The present application claims the priority of Chinese patent application No. 202010596606.1, entitled “Staged cementing device” and filed on Jun. 28, 2020, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to the technology of petroleum well cementation, in particular, to a staged cementing device, and more specifically, to a staged cementing device with a multiple-expansible packer. The present invention further relates to a staged cementing method using the staged cementing device.
Well cementation technology is an important technical link in the well drilling and completing process. The quality of well cementation directly affects subsequent operations in oil and gas 20 production.
Staged cementing process is a common process in the well cementation technology. As explorations and exploitations continue to deepen, more and more ultra-deep wells have been developed. When the well cementation with an intermediate casing is performed on some wells, due to the poor 25 cementing ability and low loading capacity of the formation, the staged cementing process is often used to reduce the liquid column pressure, and thus reduce leakage. However, for ultra-deep absorption wells, even if the staged cementing process is adopted, leakage will still occur during a primary cementing procedure. Moreover, since the lost layer has not been sealed after the primary cementing procedure, leakage, even loss of return loss, will still exist during a secondary cementing 30 procedure. Accordingly, the quality of well cementation cannot be ensured even with a subsequent cementing extrusion, so that the cost-effectiveness is low and thus it is difficult to satisfy the demand on improving speed and efficiency for oil-field developments. In addition, after the production in some areas, the annulus of the intermediate casing will suffer pressure problem of different degrees. In order to ensure safe production, it is required to inject protective liquid into the annulus. However, the cost is high and the management is difficult.
A staged cementing device with a packer can seal the leakage layer or the reservoir, partially reducing leakage in the well cementation or protecting the reservoir. However, the expandable fluid of the packer is a drilling fluid without strength. After the process is completed, the packer will be always under hydraulic pressure, resulting in the risk of packer aging and liquid leakage. In addition, there are irregularities in the wellbore, which will generate tiny gaps during the expansion of the packer. When there is gas in the well, the gas will pass through the packer to cause the pressure problem in the annulus.
Therefore, it is difficult for the current staged cementing process to meet the requirements of well cementation nowadays.
Directed to the above problems, the present invention proposes a staged cementing device, and a staged cementing method using the staged cementing device.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a staged cementing device is proposed, comprising: a hollow cylindrical body, which includes an inner chamber, a circulating opening extending through a wall of the body, and a liquid inlet recess open to the inner chamber and formed on the wall of the body; an opening assembly arranged in the body, the opening assembly comprising an opening sleeve and an opening seat located in the opening sleeve, wherein in an initial state, the opening sleeve is connected with the body through a first shear pin and covers the circulating opening, and the opening seat is connected with the opening sleeve through a second shear pin and covers the liquid inlet recess; and a packer, which includes a packing valve body connected with a downstream end of the body, and a packer rubber arranged downstream of the packing valve body, the packing valve body including a flow channel in communication with the liquid inlet recess, and the packer rubber including a liquid reservoir in communication with the flow channel. The second shear pin is configured to be sheared off in response to a primary pressure build-up in the body after completion of a primary cementing procedure, causing the opening seat to move downward to open the liquid inlet recess, whereby swelling fluid entering the inner chamber of the body in the primary cementing procedure enters the liquid reservoir through the liquid inlet recess and the flow channel, thereby causing the packer rubber to expand.
In an embodiment, the liquid reservoir is filled with an accelerant, which is capable of reacting with the swelling fluid so that the packer rubber generates a secondary expansion.
In an embodiment, the swelling liquid is a part of displacing fluid. Preferably, the swelling liquid is liquid epoxy resin, and the accelerant is liquid adjuvant.
In an embodiment, the primary pressure build-up is achieved by putting down an opening tool engageable with the opening seat.
In an embodiment, a receiving seat is further provided at a downstream end of the opening sleeve, for restricting a distance of downstream movement of the opening seat.
In an embodiment, the liquid inlet recess is configured as a groove formed in an inner wall of the body, wherein the flow channel is formed in a wall of the packing valve body, and extends axially throughout the packing valve body.
In an embodiment, the packer further comprises a base pipe fixedly connected with the packing 25 valve body, wherein the base pipe is located radially inside the packer rubber, and the liquid reservoir is formed by a gap between the base pipe and the packer rubber.
In an embodiment, two supporting sleeves separated from each other are provided on an outer surface of the packer rubber, for defining an axial area where the packer rubber expands.
