Patent Grant
7350588
This application claims benefit of Great Britain patent application serial number GB 0313664.5, filed Jun. 13, 2003, which is herein incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for supporting a tubular within a bore, and in particular, but not exclusively, to a method and apparatus for supporting liner tubing within a cased subterranean bore.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the oil and gas exploration and production industry, subterranean bores are drilled from surface to intercept hydrocarbon bearing formations, which often requires bore reaches of as much as 6000 to 10000 metres, for example. In conventional drilling operations, a bore is drilled to a depth of around, for example, 600 metres, when the drill bit and associated drill string is then removed and a string of casing run in and cemented in place to support and seal the bore. Drilling is then recommenced for a further 600 metres, for example, following which a further string of casing is required to support the bore. However, in this case the casing is normally tied back to, and supported from the surface by the wellhead. This procedure is repeated until the bore reaches or nears the required total depth. Once the final drilling stage is completed the drilling string is pulled out of the hole and the final bore section is supported by a liner casing string which does not extend back to the wellhead, but instead terminates downhole and is supported by the previous full string of casing. Thus, special liner hangers are required to allow the liner string to be coupled to and supported by the previous casing string.
Conventional liner hangers may be initially coupled to the liner string which is run in hole to the required depth using a setting tool string, and the liner hanger is then set in place within the bore. Typical liner hangers are set in place by mechanical activation of slips or the like, which are brought into engagement with the wall of the bore, thus providing support for the liner.
It is among the objects of embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for providing hanging support for a liner.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of supporting a tubular within a bore, said method comprising the steps of:
It should be understood that the expandable sleeve may be initially located within the bore and at least partially expanded in place before the tubular is located within the bore. Alternatively, the expandable sleeve and the tubular may be located within the bore simultaneously.
It should also be understood that the sleeve is expanded into engagement with a bore wall.
In one embodiment of the present invention, at least a portion of the sleeve may be initially expanded into engagement with the wall surface of the bore in which the tubular is to be supported by an expansion tool such as a roller expansion tool or an expansion cone or mandrel or the like. In this case the expandable sleeve may be run into the bore on the expansion tool, and at least partially expanded into contact with the bore wall using the expansion tool to provide initial hanging support at the required depth. Subsequently, the tubular may be run into the bore until the first support surface of the tubular engages the second support surface of the sleeve, at which stage weight may be applied to the tubular resulting in further expansion of the sleeve by interaction of the first and second support surfaces, thus providing additional gripping force between the sleeve and the bore wall to support the weight of the tubular. In this regard, the first support surface of the tubular may act as a swage and expands the sleeve by a swage expansion.
Advantageously, where expansion is achieved using a roller expansion tool, the expandable sleeve undergoes circumferential yield causing the wall thickness of the sleeve to be reduced.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the method may involve the initial step of locating the expandable sleeve peripherally around the tubular in the region of the first support surface. Preferably, the sleeve is initially located below the first support surface of the tubular. Conveniently, the following step may involve running the tubular and the expandable sleeve into the required bore together until the expandable sleeve is located at the required depth. Once the required depth is achieved, relative axial movement of the tubular and expandable sleeve may be initiated to cause engagement of the first and second support surfaces, wherein said engagement results in radial expansion of at least a portion of the sleeve into contact with the wall surface of the bore, providing support for the tubular via the first and second support surfaces. The expansion of the expandable sleeve is thus provided by effectively forcing the tubular through the sleeve or alternatively forcing the sleeve over the tubular. Thus, the first support surface of the tubular may act as a swage to expand the sleeve by a swage expansion process.
Preferably, expansion of the sleeve using the first support surface as a swage expander, for example, is achieved by initially restraining the first support surface from movement while moving or forcing the expandable sleeve and thus the second support surface into engagement with the first support surface to initiate expansion of the sleeve. Alternatively, the expandable sleeve may be held stationary while moving the first support surface into engagement with the second support surface of the sleeve. For example, the sleeve may be prevented from travelling further into the bore by a no-go or a profile located on the inner wall surface of the bore, against which no-go or profile the sleeve abuts when run in hole. Alternatively, the sleeve may be held stationary by fixing means associated with the tubular such that the sleeve may be expanded into contact with the bore wall at any required depth.
