Aspects of the present disclosure relate to coiled tubing drilling. More specifically, aspects described herein relate to providing an arrangement and method for indicating actuation of an incremental disconnect device.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the subject matter described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, not as admissions of prior art.
Coiled tubing drilling provides many significant advantages for drillers seeking to penetrate geotechnical stratum. Conventional coiled tubing drilling utilizes a flexible tubing that is wound around a spindle. At the bottom end of the coiled tubing, a drill bit may rotate, grinding the formation contacted into fragments. The fragments are removed from the resulting borehole by flushing the fragments from the bottom of the borehole with a fluid up the borehole to the surface.
To reach differing areas inside the geotechnical stratums, it is sometimes necessary to drill at orientations other than from the vertical. Coiled tubing may use a housing that allows the drill bit to be at an angle compared to the remainder of the coiled tubing apparatus. The angled or “bent” housing allows drillers to drill the borehole at a deviated angle compared to the vertical.
While drilling deviated wellbores has many advantages, some significant drawbacks are present. Deviated wellbores can cause binding on the coiled tubing apparatus. The binding can get worse with increasing wellbore deviation as the coiled tubing increasingly contacts the sides of the wellbore.
Binding may increase to such a point that the coiled tubing becomes stuck in the wellbore. When the coiled tubing gets stuck, retrieval of the apparatus is necessary but can sometimes be difficult or even impossible. The drill bit and associated downhole hardware may be disconnected from the remainder of the coiled tubing so the coiled tubing can be quickly and safely recovered. To recover the bottom section of the coiled tubing drilling apparatus, a separate tool may be used to latch to the stuck bottom section. The specialized tool allows operators to exert a larger tensile capacity on the stuck components, breaking the frictional forces on the stuck components.
Many downhole applications may utilize differing disconnects. These disconnects can use a tensile, electrical or hydraulic arrangement or a combination of these disconnect technologies. Conventional technologies, however, do not provide a reliable and economical disconnect capability.
A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below.
In accordance with one embodiment, a releasable connection apparatus for coiled tubing includes an outer body configured with an inner volume, a mandrel located at least partially within the outer body and in the inner volume, the mandrel configured to be actuated by an operator from a first non-actuated position to a second actuated position, a plug located with the outer body, the plug movable between a first position to a second position, the plug actuated by the mandrel, wherein when the plug is in the first position, a clear flowpath is maintained for materials flowing past the mandrel and wherein when the plug is in the second position, the flowpath is at least partially blocked, wherein in the second position an increase in fluid pressure occurs signaling actuation of the releasable connection, and a structural weakpoint apparatus. The structural weakpoint apparatus is configured to structurally fail at a predetermined tensile load placed upon the releasable connection apparatus, wherein the structural weakpoint apparatus is configured at a lower end of the mandrel.
In accordance with another embodiment, a releasable connection apparatus includes an outer body configured with an inner volume, a mandrel located at least partially within the outer body and in the inner volume, the mandrel configured to be actuated from a first non-actuated position to a second actuated position, a solenoid connected to the mandrel, wherein the solenoid is configured to actuate the mandrel from the first non-actuated position to the second actuated position, a restriction arrangement located within the outer body, the restriction arrangement movable between a first position to a second position, wherein when the restriction arrangement is in the first position, a clear flowpath is maintained for materials flowing within the outer body and wherein when the restriction arrangement is in the second position, the flowpath is at least partially blocked, and a structural weakpoint apparatus, wherein the structural weakpoint apparatus is configured to structurally fail at a predetermined tensile load placed upon the releasable connection apparatus.
In yet another embodiment, a method includes a method to indicate actuation of a coiled tubing releasable connection apparatus. The method includes providing a coiled tubing arrangement in a downhole configuration, wherein the coiled tubing arrangement is provided with at least one coiled tubing releasable connection apparatus, conducting a tensile pull on the coiled tubing arrangement wherein the tensile pull actuates the at least one coiled tubing releasable connection apparatus, impeding a flow within the coiled tubing arrangement such that a pressure increase is created in the flow after the actuation of the at least one coiled tubing releasable connection apparatus, and sensing the pressure increase from the impeded flow.
Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. Again, the brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter.
Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. These embodiments are only examples of the presently disclosed techniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions are made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such development efforts might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. The embodiments discussed below are intended to be examples that are illustrative in nature and should not be construed to mean that the specific embodiments described herein are necessarily preferential in nature. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” within the present disclosure are not to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.
Referring to
A wellbore 10 is illustrated being drilled by a drill bit 12 being rotated by a downhole drilling motor 11. The motor 11 may be a positive displacement arrangement, in a non-limiting embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, a lobed rotor and lobed stator arrangement may be used. In the illustrated embodiment, a drive shaft (not shown) is used to connect the drill bit 12 to the lobed rotor. Tools may be run along the length of the coiled tubing. In one non-limiting embodiment, the coiled tubing 14 is fed to an injector, wherein the injector drives the coiled tubing 14 into the well under pressure through a blowout preventer and stripper.
