Patent Application
20190271220
The present invention relates to the field of fracking oil and gas wells. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of using plasma blasting to frack an oil or gas well.
Fracking is the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, etc., so as to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas. Current methods are usually a single chemical explosive blast and yield single dimension crack propagation on the order of ten feet. Multiple environmental issues exist with the use of large amounts of liquid and contaminating existing water supplies and exposing households to flammable gases. And these methodologies are single use, requiring significant downtime to place subsequent explosives downhole.
An alternate method of fracking of oils and gas boreholes incorporates the use of electrically powered plasma blasting. In this method, a capacitor bank is charged over a relatively long period of time at a low current, and then discharged in a very short pulse at a very high current into a blasting probe comprised of two or more electrodes immersed in a fluid media. The fluid media is in direct contact with the borehole wall to be fractured. These plasma blasting methods however, have been historically expensive due to their inefficiency.
Boreholes range from tens of feet to tens of thousands of feet. This creates both temperature, pressure and physical constraints especially in the area of the bend where it transitions from a vertical to a horizontal section. These holes vary in size from ½ foot to 4 feet in diameter and the horizontal section can also be thousands of feet.
Previous plasma blasting downhole has suffered from control and reusability issues. The probes suffered from difficulties in reusability due to the lack of control of the direction of the plasma spark. This lack of control also prevented the aiming of the shock waves from the blast into a desired direction.
The present set of inventions describe a improved probe that allows more control of the downhole plasma blast as well as the ability to execute multiple plasma blasts within a short period of time.
A blasting system is disclosed herein. The blasting systems includes a borehole for an oil or gas well; a blast media (the blast media is made up of water or other incompressible fluid, where the blast probe electrodes are submerged in the blast media); and a blast probe having a two or more electrodes. The blast probe is positioned within the borehole along with a capacitor assembly, wherein at least two of the electrodes are separated by a dielectric separator. The dielectric separator and at least one of the electrodes constitute an adjustable probe tip. Some of the electrodes on the same axis with tips opposing each other and enclosed in a cage.
In one embodiment, the capacitor assembly includes a steel enclosure surrounding a capacitor. The capacitor assembly could also include a thermally insulative compound. The thermally insulative compound could be an epoxy resin.
In another embodiment, the capacitor assembly includes a shock resistant compound. The shock resistant compound is a viscoelastic urethane polymer.
In some embodiments, a ball joint is connected to the capacitor assembly. The system could include more than one capacitor assemblies. The capacitor assemblies could be separated by ball joint.
A blast probe apparatus is also described in this document. The assembly includes a hollow shaft in a plurality of sections; a capacitor assembly attached between the plurality of sections of the shaft; a transmission cable inside of the hollow shaft, electrically connected to the capacitor assembly; a symmetrical cage mechanically attached to one end of the shaft; and a high voltage transmission cable electrically connected to the capacitor assembly. Two or more electrodes mechanically connected within the cage, where the electrodes are connected to the high voltage transmission cable, and at least two of the electrodes are separated by a dielectric separator. The dielectric separator and at least one of the at least two of the plurality of electrodes constitute an adjustable probe tip with a maximum gap between the electrodes less than the gap between any of the electrodes and the cage enclosing the electrodes, where the electrodes are on an axis with tips opposing each other.
In one embodiment, the capacitor assembly includes a steel enclosure surrounding a capacitor. The capacitor assembly could also include a thermally insulative compound. The thermally insulative compound could be an epoxy resin.
In another embodiment, the capacitor assembly includes a shock resistant compound. The shock resistant compound is a viscoelastic urethane polymer.
In some embodiments, a ball joint is connected to the capacitor assembly. The system could include more than one capacitor assemblies. The capacitor assemblies could be separated by ball joint.
