Patent Application
20240271506
The present disclosure generally relates to wellbores (e.g., oil wells or any drilled holes or boreholes that are drilled to aid in the exploration and recovery of natural resources, including oil, gas, or water) and, in particular, to a system for preventing objects form falling into a wellbore and for cleaning tubulars used during drilling operations.
During a drilling operation, objects can sometimes accidentally fall into a wellbore from the rig floor. These objects can prevent downhole equipment from functioning properly and can often impede the drilling and completion process. Some large objects can be retrieved from a wellbore using specially designed tools. By contrast, relatively small objects, such as small metal objects, dropped in a wellbore can often cause significant disruption to downhole equipment and related operations. For example, during completion operations, small pieces of metal present in a wellbore can prevent packers and other completion tools from sealing against a casing wall. During open hole drilling operations, such small metal objects can destroy very expensive downhole equipment such as Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) bits.
Such small objects can also be very difficult to retrieve from a wellbore, as they are often too small to be grasped using conventional tools. This is especially true for small metal objects, and particularly small metal objects that have an irregular shape or small pieces that can be broken up during the retrieval process. Unfortunately, many drilling rigs typically have many small metal objects (such as, for example, wrenches, chain, bolts, tong dies and nuts) at or near the rig floor. Such objects, which are in relatively close proximity to the upper opening of a well, are at risk of falling into a wellbore.
Further, retrieving small metal objects can be very time consuming and, as a result, very costly. Accordingly, the best way to prevent such disruptions and to avoid long and expensive retrieval of the objects is to keep such objects from entering a wellbore in the first place.
Current approaches of preventing the contamination of a well include manually covering the well with a cover when there is no tubular in a wellbore. However, when there is a tubular in the well, there can be a gap between the tubular or a drill string and the well. The existing method for covering the gap is to manually close the gap with a C-plate. Such manual work delays operations and poses danger to the personnel who engage in the manual work. Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for protecting the well from objects falling into the well.
The present disclosure relates to a system for preventing objects from falling into a well and for cleaning tubulars used during drilling operations. The wells and associated wellbores may include holes or boreholes that are drilled to aid in the exploration and recovery of natural resources, including oil, gas, or water. Further, the wells can also be used for mineral extraction, environmental assessment, and temperature measurements. Consistent with a disclosed embodiment, a device for covering an opening of a wellbore is provided. The device includes a housing having a central opening, the housing configured to be secured within a well center opening, and a plurality of covers arranged around the central opening. The plurality of covers is configured to: (a) move into an open-cover position, a partially-closed-cover position, or a closed-cover position, and (b) cover at least a portion of the central opening when the plurality of covers is in the partially-closed-cover position or the closed-cover position.
Consistent with another disclosed embodiment, a device for removing mud, fluid, and/or debris from a tubular tripping out of a wellbore is provided. The device includes a housing having a central opening, the housing configured to be secured within a well center opening, and a plurality of flexible wipers arranged around the central opening. The plurality of flexible wipers is configured to: (a) move to an open-wiper position, a partially-closed-wiper position, or a closed-wiper position; and (b) cover the central opening when the plurality of wipers is in the partially-closed-wiper position or the closed-wiper position.
Consistent with another disclosed embodiment, a multifunctional device for covering an opening of a wellbore and removing mud, fluid, and/or debris from a tubular tripping out of the wellbore is provided. The multifunctional device includes a housing and a central opening, the housing configured to be secured within the opening of the well. Further, the multifunctional device includes a plurality of covers disposed at a first cross-sectional level and arranged around the central opening. The plurality of covers is configured to: (a) move to an open-cover position, a partially-closed-cover position, or a closed-cover position; and (b) cover at least a portion of the central opening when the plurality of covers is in the partially-closed-cover position or the closed-cover position. Further, the multifunctional device includes a plurality of flexible wipers disposed at a second cross-sectional level located below the first cross-sectional level and arranged around the central opening. The plurality of flexible wipers is configured to: (a) move to an open-wiper position, a partially-closed-wiper position, or a closed-wiper position; and (b) cover the central opening when the plurality of wipers is in the partially-closed-wiper position or the closed-wiper position.
The present disclosure also provides a method of covering an opening of a wellbore and removing mud, fluid, and/or debris from a tubular tripping out of the wellbore, the method comprising: (a) moving a plurality of covers disposed around the tubular to a partially-closed-cover position or a closed-cover position, thereby covering at least a portion of the opening; and (b) moving a plurality of flexible wipers disposed around the tubular to be in contact with the tubular, thereby removing the mud, fluid, and/or debris from the tubular when the tubular is tripping out. Optionally, the method further comprises ejecting, onto the tubular, fluid jets from a plurality of nozzles disposed around the tubular, thereby cleaning the tubular.
The foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the claims.
The skilled artisan will understand that the drawings primarily are for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive subject matter described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale; in some instances, various aspects of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein may be shown exaggerated or enlarged in the drawings to facilitate an understanding of different features. In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to like features (e.g., functionally similar and/or structurally similar elements).
The present disclosure relates to a rotary multi-tool having two or more functions. The rotary multi-tool is configured to prevent objects from falling into a wellbore and remove mud, debris, fluid, and/or metal shavings from a tubular that is tripping out of the wellbore. In some implementations, the rotary multi-tool comprises two systems connected to each other, with one system for preventing objects from falling into the wellbore, and the other system for removing mud, debris, fluid, and/or metal shavings from the tubular. Each of the two systems can also be used as a standalone system for its respective functions. These systems are described in detail below.
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a system and method for preventing objects from falling into a wellbore during a drilling operation. The system for preventing the objects from falling into the wellbore may be installed on any suitable drilling rig, such as onshore or offshore drilling rigs (e.g., drill ships). The system may be part of a drill floor and may be situated in a well center opening. The well center opening is an opening in a drill floor in which various tools (e.g., tubulars) are inserted so that they can be placed into a well.
The object falling prevention system 100 includes a housing 110 configured to be placed within a well center opening (e.g., the opening of a well center at a drill floor level). The housing 110 may be cylindrical to fit the well center opening when the well center opening is cylindrical. It should be noted, that in some implementations, the housing 110 may not be cylindrical but may be conical, partially cylindrical and partially conical, or may have another axisymmetric shape. In some cases, the housing 110 may not be axisymmetric when the well center opening is not axisymmetric (e.g., when the well center opening has a rectangular cross-section).
The housing 110 is configured to fit within a well center opening. The housing 110 is configured to be installed within the inner walls of a channel formed by the well center opening. For example, the housing 110 may have a cylindrical shape with an outer diameter that is less than the diameter of the cylindrical well center opening, such that the cylindrical housing 110 is installed within the well center opening and secured to the inner walls of the well center opening using any suitable securing mechanisms, such as bolts, clamps, springs, and the like. The housing 110 includes a central opening 170 configured to allow tubulars or other objects to be placed in and/or taken out of the well. In one implementation, the central opening 170 is configured to receive tubulars that have a diameter between a fraction of an inch and up to 20 inches. The central opening 170 may have a diameter of 25 inches, 24 inches, 23 inches, 22 inches, 21 inches, 20 inches, 19 inches, 18, inches, 17, inches, and the like. In some cases, the central opening 170 may have a diameter that is at least 19 inches.
Further, an example embodiment of an object falling prevention system 300 placed within a well center opening 304 of a drill floor 302 is illustrated in
In one implementation, a central opening of an object falling prevention system has a cylindrical shape (herein the cylindrical shape implies a circular cross-section), thereby allowing for cylindrical objects (e.g., cables, tubulars, and the like) to be placed within the well. An example top view of an object falling prevention system 400 having a central opening 470 located within a hosing 410 is shown in
It should be noted, that in some cases, more than one system similar to the object falling prevention system 400 (or the object falling prevention systems 100-300) may be used for drilling operations. For instance, a first object falling prevention system having first characteristics may be used for making or breaking a riser, and a second object falling prevention system having second characteristics may be used for drilling operations (e.g., for trilling in or tripping out a drill pipe). For instance, the first object falling prevention system may include a large diameter central opening (e.g., the diameter of the central opening for the first object falling prevention system may be larger than the diameter of a riser) and a second object falling prevention system may include a smaller diameter central opening (e.g., the diameter of the central opening for the second object falling prevention system may be larger than the diameter of a drill pipe but may be smaller than the diameter of a riser).
