Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6679334
-
Patent Number
6,679,334
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, May 30, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, January 20, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Bagnell; David
- Gay; Jennifer H
Agents
- Trop, Pruner & Hu P.C.
- Griffin; Jeffrey E.
- Echols; Brigitte Jeffery
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 166 272
- 166 276
- 166 277
- 166 207
- 166 222
- 166 231
- 166 233
- 166 234
- 166 235
- 138 129
- 138 154
- 138 121
- 138 122
- 138 174
- 138 172
- 138 134
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A system that is useable in a subterranean well includes conveying an elongated strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and spirally wrapping the strip to form a tubular structure in the well.
Description
BACKGROUND
The present invention generally relates to tools and equipment used in the downhole environment. More particularly, the present invention relates to using a helically wound tubular in the downhole environment.
A wellbore typically is lined with a casing string. The use of the casing string may present challenges related to its installation as well as challenges related to maintaining the integrity of the casing string. For example, regarding the installation of the casing string, sometimes the inner diameter of the wellbore varies along the length of the wellbore. Thus, the cross-sectional diameter of the casing string must also vary. As a result, the casing string may be formed from casing sections that have different cross-sectional diameters, a factor that may increase the difficulty and cost associated with installing the casing string.
Furthermore, in many instances, the casing string is installed as the wellbore is being created, as the success of the drilling operation depends on the stability of the wellbore during the time the drilling is being undertaken. However, the conventional techniques of installing the casing string do not permit easy installation of the casing string while the drilling operation is being conducted.
Casing strings may become damaged during their lifetimes. In order to prevent the leakage of fluids between the exterior and interior of the casing string, the damaged area is typically patched. However, many challenges are presented with respect to patching the casing string where damaged.
Thus, there is a continuing need for a technique and/or arrangement to address one or more of the problems that are stated above.
SUMMARY
In an embodiment of the invention, a system that is useable in a subterranean well includes conveying an elongated strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and spirally wrapping the strip to form a tubular structure in the well.
The advantages of such a system, as well as other features will become apparent from the following figures, detailed description and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1
is a cross-sectional view of an elongated strip taken along line
1
—
1
of FIG.
2
.
FIG. 2
is an isometric view of a portion of a tubular structure formed by the elongated strip.
FIG. 3
is a schematic diagram of the tubular structure when used as a well casing with cement or resin deposited in the annulus of the wellbore.
FIG. 4
is a schematic diagram of the tubular structure when used as a well casing with the tubular structure expanded to abut the wellbore wall.
FIG. 5
is a schematic diagram of the tubular structure wherein the tubular structure is used as a casing patch.
FIG. 6
is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the tubular structure that comprises an external tubular structure and an internal tubular structure.
FIG. 7
is a cross-sectional view of an elongated strip used to form a tubular structure that acts as a sand control device.
FIG. 8
is an isometric view of the tubular structure wherein the tubular structure is used as a sand control device.
FIG. 9
is a schematic diagram depicting a technique to form a well casing from an elongated strip.
FIG. 10
is a schematic diagram of an elongated strip used to form a tubular structure that acts as a well casing that provides zonal isolation of a formation.
FIG. 11
is an isometric view of the tubular structure wherein the tubular structure is used as a well casing that provides zonal isolation of a formation.
FIG. 12
is a perspective view of an elongated strip that includes a mechanism for providing fluid, electrical or fiber optic communication between two points along the length of the resulting tubular structure.
FIG. 13
is a cross-sectional view of an elongated strip that includes a mechanism for providing fluid, electrical or fiber optic communication between two points along the length of the resulting tubular structure.
FIGS. 14-17
depict systems to form tubular structures downhole using the elongated strip.
FIG. 18
is an illustration of a tubing of the system of FIG.
17
.
FIGS. 19 and 20
are schematic diagrams of the strip described herein used in multilateral wellbores.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, an embodiment
10
of an elongated strip in accordance with the invention includes features that permit the elongated strip
10
to be spirally, or helically, wound so that the strip
10
mates with itself to form an elongated downhole tubular structure. As described below, the ability to form a downhole tubular structure out of the strip
10
permits the strip
10
to be deployed downhole in a form that occupies relatively little volume. Once deployed downhole, the strip
10
may be formed (as described below) into a tubular structure that is attached to a downhole structure to satisfy a particular downhole function. As examples, the downhole structure may be a production tubing, a casing, the well bore or another tubular structure, as further described below.
