioned that the end portions 323, 324 may be constructed of multiple regions, each having a different diameter, or a single region having a single diameter. In one embodiment, the end portions 323, 324 are integrally formed with the central region 322. In other embodiments, it is envisioned that the end portions 323, 324 may be formed separately and mechanically coupled to the central region 322 by any of a variety of mechanisms, such as by welding, screws, rivets, press fitting, threaded connection, and the like.
The shaft 215 may also include a passageway 412 through which the wire access line 130 may pass. The passageway 412 may extend through a first longitudinal end portion 415 and then radially outward to a port 420 on an outer surface of the central region 322. The port 420 may be generally aligned with an opening 425 extending through the drum 200 adjacent a first end portion of the drum 200, as is shown in
The opening 425 shown in
Turning now to
The insert 435 includes a curved region 450 that forms an opening between the inner and outer surfaces of the drum 200 and guides the wire access line 130 from inside the drum 200 onto the surface of the drum 200. The curved region 450 includes a radius that is no less than the minimum desired bending radius of the wire access line 130.
Turning now to
The curved region 450 of the insert 435 cooperates with a curved surface 455 formed in the drum 200 to produce a curved channel 460 that is used to guide the wire access line 130 from the top surface of the drum 200 to the inside of the drum 200 and into the port 420 formed in the central region 322 of the shaft 215. The radius of the bend formed in the wire access line 130 may be limited by the curved channel 460 to prevent damage to the wire access line 130 by excessive bending.
Turning now to
Each of the end plates 600 includes a plurality of bore holes that align with the threaded bore holes in the drums 615, 620 such that each of the end plates 600 may be bolted to one end of its associated drum 615, 620. The end plates 600 may then each be bolted to the center connector 610 via a set of corresponding bore holes in the end plates 600 and threaded bore holes in the center connector 610 so as to rigidly interconnect the drums 615, 620 and the divider element 510. The end portions 205, 210 may be coupled to the opposite ends of the drums 615, 620 in like manner to the end portions 205, 210 discussed in connection with the embodiment of
Turning now to
As seen in
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some applications it may be useful to pass electrical signals from the wireline 130 to recording or other electronic equipment (not shown) via a conventional slip ring arrangement (not shown) that may be coupled to the cover 775 of the junction box 750. The slip ring arrangement may be coupled or otherwise bolted to the cover 775 of the junction box 750 and an opening 780 in the cover 775 may be used to pass the wireline 130 to the slip ring arrangement. In some embodiments, various seals between the junction box 750 and the shaft 215, between the junction box 750 and the cover 775, and between the slip ring arrangement and the cover 775 may be useful to reduce the likelihood of water intrusion into the junction box 750.
The construction of the drum assembly 125 is sufficiently strong to allow the well access line 130 to be stored thereon long term. Turning now to
In one embodiment of the storage system 800, it may be useful to be able to select and remove a container 805 from the storage system 800 and place the container 805 directly onto a vehicle, trailer, skid, etc. for transportation to a well site. A lift truck may be used to select and move the container 805 from the storage system 800 to the vehicle, trailer skid, etc. Accordingly, each of the containers 805 may be configured to include one or more openings 825 in the floor 810 that are of sufficient size and spacing to allow the forks of the lift truck to be inserted therein so that one or more individual containers 805 may be transported from the storage system 800 to its desired location.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that well access lines 130 of various type, length, diameter, etc. may be stored on the drum assemblies 125 in the storage system 800. Thus, an operator of the storage system 800 may quickly identify the desired type and size of wire access line 130 within the storage system 800, and then move the selected container to the vehicle, trailer skid, etc. for prompt transport to the well site. In this manner, each type and size of well access lines 130 may be stored in an organized manner, and yet remain available for quick and easy location and transportation to a work site.
The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the disclosed subject matter may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the disclosed subject matter. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.
