Patent Application
20180119530
The present disclosure relates generally to well drilling and hydrocarbon recovery operations and, more particularly, to a laser firing head for detonating a perforating device during hydrocarbon recovery operations.
Hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas, are commonly obtained from subterranean formations that may be located onshore or offshore. The development of subterranean formations and the processes involved in removing hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation typically involve a number of different steps such as, for example, drilling a wellbore at a desired well site, treating the wellbore to optimize production of hydrocarbons, and performing the necessary steps to produce and process the hydrocarbons from the subterranean formation.
After drilling a wellbore that intersects a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation, a variety of wellbore tools may be positioned in the wellbore during completion, production, or remedial activities. It is common practice in completing oil and gas wells to set a string of pipe, known as casing, in the well and use a cement sheath around the outside of the casing to isolate the various formations penetrated by the well. To establish fluid communication between the hydrocarbon-bearing formations and the interior of the casing, the casing and cement sheath are perforated, typically using a perforating gun or similar apparatus.
Perforating guns typically establish communication between the formations and interior of the casing through the use of explosives, such as shaped charges, to create one or more openings through the casing. Perforating guns are generally detonated downhole upon receiving an electrical signal transmitted from the surface. It is desirable to trigger a detonator to fire one or more perforating guns only once the perforating guns are disposed at certain predetermined positions within the wellbore.
For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail herein. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure. Furthermore, in no way should the following examples be read to limit, or define, the scope of the disclosure.
Certain embodiments according to the present disclosure may be directed to systems and methods for triggering detonation of a perforating gun via optical signals. The disclosed techniques may be used to enhance the effectiveness and accuracy of wellbore perforating operations by substantially reducing the probability of firing perforating guns on the surface or at an undesired position within the wellbore.
Currently existing perforating guns typically are fired in response to an electrical signal sent downhole to a detonator device. Electrically fired perforating guns can be set off at undesired times, due to electrical interference, among other things. To overcome these drawbacks, present embodiments are directed to an improved laser firing head that may be used with an optical cable (e.g., fiber optic cable) run through the wellbore to trigger detonation of a perforating gun in response to an optical signal. The laser firing head may be activated, and the perforating gun fired, upon the application of an optical signal output from the surface and transmitted through the optical cable. The disclosed system using the laser firing head with the optical cable may be impervious to electrical interference, since the laser firing head may only fire the perforating gun when a properly configured laser or light source is directed down the optical cable for a specific period of time.
The disclosed laser firing head may be easily adapted for use with existing perforating guns and their associated detonators. To that end, the laser firing head may include an optoelectronic circuit designed to dump a large amount of stored energy from a capacitor into a detonator to fire the perforating gun, in response to receiving a desired optical signal.
Other features may be used to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of detonating the perforating gun via the disclosed laser firing head. For example, the laser firing head may incorporate various filters to ensure that the detonator is triggered only upon receiving a specific modulated optical signal at the laser firing head. The disclosed systems and methods may be readily adapted to enable sequential firing of multiple laser firing heads and perforating guns via optical signals communicated over a single optical cable. The disclosed laser firing head may facilitate higher effectiveness and accuracy of perforating gun detonation than is currently available using electrically triggered systems. In addition, the laser firing head may be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, since it can be constructed from commercially available components. Further, the laser firing head may be compatible with currently existing electric line detonators and perforating guns, enabling retrofitting of the optically triggered laser firing head to existing perforating systems.
Turning now to the drawings,
After the drill string has been removed and the wellbore 16 cased, as shown, perforating operations may be performed in the wellbore 16. To that end, a perforating system 22 may be lowered into and positioned within the wellbore 16. One or more perforating guns 24 in the perforating system 22 may be positioned opposite predetermined locations for forming perforations 26 through the casing 20, the cement (not shown), and outward into the subsurface formation 18 surrounding the wellbore 16.
As illustrated, the perforating system 22 may be a wireline perforating system that is lowered into the wellbore 16, for example, on a wireline 30 being unspooled from a wireline truck 32. In other embodiments, however, the perforating system 22 may be lowered into the wellbore via a tubular string (such as a work string, a production tubing string, an injection string, etc.), a slickline, or coiled tubing. In still other embodiments, the perforating system 22 may be flowed into the wellbore 16 via a surface pump, or gravitational attraction.