As an example, the strip
10
may be used to form a tubular structure such as a casing string. Because this casing string is formed and expanded in place downhole, the diameter of the casing string follows the diameter of the wellbore in which the casing string is installed. Thus, the diameter of the casing string formed in this manner may be decreased or increased along its length (and along a wellbore), thereby becoming an alternative to multiple size casing strings. In this manner, the casing string may be expanded against the wall of the wellbore to enhance wellbore stability. Alternatively, the tubular structure may be formed in a manner so that the diameter of the structure remains constant along a wellbore, thereby providing a monobore that eliminates today's restriction problems with telescoping casing strings.
In its role in lining the wellbore, the tubular structure may also be used to deploy downhole devices (sand control devices, for example) at specific locations. Furthermore, the tubular structure has the capability of carrying electrical and fluid communication lines that may be embedded in the tubular structure.
Besides forming a primary casing string, the tubular structure may also be used as a patch. In this manner, the tubular structure, has the capability of being expanded against the interior wall of an existing casing string to patch an opening in the casing string.
The tubular structure may also be used as a sand screen for filtering particulates from a well fluid flow. Other downhole applications of a tubular structure that is formed from the strip
10
will become apparent from the following description.
Turning now to the embodiment of the strip
10
that is depicted in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, the strip
10
has longitudinal edges with complementary mating profiles near each of these edges. The mating profiles, in turn, engage, or mate, with each other when the strip
10
is helically wound and the edges of adjacent windings slightly overlap each other. This helically winding thus produces a tubular structure.
More particularly, in some embodiments of the invention, the complementary mating profiles that are located near the longitudinal edges may be viewed as collectively forming an attachment mechanism that is indicated by reference numeral
20
in
FIGS. 1 and 2
. In some embodiments of the invention, strip
10
includes a first longitudinal edge
12
, a second longitudinal edge
14
, an outer surface
16
, and an inner surface
18
. Near first longitudinal edge
12
is a first mating portion
22
of the attachment mechanism
20
, and near second longitudinal edge
14
is a second mating portion
24
of the attachment mechanism
20
. In the helical tubular structure (FIG.
2
), first
22
and second
24
mating portions
22
on adjacent windings mate thereby enabling the attachment function of attachment mechanism
20
.
As an example, second mating portion
24
may include a ridge
72
that is profiled to be received into a corresponding channel
70
that of first mating portion
22
. Other mating portions and other combinations of mating portions are possible and are within the scope of the appended claims.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, the elongated strip
10
may be helically wound to form a tubular structure
11
. A more developed tubular structure
11
is depicted in FIG.
11
and is described in more detail below. As the strip
10
is wound, first
22
and second
24
mating portions of adjacent windings are pressed together so that the adjacent windings mate to form a tubular structure that grows in length as the winding progresses.
One or more elastomers may be attached to the strip
10
to seal off the central passageway of tubular structure
11
from the region outside of the tubular structure
11
. For example, as depicted in
FIG. 1
, an elastomer strip
75
may, generally extend along longitudinal edge
14
on top of the ridge
72
to form a sealed connection between adjacent windings of tubular structure
11
. In this manner, the elastomer strip
74
is energized to form this seal when the ridge
72
is inserted the channel
70
. Thus, with the use of the elastomers as described, a fluid-tight tubular structure
11
may be formed. Other arrangements may be used to form a seal between adjacent windings of tubular structure
11
.
In some embodiments of the invention, strip
10
may be designed in such a way that once it is wound and inter-locked, it is not possible to make the diameter of the tubular structure contract unless the mating profiles of strip
10
are pulled apart. As an example of such a design, the strip
10
that is depicted in
FIG. 12
includes an L-shaped extension
11
that extends from second mating profile
23
toward longitudinal edge
14
. The extension
11
is received by a channel
15
formed between the second mating profile
22
of the adjacent winding and a rib
26
a
of the strip
10
, described below. The friction between extension
11
and channel
15
keeps adjacent windings from slipping with respect to each other to effectively interlock adjacent windings together to prevent the diameter of the tubular structure from changing.
For purposes of preventing the windings from being pulled apart, strip
10
may having mating profiles located near the longitudinal edges
12
and
14
to create a locking latch to prevent the tubular structure from being unwound. For example, as depicted in
FIG. 1
, the channel
70
of first mating portion
22
may include longitudinally extending tabs
75
that engage shoulders of ridge
72
to prevent second mating portion
24
from disengaging from first mating portion
22
. It is noted that in the arrangement depicted in
FIG. 1
, adjacent windings may slide with respect to each other, and thus, the diameter of the tubular structure formed from the strip
10
in
FIG. 1
may be expanded or contracted.
