Patent Application
20100132958
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates in general to well construction, completion, remediation, and intervention methods and systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to well intervention methods, systems and apparatus such as open-hole clads, sidetracking, cased-hole patches, and the like, especially those applications in which the pre-expanded launchers of standard, bottom-up hydraulic systems cannot pass through wellbore restrictions.
2. Background Art
Current practice for well construction, completion, remediation and other well interventions in openhole and cased-hole use “bottom-up”, radially expandable tubulars, as exemplified by Weatherford's openhole and cased-hole solid-expandable systems known under the trade designation MetalSkin®, and featured in their brochure entitled “MetalSkin® Solid Open and Cased Hole Expandable Systems for Open and Cased Hole” (2007). These systems are advertised as being designed with running clearance in mind to avoid equivalent-circulation-density problems and differential sticking. The Weatherford systems include retrievable collapsible/expandable cones for contingent recovery, metal-to-metal expandable connectors, and elastomeric sealing elements. Also, each system includes a hydraulically assisted backup expansion system, which provides an operational contingency. The systems use a positive seal with a circulation valve for more-reliable pressure containment than conventional dart seals. These systems are advertised to provide single-trip efficiency, and four distinct solutions have been developed: openhole-clad, openhole-liner, cased-hole-liner system, and monobore system. The monobore system is advertised as an openhole liner system that can extend casing and maintain drift of the expanded casing, where “drift” is assumed to mean the drift diameter, which is the inside diameter that the pipe manufacturer guarantees per specifications. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,363,984 and 7,172,025 disclose similar bottom-up expandable tubulars, systems, and methods. Published U.S. patent applications 2007/0151360 and 2008/0257542 disclose metallurgical and other properties of expandable metal tubulars.
Many pre-expanded launchers of standard, bottom-up hydraulic systems cannot pass through wellbore restrictions, do not provide adequate expansion ratio, and/or do not provide adequate bend radius for interventions in curved and lateral wellbores. It would be advantageous if well intervention systems, methods and apparatus were available that allow expansion of tubulars with acceptable expansion ratio and bend radius, as well as allow the launcher and other system components to be retrieved easily from the wellbore should a problem develop downhole. The systems, methods and apparatus of the present disclosure are directed to these needs.
In accordance with the present disclosure, wellbore intervention systems, methods, and apparatus have been developed which reduce or overcome many of the faults of previously known systems, methods and apparatus.
A first aspect of the disclosure is an apparatus for radially expanding a tubular member, the apparatus comprising:
In certain embodiments, apparatus of this disclosure comprise a flow valve fluidly connected to the forward end of the support member, providing the ability for circulation during RIH. After deploying to a desired location in the wellbore, the flow rate may be increased to a level higher than circulation flow rate and then reduced to zero for permanent valve closure thus sealing the tool. If circulation is not possible or undesirable, the valve may be replaced with an end cap. In certain embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a fluid filter fluidly connected to the support member and positioned at the forward end of the support member, preventing large mud particles from reaching the tool seals and inner mechanisms. In certain embodiments the valve attached to the forward end of the expandable tubular assists tool run-in and prevents packing of the expandable tubular with debris. It may also be used to divert flow of drilling fluid around the borehole, thus cleaning and carrying debris through the annulus to surface.
Another aspect of this disclosure are systems for radially expanding tubular members, the systems comprising an apparatus of this disclosure secured to a deployment component such as a coiled tubing (CT) or jointed drill pipe (DP). In an embodiment of this aspect, the invention is directed to a tubular member radial expansion system comprising:
Another aspect of the disclosure are methods of radially expanding tubular members, the method comprising:
Well intervention operations may proceed via coiled tubing or drill pipe, provided the surface arrangement includes a hydraulic workover unit. The method may be used for interventions such as, but not limited to, open-hole clads, sidetracking, and cased-hole patches.
The systems, methods and apparatus described herein may provide other benefits, and the methods for well intervention are not limited to the methods noted; other methods may be employed.
As used herein the term “expandable tubular” refers to metallic tubulars having the metallurgical compositions and physical properties described more fully herein.
These and other features of the systems, methods, and apparatus of the disclosure will become more apparent upon review of the brief description of the drawings, the detailed description, and the claims that follow.
The manner in which the objectives of this disclosure and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and attached drawings in which:
It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings are not to scale and illustrate only typical embodiments of this disclosure, and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments. Identical reference numerals are used throughout the several views for like or similar elements.
In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the disclosed methods and apparatus. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the methods and apparatus may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible.
All phrases, derivations, collocations and multiword expressions used herein, in particular in the claims that follow, are expressly not limited to nouns and verbs. It is apparent that meanings are not just expressed by nouns and verbs or single words. Languages use a variety of ways to express content. The existence of inventive concepts and the ways in which these are expressed varies in language-cultures. For example, many lexicalized compounds in Germanic languages are often expressed as adjective-noun combinations, noun-preposition-noun combinations or derivations in Romantic languages. The possibility to include phrases, derivations and collocations in the claims is essential for high-quality patents, making it possible to reduce expressions to their conceptual content, and all possible conceptual combinations of words that are compatible with such content (either within a language or across languages) are intended to be included in the used phrases.