In the presently disclosed system, the wireline 30 or other conveying apparatus (e.g., tubular string, slickline, tubing, etc.) may feature an optical cable 34 for communicating triggering commands to fire the perforating gun 24. The optical cable 34 may include one or more optical fibers that are communicatively coupled between an optical source 36 and a laser firing head 38 disposed downhole. As illustrated, the optical source 36 may be a laser or light source positioned at the surface of the wellbore 16. In some embodiments, the optical source 36 may be used to output a modulated optical signal through the optical cable 34.
The laser firing head 38 is used to initiate firing or detonation of the perforating guns 24 in response to an optical signal received via the optical cable 34 when it is desired to form the perforations 26. In addition, the laser firing head 38 may be used to convert the optical signals received from the optical cable 34 into electrical energy for powering a detonator used to fire the perforating gun 24. Although the laser firing head 38 is depicted in
The optically activated laser firing head 38 may enable more effective and accurate control of the detonation process for firing one or more perforating guns 24. Since the laser firing head 38 responds only to specific optical signals received from the optical cable 34, the system may be less prone to accidental detonation before the perforator gun 24 is positioned in a desired location downhole. Indeed, since the laser firing head 38 is optically powered, no external electrical power is required to detonate the perforating system 22. Accordingly, the perforating system 22 may be immune to electromagnetic interference or radio frequency interference that might otherwise disturb an electrically powered firing head.
Although not shown, in embodiments where the perforating system 22 is lowered via a tubular string, the perforating system 22 may be positioned, sealed, and secured in the casing 20 by a packer. Such a packer would seal off an annulus formed radially between the tubular string and the wellbore 16. In tubular string conveyed perforating systems, the disclosed optical cable 34 may be run along the pipe or other tubular members leading to the laser firing head 38.
In some embodiments, the optical cable 34 may also be used to perform additional operations downhole. For example, the optical cable 34 may be used to provide fiber optic sensing of various downhole parameters (e.g., temperature, pressure, vibration, etc.), telemetry for certain downhole components, and control signals for operating other components within the downhole system.
It should be noted that the system of
Having now discussed the general layout of the perforating system 22 used during well completions, a more detailed description of certain components of the perforating system 22 will be provided. To that end,
The perforating gun 24 may include a carrier gun body 50 made of a cylindrical sleeve having a plurality of radially reduced areas depicted as scallops or recesses 52. Radially aligned with each of the recesses 52 is a respective one of a plurality of shaped charges 54, as visible in
The shaped charges 54 are retained within the carrier gun body 50 by a charge holder 60, which in some embodiments includes an outer charge holder body and an inner charge holder body. Although not shown, in such configurations, the outer tube supports the discharge ends of the shaped charges 54, while the inner tube supports the initiation ends of the shaped charges 54. Disposed within or around the charge holder 60 is a detonator cord 62, such as Primacord®, which is used to detonate the shaped charges 54. Any number of arrangements of the shaped charges 54, charge holder 60, and detonator cord 62 may be utilized in embodiments of the perforating gun 24 in accordance with the present disclosure.
The perforating system 22 may also include the detonator 48 used to fire the various shaped charges 54 of the perforating gun 24. As illustrated, the detonator cord 62 may extend from the detonator 48 toward the back of each shaped charge 54 within the perforating gun 24. The detonator cord 62 may be used to communicate a detonation (i.e., shock wave) through the perforating gun 24 to fire all of the shaped charges 54 once the detonator 48 is triggered by the laser firing head 38.
The detonator 48 may be any desired type of detonator including, for example, a RED® (Rig Environment Detonator), a product of JET RESEARCH CENTER®, designed for use in downhole operations. The detonator 48 may be an electro-explosive device designed to send a shock wave down the detonator cord 62 in response to an element in the detonator 48 heating up very quickly. This heat can be generated through a semiconductor bridge element, a bridgewire element, an exploding foil element, or some other element into which a certain amount of electrical energy is driven over a short period of time. In response to a desired optical signal transmitted through the optical cable 34, the laser firing head 38 may supply the electrical energy to the detonator 48 for firing the perforating gun 24 as described herein. It should be noted that other types of detonators 48 may be used in other embodiments of the perforating system 22.