For use in downhole environments, the strip
10
can be deployed downhole in its linear form that occupies relatively little volume and can be formed into tubular structure
11
that occupies significantly more volume within the wellbore. A machine
100
(see
FIG. 9
) that is located in the downhole environment may be used to securely engage the first mating portion
22
and the second mating portion
24
of adjacent windings and to helically wind the strip
10
into the appropriate tubular shape. In the manner, the machine
100
includes a rotating head and guide rollers to form the spiral wrap and slightly overlap the longitudinal edges
12
and
14
so that first
22
and second
24
mating portions engage to lock adjacent windings together. The operation of the winding machine
100
is further described below.
Referring back to
FIG. 1
, in some embodiments of the invention, strip
10
includes a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs
26
that each extend outwardly from outer surface
16
. The ribs
26
may be regularly spaced (for example) between longitudinal edge
12
and second longitudinal edge
14
. Channels
28
are defined between adjacent ribs
26
.
Strip
10
is constructed from materials that can withstand the severe conditions of the downhole environment. Appropriate materials include, but are not limited to, steel, stainless steel, polymers, glass fibers, and composites of the aforementioned materials.
One downhole use of strip
10
is illustrated in
FIG. 3
, which shows a wellbore
30
that includes a casing string
32
. Casing string
32
has a lower end
34
. In this embodiment, strip
10
is used as a continuation of or an alternative to the casing string
32
. Strip
10
is attached to the lower end
34
of the casing string
32
by suitable means, such as a locking mechanism integral to the profile of the mating edges of the strip
10
, and is wound to form the continuation of casing string
32
. In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 3
, the internal diameter of the tubular structure
11
is substantially the same as that of the casing string
32
. Also, in the embodiment shown in
FIG. 3
, cement or resin
36
can be circulated in the annulus
38
between the tubular structure
11
and the wellbore
30
. The cement or resin
36
is useful to ensure hole stability, provide isolation between different zones (not shown) in the wellbore
30
, and enhance the sealing capability of the tubular structure
11
itself.
In another embodiment shown in
FIG. 4
, the tubular structure
11
is again used as a continuation of a casing string
32
, however, the internal diameter of the tubular structure
11
is not substantially equal to that of the casing string
32
. Instead, the tubular structure
11
is formed directly against the wall of the wellbore
30
without the use of cement or resin
36
.
Another downhole use of strip
10
is shown in
FIG. 5
, which illustrates a wellbore
30
and a casing string
32
disposed therein. Casing string
32
includes a damaged area
40
(such as a hole) shown in phantom lines. In this embodiment, strip
10
and the resulting tubular structure
11
is utilized as a mechanism to repair the damaged area
40
. The strip
10
is wound on the inside of the casing string
32
so that the resulting tubular structure
11
covers the length of casing string
32
that includes the damaged area
40
. The tubular structure
11
is attached and sealed against the interior of the casing
32
by use of suitable means, such as an elastomer which is inserted into the profile of the strip
10
prior to being wound into a tubular structure
11
, and thereby prevents any flow of materials through damaged area
40
.
The strip
10
may be used to patch other downhole structures. For example, in some embodiments of the invention, the strip
10
may be formed into a tubular structure that is used to patch a production tubing. Other downhole structures may also be patched.
In any of the uses shown herein, the diameter of the tubular structure
11
can change along its length. As shown in
FIG. 3
, the diameter of tubular structure
11
can decrease from Section A to Section B without losing structural or sealing integrity. To effect this change in diameter, the helix of the tubular structure
11
either gets smaller (if the diameter is decreased) or larger (if the diameter is increased) while the first and second mating portions,
22
and
24
, of adjacent windings are engaged. This feature accommodates wellbores that change in diameter down their length and also provides an alternative to the use of multiple diameter casing strings in a single wellbore.