Advantageously, relative movement of the expandable sleeve and the tubular may be achieved by an actuation assembly such as a piston assembly activated by fluid pressure. Alternatively, relative movement may be achieved by a mechanical actuation assembly such as a screw assembly, or by any other suitable actuation assembly. The actuation assembly may be, for example, located below the expandable sleeve and activated to force or push the sleeve towards the first support surface. Alternatively, the actuation assembly may be located above the expandable sleeve and the first support surface of the tubular and activated to force or pull the sleeve towards the first support surface. In this preferred embodiment, the at least one actuation assembly may be coupled to the expandable sleeve by at least one strap or other fixed coupling such as a shear pin or a bolt or the like.
Conveniently, where the actuation assembly is located above the first support surface and is coupled to the expandable sleeve by at least one strap, as noted above, said first support surface includes at least one respective channel or recess to accommodate said at least one strap. Thus, the at least one channel or recess will substantially reduce or eliminate any interference by the first support surface.
In a preferred embodiment where the expandable sleeve is expanded by interaction of the first and second support members, the method preferably comprises the steps of:
Preferably, the method further involves inducing tensile failure of the at least one strap to ensure sufficient expansion has been achieved. Thus, the actuation assembly is preferably adapted to exert a force at least equivalent to the tensile strength of the at least one strap.
Preferably, the first and second support surfaces of the tubular and sleeve respectively are substantially complementary in shape to allow proper engagement to provide support for the tubular from the expandable sleeve, and to allow expansion of the sleeve by the tubular, where required.
Conveniently, the outer diameter described by the first support surface decreases in a direction corresponding to a downward direction with respect to a bore in which the tubular is to be located. Conveniently also, the inner diameter described by the second support surface decreases in a direction corresponding to a downward direction with respect to a bore in which the expandable sleeve is to be located.
Preferably, the first support surface of the tubular defines, at least partially, an outer frusto-conical surface portion. Advantageously, the second support surface defines, at least partially, a complementary inner frusto-conical surface portion adapted to be mated or brought into abutment with the outer frusto-conical surface portion of the first support surface upon engagement therewith. Conveniently, where the first and second support surfaces define complementary frusto-conical surface portions, the taper of the surface portions may be less than around 16° from a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tubular. Preferably, the taper of the surface portions is between 3 to 8°.
Alternatively, the first support surface of the tubular may define, at least partially, an outer convex surface portion, and the second support surface may define, at least partially, a complementary inner concave portion adapted to be mated or brought into abutment with the outer convex portion of the first support member upon engagement therewith. That is, the first and second support surfaces may be described by a radius of curvature such that the second support surface defines a bowl structure which receives or abuts the complementary shaped first support surface.
It should be understood, however, that any complementary shape or configuration of the first and second support surfaces of the tubular and expandable sleeve respectively may be utilised.
Advantageously, the expandable sleeve may include a substantially cylindrical portion, which cylindrical portion may be adapted to be at least partially expanded into engagement with a bore wall surface to provide initial hanging support before the remainder of the expandable sleeve is expanded into contact with the bore wall. Preferably, the cylindrical portion is located above the second support surface of the sleeve. Thus, the cylindrical portion, at least once partially expanded, will allow the tubular and first support surface to pass therethrough to engage the second support surface of the sleeve. Alternatively, the cylindrical portion of the expandable sleeve may be located below the second support surface.
It should be understood that the term “below” as used herein generally defines relative positions of various components such that a lower component will, in use, be located at a deeper location in the bore. Similarly, it should be understood that the term “above” generally implies that a component is located at a more elevated location in the bore.
Advantageously, at least a portion of an outer surface of the expandable sleeve is roughened or otherwise formed or adapted to increase the friction and thus grip between the sleeve and the bore wall. The outer surface of the sleeve may be textured, profiled or may additionally or alternatively include hardened or coarse particles embedded therein or coupled thereto. Such particles may be, for example, carbide or diamond buttons or the like.