It should be also noted that, in various embodiments, the object falling prevention system 100 or other similar systems described herein is configured to be easily installable or removable for maintenance and/or repair. In one implementation, the object falling prevention system 100 may be lowered into a well center opening located at a drill floor (e.g., the object falling prevention system 100 may be suspended from a traveling block coupled to a drilling line). After lowering the object falling prevention system 100, it may be secured (via bolts, clamps, hooks, springs having hooks, and the like) to the side walls of the well center opening. Additionally, or alternatively, the object falling prevention system 100 may be secured to a top surface of the drill floor adjacent to the well center opening. For instance,
Returning to
In some cases, a tubular may have a variable diameter along a length of the tubular. For example, if the tubular is a drill pipe, the tubular may have sections (e.g., drill pipe joints) that have a larger diameter. When the drill pipe is tripping in (or tripping out), these larger diameter sections periodically pass through a central opening (e.g., through the central opening 470), and the covering of the central opening needs to be adjusted for such larger diameter sections (e.g., a smaller size ring area 470r needs to be covered when the larger diameter sections pass through the central opening 470 during the tripping in or tripping out operation). After passing of the larger diameter sections, the covering of the central opening needs to be readjusted (e.g., a larger ring area 470r needs to be covered when the smaller diameter sections pass through the central opening 470 during the tripping in or tripping out operation) in order to eliminate any uncovered portions of the central opening 470. Further, in some cases, when there are no tubulars within the well center opening, the entirety of central opening 470 or at least 90% of its area may be covered to prevent objects from falling into the well.
Returning to
The object falling prevention system 700 may have two to twenty covers 721. In some cases, the object falling prevention system 700 may have four to thirty covers 721. The covers 721 may have straight edges, resulting in a polygon shape of the uncovered opening 771, while curved covers 721 improve the roundness of the uncovered opening 771. The covers 721 may be made from any suitable durable material (e.g., plastic, metal, metal alloy, a composite material including plastic and metal, or any other suitable durable material, such as ceramics, rubber, and the like).
As shown in
Further,
Further, the housing 810 houses an accumulator 827 and a hydraulic or pneumatic (hydraulic/pneumatic) cylinder 825 configured to actuate the rotation of a drive shaft 826 coupled to a drive plate 824. The drive plate 824 is configured to be coupled to various cylindrical members coupled to covers 821, and movement of the drive plate 824 actuates the movements of these cylindrical members (e.g., a cylindrical member 823A) coupled to covers 821. Using the drive shaft 826 and the drive plate 824 is one possible implementation of an actuator for the covers 821. Alternatively, in some implementations, each one of the covers 821 may be separately actuated (e.g., extended or retracted) via an actuator associated with each one of the covers 821. For example, when a plurality of actuators are used for moving (e.g., extending or retracting) covers 821, each one of the plurality of actuators is configured to extend or retract a corresponding cover of the covers 821.
In various embodiments, one or more actuators are controlled by one or more controllers configured to send signals to the actuators to extend or retract the plurality of covers. Further details of operation of the one or more controllers are described below.
The cover 821C includes a contact edge 828C that is configured to be adjacent to the tubular 780 at the closed-cover position. Further, cover 821C includes a continuation edge 829C following the contact edge 828C. The contact edge 828C may be made from a sufficiently soft and flexible material (e.g., a rubber, a polymer, and the like), such that there is no scratching or any other damage when the contact edge 828C contacts a surface of a tubular. It should be noted that other covers 821 include associated contact edges 828 and continuation edges 829, as indicated in
The contact edge 828C may be in a close proximity to a surface of a tubular and in some cases, when the tubular moves laterally, the contact edge 828C may contact the surface of the tubular. A portion of the contact edge 828C forms one of the sides of an uncovered opening (e.g., the portion of the edge 828C may be a side of a polygonal uncovered opening, when straight covers 821 are used). The plurality of portions of such contact edges of the plurality of covers 821 form a perimeter of the uncovered opening. In one embodiment, when a central opening is closed (i.e., the covers 821 are in a closed-cover position), the contact edges 828 are configured to be adjacent to other edges of covers 821. When the central opening is fully open (i.e., the covers 821 are in an open-cover position), the contact edges 828 (and in some cases together with the continuation edges 829) may form the perimeter of the uncovered opening. When the central opening is partially open, portions of the contact edges 828 may form the perimeter of the uncovered opening.
Further views of covers 821 and associated components of the object falling prevention system 800 are shown in
In various implementations, a housing of an object falling prevention system may be made from interconnected parts that can be easily be put together or separated. Such design of the housing may facilitate access to the components within the housing for repair, maintenance, or replacement.