FIGS. 7 and 8
illustrate another downhole use for strip
10
. In this embodiment, strip
10
is used as a sand screen and includes a filter media
42
and a plurality of perforations
44
therethrough. Perforations
44
extend through strip
10
from outer surface
16
through inner surface
18
providing fluid communication between the exterior and interior of the resulting tubular structure
11
. Filter media
42
is attached to the outer surface
16
of strip
10
and may be constructed from a number of filtering materials, as can be appreciated by one skilled in the art. Deployed within a wellbore, the tubular structure
11
of
FIGS. 7 and 8
is attached to a production tubing (not shown) or casing string (not shown) and serves as a sand screen. The tubular structure
11
allows hydrocarbon liquids from a formation to flow through the filter media
42
, through the perforations
44
, and into the interior of tubular structure
11
. The filter media
42
and possibly a gravel pack (not shown) prevent sand particles from also flowing into the tubular structure
11
. The strip
10
of
FIGS. 7 and 8
can either be sized to have substantially the same internal diameter as the attached production tubing or can be expanded against the wellbore and relevant formation to place a positive stress against the wellbore thereby enhancing wellbore stability.
Similar to the use of strip
10
shown in
FIG. 5
, the strip
10
of
FIGS. 7 and 8
can also be used as a patch to repair damaged areas of sand screens. In this case, the strip
10
is wound along the interior length of the damaged section of the sand screen.
FIG. 9
shows another downhole use of strip
10
.
FIG. 9
shows a bottom hole assembly
102
that includes a drill
104
. Drill
104
is of course utilized to drill wellbores into the earth. Bottom hole assembly
102
is functionally attached to winding machine
100
. The winding machine
100
is then attached to coiled tubing or jointed tubing
106
that extends to the surface, as is known in the art. As the drill
104
forms the wellbore, winding machine
100
receives strip
10
and rotates to form strip
10
into tubular structure
11
. In this case, tubular structure
11
acts as a well casing. Casing a wellbore shortly after drilling can be important where hole instability may act to jeopardize the success of the drilling operation.
As illustrated in
FIGS. 10 and 11
, strip
10
can also be constructed so that the resulting tubular structure
11
has specific features at relevant points along its length. For instance, the strip
10
can be configured to be used as a casing that provides zonal isolation and that enables production of hydrocarbons (with the possibility of sand control) at the appropriate location of the well. Such a strip
10
may include the following portions along its elongated length: a solid portion
46
, then a sealing portion
48
, then a perforated portion
50
(that may include filter media for sand control), then another sealing portion
48
, and then another solid portion
46
. The resulting tubular structure
11
(
FIG. 11
) includes a lengthwise solid region
52
, sealing region
54
, perforated region
56
(that may include filter media for sand control), sealing region
54
, and solid region
52
. The lengths of each region,
46
,
48
, and
50
, depend on the number of strip
10
windings used for each region. In the illustrated configuration, the tubular structure
11
acts as a well casing that can be cemented in the well. The sealing regions
54
sealingly isolate the perforated region
56
, which region is adjacent to a hydrocarbon formation in the wellbore. The perforated region
56
allows production of formation hydrocarbons therethrough (with sand control if a filter media is included) and can also be used to facilitate a stage cementing job or cement squeeze.
The regions shown in
FIGS. 10 and 11
are only for purposes of illustration. It is understood that the tubular structure
11
can be customized to include any number of various regions at different locations, depending on the request and desire of the operator.
Yet another downhole use of strip
10
is shown in
FIGS. 12 and 13
. In this embodiment, strip
10
is utilized to provide electrical, fluid, or fiber-optic communication between two points along the length of the tubular structure
11
, for instance from the surface to a specific point in the wellbore. Strip
10
includes a channel cover
58
that encloses the length of at least one channel
28
between the two specified points. Channel cover
58
is preferably attached between the two ribs
26
that define the relevant channel
28
. A cable
60
or control line
62
can be disposed within the channel
28
, with the channel cover
58
providing appropriate protection to the cable
60
or control line
62
. Such cables
60
and control lines
62
can include electrical cables, hydraulic control lines, and fiber optic cables. In addition, intelligent wellbore devices, such as inflow control devices, measuring devices (pressure gauges), or monitoring devices (resistivity arrays), can also be disposed within channel
28
.
In a similar embodiment as best shown in
FIG. 12
, channel cover
58
is sealingly attached to the adjacent ribs
26
thereby forming a seal-tight channel
28
. In this embodiment, a gas or liquid, such as a hydraulic fluid or a chemical agent, can be injected or held within the seal-tight channel
28
thereby providing fluid communication between the two points located along the length of tubular structure
11
.
