Patent Application
20140124219
Different stages of a subterranean drilling and completion operation often involve the use of coiled tubing. For example, all or part of a wellbore may be drilled using coiled tubing instead of more traditional drilipipe.
An exemplary embodiment of a typical coiled tubing oil well drilling system is shown in
The coiled tubing is a solid tube without breaks or joints and is thus unable to rotate. Accordingly, coiled tubing drilling has limitations related to the inability to rotate the coiled tubing in the wellbore. Such limitations include inefficient transfer of power to the drill bit, inefficient hole cleaning and an inability to overcome the friction between the wellbore and the tubing, limiting the ultimate reach of the system. An ability to rotate the portion of the coiled tubing string that is in the wellbore alleviates many of these limitations, making coiled tubing drilling a more viable alternative to traditional drilling operations using a drill rig and drillpipe.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to example embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.
Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail herein. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation may be described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions may be made to achieve the specific implementation goals, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure.
To facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, the following examples of certain embodiments are given. In no way should the following examples be read to limit, or define, the scope of the invention. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applicable to horizontal, vertical, deviated, or otherwise nonlinear wellbores in any type of subterranean formation. Embodiments may be applicable to injection wells as well as production wells, including hydrocarbon wells.
The terms “couple” or “couples,” as used herein are intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect mechanical connection via other devices and connections. The term “uphole” as used herein means along the drillstring or the hole from the distal end towards the surface, and “downhole” as used herein means along the drillstring or the hole from the surface towards the distal end.
It will be understood that the term “oil well drilling equipment” or “oil well drilling system” is not intended to limit the use of the equipment and processes described with those terms to drilling an oil well. The terms also encompass drilling natural gas wells or hydrocarbon wells in general. Further, such wells can be used for production, monitoring, or injection in relation to the recovery of hydrocarbons or other materials from the subsurface.
The present application is directed to methods and systems for performing subterranean operations and particularly, to using coiled tubing with lockable swivel joints when performing drilling operations.
In one embodiment, the swivel joints may be locked and unlocked using a sliding sleeve that slides up as the coiled tubing goes through the injector head into the borehole. By sliding up, the sleeve locks the swivel joint to substantially prevent the relative rotation of adjoining coiled tubing segments. In the reverse, when pulling the coiled tubing through the injector head out of the borehole, the sleeve may slide down and allow the swivel joint to rotate again, thereby permitting adjoining segments of coiled tubing to rotate relative to each other.
Turning now to
In this exemplary embodiment, the swivel joint 10 is comprised of a latch mechanism. Specifically, in the exemplary embodiment, the swivel joint 10 includes a first portion 11 having one or more latch receptacles 12 and a sleeve portion 14 which may include one or more latch portions 13 formed as projections that may be locked into the one or more latch receptacles 12 on the first portion 11 of the swivel joint 10. As shown in
In one embodiment, the swivel joint 10 may be engaged and disengaged by a locking device located at or near an injector head. Accordingly, the locking device is operable to couple the first portion 11 to the sleeve portion 14. In one exemplary embodiment, the locking device may be a mechanical system, an electrical system, a magnetic system and/or a combination of one or more of these systems. In one embodiment, the locking device may mechanically flip the latch 13 into the latch receptacle 12 as the coiled tubing 16 moves downhole through the injector head and it may disengage the latch 13 from the latch receptacle 12 when the coiled tubing 16 is pulled out of the wellbore through the injector head.
Although a mechanical latching mechanism is described in conjunction with
Moreover, although a particular latch and receptacle configuration is depicted in
Turning now to
As shown in
When performing subterranean operations, the coiled tubing 16 may be directed downhole through an injector head 20. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the swivel joints 10A which are located above the ground and/or above the injector head 20 may be disengaged while the swivel joints 10B located below the ground and/or below the injector head may be engaged. As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the operator may decide at which point the swivel joints 10 are locked and/or unlocked. Specifically, in one embodiment, the swivel joints 10 may be locked and/or unlocked at a point further downhole from the injector head 20. Accordingly, the segments of coiled tubing 16 located above the ground and/or above the injector head 20 may rotate relative to their adjoining segments as well as relative to the coiled tubing segment located below the injector head 20. As a result, the rotation of the coiled tubing 16 portion located below the injector head will not impact the portion of the coiled tubing located above the ground, on the gooseneck 28 or the reel 26.
In contrast, once the coiled tubing 16 passes through the injector head 20, the swivel joints 10B may be engaged, rotationally coupling the adjoining segments of the coiled tubing 16 located downhole. With the swivel joints 10 located below the injector head 20 engaged, the rotation from a rotation device 24, located at or near the surface, mounted in, on or below the injector head 20, may be used to rotate the drill bit 22. Specifically, with the swivel joints 10 engaged, rotation may be transferred downhole to the drill bit 22. Accordingly, the torque generated by the rotation device at or near the injector head 20 may be transferred downhole by the coiled tubing to the Bottom Hole Assembly 18 and the drill bit 22.
As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, any suitable device may be used to rotate the portion of the coiled tubing 16 downhole. In one exemplary embodiment, the rotation device 24 may be a rotary table where one directional slips can be used to clamp the coiled tubing 16 and couple the rotation of the rotary table to the coiled tubing 16. In another exemplary embodiment, a high torque spinner may be mounted below the injector head 20 or inside the injector head 20. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the rotation device may clamp around the coiled tubing 16 when rotation is required and may be powered using hydraulics, an air motor, or an electric motor.
In one embodiment, the swivel joint 10 may be equipped with a cleaning device. The cleaning device may be used to clean the different swivel joint 10 components such as the bearings and the grooves thereon. The cleaning device may be in the form of a hig-power water or air flow, or it may be in the form of a simple wiper seal, or in the form of rotating brushes, or any combination of two or more of such devices.
As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the swivel joints 10 having a locking mechanism in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may render the coiled tubing segmented string spoolable. Accordingly, the spoolable segmented coiled tubing may provide continuous circulation and axial movement and control the axial speed of the drilling process. Moreover, the improved segmented coiled tubing is better suited for use in conjunction with Managed Pressure Drilling (“MPD”) and underbalanced drilling (“UBD”).
As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the present invention allows both clockwise and anti-clockwise rotation of the coiled tubing, which may facilitate hole cleaning, motor toolface orientation for directional drilling, or working through tight spots in the wellbore, as well as be used to activate and de-activate downhole devices, such as underreamers, circulating subs and the like. Moreover, the present invention may also be used in this fashion to seat and unseat packers and like devices in completions, workover, or well intervention-type operations.
As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the systems and methods disclosed herein may be used in conjunction with an embodiment with a hybrid string of tubing located below the coiled tubing. Further, as would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the locking mechanism must be strong enough to withstand the torque imparted onto the coiled tubing during rotation and must lock in so as not to allow the system to become unlocked downhole.
The present invention is therefore well-adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends mentioned, as well as those that are inherent therein. While the invention has been depicted, described and is defined by references to examples of the invention, such a reference does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is capable of considerable modification, alteration and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described examples are not exhaustive of the invention. Consequently, the invention is intended to be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims, giving full cognizance to equivalents in all respects.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US11/47351 | 8/11/2011 | WO | 00 | 12/16/2013 |
