Patent Application
20210079766
The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for well production enhancement.
Hydraulic fracturing is a technique often used to access resource deposits such as hydrocarbon deposits and other types of resources trapped in a rock formation, such as a shale formation. Hydraulic fracturing is often combined with horizontal drilling to reduce the surface disturbance of the drilling operation, and also to reach multiple hydrocarbon deposits spread across vast areas.
Hydraulic fracturing operations often utilize massive volumes of water and proppants that are not only financially costly to produce, transport, and pump downhole, but also take up enormous footprints at well sites. Further, the significant volumes of water and proppants pumped downhole also proportionally increase pump time thereby delaying completion and eventual hydrocarbon production operations. Further, the use of massive volumes of water may be more difficult at well sites situated in areas with little water resources or situated far from areas with sufficient water resources to support hydraulic fracturing operations. In addition, the fluids used for fracturing operations ideally need to be removed from the formation to optimize production. In that regard, the fluid removal process to remove such fluids increases proportionally to the amount of fluids pumped downhole.
Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, which are incorporated by reference herein, and wherein:
The illustrated figures are only exemplary and are not intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard to the environment, architecture, design, or process in which different embodiments may be implemented.
In the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical structural, mechanical, electrical, and chemical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. To avoid detail not necessary to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments described herein, the description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the illustrative embodiments is defined only by the appended claims.
The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for well production enhancement. Well production enhancement systems described herein are deployable in open-hole and cased-hole wellbores. A well production enhancement system deployed in an open-hole wellbore includes an outer conveyance that is deployable in the wellbore and an inner conveyance that is deployable inside of the outer conveyance (i.e., forming an annulus between the inner conveyance and the outer conveyance). As referred to herein, a conveyance may be a work string, drill string, drill pipe, wireline, slickline, coiled tubing, production tubing, downhole tractor or another type of conveyance operable to be deployed in a wellbore. In some embodiments, the outer conveyance is a work string and the inner conveyance is a coiled tubing that is deployed within the working string. The well production enhancement system includes isolation devices that form isolation zones along the outer conveyance. As referred to herein, an isolation device includes any device operable to isolate a section of a conveyance or surrounding wellbore from other sections of the conveyance or surrounding wellbore. Further, as referred to herein, an isolation zone is an area along the conveyance or the wellbore that is isolated (e.g., fluidly isolated) from other areas along the conveyance or the wellbore. Examples of isolation devices include, but are not limited to, packers, frac plugs, frac balls, sealing balls, sliding sleeves, bridge plugs, cement sleeves, wipers, pipe plugs, as well as other types of devices operable to isolate a section of the conveyance or the wellbore. In some embodiments, the isolation devices are also used to anchor one or more sections of the outer conveyance to the wellbore. In some embodiments, the isolation devices are deployed before the inner conveyance is deployed in the outer conveyance. In some embodiments, isolation devices along different sections of the wellbore are deployed at different times.
The well production enhancement system also includes propellants deployed along each section of the wellbore. As referred to herein, a propellant includes any chemical material operable to produce energy, pressurized gas, or in some cases release heat, that generates fractures along the formation. The propellants are detonated to generate fractures along the formation at an isolation zone. In some embodiments, some propellants are detonated before other propellants to create a pulsing effect which enhances fractures generated along the formation. In some embodiments, a detonation cord coupled to the propellants is ignited or actuated to detonate the propellants. Fracture enhancement fluids are then pumped through the conveyance and into the fractures to enhance the fractures. As referred to herein, fracture enhancement fluids are any fluids having properties that extend the fracture length, the fracture complexity, or enhance the well production through the fractures. Examples of fracture enhancement fluids include, but are not limited to, different types of fracture fluids and treatment fluids. In some embodiments, fracture enhancement fluids are pumped into the wellbore and the fractures while the propellants are being detonated. For example, the fracture enhancement fluids are pumped into the wellbore after one fourth (or a different amount) of propellants deployed along an isolation zone have been detonated. In one or more of such embodiments, the remaining propellants are detonated in a timed sequence (e.g., in a pulsed frequency) while the fracture enhancement fluids are pumped into the wellbore and fractures. In one or more of such embodiment, all of the propellants deployed in the isolation section are detonated while fracture enhancement fluids are pumped into the wellbore and fractures. In one or more of such embodiments, operations to pump fracture enhancement fluids into the isolation zone complete before all of the propellants are detonated. In some embodiments, the well production enhancement system includes multiple sliding sleeves or other components deployed along the outer conveyance that are actuated to allow fluids to flow through the outer conveyance and into the wellbore and fractures. In one or more of such embodiments, after propellants deployed along the isolation zone are detonated to form fractures, the inner conveyance actuates a sliding sleeve deployed along the isolation zone to allow fracture enhancement fluids to flow through the opening of the sliding sleeve and into the fractures. In some embodiments, the fracture enhancement fluids are pressurized (either at the surface or downhole) before the fluids are injected into the fractures to further enhance the fractures. In some embodiments, the fracture enhancement fluids are pressurized by continuing injection through the conveyance and maintaining injection pressure. In some embodiments, the fracture enhancement fluids (pressurized or unpressurized) are pumped into the formation immediately or within a threshold period of time after the detonation of the propellants. In one or more embodiments, the fractures are first filled with a clean frac fluid (i.e., a frac fluid with little to no solids) followed with a sand-laden fluid. Additional descriptions of a wellbore production enhancement system deployed in an open-hole wellbore are provided in the paragraphs below and are illustrated in at least