A sensor package 13 may be located at several positions on the coiled tubing for measurement of formation features, such as pressure and temperature as non-limiting embodiments. The sensor package 13 may be used to interface with a computer control to allow for autonomous control of the releasable connection apparatus 16. The sensor package 13 may be connected to the surface through a wireline connection, in a non-limiting embodiment, so that data may be supplied to operators during operations.
A releasable connection apparatus 16 is located to allow operators to release coiled tubing 14 located above the releasable connection apparatus 16 when necessary. Such conditions necessitating actuation of the releasable connection apparatus 16 may be when the coiled tubing 14 is stuck in an underground formation. In the illustrated embodiment, the releasable connection apparatus 16 is a generally cylindrical shape for ease of placement downhole.
The releasable connection apparatus 16 is provided with a structural weakpoint arrangement that is configured to fail at predefined tensile values exerted upon the releasable connection apparatus 16. The releasable connection apparatus 16, in the illustrated embodiment, is constructed with a “necked” or reduced structural material cross-section so that failure occurs at this cross-section rather than at other points in the releasable connection apparatus 16 or other points of the coiled tubing 14. In another embodiment, the reduced structural material cross-section may be replaced with a material that would fail at a predefined tensile force without the need for reducing the material cross-section. In either configuration, the structural weakpoint arrangement is connected to the lower portion of the mandrel through a threaded connection.
If, downhole, the coiled tubing 14 becomes stuck, a tensile load may be placed on the coiled tubing 14 to dislodge the coiled tubing 14 by the operators pulling up on the entire stuck apparatus. This tensile load may be up to 10,000 pounds of force. After actuation of the releasable connection apparatus 16, tensile loads of up to 50,000 pounds may be placed upon the coiled tubing 14. If, after exceeding 50,000 pounds, efforts are unsuccessful to dislodge the coiled tubing 14 from the formation, the releasable connection apparatus 16 may be actuated such that a disconnect may be made at the releasable connection apparatus 16.
Actuation of the releasable connection apparatus 16 may occur over successive tries, namely an operator may try to remove the coiled tubing 14 from the downhole environment by placing a tension on the coiled tubing 14. If the coiled tubing 14 does not move, the weakpoint in the apparatus 16 may be actuated. After the weakpoint has been compromised, successive tension pulls on the releasable connection apparatus 16 allows the successively greater tension pulls to be exerted on the coiled tubing 14. To signal to the operators that the releasable connection apparatus 16 has been actuated, an apparatus, described later, may be used to increase a sensed pressure value within the coiled tubing 14, therefore notifying operators of an actuated condition.
Unlike conventional apparatus that release pressure when a releasable connection apparatus 16 is actuated, aspects of the current embodiments notify operators by increasing overall pressure within the system, thus sending a clear signal that the weakpoint has been compromised.
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Actuation of the plug 30 may be accomplished through direct mechanical connection after the weakpoint is compromised. In one embodiment, the plug 30 may be connected to a solenoid in an embodiment that allows for actuation of the plug from a first position (e.g., running condition) to a second position (e.g., actuated condition). In such an embodiment, the releasable connection apparatus 16 may include an arrangement that is configured to detect actuation of the solenoid. In a further embodiment, plug 30 may be actuated by a computer-based control system (e.g., having one or more microprocessors that execute suitably configured encoded instructions) in accordance with one or more set(s) of predefined conditions.
After ultimate release of the releasable connection apparatus 16, a fishing apparatus (not shown) may be lowered into the wellbore and connected to the stuck components in the wellbore. Such connections to the stuck components can be implemented such that sufficient tensile loading can be imparted to the stuck components to remove them from the wellbore.
To notify the operators of the status of the releasable connection apparatus 16, arrangements are described that will increase pressure within the system to notify operators of actuation. Referring to
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Similar to that described above, to notify the operators of the status of the releasable connection apparatus 16, arrangements are described that will increase pressure within the system to notify operators of actuation. Referring to
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The flapper valve arrangement 90 may be made of any material that would provide for minimization of erosion during flow conditions experienced through the flapper valve arrangement 90. These materials may include aluminum and stainless steel as non-limiting embodiments.
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The slotted flapper valve arrangement 100 of
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The flaps 112 provided in
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To summarize, the various embodiments described above provide for changing the flow area of a multi-stage disconnect after a first stage has been actuated. For instance, the multi-stage disconnect cycle may be of a type disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,710, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Release of the releasable connection apparatus by way of such a disconnect cycle can be initiated, for example, by a tensile pull. The flow area can be varied in response to stroke or electronic control (e.g., a solenoid valve). In some embodiments, the first stage actuation can be sensed electronically. In some embodiments, the downhole tool operates autonomously (with no control from the surface). The flow restriction can cause an increase or decrease in pressure when activated. In one embodiment, the flow restriction can be activated prior to release/disconnect. In another embodiment, the flow restriction is coupled to relative telescopic displacement. As mentioned above, the weakpoint may be spring loaded in certain embodiments, which can prevent loss of preload.
As will be understood, the various techniques described above and relating to a releasable connector for a coiled tubing drilling assembly are provided herein by way of example only. Accordingly, it should be understood that the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to only the examples provided above.
The foregoing outlines feature 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 present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structure for carrying out the sample purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2013/054095 | 8/8/2013 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61680887 | Aug 2012 | US |