Patent Application
20110139458
In many well applications, completions are delivered downhole to enable the controlled production of hydrocarbon based fluids. Depending on the environment and the components used in a given completion, the completion system is sometimes delivered downhole in two stages. However, deployment of two or more completion stages can be a difficult and complex procedure, particularly if the initial completion is an intelligent completion.
In general, the present invention comprises a system and methodology for deploying a plurality of completion stages downhole in a well environment. A first completion stage is deployed downhole into a wellbore with a plurality of control lines having at least one hydraulic control line and at least one electrical control line. A second completion stage is assembled with an electric submersible pumping assembly and a plurality of corresponding control lines having at least one hydraulic control line and a least one electrical control line. The second completion stage is conveyed downhole into the wellbore until engaged with the first completion stage which automatically joins the plurality of control lines. The control lines may then be used to operate both electrical and hydraulic devices of the first completion stage.
Certain embodiments of the invention will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements, and:
In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present invention. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible.
The present invention generally relates to a system and method for forming connections between stages of a multi-stage completion. In one embodiment, a completion stage, comprising an electric submersible pumping assembly, is joined downhole with a corresponding completion stage having a plurality of devices, including electrically and hydraulically controlled devices. The devices may be part of an intelligent completion system and/or inflow control completion system in which electric and hydraulic systems are used in the same completion.
The use of intelligent completion systems and inflow control device completion systems in combination with an electric submersible pumping assembly in a separate completion stage enables optimized production and enhanced recovery of hydrocarbon fluids. Additionally, permanent downhole monitoring systems may be incorporated into the completion system to monitor downhole pressure and temperature to further enhance production optimization. The electric submersible pumping assembly facilitates the production of hydrocarbon fluid, e.g. oil, from wells that are incapable of producing naturally at commercially viable rates. The electric submersible pumping assembly artificially lifts oil to the surface in wells characterized by low reservoir pressure, high water cut, and/or high back pressure from surface facilities.
Referring generally to
In the embodiment illustrated, well 24 is a multilateral well having a generally vertical wellbore section 38, a main lateral wellbore section 40, and additional lateral wellbore sections 42 which direct flow of hydrocarbon fluids to the main lateral wellbore 40. In this example, both vertical wellbore section 38 and lateral wellbore section 40 are cased with casings 44, 46, respectfully. However, completion 28 may be employed in a variety of wells, including cased wells, open hole wells, partially cased wells, vertical wells, inclined wells, horizontal wells, multi-zone wells, and various types of single or multilateral wells.
Depending on the specific well application, the first completion stage 32 and the second completion stage 36 may be constructed with various arrangements of components. In the example illustrated, first completion stage 32 is an intelligent completion stage with inflow control. The first completion stage 32 is deployed within casing 46 which terminates at a liner shoe 48. Casing 46 comprises a plurality of openings 50 through which well fluid flows from lateral wellbore sections 42 into main lateral wellbore 40 from a plurality of wells zones. The first completion stage 32 may comprise a plurality of multi-port packers 52 which separate the inflows of well fluid from the different well zones.
First completion stage 32 also may comprise a plurality of other flow control devices, including a plurality of flow control valves 54, separated by packers 52, and a plurality of monitoring systems 56. The monitoring systems 56 also may be separated by packers 52 to enable monitoring of the fluid inflow from each well zone. The various devices, e.g. flow control valves 54 and monitoring systems 56, are connected via a combination of control lines including one or more hydraulic control lines 58 and one or more electrical control lines 60. By way of example, the flow control valves 54 may be controlled by the one or more hydraulic control lines 58, and the monitoring systems may be coupled to the one or more electrical control lines 60 to receive and/or convey data on monitored production parameters, e.g. temperature and pressure. In some applications, the multi-port packers 52 also may be controlled via inputs from one or more of the control lines 58, 60. Additional and/or alternate powered devices and data providing devices may be incorporated into the first completion stage 32 and coupled with control lines 58, 60.
Similarly, the second completion stage 36 may comprise a variety of components selected according to the specific environment and production application. In the example illustrated, second completion stage 36 comprises an electric submersible pumping assembly 62 located below a packer 64, such as a multi-port packer. The electric submersible pumping assembly 62 may comprise a variety of components, such as a submersible pump 66 connected to a pump intake 68. A submersible motor 70 of the electric submersible pump assembly 62 powers the submersible pump 66 and may have multiple sensors 72. The second completion stage 36 also may comprise portions of one or more hydraulic control lines 74 and one or more electrical control lines 76 which correspond with hydraulic control lines 58 and electrical control lines 60, respectively, of first completion stage 32. The control lines 74, 76 serve as hydraulic and electrical supply lines for supplying hydraulic fluid and electricity to the flow control related devices of first completion stage 32.
The multi-stage completion 28 also comprises a wet connect system 78, which is illustrated in enlarged form in
Wet connect system 78 further comprises a control line connector portion 88 designed to automatically connect hydraulic control line segment 74 with hydraulic control line segment 58 of the first completion stage 32. Similarly, the control line connector portion 88 automatically connects the electrical control line segment 76 with electric control line segment 60 of the first completion stage 32. As insert 84 is moved into receiver 82 to connect the tubing strings, the hydraulic control lines and electrical control lines also are simultaneously and automatically connected. Depending on the application, individual or multiple hydraulic lines and individual or multiple electrical lines may be simultaneously connected.
By way of example, the hydraulic control line 74 and electrical control line 76 extending along second completion stage 36 may have terminations 90, 92, respectively. Additionally, the hydraulic control line 58 and electrical control line 60 of first completion stage 32 may have corresponding terminations 94, 96, respectively. In one example, terminations 90, 92 are male terminations and terminations 94, 96 are female terminations sized to sealingly receive terminations 90, 92. A plurality of seals 98 may be mounted on male terminations 90, 92 to ensure a secure, sealed engagement of the control lines. As the second completion stage 36 is moved downhole into engagement with the first completion stage 32, wet connect system 78 causes the automatic coupling of both hydraulic control lines and electrical control lines to enable operation of the flow control related devices, e.g. flow control valves 54 and monitoring systems 56. In other embodiments, the male and female terminations may be reversed, or other types of wet connect components may be employed to form the hydraulic and electrical wet connections in control line connector portion 88.
One embodiment of an electrical and hydraulic wet connect system is illustrated in
Accordingly, well system 20 may be constructed in a variety of configurations for use with many types of wells in many types of environments. The configuration of the lower completion and the upper completion may be adjusted according to the environment and specific well application. The electric submersible pumping assembly may incorporate alternate or additional components. Additionally, redundant electric submersible pumping assembly components may be used in some applications to provide greater pumping capacity. The type and arrangement of packers, monitoring systems, flow control valves, and other flow control devices may be changed. Additionally, the electrical and hydraulic control lines may be coupled with a variety of other types of devices that facilitate control over the inflow of production fluids. The wet connect system also may be adapted according to the specific types of hydraulic control lines and/or electrical control lines utilized in a given application. For example, the electrical control line and hydraulic control line may be routed separately or combined in a single cable. Furthermore, various techniques may be used to control first stage devices and/or to obtain data from the first stage devices via the hydraulic/electrical control lines.
Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this invention. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims.
