Not applicable.
Not applicable.
In the course of completing an oil and/or gas well, a string of protective casing can be run into the wellbore followed by production tubing inside the casing. The casing can be perforated across one or more production zones to allow production fluids to enter the casing bore. During production of the formation fluid, formation sand may be swept into the flow path. The formation sand tends to be relatively fine sand that can erode production components in the flow path. In some completions, the wellbore is uncased, and an open face is established across the oil or gas bearing zone. Such open bore hole (uncased) arrangements are typically utilized, for example, in water wells, test wells, and horizontal well completions.
When formation sand is expected to be encountered, one or more sand screens can be installed in the flow path between the production tubing and the perforated casing (cased) and/or the open well bore face (uncased). A packer is customarily set above the sand screen to seal off the annulus in the zone where production fluids flow into the production tubing. The annulus around the screen can then be packed with a relatively coarse sand (or gravel) which acts as a filter to reduce the amount of fine formation sand reaching the screen. The packing sand is pumped down the work string in a slurry of water and/or gel and fills the annulus between the sand screen and the well casing. In well installations in which the screen is suspended in an uncased open bore, the sand or gravel pack may serve to support the surrounding unconsolidated formation.
During the sand packing process, annular sand “bridges” can form around the sand screen that may prevent the complete circumscribing of the screen structure with packing sand in the completed well. This incomplete screen structure coverage by the packing sand may leave an axial portion of the sand screen exposed to the fine formation sand, thereby undesirably lowering the overall filtering efficiency of the sand screen structure.
One conventional approach to overcoming this packing sand bridging problem has been to provide each generally tubular filter section with a series of shunt tubes that longitudinally extend through the filter section, with opposite ends of each shunt tube projecting outwardly beyond the active filter portion of the filter section. In the assembled sand screen structure, the shunt tube series are axially joined to one another to form a shunt path extending along the length of the sand screen structure. The shunt path operates to permit the inflowing packing sand/gel slurry to bypass any sand bridges that may be formed and permit the slurry to enter the screen/casing annulus beneath a sand bridge, thereby forming the desired sand pack beneath it.
In an embodiment, a jumper tube for use with a shunt tube assembly comprises a first tubular member configured to engage a first shunt tube, a second tubular member axially disposed within the first tubular member, and a locking member configured to prevent the second tubular member from axially displacing into the first tubular member. The second tubular member is configured to slidingly engage within the first tubular member, and the second tubular member is configured to engage a second shunt tube.
In an embodiment, a jumper tube for use with a shunt tube assembly comprises a first tubular member configured to engage a first shunt tube; a second tubular member axially disposed within the first tubular member, and a locking member engaging the outside surface of the second tubular member. The second tubular member is configured to engage a second shunt tube.
In an embodiment, method of engaging a jumper tube to a shunt tube assembly comprises disposing a jumper tube between open ends of two shunt tubes; axially extending a second tubular member from a first tubular member to engage the open ends of the two shunt tubes; coupling at least one of the distal ends of the first tubular member and at least one of the distal ends of the second tubular member to the open ends of the two shunt tubes; and locking the second tubular member relative to the first tubular member to prevent an axially decrease in length of the jumper tube.
These and other features will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims.
For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following brief description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and detailed description:
In the drawings and description that follow, like parts are typically marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features of the invention may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
Unless otherwise specified, any use of any form of the terms “connect,” “engage,” “couple,” “attach,” or any other 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. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ”. Reference to up or down will be made for purposes of description with “up,” “upper,” “upward,” “upstream,” or “above” meaning toward the surface of the wellbore and with “down,” “lower,” “downward,” “downstream,” or “below” meaning toward the terminal end of the well, regardless of the wellbore orientation. Reference to inner or outer will be made for purposes of description with “in,” “inner,” or “inward” meaning towards the central longitudinal axis of the wellbore and/or wellbore tubular, and “out,” “outer,” or “outward” meaning towards the wellbore wall. As used herein, the term “longitudinal” or “longitudinally” refers to an axis substantially aligned with the central axis of the wellbore tubular, and “radial” or “radially” refer to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The various characteristics mentioned above, as well as other features and characteristics described in more detail below, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art with the aid of this disclosure upon reading the following detailed description of the embodiments, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
In order to couple shunt tubes on adjacent sections of wellbore tubular, jumper tubes may be coupled to the adjacent shunt tube ends. This process may involve disposing a short section of a tubular component between the shunt tube ends and coupling the tubular component to the shunt tubes using extensions and set screws. However, this process may be time consuming to assemble at the surface of the wellbore, and the use of set screws may be unreliable in terms of the holding force they are designed to withstand. In order to address this problem, a jumper tube assembly described herein may be used to quickly couple adjacent shunt tubes while maintaining a reliable holding force. The jumper tube assembly comprises a first tubular member, a second tubular member, and a locking mechanism. The second tubular member may axially displace within the first tubular assembly so that when the jumper tube is placed between shunt tubes, the second tubular member can be pulled from the first tubular member and fluid communication may be established between a first shunt tube and a second shunt tube.