In some embodiments, a well production enhancement system similar to the previously described well production enhancement system is deployed in cased wellbores. In such embodiments, the well production enhancement system also includes an outer conveyance, an inner conveyance deployed inside the outer conveyance, isolation devices deployable to form isolation zones, and propellants. The well production enhancement system also includes a perforation tool that is deployable along different zones of interest along the outer conveyance and operable to perforate the respective zones of interest. As referred to herein, a perforation tool is any tool or component operable to perforate a conveyance or formation. Examples of perforation tools include, but are not limited to, hydrojet/hydrajet tools, perforation guns, as well as other tools operable to perforate a conveyance or formation. Further, and as referred to herein, a zone of interest is an area along a section of the outer conveyance that is a designated zone for perforation operations. In one or more embodiments, the zone of interest is an area along a section of the outer conveyance that does not contain any propellants, or where perforation within the area would not detonate any propellant deployed nearby. In some embodiments, the perforation tool is attached to the inner conveyance, is towed by the inner conveyance to a zone of interest, and is actuated to perforate the zone of interest. After perforation of the zone of interest, the propellants are detonated to form fractures along the isolation zone, and fracture enhancement fluids are pumped through the inner conveyance, through the perforations in the zone of interest, and into the fractures to enhance the fractures. Further, after injecting the fracture enhancement fluids, an isolation material is injected into the perforated zone of interest to isolate the perforated zone of interest. As referred to herein, an isolation material includes any fluid or solid-based material operable to isolate (e.g., fluidly isolate) the perforated zone of interest from other zones or sections. Additional descriptions of a wellbore production enhancement system deployed in a cased wellbore are provided in the paragraphs below and are illustrated in at least
In some embodiments, a well production enhancement system deployed in cased wellbores first operates a perforation tool to perforate each zone (or multiple zones) of interest along a cased wellbore. Conveyance joints of the well production enhancement system are deployed into the wellbore after the foregoing perforation operation. The well production enhancement system includes sliding sleeves and propellants that are deployable along each conveyance joint. In some embodiments, propellants are placed on sleeves (propellant sleeves). In some embodiments, propellant sleeves and inflatable packers are connected to a conveyance (e.g., the inner conveyance, the outer conveyance, or another conveyance deployable downhole) or a conveyance joint, and are deployed downhole together with the conveyance or the conveyance joint. In one or more of such embodiments, sliding sleeves are placed above each propellant sleeve. In one or more of such embodiments, sliding sleeves are placed between two or more propellant sleeves. In one or more of such embodiments, a propellant sleeve is a sleeve or a cylinder of propellant. In such embodiments, the propellant sleeve slides over a conveyance and is attached in place on the conveyance. In one or more of such embodiments, the propellant sleeve slides over the inner conveyance and welded on both ends to the inner conveyance. In one or more of such embodiments, the propellant sleeve is screwed on to an inner surface of the outer conveyance. The well production enhancement system also includes isolation devices deployable along the conveyance joints to isolate each conveyance joint from adjacent conveyance joints, and to form an isolation zone along each respective conveyance joint. The conveyance joints are connected to form an outer conveyance, and an inner conveyance is deployed inside of the connected outer conveyance (i.e., forming an annulus between the inner conveyance and the outer conveyance). After the conveyance joints are connected to form the outer conveyance, propellants along a conveyance joint are detonated to form fractures in the formation proximate to the conveyance joint. Further, a sliding sleeve along the conveyance joint is actuated to provide a fluid flow path allowing the pressurized fracture enhancement fluids to flow out from the outer conveyance, through the opened sliding sleeve, and into the formed fractures. Fracture enhancement fluids are then pumped through the outer conveyance, through the opened sliding sleeve, and into the fractures to enhance the fractures. The sliding sleeve is then closed, the inner conveyance is re-deployed to another conveyance joint, and operations to detonate propellants deployed along the other conveyance joint, open a sliding sleeve, pump fracture enhancement fluids into the fractures, and close the sliding sleeve are repeated. In some embodiments, the well production enhancement system also includes electronic devices (controllers) operable to monitor operations performed during well production enhancement operations. Additional descriptions of well production enhancement systems and method to enhance well production are provided in the paragraphs below and are illustrated in
Turning now to the figures,
At wellhead 106, an inlet conduit 122 is coupled to a fluid source 120 to provide fluids and materials, such as fracture enhancement fluids and isolation materials into well 102 and formation 126. For example, fracture enhancement fluids are pumped through inlet conduit 122, through conveyance 117, down wellbore 114, and into fractures 104A, 104A′, 104B, 104B′, 104C, 104C′ 104D, and 104D′, to enhance the respective fractures. In some embodiments, a perforation tool (not shown) is actuated to perforate conveyance 116 and formation 126 at a zone of interest. In some embodiments, propellants in the first isolation zone are detonated to form fractures 104A and 104A′ and fracture enhancement fluids are pumped through conveyance 117, through conveyance 116, and eventually into fractures 104A and 104A′. In some embodiments, where conveyance 116 includes a sliding sleeve (not shown), the sliding sleeve is actuated to facilitate fluid flow through the sliding sleeve and into fractures 104A and 104A′. After fractures 104A and 104A′ are enhanced through the foregoing process, conveyance 117 is re-deployed to isolation zone 111B, and the process is then repeated to enhance fractures in isolation zone 111B. The foregoing process is repeated until fractures in each isolation zone are enhanced.