In some embodiments, the plasma blasting system 100 comprises a power supply 106, an electrical storage unit 108, a voltage protection device 110, a high voltage switch 112, transmission cable 114, an inductor 116, a blasting probe 118 and a blasting media 104. In some embodiments, the plasma blasting system 100 comprises any number of blasting probes and corresponding blasting media. In some embodiments, the inductor 116 is replaced with the inductance of the transmission cable 114. Alternatively, the inductor 116 is replaced with any suitable inductance means as is well known in the art. The power supply 106 comprises any electrical power supply capable of supplying a sufficient voltage to the electrical storage unit 108. The electrical storage unit 108 comprises a capacitor bank or any other suitable electrical storage means, The voltage protection device 110 comprises a crowbar circuit, with voltage-reversal protection means as is well known in the art. The high voltage switch 112 comprises a spark gap, an ignitron, a solid state switch, or any other switch capable of handling high voltages and high currents. In some embodiments, the transmission cable 114 comprises a coaxial cable. Alternatively, the transmission cable 114 comprises any transmission cable capable of adequately transmitting the pulsed electrical power.
In some embodiments, the power supply 106 couples to the voltage protection device 110 and the electrical storage unit 108 via the transmission cable 114 such that the power supply 106 is able to supply power to the electrical storage unit 108 through the transmission cable 114 and the voltage protection device 110 is able to prevent voltage reversal from harming the system. In some embodiments, the power supply 106, voltage protection device 110 and electric storage unit 108 also couple to the high voltage switch 112 via the transmission cable 114 such that the switch 112 is able to receive a specified voltage/current from the electric storage unit 108. The switch 112 then couples to the inductor 116 which couples to the blasting probe 118 again via the transmission cable 114 such that the switch 112 is able to selectively allow the specified voltage/amperage received from the electric storage unit 108 to be transmitted through the inductor 116 to the blasting probe 118.
In the oil and gas embodiment, the distance from the power supply 106 and the probe 118 can be thousands of feet down hole into the oil/gas well. This distance prevents the delivery of a sufficient pulse of electricity to the probe 118. To solve this problem, the capacitor bank 108 is placed downhole in a pressure vessel. All charging equipment 106 remains above ground. Transmission cables 114 of length of the borehole are used to transmit power to charge the necessary capacitor banks 108. The capacitor banks 108 now take the form of a cylinder to be placed inside a pressure vessel to withstand the required environmental pressure found at the depths of the well and the pressure from the blasts. The length of each pressure vessel is limited to accommodate the necessary minimum bend radius of the transition between the vertical and horizontal sections. Multiple pressure vessels are linked together like sausage links to accommodate the bend and to get sufficient volume to house the necessary capacitance to create the plasma blast. The capacitors 108 are designed to allow multiple blasts by recharging the capacitors in minutes.
Looking to
The capacitor's enclosure 108 will be grounded to protect against possible electrical failure modes. As such, the enclosure 1 may be a cylindrical pipe or vessel produced in carbon steel, stainless, copper, aluminum, titanium, bronze, or other electrically conductive material. Depending on the diameter of vessel and the material chosen, vessel 1 thickness may be between 0.1″ and 0.75″.
The capacitor assembly 108 may have internal protective coatings that allow for direct installation within the vessel, or additional layers may be added to provide protection against ambient pressure, temperature, and acoustic conditions.
If used, the insulative compound 2 between the enclosure 1 and the capacitor 3 may be thermally conductive, which allows for thermal dissipation into the surrounding water, and electrically insulative, which protects the capacitor 3 in case the enclosure 1 becomes energized. This compound 2 may be an epoxy resin that can contain metals, metal oxides, silica, or ceramic microspheres to provide this thermal conductivity.
If internal capacitor 3 construction provides sufficient heat sinking, other shock-absorbing, acoustic insulating, or powder materials 2 may be used to insulate the capacitor 3 from the vessel 1. Other materials 2 considered for the application are viscoelastic urethane polymers (like Sorbothane), rubber, silicone, powder, or other elastic polymer blends.