FIG. 13
shows a different mechanism which also provides fluid communication between two points along the length of tubular structure
11
. In this embodiment, a seal-tight conduit
60
is formed on at least one of the ribs
26
of strip
10
. The liquid or gas is then injected or is held within the seal-tight conduit
60
.
In addition, the intelligent wellbore devices previously identified may be deployed in seal-tight channel
28
or conduit
60
, particularly if such devices require isolation from the downhole environment.
For any of the uses described herein, the tubular structure
11
may be formed from an external tubular structure
13
and an internal tubular structure
15
, as shown in FIG.
6
. First, the external tubular structure
13
is wound and formed as previously disclosed. Next, an internal tubular structure
15
(shown in phantom lines in
FIG. 6
) is wound internally of external tubular structure
13
. Thus, the outer surface
16
of the internal tubular structure
15
abuts (and preferably seals against) the inner surface
18
of the external tubular structure
13
. In the preferred embodiment and as shown in
FIG. 6
, the direction of the helix of external tubular structure
13
is opposite to the direction of the helix of internal tubular structure
15
. With this arrangement, the structure and sealing integrity of tubular structure
11
is enhanced and/or reinforced.
FIG. 14
depicts a system
105
that may be used to deploy the strip
10
downhole inside a wellbore
107
. The system
105
includes a truck
114
that contains a spool
112
of tubing
106
that is deployed downhole into the well through a well tree
122
. Tubing
106
may comprise drill string, coiled tubing, or jointed tubing. A winding machine assembly
108
is attached to the lower end of the tubing
106
and is used to form a tubular structure inside the wellbore
103
from the strip
10
.
More particularly, referring also to
FIG. 15
, in some embodiments of the invention, the assembly
108
includes a cartridge
130
to store the strip
10
and a rotating head
132
. In this manner, the cartridge
130
feeds the strip
10
to the rotating head
132
that, in turn, includes rollers that guide the strip
10
along a helical path to form the next winding of the tubular structure. As the rotating head
132
retrieves strip
10
from cartridge
130
, the guide rollers of the rotating head
132
force the slightly overlapping longitudinal edges of the strip
10
together to cause their mating profiles to engage each other to form the tubular structure. The tubular structure, as formed, propagates away from the rotating head
132
.
In some embodiments of the invention, the guide rollers of the rotating head
132
may extend to meet the interior wall of the wellbore
107
, thereby causing the outer diameter of the formed tubular structure to be near the interior diameter of the wellbore
107
. Therefore, the assembly
108
may be moved (via movement of the tubing
102
) to move the rotating head
132
to different positions inside the wellbore
107
to vary the diameter of the tubular structure. Alternatively, command stimuli may be communicated downhole to the rotating head
132
to set the positions of the guide rollers to set the diameter of the tubular structure.
In some embodiments of the invention, the rotating head
132
is driven by the rotation of the tubing
106
, a rotation that is introduced by, for example, a rotary drive mechanism
110
that is located at the surface of the well. The tubing
106
, in some embodiments of the invention extends through but is not attached to the cartridge
130
. Therefore, in these embodiments, the cartridge
130
does not rotate with the rotating head
132
. Alternatively, the rotating head
132
may be driven by a downhole motor and not by rotation of the tubing
106
. Such an arrangement is advantageous when coiled tubing is used as the tubing
106
.
To store the strip
10
downhole, the strip
10
may be wound around a spool of the cartridge
130
. The strip
10
may be wound in a direction that is opposed to the rotation of the rotating head
132
so that rotation of the head
132
does not prematurely uncoil the spooled strip
10
inside the cartridge
130
. Guide rollers of the rotating head
132
remove the strip
10
from the cartridge
130
to form the tubular structure as needed.
Alternatively, in some embodiments of the invention, the cartridge
130
may be constructed to rotate with the rotating head
132
. For example, the cartridge
130
may be attached to the tubing
106
. Thus, due to this arrangement, the strip
10
does not need to be wound in a manner to counter the rotation of the rotating head
132
.
FIG. 16
depicts another system
150
to deploy the strip
10
downhole and form the tubular structure downhole. In this embodiment, the strip
10
is deployed in its linear configuration into an annulus of the well from a spool
160
that is located at the surface of the well. The annulus is formed in the annular region between a tubing
166
(jointed tubing, coiled tubing, or drill string) that extends down into a wellbore and the interior wall of the wellbore.