In the embodiment of
Although
Upon completion of the fracture enhancement process to enhance fractures 304A and 304A′, isolation materials are then pumped through conveyance 117 to isolate perforations through conveyance 116. In that regard,
At block S508, a plurality of propellants deployed along the section is detonated to generate one or more fractures in a formation proximate to the section.
In some embodiments, the fracture enhancement fluids are pressurized and then injected into the fractures to further enhance the fractures. In one or more of such embodiments, the fracture enhancement fluids are pressurized before the propellants are detonated and are pumped into the outer conveyance after the propellants have detonated to generate fractures along the wellbore. In some embodiments, the outer conveyance has one or more sliding sleeves deployed along different sections of the outer conveyance. In one of more of such embodiments, a sliding sleeve is actuated to provide a fluid flow path out of the outer conveyance.
In some embodiments, a perforation tool such as a hydrojet or a perforation gun is actuated to perforate a zone of interest of an isolated zone before propellants in the isolated zone are detonated.
At block S602, a plurality of zones of interest along a cased wellbore are perforated. At block S604, a plurality of conveyance joints are deployed into the cased wellbore, where each conveyance joint has a sliding sleeve and one or more isolation devices operable to form an isolation zone along the respective conveyance joint.
At block S608, an inner conveyance is deployed inside of the outer conveyance, where the inner conveyance is initially deployed along a conveyance joint of the outer conveyance. An inner conveyance, such as conveyance 117 of
At block S610, a plurality of propellants deployed along the conveyance joint in which the inner conveyance is initially deployed are detonated to generate one or more fractures in a formation proximate to said conveyance joint. In some embodiments, propellants 414 of
The above-disclosed embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration and to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the disclosure, but the disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the forms disclosed. Many insubstantial modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. For instance, although the flowcharts depict a serial process, some of the steps/processes may be performed in parallel or out of sequence, or combined into a single step/process. The scope of the claims is intended to broadly cover the disclosed embodiments and any such modification. Further, the following clauses represent additional embodiments of the disclosure and should be considered within the scope of the disclosure.
Clause 1, a method to enhance well production, the method comprising deploying an outer conveyance into a wellbore, wherein a plurality of propellants are deployed along a section of the out conveyance; deploying one or more isolation devices to form one or more isolation zones along the outer conveyance; deploying an inner conveyance within the outer conveyance, wherein the inner conveyance is initially deployed along the section of the outer conveyance; detonating the plurality of propellants to generate one or more fractures in a formation proximate to the section of the outer conveyance; and injecting fracture enhancement fluids into the one or more fractures to enhance well production through the one or more fractures.
Clause 2, the method of clause 1, further comprising: pressurizing the fracture enhancement fluids; and after detonating the plurality of propellants, actuating a sliding sleeve deployed in the section of the outer conveyance, wherein injecting the fracture enhancement fluids comprises injecting the pressurized fracture enhancement fluids through the sliding sleeve and into the one or more fractures.
Clause 3, the method of clause 2, wherein the fracture enhancement fluids are pressurized prior to detonating the plurality of propellants.
Clause 4, the method of clauses 2 or 3, wherein the fracture enhancement fluids comprise one or more of fracture fluids and treatment fluids.
Clause 5, method of clause 1, further comprising: actuating a perforation tool to perforate a zone of interest along the section of the outer conveyance, and wherein the perforation tool is actuated prior to detonating the plurality of propellants; and after injecting the fracture enhancement fluids, injecting an isolation material to isolate the perforated zone of interest along the section of the outer conveyance.