The adjustment unit 120 comprises any suitable probe tip adjustment means as are ell known in the art. Further, the adjustment unit 120 couples to the adjustable tip 130 such that the adjustment unit 120 is able to selectively adjust/move the adjustable tip 130 axially away from or towards the end of the ground electrode 124, thereby adjusting the electrode gap 132. In some embodiments, the adjustment unit 120 adjusts/moves the adjustable tip 130 automatically. The term “electrode gap” is defined as the distance between the high voltage and ground electrode 126, 124 through the blasting media 104. Thus, by moving the adjustable tip 130 axially in or out in relation to the end of the ground electrode 124, the adjustment unit 120 is able to adjust the resistance and/or power of the blasting probe 118. Specifically, in an electrical circuit, the power is directly proportional to the resistance. Therefore, if the resistance is increased or decreased, the power is correspondingly varied. As a result, because a, change in the distance separating the electrodes 124, 126 in the blasting probe 118 determines the resistance of the blasting probe 118 through the blasting media 104 when the plasma blasting system 100 is fired, this adjustment of the electrode gap 132 is able to be used to vary the electrical power deposited into the solid 102 to be broken or fractured. Accordingly, by allowing more refined control over the electrode gap 132 via the adjustable tip 130, better control over the blasting and breakage yield is able to be obtained.
In one oil and gas embodiment, the end of the probe 118 is designed on an adjustable swivel 701, 703 to allow different fracture angles creating multidimensional cracks in the rock surrounding the well. Volume, flow, and pressure sensors are placed on the system to estimate the degree and ease of additional fracture volume and directionality of the blast. The electro hydraulic fracturing system has the following benefits over existing systems. Frist of all, an increased fracture volume is produced as fractures will be multi-dimensional and not just along a single plane as occurs with chemical blasting. Second, increased fracture volume and length is produced due to the ability of the system to execute repetitive blasts along a single plane. Furthermore, the amount of liquid needed to inject into the cracks is reduced, which leads to a decrease in the contamination of water supplies.
Another embodiment, as shown in
In one embodiment, water is used as the blasting media 104. The water could be poured down the borehole 122 before or after the probe 118 is inserted in the borehole 122. In some embodiments, such as horizontal boreholes 122 or bore holes 122 that extend upward, the blasting media 104 could be contained in a balloon or could be forced under pressure into the hole 122 with the probe 118. In an oil and gas applications, typically there is water present in the deep boreholes, so water does not need to be added.
As shown in
The method and operation 400 of the plasma blasting system 100 will now be discussed in conjunction with a flow chart illustrated in
During the first microseconds of the electrical breakdown, the blasting media 104 is subjected to a sudden increase in temperature (e.g. about 5000 to 10,000° C.) due to a plasma channel formed between the electrodes 124, 126, which is confined in the borehole 122 and not able to dissipate. The heat generated vaporizes or reacts with part of the blasting media 104, depending on if the blasting media 104 comprises a liquid or a solid respectively, creating a steep pressure rise confined in the borehole 122. Because the discharge is very brief, a blast wave comprising a layer of compressed water vapor (or other vaporized blasting media 104) is formed in front of the vapor containing most of the energy from the discharge. It is this blast wave that then applies force to the inner walls of the borehole 122 and ultimately breaks or fractures the solid 102. Specifically, when the pressure expressed by the wave front (which is able to reach up to 2.5 GPa), exceeds the tensile strength of the solid 102, fracture is expected. Thus, the blasting ability depends on the tensile strength of the solid 102 where the plasma blasting probe 118 is placed, and on the intensity of the pressure formed. The plasma blasting system 100 described herein is able to provide pressures well above the tensile strengths of common rocks (e.g. granite=10-20 tuff=1.4 MPa and concrete=7 MPa). Thus, the major cause of the fracturing or breaking of the solid 102 is the impact of this compressed water vapor wave front which is comparable to one resulting from a chemical explosive (e.g., dynamite).
As the reaction continues, the blast wave begins propagating outward toward regions with lower atmospheric pressure. As the wave propagates, the pressure of the blast wave front falls with increasing distance. This finally leads to cooling of the gasses and a reversal of flow as a low-pressure region is created behind the wave front, resulting in equilibrium.