The locking mechanism provides a quick and easy means of locking the jumper tube into place. Once the jumper tube engages two shunt tubes to allow fluid to flow from a first shunt tube to a second shunt tube, the locking member engaged to the second tubular member may be translated or rotated so that it engages both the second tubular member and the first tubular member. A gripping portion disposed on the locking member and a gripping component disposed on the second tubular member engage each other allowing the locking member to move axially along the second tubular until it makes contact with the first tubular member. However, once the locking member makes contact with the first tubular member the gripping portions prevent the locking member from moving away from the first tubular member along the axis of the second tubular member. This feature allows for quick and easy installation of jumper tubes while providing a safe and reliable bridge between shunt tubes.
Referring to
A wellbore tubular 120 may be lowered into the subterranean formation 102 for a variety of drilling, completion, workover, treatment, and/or production processes throughout the life of the wellbore. The embodiment shown in
In an embodiment, the wellbore tubular 120 may comprise a completion assembly string comprising one or more downhole tools (e.g., zonal isolation devices 117, screen assemblies 122, valves, etc.). The one or more downhole tools may take various forms. For example, a zonal isolation device 117 may be used to isolate the various zones within a wellbore 114 and may include, but is not limited to, a packer (e.g., production packer, gravel pack packer, frac-pac packer, etc.). While
The workover and/or drilling rig 106 may comprise a derrick 108 with a rig floor 110 through which the wellbore tubular 120 extends downward from the drilling rig 106 into the wellbore 114. The workover and/or drilling rig 106 may comprise a motor driven winch and other associated equipment for conveying the wellbore tubular 120 into the wellbore 114 to position the wellbore tubular 120 at a selected depth. While the operating environment depicted in
In use, the screen assembly 122 can be positioned in the wellbore 114 as part of the wellbore tubular string 120 adjacent a hydrocarbon bearing formation. An annulus 124 is formed between the screen assembly 122 and the wellbore 114. A gravel slurry 126 may travel through the annulus 124 between the well screen assembly 122 and the wellbore 114 wall as it is pumped down the wellbore 114 around the screen assembly 122. Upon encountering a section of the subterranean formation 102 including an area of highly permeable material 128, the highly permeable area 128 can draw liquid from the slurry, thereby dehydrating the slurry. As the slurry dehydrates in the permeable area 128, the remaining solid particles form a sand bridge 130 and prevent further filling of the annulus 124 with gravel. One or more shunt tubes 132 may be used to create an alternative path for gravel around the sand bridge 130. The shunt tube 132 allows a slurry of sand to enter an apparatus and travel in the shunt tube 132 past the sand bridge 130 to reenter the annulus 124 downstream. The shunt tube 132 may be placed on the outside of the wellbore tubular 120 or run along the interior thereof.
A cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an individual joint of wellbore tubular comprising a shunt tube assembly 200 disposed thereabout is shown in
The wellbore tubular 120 comprises the series of perforations 202 through the wall thereof. The wellbore tubular 120 may comprise any of those types of wellbore tubular described above with respect to
The wellbore tubular 120 may generally comprise a pin end 209 and a box end to allow the wellbore tubular 120 to be coupled to other wellbore tubulars having corresponding connections. As can be seen in
The filter media 204 may be disposed about the wellbore tubular 120 and can serve to limit and/or prevent the entry of sand, formation fines, and/or other particulate matter into the wellbore tubular 120. In an embodiment, the filter media 204 is of the type known as “wire-wrapped,” since it is made up of a wire closely wrapped helically about a wellbore tubular 120, with a spacing between the wire wraps being chosen to allow fluid flow through the filter media 204 while keeping particulates that are greater than a selected size from passing between the wire wraps. While a particular type of filter media 204 is used in describing the present invention, it should be understood that the generic term “filter media” as used herein is intended to include and cover all types of similar structures which are commonly used in gravel pack well completions which permit the flow of fluids through the filter or screen while limiting and/or blocking the flow of particulates (e.g. other commercially-available screens, slotted or perforated liners or pipes; sintered-metal screens; sintered-sized, mesh screens; screened pipes; prepacked screens and/or liners; or combinations thereof).
The one or more shunt tubes 206 generally comprise tubular members disposed outside of and generally parallel to the wellbore tubular 120, though other positions and alignment may be possible. While described as tubular members (e.g., having substantially circular cross-sections), the one or more shunt tubes 206 may have shapes other than cylindrical and may generally be rectangular, elliptical, kidney shaped, and/or trapezoidal in cross-section. The retaining rings 212 may retain the shunt tubes 206 in position relative to the wellbore tubular 120. The one or more shunt tubes 206 may be eccentrically aligned with respect to the wellbore tubular 120 as best seen in
Various configurations for providing fluid communication between the interior of the one or more shunt tubes 206 and the exterior 216 of the outer body member 208 are possible. In an embodiment, the one or more shunt tubes 206 may comprise a series of perforations (e.g., openings and/or nozzles). Upon the formation of a sand bridge, a back pressure generated by the blockage may cause the slurry carrying the sand to be diverted through the one or more shunt tubes 206 until bypassing the sand bridge. The slurry may then pass out of the one or more shunt tubes 206 through the perforations in both the shunt tubes 206 and outer body member 208 and into the annular space between the wellbore tubular and casing/wellbore wall to form a gravel pack.
In an embodiment, the shunt tubes 206 may comprise transport tubes and/or packing tubes 302. The one or more packing tubes 302 may be disposed in fluid communication with the one or more transport tubes. As illustrated in
In use, the branched configuration of the transport tubes and packing tubes 302 may provide the fluid pathway for a slurry to be diverted around a sand bridge. Upon the formation of a sand bridge, a back pressure generated by the blockage may cause the slurry carrying the sand to be diverted through the one or more transport tubes 206 until bypassing the sand bridge. The slurry may then pass out of the one or more transport tubes 206 into the one or more packing tubes 302. While flowing through the one or more packing tubes 302, the slurry may pass through the perforations in the packing tubes 302 and into the annular space about the wellbore tubular 120 to form a gravel pack.
To protect the shunt tubes 206 and/or filter media 204 from damage during installation of the screen assembly comprising the shunt tube assembly 200 within the wellbore, the outer body member 208 may be positioned about a portion of the shunt tube assembly 200. The outer body member 208 comprises a generally cylindrical member formed from a suitable material (e.g. steel) that can be secured at one or more points, for example to the retaining rings 212, which in turn, are secured to wellbore tubular 120. The outer body member 208 may have a plurality of openings 218 (only one of which is numbered in
As illustrated in
While the joints of wellbore tubular described herein are generally described as comprising a series of perforations 202 and filter media 204, one or more joints of wellbore tubular 120 may only have the shunt tube assemblies disposed thereabout. Such a configuration may be used between joints of wellbore tubular 120 comprising production sections to act as spacers or blank sections while still allowing for a continuous fluid path through the shunt tubes 206 along the length of the interval being completed.
In an embodiment, an assembled sand screen structure can be made up of several joints of the wellbore tubular comprising the shunt tube assemblies 200 described herein. During the formation of the assembled sand screen structure, the shunt tubes 206 on the respective joints are fluidly connected to each other as the joints are coupled together to provide a continuous flowpath for the gravel slurry along the entire length of assembled sand screen structure during gravel packing operations.