Clause 6, the method of clause 5, further comprising: pressurizing the fracture enhancement fluids prior to detonating the plurality of propellants, wherein injecting the fracture enhancement fluids comprises after perforating a zone of interest along the section of the outer conveyance, injecting the pressurized fracture enhancement fluids through the perforated zone of interest along the section of the outer conveyance.
Clause 7, the method of clause 6, wherein the fracture enhancement fluids comprise one or more of fracture fluids and treatment fluids.
Clause 8, the method of clauses 6 or 7, wherein the zone of interest is along a blank section of the outer conveyance.
Clause 9, the method of any of clauses 1-8, wherein injecting fracture enhancement fluids comprises injecting fracture enhancement fluids into the one or more fractures while the plurality of propellants are being detonated, and wherein the plurality of propellants are detonated in a time sequence to provide pulsing effect on the generated pressure.
Clause 10, the method of any of clauses 1-9, wherein the outer conveyance is a working string, wherein the inner conveyance is a coiled tubing, and wherein the plurality of propellants are ignited after deployment of the coiled tubing within the work string.
Clause 11, a method to enhance well production, the method comprising: perforating a plurality of zones of interest along a cased wellbore; deploying a plurality of conveyance joints into the cased wellbore, each conveyance joint having a sliding sleeve and one or more isolation devices operable to form an isolation zone along the respective conveyance joint, and each conveyance joint having a plurality of propellants deployed along the respective conveyance joint; connecting the plurality of conveyance joints to form an outer conveyance; deploying an inner conveyance within the outer conveyance, wherein the inner conveyance is initially deployed along a conveyance joint of the outer conveyance; detonating the plurality of propellants deployed along the conveyance joint in which the inner conveyance is initially deployed to generate one or more fractures in a formation proximate to said conveyance joint; actuating a sliding sleeve of the conveyance joint in which the inner conveyance is initially deployed; injecting fracture enhancement fluids through the sliding sleeve and into the one or more fractures to enhance well production through the one or more fractures; and closing the sliding sleeve of the conveyance joint in which the inner conveyance is initially deployed.
Clause 12, the method of clause 11, further comprising deploying the one or more isolation devices of each conveyance joint of the plurality of conveyance joints prior to deploying the inner conveyance within the outer conveyance.
Clause 13, the method of clause 11, further comprising deploying the one or more isolation devices of the conveyance joint in which the inner conveyance is initially deployed.
Clause 14, the method of clauses 11-13, further comprising re-deploying an inner conveyance to an adjacent conveyance joint and within the outer conveyance; detonating the plurality of propellants deployed along the adjacent conveyance joint to generate one or more fractures in the formation proximate to the adjacent conveyance joint; actuating a sliding sleeve of the adjacent conveyance joint; injecting fracture enhancement fluids through the sliding sleeve of the adjacent conveyance joint and into the one or more fractures in the formation proximate to the adjacent conveyance joint to enhance well production through said one or more fractures; and closing the sliding sleeve of the adjacent conveyance joint.
Clause 15, a well production enhancement system, comprising an outer conveyance deployed in a wellbore and having a plurality of sections; a plurality of isolation devices deployed along the outer conveyance, wherein deployment of the plurality of isolation devices forms a plurality of isolation zones along the outer conveyance; a plurality of propellants deployed along each section of the outer conveyance, wherein detonation of one or more of the plurality of the propellants generate one or more fractures proximate a section of the outer conveyance where the one or more of the plurality of propellants are deployed; and an inner conveyance deployable within the outer conveyance, the inner conveyance providing a fluid flow path for fracture enhancement fluids to flow within the inner conveyance, and into the one or more fractures to enhance well production through the one or more fractures.
Clause 16, the well production enhancement system of clause 15, further comprising one or more sliding sleeves deployed along the plurality of sections of the outer conveyance, wherein the inner conveyance is operable to actuate the one or more sliding sleeves, and wherein the fracture enhancement fluids flow through the one or more sliding sleeves into the one or more fractures.
Clause 17, the well production enhancement system of clauses 15 or 16, further comprising a tool operable to perforate a plurality of zones of interest along the outer conveyance.
Clause 18, the well production enhancement system of clause 17, wherein the plurality of zones of interest are perforated before the inner conveyance is deployed within the outer conveyance.
Clause 19, the well production enhancement system of clause 17, wherein the plurality of zones of interest are perforated before the outer conveyance is deployed in the wellbore.
Clause 20, the well production enhancement system of clauses 17-19, wherein the tool is at least one of a perforating gun and a hydrojet/hydrajet tool.
As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification and/or the claims, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. In addition, the steps and components described in the above embodiments and figures are merely illustrative and do not imply that any particular step or component is a requirement of a claimed embodiment.