The first housing half 910A may have a first side S1A facing a corresponding first side S1B of the second housing half 910B. Further the first housing half 910A may have a second side S2A facing a corresponding second side S2B of the second housing half 910B. In one implementation, the first and the second housing halves 910A and 910B may be physically separate housing units but may be configured to be connected by coupling the first side S1A with the corresponding first side S1B using a connection 915, and by coupling the second side S2A with the corresponding second side S2B using a connection 914. Connections 915 and 914 may be any suitable connections for connecting adjacent walls of the first housing half 910A the second housing half 910B (e.g., bolts, clamps, hinges, and the like). In some cases, a pair of sides may be connected via a hinge, such that the first housing half 910A may move relative to the second housing half 910B (e.g., the first housing half 910A and/or the second housing half 910B may be configured to rotate around the axis of the hinge connecting these housing halves).
When the housing 1010 has a cylindrical shape, it is referred to as a cylindrical housing 1010. Further, the first housing half 1010A of the cylindrical housing 1010 may be referred to as a first cylindrical housing half 1010A, and the second housing half 1010B may be referred to as a second cylindrical housing half 1010B. The first and second cylindrical housing halves 1010A and 1010B are connected by a first connection element (e.g., connection element 1015) at their respective first ends (e.g., sides S1A and S1B). Further, when the first and second cylindrical housing halves 1010A and 1010B are connected by a second connection element (e.g., connection element 1014) at their respective second ends (e.g., sides S2A and S2B), the cylindrical housing 1010 is in a closed configuration. When the first and second cylindrical housing halves 1010A and 1010B are disconnected at their respective second ends, the cylindrical housing 1010 is in an open configuration. As shown in
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for cleaning the tubular from mud, debris, fluid, metal shavings, and the like when it is tripped out. In one embodiment, as shown in
In some cases, the flexible wipers 1241 are configured to partially cover the central opening 1270, as shown in
In various embodiments, the motion of the flexible wipers 1441 is actuated by a wiper actuator configured to extend and retract the plurality of flexible wipers 1441. An example wiper actuator is shown in
Cleaning tubulars from mud, debris, fluid, metal shavings, and the like may also include washing the tubulars and/or wash flexible wipers. In one embodiment, the rotary multi-tool includes a washing system 1500, as shown in
In one implementation, the fluid flow characteristics of the fluid jets 1667 may be controlled (e.g., the velocity of the fluid jets 1667 may be controlled and/or the volume flow rate of the fluid jets 1667 may be controlled via a suitable controller. For instance, the nozzles 1661 may include suitable valves for controlling the fluid flow characteristics of one or more fluid jets 1667). The washing system 1600 may include any suitable number of the nozzles 1661. For instance, the washing system 1600 may include between four to eighteen nozzles.
A rotary multi-tool may be formed by combining any one of the systems described herein. For example, the rotary multi-tool may be configured to combine an object falling prevention system with a cleaning system and/or a washing system as described above.
In one implementation, the object falling prevention system 1700A may be within a top section of the combined system 1700, the cleaning system 1700C may be within a bottom section, and the washing system 1700B may be within a middle section of the combined system 1700 and sandwiched between the object falling prevention system 1700A and the cleaning system 1700C. Further, all the housings 1710, 1730, and 1750 are configured to be adjacent to a central opening 1770, as the combined system 1700 is designed such that the central opening 1770 runs through the middle of the combined system 1700. It should be appreciated that the embodiment of the system 1700 is only one way of combining systems 1700A-1700C. For example, in an alternative implementation, the washing system 1700B may be part of a bottom section of the combined system 1700, and the cleaning system 1700C may be sandwiched between the object falling prevention system 1700A and the washing system 1700B.
The system 1800A may be a combination of an object falling prevention system and a washing system. For instance, system 1800A includes a housing 1810 which houses both cover components 1820 and nozzle components 1860. The cover components 1820 may be the same as or similar to the cover components 120, and the nozzle components 1860 may be the same as or similar to the nozzle components 1560. In one implementation, the system 1800A may be located within a top section of the combined system 1800, while the system 1800C is located within a bottom section of the combined system 1800. In one implementation, at least some of the cover components 1820 may be positioned above at least some of the nozzle components 1860 within the housing 1810. In some cases, the covers of the cover components 1820 are positioned at a first cross-sectional level 1810CL1 of the housing 1810 (e.g., the first cross-sectional level may be similar to the cross-sectional level 810CL, as shown in
The system 1900B may be a combination of the cleaning system and optionally a washing system. For instance, the system 1900B includes a housing 1930 which may house both wiper components 1940 and nozzle components 1960. The wiper components 1940 may be the same as or similar to the wiper components 1140, and the nozzle components 1960 may be the same as or similar to the nozzle components 1560. In one implementation, the system 1900A may be located within a top section of the combined system 1900, while the system 1900B is located within a bottom section of the combined system 1900. In one implementation, at least some of the wiper components 1940 may be positioned below at least some of the nozzle components 1960 within the housing 1930. For example, the nozzles of the nozzle components 1920 may be positioned at a first cross-sectional level 1930CL1 of the housing 1930 and the flexible wipers of the wiper components 1940 are positioned at a second cross-sectional level 1930CL2 that is below the first cross-sectional level 1930CL1. Further, the housings 1910 and 1930 are configured to be adjacent to a central opening 1970, as the combined system 1900 is designed such that the central opening 1970 runs through the middle of the combined system 1900. It should be noted that in some cases, the nozzles may be positioned below the flexible wipers (e.g., the flexible wipers may be positioned at a first cross-sectional level, and the nozzles may be positioned at a second cross-sectional level below the first cross-sectional level).
