This application claims priority to International Application Number PCT/US2019/029993 filed on Apr. 30, 2019, entitled “HYDRAULIC LINE CONTROLLED DEVICE WITH DENSITY BARRIER,” which application is commonly assigned with this application and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Operations performed and equipment utilized in conjunction with a subterranean production well often require one or more hydraulic line controlled devices such as surface-controlled subsurface safety valves (SCSSVs), lubricator valves (LVs), circulating valves, completion isolation valves and the such.
Migration of hydrocarbons up the hydraulic control line presents multiple challenges once the hydrocarbons reach the wellhead. Controlling the hydrocarbons and proving the well has a barrier to prevent the hydrocarbons from relieving into the environment is one issue. Another residual issue is hydrate formation at the wellhead which prevents future use of the hydraulic control line device.
What is needed in the art are one or more hydraulic line controlled devices, and methods for use thereof, that do not experience the hydrocarbon migration issues of existing devices.
Reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the drawings and descriptions that follow, like parts are typically marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawn figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features of the disclosure may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form and some details of certain elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness. The present disclosure may be implemented in embodiments of different forms. Specific embodiments are described in detail and are shown in the drawings, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure, and is not intended to limit the disclosure to that illustrated and described herein. It is to be fully recognized that the different teachings of the embodiments discussed herein may be employed separately or in any suitable combination to produce desired results.
Unless otherwise specified, use of the terms “connect,” “engage,” “couple,” “attach,” or any other like term describing an interaction between elements is not meant to limit the interaction to direct interaction between the elements and may also include indirect interaction between the elements described.
Unless otherwise specified, use of the terms “up,” “upper,” “upward,” “uphole,” “upstream,” or other like terms shall be construed as generally toward the surface of the formation; likewise, use of the terms “down,” “lower,” “downward,” “downhole,” or other like terms shall be construed as generally toward the bottom, terminal end of a well, regardless of the wellbore orientation. Use of any one or more of the foregoing terms shall not be construed as denoting positions along a perfectly vertical axis. Unless otherwise specified, use of the term “subterranean formation” shall be construed as encompassing both areas below exposed earth and areas below earth covered by water such as ocean or fresh water.
The description and drawings included herein merely illustrate the principles of the disclosure. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are included within its scope.
The hydraulic line controlled device 130 may be interconnected in conduit 150 and positioned in well 160. Although the well 160 is depicted in
Referring to
The hydraulic line controlled device 200 illustrated in
The hydraulic line controlled device 200 may be disposed in a wellbore as part of a wellbore completion string. The wellbore may penetrate an oil and gas bearing subterranean formation such that oil and gas within the subterranean formation may be produced. A region 245 directly below the hydraulic line controlled device 200 may be exposed to formation fluids and pressure by being in fluid communication with fluids present in the wellbore. Region 245 may be part of a production tubing string disposed of in the wellbore, for example. A valve closure mechanism 250 positioned proximate a distal end 242 (e.g., a downhole end) of the flow tube 240 may isolate region 245 from the flow tube 240, which may prevent formation fluids and pressure from flowing into flow tube 240 and thus uphole toward the surface, when valve closure mechanism 250 is in a closed state. Valve closure mechanism 250 may be any type of valve, such as a flapper type valve or a ball type valve, among others.
When the hydraulic line controlled device 200 is in the first closed state, differential pressure across valve closure mechanism 250 will prevent wellbore fluids from flowing from region 245 into flow tube 240. In order to move the valve closure mechanism 250 into an open state, the pressure across the valve closure mechanism 250 should be substantially equalized. Equalizing device 260 may be used to equalize the pressure across both sides of the valve closure mechanism 250.
The actuator 220, in the embodiment shown, is coupled to a control line 270 for actuation thereof. The control line 270 delivers a control fluid from the surface of the wellbore to the fluid chamber 230, via a control line port 237, to control the pistons 225 and move the flow tube 240 between the opened and closed positions. The control fluid can be a fluid that is typically used to control devices in wellbores, such as a water-based or hydraulic based fluid. In one example, the control line 270 is a hydraulic line and the control fluid is a hydraulic fluid.
