Patent Application
20090145603
In the hydrocarbon recovery industry, increasingly, there is a demand for better instrumented downhole tools. Such tools, if possible to create, provide greater information to a well operator thereby enhancing the potential for greater certainty about well conditions and tools conditions, greater production returns and therefore higher profit margin on the well. While efforts have been made in a large number of individual areas of well equipment, some areas have not lent themselves to instrumentation, and have therefore either been left to the tried and true methods without efforts to enhance them through instrumentation or such efforts have failed. One such area of wellbore technology is crossover tools for gravel packs. Crossover tools are actuated by manipulating the tubing string using reciprocation thereabove, to direct the fluid flow path within the tool. Based upon the position of the crossover tool relative to the gravel pack packer, the tool is in different flow modes. Due to the frequency of manipulation, the overall possibility of the string becoming stuck in the gravel pack packer increases. Moreover, because a seasoned field engineer is needed to run the equipment, cost associated with the operation are necessarily increased. The skill of the seasoned engineer are, however, unequivocally required for conventional systems to ensure proper positioning to the crossover tool so that slurry is in fact being guided to the desired location rather than to an erroneous one, where significant damage to the system and the well could result. Further, it is noted that conventional systems are difficult, if not impossible, to use on floating rigs (an ever more common configuration for deep sea platforms) because conventional tools do not lend themselves to the use of positive stops. With the absence of positive stops, there is no way to verify position or compensate for heave of the floating platform. Heretofore, there has been no advanced method and apparatus available to actuate and/or monitor a crossover tool.
A downhole system employing a crossover tool includes an actuator in operable communication with the crossover tool; a controller in operable communication with the actuator; a wired pipe in operable communication with the controller; and a control device in operable communication with the wired pipe. A method for operating a crossover tool in a downhole environment includes sending a command signal from a control device through a wired pipe to a controller in operable communication with the crossover tool; and activating an actuator in operable communication with the crossover tool; and actuating the crossover tool with the actuator to a desired position of the crossover tool.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several Figures:
Referring to
The actuator 16 is also in operable communication with a controller 20. The controller may be configured as one or more individual units as required or desired. In
In one embodiment, the downhole control unit 20a, further, is in operable communication with a sensor 28 positioned to effectively monitor and verify the position of the valve 14. In specific embodiments, the sensor 28 is also capable of generating a signal readable by the control unit 20a. Unit 20a then relays the signal to the control device 26 confirming the desired action at the crossover tool 12 and indeed providing real time indication of the current position of the valve 14 so that subsequent operator shift personnel at the surface or other remote location need not be informed of the position of the valve 14 by outgoing personnel but rather can easily check. The communication between the control device 26 and the crossover tool 12 is entirely facilitated by the wired pipe. This ensures that the communication pathway is protected from the gravel slurry being pumped to the gravel packing location while still affording the operator real time confirmation that the downhole components are in desired positions long before a traditional configuration would provide indication of an improperly positioned valve 14.
While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustrations and not limitation.
