The invention generally relates to a technique and apparatus to deploy a perforating gun and a sand screen in a well.
A conventional technique to complete a particular interval of a well may include running a perforating gun downhole to perforate the interval. After the perforating is complete, the perforating gun may be disposed by repositioning the gun away from the perforated interval; retrieving the gun to the surface of the well; or dropping the gun in a rathole, which is not an option in a horizontal wellbore. The perforating typically is then followed by sand screen deployment and gravel packing in the interval.
In this regard, a typical well may produce particulates called “sand,” and therefore, a filtering substrate called “gravel” typically is used in the well to filter sand from the produced well fluid. In a gravel packing operation, the gravel is introduced in an annular region between the exterior of a sand screen and the formation. The sand screen is a tubular and porous member that is typically deployed in the well to support the gravel substrate and provide an inner space to receive the filtered well fluid, which is communicated to the surface of the well via a production tubing string. The perforating, sand screen deployment and gravel packing operations conventionally require multiple runs, or trips, into the well.
Each trip into a well involves considerable cost and time. Thus, there exists a continuing need to minimize the number of trips into a well for purposes of completing the well.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a technique that is usable with a well includes in a single trip into the well, perforating the well and installing a sand screen in the well.
In another embodiment of the invention, a system that is usable with a well includes a tubular body, at least one perforating charge that is disposed on the tubular body and at least one screen section that is disposed on the tubular body. The perforating charge(s) and the screen section(s) are adapted to be run downhole in a single trip into the well with the tubular body.
Advantages and other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description, drawing and claims.
Referring to
As depicted in
In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, the assembly 40 includes a perforating gun that includes perforating charges 24 (shaped charges, for example) that are oriented to, when fired, pierce the casing string 11 and form perforating tunnels into the surrounding formation. In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, the perforating charges 24 are disposed in longitudinal fins 22 of the assembly 40. The fins 22 are parallel to a longitudinal axis 13 of the assembly 40, and each fin 22 extends radially away from a generally cylindrical inner tubular body 15 of the assembly 40. In some embodiments of the invention, the fins 22 have a uniform angular phasing about the longitudinal axis 13. For example, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention, the assembly 40 may include four fins 22 that are spaced apart by ninety degrees about the longitudinal axis 13.
Other fin orientations are possible, in other embodiments of the invention. For example, in other embodiments of the invention, each fin 22 may extend in a spiral, or helical, pattern about the longitudinal axis 13 around the exterior surface of the inner tubular body 15. Furthermore, in some embodiments of the invention, the fins 22 may have a non-uniform angular phasing about the longitudinal axis 13. For example, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention, the arrangement of the fins 22 may be generally eccentric with respect to the longitudinal axis 13 such that the fins 22 are distributed around a particular arc (less than 360°) around the longitudinal axis 13 to target a particular desired perforating angle. Additionally, in some embodiments of the invention, the assembly 40 may have more or less than four fins 22. Thus, many fin orientations, fin phasing angles and fin numbers are possible and are within the scope of the appended claims.
Referring to
Referring to
Alternatively, in some embodiments of the invention, the firing head 26 may be an annular inductive coupler-type firing head that is mounted on the outside of the string 14. In this regard, a male coil may be run inside the casing string 11 to the level of the firing head 26 on an electric wire line so that the male coil may be powered up through the electric wire line to fire the perforating charges 24. The male coil may also be powered up to start a delay in the firing head 26, for the scenario in which the firing head 26 is a hydraulic delay firing head. The delay permits the male coil and the electric wire line to be removed from the well before the perforating charges 24 fire. Alternatively, the male coil may be run on coiled tubing or a slickline and may be battery-powered. In other embodiments of the invention, the firing head 26 may be controlled via a wired connection (an electrical or optical cable, for example) with the surface of the well, and in yet other embodiments of the invention, the firing head 26 may be controlled via wireless stimuli (acoustic stimuli, electromagnetic stimuli, fluid pulses, stimuli communicated through a pressure tube extending to surface (e.g., a control line), as just a few examples). Thus, many variations are possible and are within the scope of the appended claims.
The ballistic junction 28, as further described below, communicates a detonation wave 360° around the longitudinal axis 13 to fire the perforating charges 24.
Referring to
For purposes of communicating detonation waves to fire the perforating charges 24, the assembly 40 includes a longitudinal passageway 80 that extends through each fin 22. In this regard, the passageway 80 extends radially next to the perforating charges 24 for purposes of communicating a detonation wave to the perforating charges 24 to fire the charges 24.
The ballistic junction 28 includes a collar 165 that is attached (via threads or welds, for example) to a section 162 of the string 14. The section 162 may be the lower end of another combined perforating and sand screen assembly (similar in design to the assembly 40); and thus, ballistic junctions 28 may be used to connect assemblies 40 together to form longer perforating guns and sand screens in some embodiments of the invention.
The ballistic junction 28 has the following structure for each detonating cord pair (an exemplary upper detonating cord 175 and an exemplary lower detonating cord 177 which extends to the perforating charges 24 in one of the fins, as depicted in
Inside the longitudinal passageway 179, the upper end of the lower detonating cord 177 is connected to a lower detonator 180, and the lower end of the upper detonating cord 175 is connected to an upper detonator 182. One or more detonating cords 178 circumferentially extend (in a circumferential passageway in the collar 165) 360° about the longitudinal axis of the junction 28 to ballistically couple the detonating cord pairs together. Due to this arrangement, the detonating cord(s) 178 serve as redundant detonating cord(s) to ensure that an incoming detonation received on one side of the ballistic junction 28 is relayed to all detonating cords on the other side of the ballistic junction 28.
The ballistic junction 28 that is depicted in
Referring to
While the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention.
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