If the blasting media 104 comprises a thixotropic fluid as discussed above when the pulsed discharge vaporizes part of the fluid, the other part rheologically reacts by instantaneously increasing in viscosity, due to being subjected to the force of the vaporized wave front, such that outer part of the fluid acts solid like. This now high viscosity thixotropic fluid thereby seals the borehole 122 where the blasting probe 118 is inserted. Simultaneously, when the plasma blasting system 100 is discharged, and cracks or fractures begin to form in the solid 102, this newly high viscosity thixotropic fluid temporarily seals them thereby allowing for a longer time of confinement of the plasma, Thus, the vapors are prevented from escaping before building up a blast wave with sufficient pressure. This increase in pressure makes the blasting process 400 described herein more efficient, resulting in a more dramatic breakage effect on the solid 102 using the same or less energy compared to traditional plasma blasting techniques when water or other non-thixotropic media are used.
Similarly, if the blasting media 104 comprises an ER fluid as discussed above, when the pulsed discharge vaporizes part of the fluid, a strong electrical field is formed instantaneously increasing the non-vaporized fluid in viscosity such that it acts solid like. Similar to above, this now high viscosity ER fluid thereby seals the borehole 122 where the blasting probe 118 is inserted. Simultaneously, when the plasma blasting system 100 is discharged, and cracks or fractures begin to form in the solid 102, this newly high viscosity ER fluid temporarily seals them thereby allowing for a longer time of confinement of the plasma. Thus, again the vapors are prevented from escaping before building up a blast wave with sufficient pressure.
During testing, the blast probe of the blasting system described herein was inserted into solids comprising either concrete or granite with cast or drilled boreholes having a one inch diameter. A capacitor bank system 108 was used for the electrical storage unit and was charged at a low current and then discharged at a high current via the high voltage switch 112. Peak power achieved was measured in the megawatts. Puke rise times were around 10-20 μsec and pulse lengths were on the order of 50-100 μsec. The system was able to produce pressures of up to 2.5 GPa and break concrete and granite blocks with masses of more than 850 kg.
The probe connector 501 is mechanically connected to the shaft connector 502 with screws, welds, or other mechanical connections. The shaft connector 502 is connected to the probe shaft 503. The connection to the probe shaft 503 could be through male threads on the top of the probe shaft 503 and female threads on the shaft connector 502. Alternately, the shaft connector 502 could include a set screw on through the side to keep the shaft 503 connected to the shaft connector 502. The shaft connector 502 could be a donut shape and made of stainless steel, copper, aluminum, or another conductive material. Electrically, the shaft connector 502 is connected to the ground side of the wires 114. An insulated wire from the probe connector 501 to the high voltage electrode 602 passes through the center of the shaft connector 502. For a 2 inch borehole 122, the shaft connector could be about 1.75 inches in diameter.
The shaft 503 is a hollow shaft that may be threaded 507 at one (or both) ends. The shaft 503 made of stainless steel, copper, aluminum, or another conductive material. Electrically, the shaft 503 is connected to the ground side of the wires 114 through the shaft connector 502. An insulated wire from the probe connector 501 to the high voltage electrode 602 passes through the center of the shaft 503. Mechanically, the shaft 503 is connected to the shaft connector 502 as described above. At the other end, the shaft 503 is connected to the cage 506 through the threaded bolt 508 into the shafts threads 507, or through another mechanical connection (welding, set screws, etc). The shaft 503 may be circular and 1.5 inches in diameter in a 2 inch borehole 122 application. The shaft may be 40 inches long, in one embodiment. At several intervals in the shaft, blast force inhibitors 504a, 504b, 504c may be placed to inhibit the escape of blast wave and the blasting media 104 during the blast. The blast force inhibitors 504a, 504b, 504c may be made of the same material as the shaft 503 and may be welded to the shaft, machined into the shaft, slip fitted onto the shaft or connected with set screws. The inhibitors 504a, 504b, 504c could be shaped as a donut.
The shaft 503 connects to the cage 506 through a threaded bolt 508 that threads into the shaft's threads 507. This allows adjustment of the positioning of the cage 506 and the blast. Other methods of connecting the cage 506 to the shaft 503 could be used without deviating from the invention (for example, a set screw or welding). The cage 506 may be circular and may be 1.75 inches in diameter. The cage 506 may be 4-6 inches long, and may include 4-8 holes 604 in the side to allow the blast to impact the side of the blast hole 122. These holes 604 may be 2-4 inches high and may be 0.5-1 inch wide, with 0.2- 0.4 inch pillars in the cage 506 attaching the bottom of the cage 506 to the top. The cage 506 could be made of high strength steel, carbon steel, copper, titanium, tungsten, aluminum, cast iron, or similar materials of sufficient strength to withstand the blast. Electrically, the cage 506 is part of the ground circuit from the shaft 503 to the ground electrode 601.