As noted above, wellbore intervention systems, methods and apparatus involving radially expandable tubulars have been developed which reduce or overcome many of the faults of previously known systems and methods.
The primary features of the systems, methods and apparatus of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to
As used herein, the term “expandable tubular” means metallic tubulars having the metallurgy such as detailed in Table 1, from United States published patent application number 2008/0257542, published Oct. 23, 2008, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Note that the term “liner” is sometimes used herein, and those of skill in this art will understand this term is shorthand for “expandable tubular.” As reported in the '542 application, in one embodiment, a sample of an expandable tubular member composed of steel Alloy A exhibited a yield point before radial expansion and plastic deformation YPBE, of about 16%, and a yield point after radial expansion and plastic deformation, YPAE, of about 24%. Further, the ductility of the sample of the expandable tubular member composed of Alloy A also exhibited a higher ductility prior to radial expansion and plastic deformation than after radial expansion and plastic deformation. Many other physical properties of steel Alloys A, B, C, and D, such as tensile strength before and after expansion, anisotropy, strain hardening exponent, carbon equivalent value, and the like, are disclosed in great detail in the '542 published application.
The collection of components other than expandable tubular 2 and conveyance member 6 are sometimes simply referred to herein as an expansion tool, or simply a tool. It is also noted that apparatus and systems within the disclosure may be described as modular in nature.
In operation of embodiment 100 of
As illustrated in
As further illustrated in
In addition, as shown in
As shown in
During tool deployment, valve 22 is in the first open position as illustrated in the embodiment of
In an embodiment as illustrated in
In the embodiment as illustrated in
In an embodiment, bias member 48 is selected to generate a minimal force sufficient for the longitudinal displacement of piston 51 in outer body 41. Thus, the displacement of piston 51 to the third position occurs only during very low pressure drop in flow restriction member 55, and, therefore, valve 22 closure takes place at near zero fluid flow rates, practically eliminating the pressure surge.
Certain embodiments of systems, methods and apparatus of this disclosure allow installation and expansion of 3½ inch (8.9 cm)-OD expandable tubular 2 into an open hole through a 4½ inch (11.4 cm)-OD base casing. The following paragraphs discuss procedures for tubular/tool system make-up, deployment, tubular expansion, and system retrieval, and additionally discuss system performance and specifications along with contingency mitigation procedures.
Systems of this disclosure may be used in many applications, especially those in which the pre-expanded launchers of standard, bottom-up hydraulic systems cannot pass through wellbore restrictions. Possible applications include open-hole clads, sidetracking, cased-hole patches, and the like.
Systems of this disclosure, including the expansion tool and expandable tubular, can be deployed downhole either on drill pipe (DP) or on coiled tubing (CT), through which the operational fluid (mud) is transmitted to the tool. The tool is positioned above the expandable tubular, and expansion takes place in top-down mode. Thus, if necessary, during the expansion process, the tool can be disconnected from the tubular, retrieved, repaired or replaced with a spare tool, and redeployed in the well.
One complete expansion process cycle comprises, as its primary steps, an expansion step or stroke, where the expansion member moves axially to radially expand the expandable tubular, and a resetting stroke, where one or both anchors is moved axially within the pre-expanded expandable tubular, except in the last few strokes, where the rear anchor moves axially within an expanded section of expandable tubular. Each expansion stroke involves the application of pressure to the tool and release of pressure at the end of the stroke. Each resetting stroke involves lowering the tool through the DP or CT. System operating specifications may be as shown in Table 2, while Table 3 provides some emergency pressure levels and related events.
Referring to
Still referring to
The cladding of expandable tubular 2 occurs within the first expansion stroke right below the window's lower edge.
e=distance between bottom of window to end of shale
a=distance between bottom of window to expansion member 14
R=downhole rathole
L=pre-expanded tubular length
s=extra tubular length below bottom of shale
r=installed rathole
t=distance between expansion member 14 and drill pipe connection
α=Exit angle at bottom of shale
w=Window length.
After the distance “e” is determined, Table 4 is used to determine the downhole rathole length “R” needed after the shale is exited. “L” corresponds to the total length of expandable tubular (liner) before expansion. During drilling of the bend, once shale is exited, drilling must continue until a rathole “R” is completed.
An operational procedure for making up the embodiment illustrated in
The make-up may proceed as follows. Lift the 46-foot (14 m)-long tool out of protective shroud, remove the pin thread protector on tubular. Position the lower end of the tool above the box of the tubular inserted in well. Lower expansion tool and complete the following checks: (1) check for damage or wear on the welded strips on pipe next to the expansion member; (2) check the distance of exposed shaft between the rear anchor and drive unit (this should be no more than ½ in (1.3 cm)); (3) check if rear shear screw is fully screwed into rear anchor; (4) check if all rear anchor bows are in place and with two socket screws fully screwed per bow; (5) check if rear anchor pads are retracted.