As depicted in
FIG. 16
, a portion of the wellbore is cased
151
, and another portion
152
is to be lined with a tubular structure formed from the strip
10
. The lower end of the tubing
166
is attached to a side entry sub
167
that couples the tubing
166
to a tubular section
168
of pipe (a jointed or coiled tubing, for example) in which the strip
10
is allowed to coil. In this manner, the side entry sub
167
provides a side entry port to the interior passageway of the section
168
through which the strip
10
is threaded. Inside the section
168
, the strip
10
coils in response to the rotation of the tubing
166
(and tubing section
168
), a rotation that drives the rotating head
132
. The end of the strip
10
is fed to the rotating head
132
for purposes of forming the tubular structure. Instead of being driven by the rotation of the tubing
166
, the rotating head
132
may be driven by a downhole motor (without rotation of the tubing). Such an arrangement is advantageous when coiled tubing is used as the tubing
166
.
The rotating head
132
is attached to a length of pipe
168
and deployed in to the well. The length of section
168
is such to contain the strip required to line a defined length of the wellbore. For instance, 8,000 feet of strip may be required to line 1,000 of wellbore. Therefore, in this example the length of
168
would be 8,000 feet. Once section
168
is run into the wellbore it is temporarily hung off at the surface. Then, 8000 feet of the strip is fed into section
168
until it engages and latches into the winding head
132
. It may be desirable to put a twist into the strip
10
while feeding it into section
168
. There would be one twist for every spiral winding downhole. Doing this prevents the need for the strip to rotate inside section
168
while winding the pipe downhole. Once the required length of strip is feed into section
168
, a retaining cable
161
is attached to the upper end of the strip. Alternatively, the strip
10
itself may extend to the surface and provide the support instead of the retaining cable
161
. The side entry sub
167
is attached to section
168
with the retaining cable feed from the end of the strip to outside of the side entry sub
167
. Additional lengths of pipe and cable are fed into the wellbore until the rotating head
132
reaches the desired depth at which point the winding of the pipe downhole begins.
FIG. 17
depicts yet another system
180
for deploying the strip
10
. At the surface of the well, tubing
184
(jointed tubing, coiled tubing, or drill pipe) is unrolled from a tubing spool
182
(located on a truck
186
) and may be fed through a rotary drive mechanism
188
(that is capable of turning the tubing
184
) and through a well tree
192
into the well. At the surface of the well, the tubing
184
also passes through a mechanism
190
that receives the strip
10
from a coil
206
and wraps the strip around the tubing
184
. Thus, as depicted in
FIG. 18
, the mechanism
190
spirally wraps the strip
10
around the tubing
184
. Still referring to
FIG. 17
, the tubing
184
with the wrapped strip
10
is deployed downhole. The lower end of the tubing
184
is connected to the rotating head
132
that winds the strip
10
off of the tubing
184
and spiral wraps the strip
10
to form a tubular structure downhole in a particular section
200
of the wellbore. Instead of being driven by the rotation of the tubing
184
, the rotating head
132
may be driven by a downhole motor (without rotation of the tubing). Such an arrangement is advantageous when coiled tubing is used as the tubing
184
.
FIGS. 19-20
show another downhole use of strip
10
.
FIGS. 19 and 20
show a subterranean well
300
that includes a main wellbore
302
and a lateral wellbore
304
. The lateral wellbore
304
extends from the main wellbore
302
. The tubular structure
11
that results from the winding of strip
10
may be used to either line or case both the main wellbore
302
and the lateral wellbore
304
so as to form a junction
306
in the process (see
FIGS. 19C and 20C
) or to line or case the lateral wellbore
304
while maintaining flow through the main wellbore
302
(see FIG.
19
B). Due to the attachment mechanisms of the tubular structure
11
, a resulting junction
306
is mechanically stable and may also have pressure integrity. The tubular structure
11
may be deployed directly on the walls of the wellbores
302
and
304
(without the use of cement between the tubular structures and the wellbore walls) or may be cemented in place to such walls, as previously discussed.
As shown in
FIGS. 19A-C
, the lateral wellbore
304
may be lined or cased first. The strip
10
can be guided into the lateral wellbore
304
either by use of a steerable guide roller (not shown) or a whipstock (not shown) placed underneath the relevant lateral wellbore
304
(see FIG.