Further, the housing 2010 is configured to be adjacent to a central opening 2070, as the combined system 2000 is designed such that the central opening 2070 runs through the middle of the combined system 2000.
The washing system 2100B includes a first housing half 2150A, a second housing half 2150B, nozzle components 2160A located in the first housing half 2150A, and nozzle components 2160B located in the second housing half 2150B. Similar to the housing halves 2110A and 2110B, the housing halves 2150A and 2150B may be connected via suitable connection elements (e.g., hinges, bolts, pins, clamps, and the like). For instance, the first housing half 2150A may be a portion of a housing as shown in
The cleaning system 2100C includes a first housing half 2130A and a second housing half 2130B, wiper components 2140A located in the first housing half 2130A, and wiper components 2140B located in the second housing half 2120B. The housing halves 2130A and 2130B may be similar to or the same as housing halves 1330A and 1330B.
As shown in
A top view of the combined system 2200 is shown in
In various implementations, the systems 1700-2200 are configured to be sufficiently durable such that a top portion (herein the top portion is also referred to as the top plate) is resistant to a damage when an object weighting 330 pounds, or more is dropped from a height of six feet. Also, the systems 1700-2200 may be explosion proof (herein explosion proof is also referred to as EX rated). Further, the systems 1700-2200 may have dimensions such that they fit well within the conventional well center openings. In an example embodiment, the systems 1700-2200 may have an outside diameter of about 40 inches to 70 inches. In an example embodiment, the systems 1700-2200 may have an outside diameter of about 59 inches. In some cases, the outside diameter for the systems 1700-2200 may be 51-52 inches. Further, the systems 1700-2200 may be designed to weigh between 1000-2000 kg and have a relatively small height in order to fit between a diverter and a rig floor. For example, the systems 1700-2200 may have a height of about 15-18 inches. The systems 1700-2200 may be configured to let tubulars with outer diameter of as much as 20 inches to pass through a center opening. Examples of tubulars include, but are not limited to, drill pipes, tubings, and casings. Further, the systems 1700-2200 may be capable of working with the control mud level (CML) system in place including the mud curtain or mud funnel.
Various embodiments of systems disclosed herein include components (e.g., cover components, wiper components, and/or nozzle components) that need to be controlled. For example, actuators for the covers need to be controlled to execute desired motions of covers; actuators for the flexible wipers need to be controlled to execute desired motions of the flexible wipers; and various valves need to be controlled to control fluid jets ejected from the nozzles. Additionally, in some cases, the tripping in and tripping out speed of tubulars may need to be controlled. All these controlling operations may be achieved via one or more suitable controllers.
An example controller system 2390 is shown in
The controller system 2390 further includes the drilling control system 2392 configured to control tripping in and tripping out of various tubulars (as well placement of various tools within the well, including cables, wires, and the like). In one implementation, the drilling control system 2392 may not directly control the operations of the rotary multi-tool 2394, but instead sends data to the controller 2391, which in turn controls various operations of the rotary multi-tool 2394. The drilling control system 2392 may communicate to the controller 2391 the type of tubular that is being tripped in or tripped out, the speed with which the tubular is being tripped in and tripped out, the length of the tubular that remains to be tripped in or tripped out, the length of the tubular that has already been tripped in or tripped out, information about tubular joints, such as locations of the tubular joints along the tubular (tubular joints have larger diameters than other tubular segments, and information about locations of the tubular joints may be needed to correctly operate at least covers of the rotary multi-tool), a degree of contamination of a section of the tubular in proximity to the rotary multi-tool 2394, and the like. Similar to the processor 2391, the drilling control system 2392 includes a suitable device for communicating signals (in a wired and/or wireless manner) with the processor 2391, the sensors 2393, and the rotary multi-tool 2394, via respective signal and data network connections C12, C23, and C24.