In an embodiment, the first shear pin is capable of being sheared off in response to a secondary pressure build-up in the body, so that the opening sleeve is caused to move downstream, thereby opening the circulating opening and closing the liquid inlet recess.
In an embodiment, a closing sleeve is provided upstream of the opening sleeve, and connected with the body through a third shear pin. The third shear pin is configured to be sheared off in response to a tertiary pressure build-up in the body during a secondary cementing procedure, causing the closing sleeve to move downstream to close the circulating opening.
In an embodiment, a closing seat is provided in the closing sleeve, wherein the tertiary pressure build-up is achieved through putting down a closing tool engageable with the closing seat.
In an embodiment, an elastic member is provided on an outer wall of the closing sleeve, and an elastic-member receiving groove is provided in the inner wall of the body, for accommodating the elastic member and maintaining a position of the closing sleeve after the closing sleeve closes the circulating opening.
In an embodiment, the packer rubber is made of hydrocarbon-expansible rubber.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a staged cementing method with the staged cementing device as mentioned above is proposed, comprising steps of: putting down an opening tool in the staged cementing device to engage with the opening seat, and shearing off the second shear pin through the primary pressure build-up, so that the opening seat moves downstream to open the said liquid inlet; flowing the swelling liquid to enter the liquid reservoir through the inner chamber of the body, the liquid inlet recess and the flow channel, thereby causing the packer rubber to expand; shearing off the first shear pin through the secondary pressure build-up so that the opening sleeve moves downstream to open the circulating opening, and at the same time communication between the liquid inlet recess and the flow channel is cut off; and putting down the closing tool to be in engagement with the closing seat, and shearing off the third shear pin through the tertiary pressure build-up, so that the closing sleeve moves downstream to close the circulating opening again.
In an embodiment, the swelling fluid is reacted with the accelerant in the liquid reservoir, for the secondary expansion of the packer rubber.
According to the staged cementing device of the present invention, the packer is not affected by the pressure in the pipe. The liquid injection channel cannot be opened without the opening tool, thus avoiding accidental opening operation caused by the pressure in the tube. In addition, after the liquid injection channel is opened, the displacing fluid enters the liquid reservoir of the packer rubber, realizing the primary expansion of the packer to block up the annulus. In this way, after the circulating opening is opened, the liquid column pressure will be reduced due to the primary expansion of the packer which blocks up the annulus, thereby reducing the leakage of the primary cement mud, preventing the leakage of the cement in the secondary cementing procedure, and thus improving the quality of the well cementation. Moreover, the accelerant in the packer will be chemically reacted with the displacing fluid to be cured in a predetermined time, thus forming into one piece with the packer rubber. In this way, after curing, the packer rubber will not shrink but expand slightly in terms of volume, thereby realizing the secondary expansion of the packer.
Therefore, it is possible to avoid the aging and damage of the packer rubber, which may cause the liquid to flow out and eventually lead to the failure of the packer. Further, the packer rubber of the packer is made of hydrocarbon-expansible rubber, which can, on the basis of previous expansions, generate a further expansion (i.e., tertiary expansion) with hydrocarbon medium, such as gas or oil, in the reservoir. This tertiary expansion can fill tiny gaps, thus further improving the long-term sealing ability of the packer.
In the following the present invention will be explained in more detail by way of illustrative exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same components. The drawings are not drawn to actual scale.
The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the context of the present invention, directional terms “down”, “downstream”, “downward” or the like refer to a direction away from the well head, while directional terms “upper”, “upstream”, “upward” or the like refer to a direction toward the well head.
As shown in
According to the present invention, an opening assembly 300 is provided in the cylindrical body 100 of the staged cementing device 10, and includes an opening sleeve 310 arranged in the body 100 and an opening seat 320 arranged in the opening sleeve 310. In an initial state as shown in
As used herein, the term “initial state” refers to a state prior to a primary cementing procedure.
In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the opening assembly 300 further includes a receiving seat 330. As shown more clearly in
As shown in
As shown in
The liquid reservoir 240 can similarly extend axially within the packer rubber 230. In an alternative embodiment, the liquid reservoir 240 may be formed by a gap between the base pipe 250 and the packer rubber 230. Moreover, two supporting sleeves 260 which are separated from each other are provided around the packer rubber 230. A first supporting sleeve 260 located upstream is connected with the packing valve body 210, while a second supporting sleeve 260 located downstream is connected with the lower joint 270. The two supporting sleeves 260 can be used to limit an axial area where the packer rubber 220 expands. That is, a portion of the packer rubber 220 between said two supporting sleeves 260 can expand outward.