19
A). Once the tubular structure
11
is formed in the lateral wellbore
304
, a cutting tool or mill
330
is deployed (see
FIG. 19B
) to cut a passageway in the tubular structure
11
to provide communication through the main wellbore
302
. As an optional additional step as shown in
FIG. 19C
, a second tubular structure
332
may be deployed within and against the tubular structure
11
and through the passageway cut through tubular structure
11
to line or case the main wellbore
302
including the area below the lateral wellbore
304
. An additional passageway would then need to be cut through second tubular structure
332
using a cutting tool or mill
330
in order to reestablish communication between the lateral wellbore
304
and the main wellbore
302
.
FIGS. 20A-20B
show the main wellbore
302
being lined or cased first. After the tubular structure
11
is deployed in main wellbore
302
, a cutting tool or mill
330
is deployed (see
FIG. 20B
) to cut a passageway in the tubular structure
11
to provide communication between the lateral wellbore
304
and the main wellbore
302
. Next, as shown in
FIG. 20C
, a second tubular structure
332
is deployed within and against the tubular structure
11
and through the passageway cut through tubular structure
11
to line or case the lateral wellbore
304
. The strip
10
can be guided into the lateral wellbore
304
either by use of a steerable guide roller (not shown) or a whipstock (not shown) placed underneath the relevant lateral wellbore
304
. An additional passageway is then cut through second tubular structure
332
using a cutting tool or mill
330
in order to reestablish communication through main wellbore
302
.
For the techniques used in either
FIG. 19
or
20
, the second tubular structure
332
may be deployed concurrently with the cutting of the relevant passageways, as generally described with respect to FIG.
9
.
It is understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction, operation, exact materials or embodiments shown and described, as obvious modifications and equivalents will be apparent to one skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Accordingly, the invention is therefore to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A method usable in a subterranean well, comprising:conveying an elongated strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and spirally wrapping the strip to form a tubular structure in the well, the conveying comprises storing a spool of the strip downhole.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing comprises:wrapping the strip around the spool in a direction that counters rotation of a rotating head used to form the tubular structure.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the strip is formed from a material adapted to withstand a subterranean well environment.
- 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the material comprises steel.
- 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the material comprises stainless steel.
- 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the material comprises a polymer.
- 7. The method of claim 3, wherein the material comprises glass fibers.
- 8. The method of claim 3, wherein the material comprises composites.
- 9. A method usable in a subterranean well, comprising:conveying an elongated strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and spirally wrapping the strip to form a tubular structure in the well; wherein the conveying comprises: wrapping the strip around a tubing at the surface of the well; and lowering the tubing downhole.
- 10. A method usable in a subterranean well, comprising:conveying an elongated strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and spirally wrapping he strip to form a tubular structure in the well; wherein the conveying comprises: extending a tubing downhole; inserting the strip into an internal passageway of the tubing; and withdrawing the strip from the passageway to form the tubular structure.
- 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:allowing the strip to coil inside the internal passageway of the tubing.
- 12. A system usable with a subterranean well, comprising:a first mechanism to convey an elongated strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and a second mechanism to, dowuhole in the subterranean well, form a tubular structure from the elongated strip, wherein the second mechanism forms the tubular structure during drilling of a wellbore of the well.
- 13. A system usable with a subterranean well, comprising:a first mechanism to convey an elongated strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and a second mechanism to, downhole in the subterranean well, form a tubular structure from the elongated strip, wherein the first mechanism stores a spool of the strip downhole.
- 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the strip is wrapped on the spool in a direction that counters rotation of a rotating head used to form the tubular structure.
- 15. A system usable with a subterranean well, comprising:a first mechanism to convey an elongated strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and a second mechanism to, downhole in the subterranean well, form a tubular structure from the elongated strip; wherein the first mechanism comprises: an actuator to wrap the strip around a tubing at the surface of the well as the tubing is lowered downhole.
- 16. A system usable with a subterranean well, comprising:a first mechanism to convey an elongated strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; a second mechanism to, downhole in the subterranean well, form a tubular structure from the elongated strip; a tubing having an interior passageway to store the strip; and a side entry sub located downhole to receive the strip from an annulus of the well and furnish the strip to the interior passageway of the tubing.
- 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the tubing rotates and the strip coils inside the interior passageway of the tubing.
- 18. A system for providing a well conduit, comprising:means for conveying a strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and means for forming the strip into the well conduit inside the well, wherein the means for forming forms the tubular structure during drilling of a wellbore of the well.
- 19. A system for providing a well conduit, comprising:means for conveying a strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and means for forming the strip into the well conduit inside the well, wherein the means for conveying stores a spool of the strip downhole.