The controller system 2390 further optionally includes sensors 2393. The sensors 2393 may include a first group of sensors 2393W that may be installed at a well center opening, below the well center opening, or anywhere on a drill floor (or at any suitable location of a rig). The sensors 2393W may provide feedback to the processor 2391P via the connection C13 or to the drilling control system 2392 via the connection C23 regarding the tripping operations of the tubular (similar to other devices of the controller system 2390, sensors 2393 include a suitable device for communicating signals (in a wired and/or wireless manner) with the controller 2391, the rotary multi-tool 2394, and/or the drilling control system 2392). In some cases, the sensors 2393 may be configured to communicate signals with the rotary multi-tool 2394 via a connection C34.
The sensors 2393W may provide the feedback on the tripping speed of the tubular, the locations of the tubular joints, the diameter of the tubular that is being tripped in or tripped out, whether the tubular is located at the well center opening, whether the tubular is in a vertical position (or has a tilt relative to the drill floor), and the like. Sensors 2393W may include any suitable sensors such as optical sensors, audio sensors (e.g., ultrasound sensors), electrical sensors and the like.
Additionally, or alternatively, sensors 2393 may include a second group of sensors 2393R that may be part of the rotary multi-tool. For example, sensors 2393R may provide feedback on operations of various components of the rotary multi-tool. Such feedback may, for example, include position of covers of the rotary multi-tool, position of flexible wipers, parameters for the valves (e.g., whether valves are open, closed, or partially open) associated with a washing system of the rotary multi-tool, state of actuators for the covers (e.g., pressure within a hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder configured to move the covers), state of actuators for the flexible wipers (e.g., pressure within a hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder configured to move the flexible wipers), temperature of various components of the rotary multi-tool, and the like).
Further, the sensors 2393R may also provide information about the tubular section located within a central opening of the rotary multi-tool or information about the tubular section that is approaching the central opening of the rotary multi-tool as the tubular is tripping in or tripping out. For example, the sensors 2393R may determine a diameter of the tubular section within the central opening or a diameter of the tubular section approaching the central opening. Further, sensors 2393R may determine the level of contamination of the tubular section within the central opening or the level of contamination of the tubular section approaching the central opening.
The feedback from sensors 2393R and 2393W may be received by the controller 2391, and the controller 2391 may be configured to adjust operational parameters (e.g., based on the feedback from sensors 2392R or 2393W) of the rotary multi-tool 2394. For example, the controller 2391 may send signals to place the covers in an open-cover position, in a closed-cover position or in a partially-closed-cover position. Any other suitable adjustments may also be made for the operation of the rotary multi-tool 2394 based on the feedback from the sensors 2393. For instance, the controller 2391 may operate nozzles of the rotary multi-tool 2394 or may operate the flexible wipers of the rotary multi-tool 2394 independently of the operations of the covers of the rotary multi-tool 2394. In some cases, the controller 2391 may adjust the flow rate of the fluid jets emitted by the nozzles (e.g., the flow rate may be adjusted based on the level of contamination of a tubular located at a well center). Additionally, the controller 2391 may indicate that the pressure supplied to hydraulic/pneumatic cylinders for actuating covers and/or flexible wipers needs to be adjusted.
In some cases, the controller 2391 may be configured to communicate to the drilling control system 2392 that some of the operations performed by the equipment controlled by the drilling control system 2392 may need to be adjusted (or changed). These adjustments or changes may be due to information received from the sensors 2393R or 2393W. For example, if sensors 2393R report a failure of one or more components of the rotary multi-tool 2394, the controller 2391 may be configured to communicate to the drilling control system 2392 that a tripping in or tripping out operation needs to be stopped (e.g., a tubular located at the well center needs to stop moving). Any other adjustments or changes may be requested by the controller 2391 and communicated to the drilling control system 2392. For example, the controller 2391 may communicate that the speed at which the tripping in or tripping out is performed needs to be changed (e.g., increase or decrease).
In various embodiments, default operations may be performed when there is a failure in the operations of the rotary multi-tool 2394. For example, the hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders operating the covers, or the flexible wipers of the rotary multi-tool are configured to “fail open,” such that if there is a pressure loss to the hydraulic cylinders, the covers and/or the flexible wipers automatically move into an open-cover or open-wiper position.
