Patent Application
20160326805
This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosure. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Oil and gas reservoirs may be accessed by drilling wellbores to enable production of hydrocarbon fluid, e.g. oil and/or gas, to a surface location. In many environments, directional drilling techniques have been employed to gain better access to the desired reservoirs by forming deviated wellbores as opposed to traditional vertical wellbores. However, forming deviated wellbore sections can be difficult and requires directional control over the orientation of the drill bit used to drill the deviated wellbore.
Rotary steerable drilling systems have been used to drill deviated wellbore sections while enabling control over the drilling directions. Such drilling systems often are classified as push-the-bit systems or point-the-bit systems and allow an operator to change the orientation of the drill bit and thus the direction of the wellbore.
A steerable drilling tool in accordance to an embodiment includes a steering actuator having an axially moveable piston connected to a steering pad by a linkage to convert the axial movement of the piston into a radial movement of the steering pad.
A method includes deploying a bottom hole assembly (BHA) on a drill string in a wellbore, the BHA including a drill bit and a steering actuator having an axially moveable piston connected to a steering pad by a linkage, axially moving the piston in response to the application of a hydraulic pressure, radially extending the steering pad in response to the axially moving the piston and steering the drill bit in response to radially extending the steering pad.
A drilling system includes a BHA deployed in a wellbore on a drill string, the BHA including a drill bit and a steering actuator having an axially moveable piston connected to a steering pad by a linkage to convert the axial movement of the piston into a radial movement of the steering pad.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of claimed subject matter.
The disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with standard practice in the industry, various features may not be drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, the disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
As used herein, the terms connect, connection, connected, in connection with, and connecting may be used to mean in direct connection with or in connection with via one or more elements. Similarly, the terms couple, coupling, coupled, coupled together, and coupled with may be used to mean directly coupled together or coupled together via one or more elements. Terms such as up, down, top and bottom and other like terms indicating relative positions to a given point or element are may be utilized to more clearly describe some elements. Commonly, these terms relate to a reference point such as the surface from which drilling operations are initiated.
The depicted steering actuators 36 incorporate a piston converter, generally denoted by the numeral 10, operationally connecting an axially aligned piston 12 to a radially moveable pad 14. The axial movement of piston 12 is transferred to the radial movement of pad 14. A control system generally identified with the numeral 40 selectively directs drilling fluid to the steering actuators 36 to extend the pads 14 radially or laterally relative to the bottom hole assembly (e.g., too, drill string) and into contact with the outer steerable component 34 (e.g., sleeve) or into contact with the wellbore wall to steer the drill bit 30. The control system 40 may include for example control electronics 42 and one or more valves 44 (e.g., spider valve, bistable valve, etc.). The steering actuator can be provided in various forms. Non-limiting examples of steerable systems in which the piston convert can be utilized are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,590,636, 8,701,795, 8,708,064, 8,763,725 and 9,057,223, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Depending on the environment and the operational parameters of the drilling job, drilling system 20 may comprise a variety of other features. For example, drill string 24 may include drill collars 46 which, in turn, may be designed to incorporate desired drilling modules, such as logging-while-drilling and/or measurement-while-drilling modules 48. In some applications, stabilizers may be used along the drill string to stabilize the drill string with respect to the surrounding wellbore wall. Various surface systems also may form a part of the drilling system 20. In the example illustrated, a drilling rig 50 is positioned above the wellbore 26 and a drilling mud system 52 is used in cooperation with the drilling rig. For example, the drilling mud system 52 may be positioned to deliver drilling fluid 54 from a drilling fluid tank 56. The drilling fluid 54 is pumped (pump 53) through appropriate tubing 58 and delivered down through drilling rig 50, into drill string 24, and down through drill bit 30. In many applications, the return flow of drilling fluid flows back up to the surface through an annulus 60 between the drill string 24 and the surrounding wellbore wall (see arrows 62 showing flow down through drill string 24 and up through annulus 60). The drilling system 20 also may comprise a surface control system 64 which may be used to communicate with steerable drilling assembly 28. In some embodiments, the surface control system 64 communicates with a downhole steering control system within steerable drilling assembly 28.
The piston cylinder 68 is oriented in the axial direction with the piston 12 movement and the piston push in the axial direction in response to the application of hydraulic fluid 54, e.g. drilling mud. The piston cylinder 68 is longer and the movement of piston 12 is longer than that permitted in a radial piston arrangement, see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,590,636. The longer axial movement allows for more lifting movement of the rocker assembly 70 (see,
The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. For example, features shown in individual embodiments referred to above may be used together in combinations other than those which have been shown and described specifically. Accordingly, any such modification is intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not just structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. Thus, although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, whereas a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures. It is the express intention of the applicant not to invoke means-plus-function for any limitations of any of the claims herein, except for those in which the claim expressly uses the words ‘means for’ together with an associated function.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/158,836, filed May 8, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62158836 | May 2015 | US |