- 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the strip is wrapped on the spoli in a direction that counters rotation of a rotating head used to form the tubular structure.
- 21. A system for providing a well conduit, comprising:means for convening a strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and means for forming the strip into the well conduit inside the well; wherein the means for conveying comprises: an actuator to wrap the strip around a tubing at the surface of the well as the tubing is lowered downhole.
- 22. A system for providing a well conduit, comprising:means for conveying a strip from a surface of the well downhole into the well; and means for forming the strip into the well conduit inside the well; wherein the means for conveying comprises: a tubing having an interior passageway to store the strip, and a side entry sub located downhole to receive the strip from an annulus of the well and furnish the strip to the interior passageway of the tubing.
- 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the tubing rotates and the strip coils inside the interior passageway of the tubing.
- 24. A system usable in a subterranean well including a main wellbore and a lateral wellbore, the system comprising:a free-standing, first tubular structure formed from a spirally wound strip; and the first tubular structure deployed within the lateral wellbore so as to line at least a portion of the lateral wellbore.
- 25. The system of claim 24, wherein the first tubular structure extends from the main wellbore to the lateral wellbore and lines at least a portion of the main wellbore.
- 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the first tubular structure includes a passageway that provides communication through the main wellbore.
- 27. The system of claim 26, wherein the system further comprises:a second tubular structure formed from a spirally wound strip; the second tubular structure deployed within the main wellbore so as to line at least a portion of the main wellbore.
- 28. The system of claim 27, wherein the second tubular structure is partially located within the first tubular structure and extends through the passageway.
- 29. A system usable in a subterranean well including a main wellbore and a lateral welibore, the system comprising:a first and a second tubular structure, each of the first and the second tubular structures formed from a spirally wound strip and each of the first and the second tubular structures being free-standing; the first tubular structure deployed within the main wellbore so as to line at least a portion of the main wellbore; and the second tubular structure deployed within the lateral wellbore so as to line at least a portion of the lateral wellbore.
- 30. The system of claim 29, wherein the first tubular structure includes a passageway that provides communication between the main wellbore and the lateral wellbore.
- 31. The system of claim 30, wherein the second tubular structure is partially located within the first tubular structure and extends through the passageway.
- 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the second tubular structure includes a passageway that provides communication through the main wellbore.
- 33. A method for completing a subterranean well including a main wellbore and a lateral wellbore, the method comprising:lining at least a portion of the lateral wellbore with a free-standing first tubular structure; and the first tubular structure formed from a spirally wound strip.
- 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the first tubular structure extends from the main weilbore to the lateral welibore and lines at least a portion of the main wellbore.
- 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising cutting a passageway in the first tubular structure to provides communication through the main wellbore.
- 36. The method of claim 35 further comprising:lining at least a portion of the main wellbore with a second tubular structure; and the second tubular structure formed from a spirally wound strip.
- 37. The method of claim 36, further comprising deploying the second tubular structure so that it is partially located within the first tubular structure and extends through the passageway.
- 38. A method for completing a subterranean well including a main wellbore and a lateral wellbore, the method comprising:lining at least a portion of the main wellbore with a free-standing first tubular structure; lining at least a portion of the main wellbore with a second tubular structure; and the first and second tubular structures each formed from a spirally wound strip.
- 39. The method of claim 38, further comprising cutting a passageway in the first tubular structure to provide communication between the main wellbore and the lateral wellbore.
- 40. The method of claim 39, further comprising deploying the second tubular structure so that it is partially located within the first tubular structure and extends through the passageway.
- 41. The method of claim 40, further comprising cutting a passageway in the second tubular structure to provides communication through the main wellbore.
- 42. A method for completing a subterranean well including a main wellbore and a lateral wellbor, the method comprising:lining at least a portion of the main wellbore with a free-standing first tubular structure; lining at least a portion of the main wellbore with a second tubular structure; the first and second tubular structures each formed from a spirally wound strip; and attaching the tubular structure to another spirally wound tubular structure.
- 43. The method of claim 42, wherein a helical orientation of said another spirally wound tubular structure is in a direction opposite from a helically orientation of the first tubular structure.
US Referenced Citations (36)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1712576 |
Oct 1987 |
SU |
WO 9000698 |
Jan 1990 |
WO |
WO 9834742 |
Aug 1998 |
WO |
WO 0017564 |
Mar 2000 |
WO |