An accelerant is filled in the liquid reservoir 240 of the packer rubber 230. The accelerant is a kind of liquid that can be uniformly mixed with a swelling fluid (for example, a part of a displacing fluid, preferably liquid epoxy resin) and then cured, so as to realize a secondary expansion of the packer rubber 220, which will be described in detail below. One skilled in the art can readily select the type of the accelerant according to the specific swelling fluid used. In addition, by adding necessary components in the accelerant, the reaction time for the accelerant and the swelling fluid can be controlled. That is, the accelerant can be reacted with the swelling fluid at a predetermined time, so as to realize the secondary expansion of the packer rubber at the predetermined time.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the packer rubber 220 is made from hydrocarbon-expansible rubber, which can be expanded continuously in the presence of hydrocarbons, so that the packer rubber 220 can meet the performance requirements on the primary and secondary expansions at the same time.
In addition, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The second shear pin 182 will be sheared off by a pressure build-up in the body 100, which is referred to herein as “primary pressure build-up”. In this case, the opening tool 400 will move downward together with the opening seat 320, until the opening seat 320 is received on the receiving seat 330. At this time, due to the downward movement of the opening seat 320, the liquid inlet recess 130 will be no longer blocked up by the opening seat 320, and thus in communication with the inner chamber 110. In this way, the displacing fluid in the inner chamber 110 can enter the liquid reservoir 240 in the packer rubber 220 through the liquid inlet recess 130 and the flow channel 230 in the packing valve body 210. Under the action of the hydraulic pressure of the swelling fluid, the packer rubber 220 generates expansion (i.e., the primary expansion) to fit with the borehole wall, thus isolating the annulus into an upper part and a lower part.
After that, a further pressure build-up, which is referred to herein as “secondary pressure build-up”, is performed in the body 100, so that the first shear pin 180 is sheared off. In this case, the opening sleeve 310 is able to move downward relative to the body 100, until it abuts on the step 215 of the packing valve body 210, as shown in
During the secondary cementing procedure, the swelling fluid will be uniformly mixed with the accelerant, and solidified with the packer rubber 220 as a whole. In this case, the secondary expansion of the packer rubber 220 can be achieved. At this time, the closing tool 410 as shown in
After the completion of the secondary cementing procedure, if hydrocarbon medium, such as oil and gas, enters the annulus during the production, the packer rubber 220 made of hydrocarbon-expandable rubber will absorb the hydrocarbon medium from the well, and thus generate a further expansion (i.e., tertiary expansion). The tertiary expansion can fill tiny gaps, prevent oil, gas and water from flowing upward, and avoid the pressure problem in the annulus.
As described above, according to the staged cementing device 100 of the present invention, the packer 200 will not be affected by the pressure in the pipe. The liquid injection channel cannot be opened without the opening tool 400, thus avoiding accidental opening operation caused by the pressure in the pipe. In addition, after the liquid injection channel is opened, the displacing fluid enters the liquid reservoir 240 of the packer rubber 220, so that the primary expansion of the packer can be realized through the hydraulic pressure of the swelling liquid, so as to block up the annulus. In this way, after the circulating opening 120 is opened, the liquid column pressure will be reduced, thereby reducing the leakage of the primary cement mud, preventing the leakage of the secondary cement, and thus improving the quality of the well cementation. Moreover, the accelerant in the packer 200 will be chemically reacted with the displacing fluid to be cured in a short time, thus forming into one piece with the packer rubber 220. In this way, after curing, the packer rubber 220 will not shrink but expand slightly in terms of volume, thereby realizing the secondary expansion of the packer 200. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the aging and damage of the packer rubber 220, which may cause the liquid to flow out and eventually lead to the failure of the packer 200. Further, the packer rubber 220 of the packer 200 is made of hydrocarbon-expansible rubber, which can, on the basis of previous expansions, generate a further expansion (i.e., tertiary expansion) under hydrocarbon medium, such as gas or oil, in the reservoir. This tertiary expansion can fill tiny gaps, thus further improving the long-term sealing ability of the packer.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, various modifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted for components thereof without departing from the scope of the present invention. In particular, under the condition that there is no structural conflict, each technical feature mentioned in each embodiment can be combined in any manner. The present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202010596606.1 | Jun 2020 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2021/074711 | 2/1/2021 | WO |