The controller system 2390 further includes the rotary multi-tool 2394 configured to communicate with the drilling control system 2392 via the connection C24 and with the controller 2391 via the connection C14. Similar to other devices of the controller system 2390, the rotary multi-tool 2394 includes a suitable device for communicating signals (in a wired and/or wireless manner) with the controller 2391, and/or the drilling control system 2392. In one implementation, the rotary multi-tool 2394 is configured to send confirmation to the drilling control system that the covers are either in an open-cover position, closed-cover position, or partially-closed-cover position (herein the partially-closed-cover position is also the same as partially-open-cover position). In various embodiments, the controller 2394 and/or the drilling control system 2392 are configured to monitor the position and orientation of various drilling equipment in order to prevent tubulars from attempting to enter a central opening of the rotary multi-tool 2394 while the covers of the rotary multi-tool 2394 are in a closed-cover position.
In various embodiments, the controller 2391 may receive a signal from the drilling control system 2392 indicating a time (herein such time is referred to as a cover opening time) when the diameter for the uncovered opening needs to be increased, e.g., right before a joint of the tubular is passing through the uncovered opening. Also, the controller 2391 may receive a signal from the drilling control system 2392 indicating a time (herein such time is referred to as a cover closing time) when the diameter for the uncovered opening needs to be decreased. The drilling control system 2392 may determine these opening times and closing times based on the information on the speed of the tubular 2380, the locations of the joints of the tubular 2380 along the length of the tubular 2380, and the length of the tubular 2380 that has been being tripped in or tripped out (e.g., a portion of a length of the tubular 2380 that remains above the covers of the rotary multi-tool 2394 as the tubular 2380 is being tripped in or tripped out). In some cases, the distance between the location of a joint that is proximate to the rotary multi-tool 2394 and is moving towards the rotary multi-tool, and the location of the covers of the rotary multi-tool 2394 (location L1) may be used to determine the times for partially-closed-cover positions of the covers of the rotary multi-tool 2394. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more sensors may provide feedback to the controller 2391 on various aspects of the motion of the tubular 2380, and the controller 2391 may use the processor 2391P to determine the cover opening and/or cover closing times based on the feedback data.
In various embodiments, the operations of various components of the rotary multi-tool include opening and closing of covers, turning the wiping of a tubular on or off, turning the washing of the tubular on or off, reporting status of the rotary multi-tool to an interlock system, and sending various other signals related to the operation of the rotary multi-tool to a control system.
Opening and closing of the covers may include various commands and messages that can be communicated between the drilling control system and the rotary multi-tool. Such commands and messages may include: (a) an open command from the drilling control system (DCS) to the rotary multi-tool, (b) a message notifying the DCS that the open command has been received by the rotary multi-tool, (c) a message indicating an open status of the rotary multi-tool, (d) a close command from the DCS to the rotary multi-tool, (e) a message notifying the DCS that the close command has been received by the rotary multi-tool, and (f) a message indicating a closed status of the rotary multi-tool.
Turning the wiping of a tubular on or off may include various commands and messages that can be communicated between the DCS and the rotary multi-tool. Such commands and messages may include: (a) a “wiping on” command from the DCS to the rotary multi-tool indicating that wiping needs to be turned on, (b) a message notifying the DCS that the “wiping on” command has been received by the rotary multi-tool, (c) a message indicating a “wiping on” status of the rotary multi-tool, (d) a “wiping off” command from the DCS to the rotary multi-tool indicating that wiping needs to be turned off, (e) a message notifying the DCS that the “wiping off” command has been received by the rotary multi-tool, and (f) a message indicating a “wiping off” status of the rotary multi-tool.
Turning the washing of a tubular on or off may include various commands and messages that can be communicated between the DCS and the rotary multi-tool. Such commands and messages may include: (a) a “washing on” command from the DCS to the rotary multi-tool indicating that washing needs to be turned on, (b) a message notifying the DCS that the “washing on” command has been received by the rotary multi-tool, (c) a message indicating a “washing on” status of the rotary multi-tool, (d) a “washing off” command from the DCS to the rotary multi-tool indicating that washing needs to be turned off, (e) a message notifying the DCS that the “washing off” command has been received by the rotary multi-tool, and (f) a message indicating a “washing off” status of the rotary multi-tool.
The reporting status of the rotary multi-tool to an interlock system (the interlock system may be any suitable system for controlling various systems and components of a drilling rig that grip, lift, release, and support a tubular during a casing running or tripping operations) may include various commands and messages that can be communicated between the DCS and the rotary multi-tool. Such commands and messages may include: (a) an open status message received by DCS) from the rotary multi-tool, (b) a closed status message received by DCS from the rotary multi-tool, (c) a message indicating that the sensor determining the open status of the rotary multi-tool is operational, and (d) a message indicating that the sensor determining the closed status of the rotary multi-tool is operational.