Once the above checks are completed, clamp the expansion tool fluid filter above the rear anchor and rest the tool with liner (expandable tubular) on the well. The maximum weight of the hanging equipment at this point should be no more than 7,000 lbf (31 kilonewtons). Remove lift hook and unscrew lifting sub and eye bolt from the tool. Connect pin connector of next string to the tool's 2⅜ inch (6 cm) P.A.C. box (a type of thread used on thru-tubing tools). Different crossovers may have to be procured depending on what DP is used. Apply the recommended torque.
Deployment for embodiments having an end cap (and no flow valve) is similar. The DP or CT is lowered. The tool string is set so that the expansion member (cone) is a distance of about 5 ft (1.5 m) below the bottom of the window (see
Expansion of the expandable tubular or liner may proceed according to the following non-limiting procedure, as illustrated in
Retrieval of the expansion tool may proceed according to the following non-limiting procedure. After completing expansion, pull the DP or CT all the way out through the expanded pipe, open hole and production casing. The load to pop the expansion member off the mouth of the expanded liner should be no greater than 13,000-15,000 lbf (56-65 knewtons). This should be seen as an equivalent increase in the weight indicator. In case the pull out load at any point increases by as much as 30,000 lbf (133 knewtons), stop pulling, increase pressure to 4,500 psi (31 MPa) to shear the rear anchor for permanent closure. Continue pulling the string out. Clamp the tool on well head through the fluid filter. Disconnect DP or CT pin connection from the expansion tool. Install lifting sub with eye bolt on tool and retrieve from hole. Insert tool on its respective shroud still in the rat hole. Tie the eye bolt on the tool to collars on the shroud. Lift tool shroud and load back into truck for take back.
The risk assessment table, Table 5, contains a non-limiting list of 14 possible scenarios that could decrease the degree of success of a specific expansion job in different degrees. The legend used to quantify each risk was as follows:
Likelihood, L: Probability of risk to occur
1=Improbable
2=Unlikely
3=Possible
4=Likely
5=Probable
Severity, S: Impact of risk on Job economics and HSE
1=Low: Loss of a few thousand dollars or a few hours, no HSE risk
2=Med-Low: Loss of a few tens of thousands of dollars or tens of hours, minimal HSE risk
3=Medium: Loss of 10% of well cost or several days, medium HSE risk
4=Med-high: Loss of 50% of well cost or several weeks, major HSE risk
5=High: Total scrap of well, HSE fatality.
Exposure, E: L×S, ranges from 1 to 25, with 1 being a “good” result and 25 a “bad” result.
In embodiments where expansion cannot be completed, the semi-expanded liner would have to be fished out of the well. A fishing mechanism could engage either on the pre- or post-expanded ID of the expandable tubular. In one embodiment their dimensions are as follows:
Pre-expanded tubular dimensions: ID: 2.992 inch (7.599 cm),
OD: 3.510 inch (8.915 cm)
Post-expanded tubular dimensions: ID: 3.81 inch (9.68 cm),
OD: 4.27 inch (10.8 cm).
Due to the tandem open hole anchors (not illustrated) that fix the casing to the formation during the first stroke, in this example the semi-expanded casing would need a maximum of 70,000 lbf (311 knewtons) of pull to start sliding the liner out of hole.
A fishing tool that might be used in the above example if the expansion tool is lost in the well is illustrated in cross-section in
The skilled operator or designer will determine which system, method, and apparatus within this disclosure is best suited for a particular well and formation to achieve the highest efficiency, safety, and environmentally sound well intervention without undue experimentation.
RIH with 408 feet of un-expanded 3.5 inch liner, through maximum Dog Leg Severity (DLS) of 37°/100 feet. Tool expanded 46 inches of liner, but not all of the liner; however, it was learned that the tool did not fail, pressure readings at the surface could readily be understood, and the upper anchor sub-system needed to be improved as described hereinafter. The un-expanded liner was successfully fished, and the well-bore was saved.
Applied lessons learned from Example Trial 1. Reconfigured the piston system within the expansion tool to stroke to 48 inches. Added a third cladding to increase support for upper (rear) anchor (see
Lessons learned: fluid used for the expansion process (mud), while not necessary to be ultra-pure, cannot comprise any large-scale debris, cedar fibers or other similar solids that may be retained by the filter or other system components and cause pressure to increase severely.
From the foregoing detailed description of specific embodiments, it should be apparent that patentable methods, systems and apparatus have been described. Although specific embodiments of the disclosure have been described herein in some detail, this has been done solely for the purposes of describing various features and aspects of the methods, systems and apparatus, and is not intended to be limiting with respect to the scope of the methods, systems and apparatus. It is contemplated that various substitutions, alterations, and/or modifications, including but not limited to those implementation variations which may have been suggested herein, may be made to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims domestic priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 from applicants' provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/119,227, filed Dec. 2, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61119227 | Dec 2008 | US |