An alternative embodiment for deep borehole oil and gas applications is seen in
In an alternative embodiment, a single blast cage could be made of weaker materials, such as plastic, with a wire connected from the shaft to the ground electrode 601 at the bottom of the cage 506.
The details of the cage 506 can be viewed in
The wire that runs down the shaft 503, as connected to the wires 114 at the probe connector 501, is electrically connected to the high voltage electrode 602. A dielectric separator 603 keeps the electricity from coming in contact with the cage 506. Instead, when the power is applied, a spark is formed between the high voltage electrode 602 and the ground electrode 601. In order to prevent the spark from forming between the high voltage electrode 602 and the cage 506, the distance between the high voltage electrode 602 and the ground electrode 601 must be less than the distance from the high voltage electrode 602 and the cage 506 walls. The two electrodes 601, 602 are on the same axis with the tips opposing each other. If the cage is 1.75 inches in diameter, the cage 506 walls will be about 0.8 inches from the high voltage electrode 602, so the distance between the high voltage electrode 602 and the ground electrode 601 should be less than 0.7 inches. In another embodiment, an insulator could be added inside the cage to prevent sparks between the electrode 602 and the cage when the distance between the high voltage electrode 602 and the ground electrode 601 is larger.
This cage 506 design creates a mostly cylindrical shock wave with the force applied to the sides of the borehole 122. In another embodiment, additional metal or plastic cone-shaped elements may be inserted around lower 601 and upper electrodes 602 to direct a shock wave outside the probe and to reduce axial forces inside the cage.
In one embodiment, a balloon filled with water could be inserted in the cage 506 or the cage 506 could be enclosed in a water filled balloon to keep the water around the electrodes 601, 602 in a horizontal or upside down application.
The method of and apparatus for plasma blasting described herein has numerous advantages. Specifically, by adjusting the blasting probe's tip and thereby the electrode gap, the plasma blasting system is able to provide better control over the power deposited into the specimen to be broken. Consequently, the power used is able to be adjusted according to the size and tensile strength of the solid to be broken instead of using the same amount of power regardless of the solid to be broken. Furthermore, the system efficiency is also increased by using a thixotropic or reactive materials (RM) blasting media in the plasma blasting system. Specifically, the thixotropic or RM properties of the blasting media maximize the amount of force applied to the solid relative to the energy input into the system by not allowing the energy to easily escape the borehole as described above and to add energy from the RM reaction. Moreover, because the thixotropic or RM blasting media is inert, it is safer than the use of combustible chemicals. As a result, the plasma blasting system is more efficient in terms of energy, safer in terms of its inert qualities, and requires smaller components thereby dramatically decreasing the cost of operation.
The present invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments incorporating details to facilitate the understanding of principles of construction and operation of the invention. Such reference herein to specific embodiments and details thereof is not intended to limit the scope of the claims appended hereto. It will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that other various modifications may be made in the embodiment chosen for illustration without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
The foregoing devices and operations, including their implementation, will be familiar to, and understood by, those having ordinary skill in the art.
The above description of the embodiments, alternative embodiments, and specific examples, are given by way of illustration and should not be viewed as limiting. Further, many changes and modifications within the scope of the present embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention includes such changes and modifications.
This patent application is a non-provisional application of, and claims the benefit of the filing dates of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/780,834, “A Novel Multi-Firing Swivel Head Probe for Electro-Hydraulic Fracturing in down Hole Fracking Applications”, filed on Dec. 17, 2018. The disclosures of this provisional patent application is incorporated herein by reference. This non-provisional application draws from U.S. Pat. No. 8,628,146, filed by Martin Baltazar-Lopez and Steve Best, issued on Jan. 14, 2010, entitled “Method of and apparatus for plasma blasting”. The entire patent incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62780834 | Dec 2018 | US |