In the illustrated embodiment, the laser firing head 38 and the detonator 48 may be disposed at an upper portion of the perforating system 22 and coupled to the perforating gun 24. In this way, the laser firing head 38 may be shielded from the exploding shaped charges 54 at the lower portion of the perforating gun 24. The explosive operation of the perforating gun 24 may consume or damage certain parts of the perforating system 22. In some embodiments, the firing head 38 may be packaged relatively separately (and a certain distance from) the perforating gun 24 and the detonator 48. This may enable the firing head 38 to be used to activate the detonator 48 (thereby firing the illustrated perforating gun 24), selectively removed from the perforating system 22, and then reused in a different perforating system to activate another detonator for firing another perforating gun.
In the illustrated embodiment, the optoelectronic circuit 90 may include at least a photodiode 92, a voltage multiplier 94, a capacitor 96, and a switch 98. As shown, the optoelectronic circuit 90 may also include a resistor 100 coupled between the photodiode 92 and the voltage multiplier 94. It should be noted that other embodiments of the laser firing head 38 may include different components or combinations of components within the optoelectronic circuit 90.
The illustrated photodiode 92 may represent a single photodiode or an array of photodiodes. The one or more photodiodes 92 may be illuminated via the optical signal 88, which is generated at an optical source (e.g., light source positioned at the surface of the well) and carried through the optical cable 34 to the laser firing head 38. As mentioned above, the light source may generate a modulated optical signal 88, and the one or more photodiodes 92 may generate a modulated voltage across the resistor 100 based on the received modulated optical signal 88.
The voltage multiplier 94 may be used to increase a portion of the voltage output from the photodiode(s) 92. The voltage multiplier 94 may receive an AC portion of the voltage across the resistor 100, increase the AC voltage, and convert the stepped up AC voltage to a DC voltage output toward the capacitor 96. This increased DC voltage may charge the capacitor 96 such that a certain amount of electrical energy is built up and stored across the capacitor 96 over time.
The voltage multiplier 94 may be a relatively simple device, generally constructed from off-shelf parts. In some embodiments, the voltage multiplier 94 may include a series of diodes and capacitors that increase the input AC voltage in several stages. In other embodiments, the voltage multiplier 94 may include several stages of transformers coupled to an output rectifying diode or full wave bridge for delivering the increased DC voltage to the capacitor 96. In still other embodiments, the voltage multiplier 94 may be a combination of these two types, having one or more diodes, capacitors, and transformers operating together to increase the AC voltage therethrough and convert the increased AC voltage to DC. Any other desirable combinations of passive electronic components (e.g., capacitors, diodes, transformers, etc.) may be used to form the voltage multiplier 94 for increasing the voltage stored across the capacitor 96.
Once the voltage across the capacitor 96 reaches a threshold value, the switch 98 may be activated to dump the stored energy from the capacitor 96 into the detonator 48. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the switch 98 may include a spark gap designed to break down when the voltage across the capacitor 96 reaches the predetermined threshold. For example, the switch 98 may include a gas discharge tube (GDT) designed to electrically break down when the capacitor 96 (e.g., 6 μF capacitor) is electrically charged to approximately 150 Volts DC. Upon this breakdown of the GDT, the energy stored in the capacitor 96 may be suddenly dumped into the detonator 48. This amount of energy supplied from the capacitor 96 into the detonator 48 in a relatively short time period may activate the detonator 48, as described above, thereby causing the perforating gun to fire.
In some embodiments, the amount of energy supplied from the capacitor 96 to the detonator 48 may be equal to or on the order of approximately 0.07 Joules, which is stored in the capacitor 96 prior to firing the perforating gun. This is a relatively small amount of stored energy, which can be readily delivered to the laser firing head 38 via optical energy.
The disclosed system may gradually build up the desired voltage of electrical energy stored in the capacitor 96 via the conversion of optical signals into DC voltage at the laser firing head 38. Since the power available through optical signals is relatively lower than those from electrical signals, this process of building up the desired amount of stored energy may take a certain amount of time prior to firing the perforating gun. Thus, the optical power transmitted through the optical cable 34 may need to be present for a minimum amount of time (e.g., a few seconds or minutes) prior to the laser firing head 38 activating the detonator 48. Lower available optical power for generating the optical signal and lower efficiencies of the photodiodes 92 and the firing capacitor 96 may increase the time required to charge the capacitor 96. The longer amount of time for charging the capacitor 96 and ultimately firing the perforating gun may reduce the likelihood of the system being accidentally set off, since the optical source at the surface may need to be on for a predetermined amount of time prior to the system firing.
