The present application is a U.S. National Stage patent application of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2013/040539, filed on May 10, 2013, the benefit of which is claimed and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to completing and producing oil and gas wells, and specifically to a novel method and system for deploying a downhole screen.
2. Background Art
In the process of completing on oil or gas well, a tubular is run into the hole through which produced fluids will be communicated to the surface. Typically, this tubular includes a screen assembly that filters gravel, sand, and other particulate matter from entering the tubular.
When running this completion string into the well, the well may contain drilling mud, brine, or other fluid. Further, this fluid may be laden with rock, cutting chips, sand, and the like. Fluid tends to enter the empty tubular through the screen assembly, and such particulate can substantially plug the screen assembly by the time it has been lowered into the desired position.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a screen assembly that resists plugging during run-in-hole operations.
The invention is described in detail hereinafter on the basis of the embodiments represented in the accompanying figures, in which:
According to an embodiment, screen assembly 10 includes a sleeve 30 having the same shape type as tubular member 12, which preferably abuts but can be moved relative to tubular member 12. Sleeve 30 is shown disposed about the exterior wall surface of tubular member 12, but in an alternative arrangement (not illustrated), the tubular member could be disposed about the sleeve. Sleeve 30 includes a plurality of openings 32, which correspond to apertures 14. Sleeve 30 may have a closed lower end (not illustrated) if it is the last device in tubing string.
Screen assembly includes a mesh, screen or filter 40 disposed so as to prevent sand, sediment, gravel, and other particulate matter of predetermined size from entering into the interior 18 of tubular member 12.
A actuator 50 is operatively connected between tubular member 12 and sleeve 30 which provides for remote, interventionless actuation from the surface of screen assembly 10 to move screen 30 with respect to tubular member 12 so that openings 32 align with aperture 14 to allow fluid flow into the interior 18. In this manner, downhole screen assembly 10 can be run into a well 8 with sleeve 30 in a shut position, thereby preventing fluid flow into the screen assembly and minimizing the tendency for particulate matter to plug mesh 40. Once screen assembly 10 has been lowered to the desired position within well 8, sleeve 30 may be actuated to an open position to allow well production simply by pressurizing interior 18, as is described below with respect to
Although actuator 50 is shown in
Body lock ring 54 is axially movable about tubular member 12 within chamber 51. A first end 55 of body lock ring 54 acts as an annular piston face and is in fluid communication with the interior 18 of tubular member 12 via a conduit 60. Body lock ring 54 includes inner and outer dynamic seals 57, 58, for example grooves with seated o-rings, that seal against an outer wall section of tubular member 14 and in the inner wall of chamber 51 within housing 52, respectively, yet allow relative movement of body lock ring 54. The second end 59 of body lock ring 54 rests against a resilient member 62, such as a coiled spring, which resists an increase of pressure acting on piston face 55.
Conduit 60 also includes a check valve 64 that selectively connects the interior 18 to the exterior 16. As illustrated, check valve 64 may include a ball 65 and a seat 66, whereby the ball 65 is forced and seals against the seat 66 when the fluid pressure within the interior 18 is pressurized with respect to the pressure of the exterior 16. When the pressure gradient is reversed, ball 65 lifts off of seat 66 and allows flow. Accordingly, when screen assembly is being run into the well, as shown in
Referring now to
Preferably, body lock ring 54 includes a number of slots formed therein to provide a limited resilience to allow body lock ring to elastically deform in a radial direction. As the ‘V’ sides of ratchet teeth 56 slide against the ‘V’ sides of ratchet teeth 53 (
As illustrated, four slots are provided. Two partial slots 70A, 70B are formed halfway through body lock ring 54 at first end 55, one partial slot 71 is formed halfway through body lock ring 54 at second end 59, and one slot 72 is a full slot formed through the entire ring. However, other numbers and combinations of slots and half slots, or other materials, mechanisms, or techniques may be used as appropriate to obtain a ratcheting effect or unidirectional motion. Additionally, body lock ring 54 is described and illustrated as having a ratchet tooth profile 56 on its inner diameter to engage a ratchet tooth profile 53 on the outer diameter of sleeve portion 31, a body lock ring with ratchet teeth on its outer diameter may be used as appropriate.
Returning back to
Although screen assembly 10 is described herein predominately with respect to a single unit, multiple screen assemblies may be used within a single tubing string. Pressurizing the tubing string works to actuate every body lock ring in the string, and subsequently releasing the internal pressure opens every screen in the completion at once.
The Abstract of the disclosure is solely for providing the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the public at large with a way by which to determine quickly from a cursory reading the nature and gist of technical disclosure, and it represents solely a preferred embodiment and is not indicative of the nature of the invention as a whole. The design of screen assembly 10 as described herein also allows the screen gauge to be remotely adjusted by cycling or adjusting the internal pressure so as to clear the screen or increase production, for example.
While various embodiments have been illustrated in detail, the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown. It is apparent that modifications and adaptations of the above embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art. Such modifications and adaptations are in the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2013/040539 | 5/10/2013 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2014/182311 | 11/13/2014 | WO | A |
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Entry |
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Search Report and Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, or the Declaration; Feb. 17, 2014; 13 pages; Korean International Searching Authority, Korean Intellectual Property Office, Republic of Korea. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20160003002 A1 | Jan 2016 | US |