Conveniently, once the expandable sleeve is expanded and set in place within the bore, and the first and second support surfaces are in engagement such that the tubular is supported by the sleeve, sufficient sealing is provided between the outer surface of the sleeve and the bore wall, and between the first and second support surfaces to prevent the passage of any fluids, such as cement, past the sleeve from an annulus formed between the tubular and the bore. Conveniently, a sealing material may be provided on at least a portion of the outer surface of the sleeve in order to seek to improve sealing between the sleeve and bore wall when the sleeve is expanded. The sealing material may be an elastomer or any other suitable material which is resistant to degradation in a hydrocarbon producing bore environment, for example. The sealing material by comprise a swelling elastomer adapted to swell in the presence of a fluid containing, for example water, drilling mud or lubricant or hydrocarbons.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first support surface may be integrally formed with the tubular. In an alternative embodiment, the first support surface may be provided on a separate component which is subsequently coupled or fixed to the tubular. For example, the first support surface may be provided on a further tubular member which is coupled to the tubular by way of a threaded connection or the like.
The bore in which the tubular is to be located and supported may be lined or unlined. For example, the bore may be supported and sealed by casing tubulars cemented in place within the bore such that the expandable sleeve is radially expanded into contact with the inner wall of the casing.
Preferably, the tubular to be supported within the bore is a string of liner tubing or the like.
Conveniently, once the sleeve has been expanded and the tubular is supported with the bore, the tubular may be lifted from the sleeve to disengage the first and second support surfaces, thus creating a flow passage past the sleeve from an annulus defined between the tubular and the bore wall. This is particularly advantageous in that the flow passage will allow any fluids contained within the annulus to be displaced therefrom during a cementing operation or the like. Additionally, the flow path will allow cement to flow past the sleeve in an up-hole direction to cement the tubular within the bore both above and below the sleeve.
Conveniently also, once the sleeve has been expanded and the tubular is supported within the bore, the tubular may be lifted from the sleeve and rotated to assist circulating and evenly distributing cement, for example, within the annulus formed between the tubular and the bore wall during a cementing operation.
Thus, the engagement between the first and second support surfaces of the tubular and sleeve respectively is preferably non-permanent.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of supporting a tubular within a bore, said method comprising the steps of:
Preferably, the method further involves the step of applying weight to the tubular upon engagement of the outer and inner support surfaces to effect further expansion of the sleeve by interaction of the outer and inner support surfaces, thus providing additional gripping force between the sleeve and the bore wall to support the weight of the tubular. In this way, the outer support surface acts as a swage and expands the sleeve by a swage expansion process.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of supporting a tubular within a bore, said method comprising the steps of:
Thus, the outer support surface of the tubular acts as a swage, which in use expands at least a portion of the sleeve into contact with the wall surface of the bore in which the tubular is located.
Preferably, the expandable sleeve is moved towards the outer support surface of the tubular while said outer support surface is held stationary. Preferably also, the sleeve is moved in an upward direction relative to the bore in order to initiate expansion of the sleeve. It should be understood that the term “upward” is used herein to define a relative direction and implies that the sleeve is moved in an up-hole direction.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of supporting a liner within a cased bore, said method comprising the steps of:
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for supporting a tubular within a bore, said apparatus comprising:
Preferably, the second support portion is adapted to be peripherally located around the tubular requiring support. The second support portion may be a sleeve or the like.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second support portion is adapted to be expanded into engagement with the bore by an expansion tool such as a roller expansion tool or a mandrel or a swage or the like. Alternatively, or additionally, the second support portion may be adapted to be expanded by interaction of the first and second support surfaces, wherein relative movement between the first and second support surfaces results in a swaged expansion of the second support portion.
Advantageously, the first support portion may be integrally formed with the tubular. Alternatively, the first support portion may be separately formed and subsequently secured to the tubular at the required location.
Preferably, the first support surface defines, at least in part, an outer, substantially frusto-conical surface portion. Preferably also, the second support surface defines, at least in part, an inner, substantially complementary frusto-conical surface portion adapted to be mated with the outer conical surface portion of the first support surface upon engagement therewith.
It should be understood that any complementary shape or configuration of the first and second support surfaces may be utilised.