Further, other messages between the DCS and the rotary multi-tool may include information about operational parameters of the rotary multi-tool (e.g., parameters indicating correct operations of the rotary multi-tool), status of various sensors of the rotary multi-tool (e.g., if the sensors are all operational), status of various program logic controllers (PLCs), or any other issues, diagnostic signals, alarms, and the like that may be received from the rotary multi-tool or may be provided to the rotary multi-tool.
In various embodiments, the rotary multi-tool may be engaged in various ways to support the drilling activities. In some cases, the rotary multi-tool may not be deployed during a formation of a top hole. When rotating a tubular (e.g., when rotating the drilling pipe), the covers of the rotary multi-tool may be in an open-cover position. When tripping the tubular, the covers may be in a partially-closed-cover position. During a completion operation, the covers may be in a partially-closed cover position. During a maintenance of the rotary multi-tool, the covers may be fully closed. Further, when wiping the tubular is required, the flexible wipers of the rotary multi-tool are engaged (e.g., the flexible wipers are in a closed-wiper position or partially-closed-wiper position). Alternatively, when wiping is not needed, the flexible wipers of the rotary multi-tool are disengaged (e.g., the flexible wipers are in an open-wiper position). Further, when washing the tubular is required, the nozzles of the rotary multi-tool are engaged (e.g., the nozzles are configured to eject fluid jets towards a surface of the tubular). Alternatively, when washing is not needed, the nozzles of the rotary multi-tool are not engaged (e.g., no fluid jets are emitted by the nozzles).
Consistent with one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein, the present disclosure also provides a method of covering an opening of a wellbore and removing mud, fluid, and/or debris from a tubular tripping out of the wellbore, the method comprising: (a) moving a plurality of covers disposed around the tubular to a partially-closed-cover position or a closed-cover position, thereby covering at least a portion of the opening; and (b) moving a plurality of flexible wipers disposed around the tubular to be in contact with the tubular, thereby removing the mud, fluid, and/or debris from the tubular when the tubular is tripping out. Optionally, the method further comprises ejecting, onto the tubular, fluid jets from a plurality of nozzles disposed around the tubular, thereby cleaning the tubular.
While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto; inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.
The above-described embodiments can be implemented in any of numerous ways. For example, embodiments of the present technology may be implemented using hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof. When implemented in firmware and/or software, the firmware and/or software code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of logic components, whether provided in a single device or distributed among multiple devices.
In this respect, various inventive concepts may be embodied as a computer readable storage medium (or multiple computer readable storage media) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more floppy discs, compact discs, optical discs, magnetic tapes, flash memories, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays or other semiconductor devices, or other non-transitory medium or tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors, perform methods that implement the various embodiments of the invention discussed above. The computer readable medium or media can be transportable, such that the program or programs stored thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers or other processors to implement various aspects of the present invention as discussed above.
The terms “program” or “software” are used herein in a generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of computer-executable instructions that can be employed to program a computer or other processor to implement various aspects of embodiments as discussed above. Additionally, it should be appreciated that according to one aspect, one or more computer programs that when executed perform methods of the present invention need not reside on a single computer or processor but may be distributed in a modular fashion amongst a number of different computers or processors to implement various aspects of the present invention.
Computer-executable instructions may be in many forms, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.
Also, data structures may be stored in computer-readable media in any suitable form. For simplicity of illustration, data structures may be shown to have fields that are related through location in the data structure. Such relationships may likewise be achieved by assigning storage for the fields with locations in a computer-readable medium that convey relationship between the fields. However, any suitable mechanism may be used to establish a relationship between information in fields of a data structure, including through the use of pointers, tags or other mechanisms that establish relationship between data elements.
Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.
All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.
The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”
The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e., “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.
The terms “substantially,” “approximately,” and “about” used throughout this Specification and the claims generally mean plus or minus 10% of the value stated, e.g., about 100 would include 90 to 110.
In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.
This application is a continuation of pending International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2022/057248 filed Mar. 18, 2022, which was published Sep. 22, 2022 under International Publication No. WO2022/195116 and which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/163,189 filed on Mar. 19, 2021. The entire disclosure of each application identified in this paragraph is incorporated by reference in the present application.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63163189 | Mar 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP22/57248 | Mar 2022 | WO |
| Child | 18369653 | US |