Some embodiments of the laser firing head 38 are designed to use only modulated optical power from the optical cable 34 to activate the detonator 48 for firing the perforating gun. For example, the voltage multiplier 94 may be configured to receive and increase only an AC voltage from the photodiode 92. Thus, if the photodiode 92 of the laser firing head 38, or the optical cable 34, is exposed to a strong and constant light source (e.g., natural or artificial light), the photodiode 92 would generate a DC signal, which cannot be increased by the voltage multiplier to charge the capacitor 96. As a result, any DC voltage supplied to the voltage multiplier (e.g., due to a light source shining onto the cable 34) will not enable the laser firing head 38 to activate the detonator 48. The laser firing head 38, therefore, may be unable to fire the perforating gun unless the desired modulated optical signal 88 is provided to the optical cable 34.
In other embodiments, the laser firing head 38 may be designed to respond to optical signals that are not modulated. That is, the laser firing head 38 may transfer continuous wave optical power from the optical cable 34 into an increased voltage for charging the capacitor 96. To that end, the laser firing head 38 may include a DC/AC converter disposed between the photodiode 92 and the voltage multiplier 94. This DC/AC converter may receive a DC voltage from the photodiode 92 measuring the constant, unmodulated optical signal and output an AC voltage component of the signal to the voltage multiplier 94. The voltage multiplier 94 may then step up the AC voltage and convert the AC voltage to an increased DC voltage for charging the capacitor 96. This may enable firing the perforating gun using a constant optical power source coupled to the optical cable 34.
It should be noted that the laser firing head 38 may be compatible for use with existing perforating gun systems and detonators 48. In some instances, the laser firing head 38 may be provided in a kit to retrofit an existing electrically fired perforating system, so that the system may be fired in response to optical signals instead of electrical signals from the surface.
The laser firing head 38 may be constructed to operate without using any consumable components (e.g., batteries) housed in the laser firing head 38. Although the detonator 48 may be consumable, the components that make up the optoelectronic circuit 90 may be reusable. As such, the illustrated laser firing head 38 may be reusable with different detonators to fire different perforating guns. The laser firing head 38 may be packaged to avoid damage due to shock from the perforating gun firing so that the laser firing head 38 may be used multiple times.
As shown in
It should be noted that the laser firing head 38 of
It should be noted that some embodiments of the laser firing head 38 may include both the disclosed optical filter 110 of
Multiple laser firing heads 38 having the above-described filters in place may be used together to selectively fire different perforating guns via optical signals transmitted through a single optical fiber in the optical cable 34.
Each of the laser firing heads 38A and 38B may be communicatively coupled to a single optical cable 34 that acts as a waveguide for signals from the optical source 36. It may be desirable to selectively fire the perforating guns 24A and 24B at different times. In currently used systems that trigger perforating guns via electrical signals, the perforating system generally includes switches to trigger firing of additional perforating guns. That is, when one perforating gun fires, this generally sets a switch so that another gun can go off. Typically, these perforating guns are fired all at once.
In presently disclosed embodiments, the laser firing heads 38 may allow for selective triggering of different perforating guns 24 located throughout a single perforating system 22. At least two methods may be used to multiplex the laser firing heads 38 so that the multiple laser firing heads 38 can be activated by the same optical cable 34.
First, the laser firing heads 38 may be selectively activated by transmitting different wavelengths of optical signals through the optical cable 34. One or more of the laser firing heads 38A and 38B may be equipped with optical band-pass filters (e.g., 110 of
Embodiments disclosed herein include:
A. A system including a perforating gun for perforating a subterranean formation, a detonator for firing the perforating gun, an optical source for outputting an optical signal, an optical cable communicatively coupled to the optical source for transmitting the optical signal output from the optical source, and a laser firing head. The laser firing head includes an optoelectronic circuit for receiving the optical signal from the optical cable and triggering the detonator to fire the perforating gun in response to the optical signal being received at the laser firing head for a predetermined amount of time.