In order to couple joints of wellbore tubulars, adjacent joints comprising screens may be connected by threading together adjacent joints using a threaded coupling (e.g., using timed threads) to substantially align the shunt tubes on the adjacent joints. The end of each shunt tube on the adjacent joints may then be individually coupled using a connector such as a jumper tube. A typical jumper tube comprises of relatively short length of tubing which has a coupling assembly at each end for connecting the jumper tube to the shunt tubes. Typically, the jumper tube may be assembled onto the aligned shunt tubes after the adjacent joints of wellbore tubular are coupled together.
As shown in
The sliding relationship between the first tubular member 402 and the second tubular member 404 is such that the inside diameter of the first tubular member 402 and the outside diameter of the second tubular member 404 are substantially similar and configured to allow the second tubular member to be disposed within the first tubular member. A first seal between the first tubular member 402 and the second tubular member 404 may be used to create a sealing engagement between the first tubular member 402 and the second tubular member 404, thereby preventing fluid from passing into or out of the jumper tube 400 at the location where the first tubular member 402 and the second tubular member 404 meet while still allowing for axial movement of the second tubular member 402 within the first tubular member 404.
A cross-section of an embodiment of the jumper tube 500 is depicted in
A seal 508A and an optional back-up seal 510A may be disposed between the first tubular member 502 and the second tubular member 504 to provide a second sealing engagement and/or an optional back-up sealing engagement between the first tubular member 502 and the second tubular member 504, thereby preventing fluid from passing into or out of the jumper tube 500 at the location where the first tubular member 502 and the second tubular member 504 meet while still allowing for axial movement of the second tubular member 504 within the first tubular member 502. As depicted in
When a fluid is displacing through and/or over a jumper tube 500, for example, the jumper tube 500 will not permit fluid from passing between the first tubular member 502 and the second tubular member 504 due to the use of at least one seal. A first seal may prevent fluid from passing between the first tubular member 502 and the second tubular member 504 due to the substantially similar outside diameter of the second tubular member 504 axially displaced within the first tubular member 502 and the inside diameter of the first tubular member 504. A second seal and/or a second optional back-up seal may prevent fluid from passing between the first tubular member 502 and the second tubular member 504 due to the seal 508A housed in the seal housing 508B and the optional seal back-up 510A housed in the optional seal back-up housing 510B. Due to at least one of these seals, fluid may not pass into or out of the jumper tube 500 at the location where the first tubular member 502 and the second tubular member 504 meet while still allowing for axial movement of the second tubular member 504 within the first tubular member 502.
As disclosed in
As disclosed in
When the jumper tube 700 is extended and coupled with at least one shunt tube, the locking member 706 may be inserted on the second tubular member 704. An embodiment of the locking member 706 is depicted in
In an embodiment the locking member 706 may engage the first tubular member 702 in the locking member housing 712. In an embodiment, frictional grooves 722 disposed on at least one surface of the locking member 706 may engage complimentary frictional grooves 714 disposed on the inside diameter of the first tubular member 702. This engagement may hold the locking member 706 in engagement with first tubular member 702 and the second tubular member 704.
As shown in
As disclosed in
When a fluid is displacing through and/or over jumper tube 900 and shunt tube 926, for example, the engagement between the second tubular member 904 and shunt tube 926 may limit or prevent fluid from passing between the first tubular member 902 and the second tubular member 904 due to the at least one seal. A first seal may be created by the tension provided from the locking member 906 engaged with first tubular member 902 and the second tubular member 904 as secured into place by the grooves 716 and 724 and the locking member housing 712 as shown in
As shown in
Once the adjacent shunt tubes 1152A, 1152B are substantially aligned, a jumper tube 1000 may be used to provide a fluid coupling between the adjacent shunt tubes 1152A, 1152B. In an embodiment, the jumper tube 1000 (depicted in
To couple the shunt tubes 1152A and/or packing tubes between the adjacent joints of the wellbore tubular 1150A, 1150B, the jumper tube 1000 may be disposed between shunt tubes 1152A and 1152B. Once the jumper tube 1000 is disposed between the shunt tubes 1152A and 1152B, the end of the first tubular member 902 (depicted in