Preferably, the tubular to be supported within the bore is a string of liner tubing or the like.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided a support for use in supporting a tubular within a bore, said support comprising an expandable sleeve defining an inner support surface, wherein said expandable sleeve is adapted to be at least partially expanded into contact with a wall surface of the bore, and the inner support surface is adapted to engage the tubular to provide support therefor.
These and other aspects of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Reference is first made to
A piston assembly 24 is located above the conical portion 16 of the liner and is coupled to the sleeve 20 by way of a plurality (four in the embodiment shown) of straps 26. The conical portion 16 includes a corresponding number of channels 28 in the outer surface thereof to accommodate the straps 26. The piston assembly 24 is actuated by fluid pressure provided from surface.
The method of operation and use of the various components identified above will now be described with reference to
In the preferred method of providing hanging support for the liner 10, the assembly 30 is located in the bore 12 and the piston assembly 24 is actuated while restraining the liner 10 (and thus the conical portion 16) from movement, to initially expand the sleeve 20 into contact with the bore wall surface 32, thus providing initial hanging support. Subsequent to this, weight is applied to the liner 10 to force the conical portion 16 in a downward direction into the bore 12, to increase the expansion force exerted on the sleeve 20 and thus increasing the grip force produced between the sleeve 20 and the bore wall 32. The piston assembly 24 is continually actuated to expand the sleeve 20 by interaction with the conical portion 16 until tensile failure of the straps 26 is achieved, as indicated by numeral 34 in
Once the liner 10 is fully supported by the sleeve 20, engagement between the sleeve 20 and the bore wall 32, and the sleeve 20 and the conical portion 16 will provide a fluid tight seal to prevent the upward flow of any fluids, such as cement, past the sleeve 20 from an annulus 36 formed between the casing 14 and the liner 10. To seek to improve sealing between the sleeve 20 and the bore wall 32, a sealing element or material 31 is provided on a portion of the outer surface of the sleeve 20.
An alternative method of providing support for a liner within a bore will now be described with reference to
In the embodiment shown, the expandable sleeve 40 includes an upper cylindrical portion 46 and a lower conical portion 48, and is run into the bore 42, supported and sealed by casing 50, to the required depth. As shown in
In order to ensure that the sleeve 40 will support the liner 44, the following step involves expanding the remaining portion, that is, the conical portion 48, of the sleeve 40 into contact with the bore wall surface 54. This is achieved by applying weight to the liner 44 to force the conical portion 56 of the liner through the sleeve 40, thus expanding the remaining portion of the sleeve 40 by interaction of the outer and inner tapered portions 58, 60. Thus, the conical portion 56 of the liner 44 acts as a swage expander. In this way, the entire sleeve 40 will be expanded into contact with the bore wall 54 and the liner 44 will be supported by the sleeve by engagement of the outer and inner tapered surfaces 58, 60 of the liner conical portion 56 and the sleeve conical portion 48 respectively, as shown in
Once the liner 44 is fully supported by the sleeve 40, engagement between the sleeve 40 and the bore wall surface 54, and the sleeve 40 and the conical portion 56 of the liner 44 will provide a fluid tight seal to prevent the upward flow of fluid, such as cement, past the sleeve 40 from an annulus 62 formed between the casing 50 and the liner 44. To seek to improve sealing between the sleeve 40 and the bore wall 52, a sealing element or material 53 is provided on a portion of the outer surface of the sleeve 40
Reference is now made to
The sleeve 70 may be used in the method as described with reference to and as shown in
In the alternative embodiment shown in
The sleeve 80 may be used in the method as described with reference to and as shown in
A preferred feature of the present invention will now be described with reference to
It should be understood that the various embodiments of aspects of the present invention described and shown herein may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, any complementary shape or configuration of the expandable sleeve and the liner may be utilised as would be selected by a person of skill in the art. Additionally, in the embodiment shown in
The expandable sleeve may be located at the required depth within the bore and prevented from travelling further into the bore by engagement with a no-go or an internal profile located within the bore on the bore wall surface.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0313664.5 | Jun 2003 | GB | national |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050121202 A1 | Jun 2005 | US |