B. A laser firing head for triggering a detonator to fire a perforating gun. The laser firing head includes a photodiode for detecting an optical signal from an optical cable coupled to the laser firing head and outputting a voltage in response to the detected optical signal. The laser firing head also includes a voltage multiplier coupled to the photodiode for receiving at least a portion of the voltage output from the photodiode and outputting an increased DC voltage to charge a capacitor. The laser firing head further includes a switch coupled to the capacitor for supplying electrical energy from the capacitor to the detonator for firing the perforating gun when the charge across the capacitor reaches a threshold.
C. A method including outputting an optical signal from an optical source through an optical cable extending into a wellbore and illuminating a photodiode of a laser firing head coupled to a perforating gun disposed in the wellbore via the optical signal transmitted through the optical cable. The method also includes increasing a voltage output from the photodiode via a voltage multiplier of the laser firing head to charge a capacitor disposed in the laser firing head, supplying stored electrical energy from the capacitor to a detonator when the charge across the capacitor reaches a threshold, and firing the perforating gun via the detonator in response to the detonator receiving the stored electrical energy from the capacitor.
Each of the embodiments A, B, and C may have one or more of the following additional elements in combination. Element 1: wherein the optical signal is a modulated optical signal. Element 2: wherein the optical signal is a continuous wave optical signal. Element 3: wherein the optoelectronic circuit in the laser firing head includes: a photodiode for detecting the optical signal from the optical cable and outputting an AC voltage in response to the detected optical signal; a voltage multiplier coupled to the photodiode for receiving the AC voltage output from the photodiode and outputting an increased DC voltage to charge a capacitor; and a switch coupled to the capacitor for supplying electrical energy from the capacitor to the detonator for firing the perforating gun when the charge across the capacitor reaches a threshold. Element 4: further including a wireline tool disposed along a wireline, wherein the wireline tool includes the laser firing head and the perforating gun, and wherein the wireline includes the optical cable.
Element 5: further including a tubular string coupled to the perforating gun for lowering the perforating gun and the laser firing head to a specified depth of a wellbore. Element 6: further including a plurality of perforating guns and a plurality of associated laser firing heads disposed at different points along the optical cable for selectively actuating one or more of the plurality of perforating guns based on the optical signal transmitted through the optical cable. Element 7:
wherein each of the plurality of laser firing heads includes an optical filter disposed between the optical cable and the corresponding optoelectronic circuit for limiting a range of optical wavelengths of the optical signal that reach the optoelectronic circuit. Element 8: wherein each of the plurality of laser firing heads includes an electronic filter disposed in the optoelectronic circuit for limiting a range of modulation frequencies of the optical signal that triggers the corresponding detonator to fire the corresponding perforating gun. Element 9: wherein the perforating gun is a consumable component and wherein the laser firing head is removable from the perforating gun to be used with a different perforating gun.
Element 10: wherein the laser firing head does not include a power supply. Element 11: wherein the laser firing head is selectively removable from the perforating gun and reusable with different perforating guns. Element 12: further including a DC/AC converter disposed between the photodiode and the voltage multiplier to convert a DC voltage output from the photodiode to AC voltage for supplying the voltage multiplier. Element 13: further including an optical filter disposed between the optical cable and the photodiode to limit a range of optical wavelengths of the optical signal that reach the photodiode. Element 14: further including an electronic filter disposed between the photodiode and the voltage multiplier to limit a range of modulation frequencies of a modulated optical signal that reach the voltage multiplier.
Element 15: further including filtering the optical signal so that a limited range of optical wavelengths illuminate the photodiode. Element 16: further including filtering the voltage output from the photodiode so that a limited range of modulation frequencies of the voltage reach the voltage multiplier. Element 17: further including: outputting a first optical signal from the optical source through the optical cable; triggering a first detonator to fire a first perforating gun via a first laser firing head disposed along the optical cable in response to the first optical signal being transmitted through the optical cable for a predetermined time period; outputting a second optical signal from the optical source through the optical cable; and triggering a second detonator to fire a second perforating gun via a second laser firing head disposed along the optical cable in response to the second optical signal being transmitted through the optical cable for a predetermined time period. Element 18: further including: removing the laser firing head from the perforating gun after firing the perforating gun; and reusing the laser firing head to trigger detonation of a different perforating gun.
Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2015/037957 | 6/26/2015 | WO | 00 |