Depending on the configuration of the locking member 906, the locking member 906 may be engaged on the second tubular member 904 before or after the second tubular member 904 is coupled with the shunt tube 1152A. Regardless of when the locking member is engaged on the second tubular member 904, the locking member 906 may be axially displaced along the second tubular member 904 until the locking member 906 engages both the second tubular member 904 and the first tubular member 902. The locking member 906 may be disposed with grooves which complimentarily engage groves disposed on the surface of the second tubular member 904. The coupling of the grooves disposed on the locking member 906 and the second tubular member 904 in conjunction with the engagement of the locking member 906 and the first tubular member 902 may prevent the second tubular member 904 from axially displacing into the first tubular member 902. This locking feature may prevent the jumper tube 1000 from disengaging from the shunt tubes 1152A and 1152B. The coupling of the grooves disposed on the locking member 906 and the second tubular member 904 in conjunction with the engagement of the locking member 906 and the first tubular member 902 may also facilitate a sealing engagement between the first and second tubular member 902, 904 as well as the shunt tube 1152A, 1152B with the jumper tube 1000. Additionally, the seals and the optional back-up seals may facilitate sealing engagement between the first and second tubular member 902, 904 as well as the shunt tubes 1152A, 1152 with the jumper tube 1000. In an embodiment, locking the jumper tube 1000 may further comprise engaging the locking member 906 into a locking member housing 712 between the first tubular member 902 and the second tubular member 904. In an embodiment, locking the jumper tube 1000 may further comprise engaging the locking member in the locking member housing 712 with frictional grooves 714 (depicted in
Having fluidly coupled the shunt tubes 1152A, 1152B and any additional tubes on the adjacent joints of wellbore tubulars 1150A, 1150B, an additional shroud 1154 may be used to protect the jumper tubes 1000. In an embodiment, the shroud 1154 may be similar to the outer body member 1156, and may be configured to be disposed about the jumper tube section 1000 to prevent damage to the jumper tubes 1000 and ends of the adjacent shunt tubes 1152A, 1152B during conveyance within the wellbore. Once the adjacent wellbore tubulars 1150A, 1150B are coupled and the shroud 1154 has been engaged, additional joints of wellbore tubulars may be similarly coupled to the existing joints and/or additional wellbore tubulars may be used to complete the assembled sand screen structure for use in the wellbore.
Once assembled, the shunt tube assembly comprising one or more jumper tubes and one or more locking members can be disposed within a wellbore for use in forming a sand screen. Referring again to
At least one embodiment is disclosed and variations, combinations, and/or modifications of the embodiment(s) and/or features of the embodiment(s) made by a person having ordinary skill in the art are within the scope of the disclosure. Alternative embodiments that result from combining, integrating, and/or omitting features of the embodiment(s) are also within the scope of the disclosure. Where numerical ranges or limitations are expressly stated, such express ranges or limitations should be understood to include iterative ranges or limitations of like magnitude falling within the expressly stated ranges or limitations (e.g., from about 1 to about 10 includes, 2, 3, 4, etc.; greater than 0.10 includes 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, etc.). For example, whenever a numerical range with a lower limit, Rl, and an upper limit, Ru, is disclosed, any number falling within the range is specifically disclosed. In particular, the following numbers within the range are specifically disclosed: R=Rl+k*(Ru−Rl), wherein k is a variable ranging from 1 percent to 100 percent with a 1 percent increment, i.e., k is 1 percent, 2 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent, 5 percent, . . . , 50 percent, 51 percent, 52 percent, . . . , 95 percent, 96 percent, 97 percent, 98 percent, 99 percent, or 100 percent. Moreover, any numerical range defined by two R numbers as defined in the above is also specifically disclosed. Use of the term “optionally” with respect to any element of a claim means that the element is required, or alternatively, the element is not required, both alternatives being within the scope of the claim. Use of broader terms such as comprises, includes, and having should be understood to provide support for narrower terms such as consisting of, consisting essentially of, and comprised substantially of. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited by the description set out above but is defined by the claims that follow, that scope including all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims. Each and every claim is incorporated as further disclosure into the specification and the claims are embodiment(s) of the present invention.
This is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/877,451 filed Apr. 2, 2013 which claims priority to and is a 371 National Stage of International Application Number PCT/US2012/041967 entitled, “Jumper Tube Locking Assembly and Method”, filed on Jun. 11, 2012, by Brandon Thomas Least, et al., both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13877451 | Apr 2013 | US |
Child | 15154187 | US |