Patent Application
20180347322
In the drilling and completion industry, it is often desirable to position tracer materials including tracer substances at positions within a borehole system to map produced fluids. The tracer materials are generally disposed as plastic blocks attached in or on tubular members with or without screens or other filtration material associated therewith. The blocks are traditionally put in place at a place of manufacture of the tubular member and or screen member. While the products available are effective in their intended use, there are drawbacks to the structural requirements necessary to placing such blocks and as noted they are generally disposed on tools at a place of manufacture rather than at a destination when more would be known about just what types of tracers might be most useful. As the art is always interested in improvements in efficiency, it will well receive alternate configurations and methods that yield such efficiency.
A screen including a screen segment having a mesh and a shroud radially outwardly of the mesh, a tracer material configured with a greater surface area than volume disposed radially inwardly of the shroud.
A method for making a tracer screen including selecting a pattern of shroud holes in a screen cartridge for application of tracer material, applying tracer material into the selected holes, migrating the tracer material outwardly from the hole and between a mesh and the shroud of the screen cartridge.
A borehole system including a borehole, a tubing string disposed in the borehole, and a tracer screen having tracer material with a greater surface area than volume disposed between a shroud and a mesh or a screen cartridge.
The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:
A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
Referring to
Referring to
Because some areas of the mesh 12 may be occluded by the tracer material 24, it is desirable to apply tracer material 24 to holes in a skipping pattern. Examples of appropriate patterns include: a checkerboard pattern, a helical pattern, etc. An example is illustrated in
Screens with tracer materials of the type described herein may be employed wherever needed in a downhole system such as that illustrated in
Set forth below are some embodiments of the foregoing disclosure:
A screen including a screen segment having a mesh and a shroud radially outwardly of the mesh, a tracer material configured with a greater surface area than volume disposed radially inwardly of the shroud.
The screen as in any prior embodiment wherein the tracer material infiltrates the mesh.
The screen as in any prior embodiment wherein the tracer material comprises a tracer substance and a viscous carrier fluid.
The screen as in any prior embodiment wherein the tracer substance is a chemical, a radioactive material or a combination including one or more of the foregoing.
The screen as in any prior embodiment wherein the viscous carrier fluid is epoxy, silicone or a combination including one or more of the foregoing.
A method for making a tracer screen including selecting a pattern of shroud holes in a screen cartridge for application of tracer material, applying tracer material into the selected holes, migrating the tracer material outwardly from the hole and between a mesh and the shroud of the screen cartridge.
The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the pattern is alternating.
The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the pattern is checkerboard.
The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the pattern is helical.
The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the applying is by hand applicator.
The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the migrating includes partial infiltration into the mesh.
A borehole system including a borehole, a tubing string disposed in the borehole, and a tracer screen having tracer material with a greater surface area than volume disposed between a shroud and a mesh or a screen cartridge.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. Further, it should further be noted that the terms “first,” “second,” and the like herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another. The modifier “about” used in connection with a quantity is inclusive of the stated value and has the meaning dictated by the context (e.g., it includes the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity).
The teachings of the present disclosure may be used in a variety of well operations. These operations may involve using one or more treatment agents to treat a formation, the fluids resident in a formation, a wellbore, and/or equipment in the wellbore, such as production tubing. The treatment agents may be in the form of liquids, gases, solids, semi-solids, and mixtures thereof. Illustrative treatment agents include, but are not limited to, fracturing fluids, acids, steam, water, brine, anti-corrosion agents, cement, permeability modifiers, drilling muds, emulsifiers, demulsifiers, tracers, flow improvers etc. Illustrative well operations include, but are not limited to, hydraulic fracturing, stimulation, tracer injection, cleaning, acidizing, steam injection, water flooding, cementing, etc.
While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims. Also, in the drawings and the description, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise stated used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention therefore not being so limited.