The fluid chamber 230 includes seals or gaskets 275 that can fail and create a fluid leakage path or paths allowing hydrocarbons (e.g., a formation fluid or gas) to enter the control line 270 from, for example, the flow tube 240, and travel to the surface. While the seals or gaskets 275 are illustrated as the leakage path in the embodiment of
To prevent the leakage fluid from travelling to the surface via the control line 270, the disclosure advantageously provides a density barrier 280 that is positioned below the fluid leakage path to prevent migration of the leakage fluid from the one or more leakage paths to the surface installation. The density barrier 280 can protect from uncontrolled migration of the leakage fluids via the control line 270 to the surface due to failures of the seals or gaskets, such as from wear and tear or simply faulty construction, or other leakage paths. The density barrier 280, in the embodiment shown, includes a first end coupled to the control line port 237 and a second end coupled to the control line 270 extending from the surface. The density barrier 280, in this embodiment, further includes an axial loop 283 relative to the actuator 220 and a circumferential loop 285 relative to the actuator 220. As noted above, density barriers as disclosed herein are not limited to a SCSSV as shown in
Referring next to
In the illustrated embodiment, a fluid flow control element depicted as check valve 325 is received within support assembly 320 and is secured therein with a retainer assembly. Check valve 325 is designed to allow fluid flow in the down direction of
In accordance with the principles of the present disclosure, a density barrier 340 is positioned between the other end of the check valve 325 and a control line port 335, as well as below the one or more fluid leakage paths 337 in the hydraulic line controlled device 310. Only a single fluid leakage path 337 has been illustrated in
Referring next to
Referring next to
If one or more fluid leakage paths (e.g., hydrocarbon leakage paths) exist between the hydraulic line controlled device and the wellbore, a portion of the hydrocarbons may replace leaked control fluid. The density barrier disclosed herein, however, provides an omnidirectional low density fluid trap due to its integrated axial and circumferential loops. For example, in a vertical installation, the control fluid in the axial loop of the density barrier is not displaced by the lower density formation fluid entering the fluid leakage path. Accordingly, the formation fluid is disallowed from migrating to the check valve and therefore to the control line in a vertical installation of a downhole hydraulic line controlled device. For example, in a horizontal installation, the control fluid in the circumferential loop of the density barrier is not displaced by the lower density formation fluid entering the fluid leakage path. Accordingly, the formation fluid is disallowed from migrating to the check valve and therefore to the control line in a horizontal installation of a downhole hydraulic line controlled device. As long as the circumferential loop extends at least 180 degrees around the mandrel, this remains true regardless of the circumferential orientation of the mandrel with respect to the well. Accordingly, the formation fluid is disallowed from migrating to the check valve and therefore to the control line in a horizontal installation of a downhole hydraulic line controlled device as disclosed herein. In any other directional orientation of the well between vertical and the horizontal, both the axial loop and the circumferential loop of the density barrier retain at least some of the control fluid which is not displaced by any lower density formation fluid entering the leakage path. Accordingly, in any such directional orientation, the formation fluid is disallowed from migrating to the check valve and therefore to the control line by the density barrier of the downhole hydraulic line controlled device.
Aspects disclosed herein include:
A. A downhole completion device for use in a wellbore. The downhole completion device includes a hydraulic line controlled device, the hydraulic line controlled device having a control line port and one or more fluid leakage paths; and a density barrier having first and second ends, wherein the first end is coupled to the control line port and the second end is configured to couple to a control line extending from a surface installation, the density barrier having an axial loop relative to the hydraulic line controlled device and positioned below the one or more fluid leakage paths, thereby preventing migration of leakage fluid from the one or more fluid leakage paths to the surface installation.
B. A subterranean production well. The subterranean production well includes: a surface installation; a wellbore extending into a subterranean formation below the surface installation; a conduit positioned within the wellbore and extending into the subterranean formation; a control line having an uphole end and a downhole end, the control line extending from the surface installation into the subterranean formation substantially along the conduit; and a downhole completion device coupled to the conduit, the downhole completion device including 1) a hydraulic line controlled device, the hydraulic line controlled device having a control line port and one or more fluid leakage paths, and 2) a density barrier having first and second ends, wherein the first end is coupled to the control line port and the second end is coupled to the downhole end of the control line, the density barrier having an axial loop relative to the hydraulic line controlled device and positioned below the one or more fluid leakage paths, thereby preventing migration of leakage fluid from the one or more fluid leakage paths up the control line and to the surface installation.
Aspects A and B may have one or more of the following additional elements in combination: Element 1: wherein the density barrier further includes a circumferential loop relative to the hydraulic line controlled device, the axial loop and the circumferential loop preventing migration of leakage fluid from the one or more fluid leakage paths to the surface installation regardless of a directional orientation of the hydraulic line controlled device. Element 2: wherein the axial loop and the circumferential loop form an omnidirectional low density fluid trap. Element 3: wherein the circumferential loop further comprises a single circumferentially extending tubing section. Element 4: wherein the circumferentially extending tubing section extends at least 180 degree around the hydraulic line controlled device. Element 5: wherein the circumferential loop further comprises a pair of circumferentially extending tubing sections. Element 6: wherein each of the circumferentially extending tubing sections extends at least 180 degree around the hydraulic line controlled device. Element 7: wherein at least a portion of the circumferential loop further comprises a tubing section that does not extend exclusively in the circumferential direction. Element 8: wherein at least a portion of the axial loop further comprises a tubing section that does not extend exclusively in the axial direction. Element 9: wherein the axial loop further comprises a pair of axially extending tubing sections. Element 10: wherein the leakage fluid is at least one of a liquid and a gas having a density that is lower than the density of a control fluid in the control line. Element 11: further including a check valve supported by the hydraulic line controlled device, the check valve oriented such that it is configured to be in downstream fluid communication with the control line extending from the surface installation.
Those skilled in the art to which this application relates will appreciate that other and further additions, deletions, substitutions and modifications may be made to the described embodiments.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20200347697 A1 | Nov 2020 | US |