Patent Application
20140251617
This disclosure relates generally to methods and apparatus for drilling a wellbore. More specifically, this disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for removing an unexpanded shoe, or other restriction, from a cased wellbore.
In the oil and gas industry, expandable tubing is often used for casing, liners and the like. To create a casing, for example, a tubular member is installed in a wellbore and subsequently expanded by displacing an expansion cone through the tubular member. The expansion cone maybe pushed or pulled using mechanical means, such as by a support tubular coupled thereto, or driven by hydraulic pressure. As the expansion cone is displaced axially within the tubular member, the expansion cone imparts radial force to the inner surface of the tubular member. In response to the radial force, the tubular member plastically deforms, thereby permanently increasing both its inner and outer diameters. In other words, the tubular member expands radially.
Expandable tubulars often include a shoe assembly coupled to the lower end of the tubular that enables cementing operations to be performed through the expandable tubular. Once the expandable tubular is installed, the shoe assembly has to be removed to allow drilling to continue. This is often accomplished by milling or drilling out the shoe assembly. The shoe assembly may be constructed from composite materials, cast iron, or other materials that simplify the removal of the shoe assembly.
In certain expandable tubular applications, a portion of the expandable tubular adjacent to the shoe assembly is left unexpanded while the tubular above that portion is expanded. The unexpanded tubular creates a diametrical constriction that must also be removed before drilling ahead. Removing both the unexpanded tubular material and the shoe assembly has conventionally involved multiple trips into the wellbore for milling and fishing or the utilization of complex tools that may be prone to malfunction.
Thus, there is a continuing need in the art for methods and apparatus for removing a shoe assembly and unexpanded tubular from an expanded tubular member.
A method of removing an unexpanded shoe comprises disposing a tool in a wellbore. The tool includes a latch assembly and a mill body. The latch assembly is engaged with a shoe assembly that is coupled to the wellbore by a tubular having an expanded portion and an unexpanded portion. The mill body is rotated relative to the latch assembly so as to mill the unexpanded portion of the tubular until the shoe assembly is uncoupled from the wellbore. The tool and the shoe assembly are then pulled through the expanded portion and out of the wellbore.
For a more detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
It is to be understood that the following disclosure describes several exemplary embodiments for implementing different features, structures, or functions of the invention. Exemplary embodiments of components, arrangements, and configurations are described below to simplify the present disclosure; however, these exemplary embodiments are provided merely as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Additionally, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various exemplary embodiments and across the Figures provided herein. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various exemplary embodiments and/or configurations discussed in the various figures. Moreover, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed interposing the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Finally, the exemplary embodiments presented below may be combined in any combination of ways, i.e., any element from one exemplary embodiment may be used in any other exemplary embodiment, without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Additionally, certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, various entities may refer to the same component by different names, and as such, the naming convention for the elements described herein is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, unless otherwise specifically defined herein. Further, the naming convention used herein is not intended to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. Additionally, 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.” All numerical values in this disclosure may be exact or approximate values unless otherwise specifically stated. Accordingly, various embodiments of the disclosure may deviate from the numbers, values, and ranges disclosed herein without departing from the intended scope. Furthermore, as it is used in the claims or specification, the term “or” is intended to encompass both exclusive and inclusive cases, i.e., “A or B” is intended to be synonymous with “at least one of A and B,” unless otherwise expressly specified herein.
Referring initially to
The latch mandrel 60 and latch assembly 70 are coupled together and disposed within the tool body 12. The lower end 72 of the latch assembly 70 is illustrated as including an internal fishing latch 74, but it is understood that in other embodiments, other fishing or latching mechanisms can be used in place of the illustrated internal fishing latch 74. For example, latch assembly 70 may include an external fishing latch, a spear, a grapple, J-slot, or any other desired type of fishing or latching mechanism.
The latch mandrel 60 includes a notched flange 62 that is configured to engage upper sub slots 24 or mandrel guide slots 42 when the notched flange 62 contacts either the upper sub 20 or the mandrel guide 40. The engagement of the notched flange 62 with either the upper sub slots 24 or the mandrel guide slots 42 cause the latch mandrel 60 and latch assembly 70 to rotate with the tool body 12. When the notched flange 62 is not engaged with either the upper sub slots 24 or the mandrel guide slots 42, the latch mandrel 60 and latch assembly 70 are free to rotate independently of the tool body 12.
When in the running position, as shown in
In
Referring now to
As the tool 10 is being lowered and rotated, the milling face 52 of the mill body 50 contacts the unexpanded portion 120 and mills, or cuts, the unexpanded tubular as shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
While the tool 10 is being lowered it is also being rotated such that as the milling face 52 of the mill body 50 contacts the unexpanded portion 220 it will cut the tubular as shown in FIG. 2D. The lowering and rotation of the tool 10 is continued until the unexpanded portion 220 is completely milled or until unexpanded portion 220 detaches from the wellbore. As shown in
Referring now to
Another benefit of the protective sleeve 80 can be seen with reference to
Referring now to
Tool 300 includes an upper sub 320, a mill body 330, and a latch assembly 340. Upper sub 320 includes a threaded connection 322 that allows the tool 300 to be coupled to a drill pipe or other tubular. The upper sub 320 is coupled to top 332 of the mill body 330. The mill body 330 includes one or more cutting blades 334 and a spring-loaded piston 336. The cutting blades 334 are pivotally coupled to the mill body 330 and are rotated outward as pressure is applied to the spring-loaded piston 336. As the cutting blades 334 are rotated outward, the mill body 330 is rotated so that the cutting blades 334 cut through the expanded portion 110 of the expandable tubular 100 and into the surrounding formation. Tool 300 may also include guide pads 338 that help center the tool 300 within the expandable tubular 100.
Referring now to
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and description. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/773,705 filed Mar. 6, 2013, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61773705 | Mar 2013 | US |
