Patent Application
20130118762
The field of this invention is wireline run tools that can be delivered with pumped fluid for actuation of a subterranean tool and more particularly a series of sliding sleeves movable in opposed directions such as in a fracturing operation.
Fracturing systems typically involve a series of sliding sleeve valves that are sequentially operated for fracturing a producing formation. These valves can be operated from the bottom up using ball seats on each sleeve where the balls get progressively bigger to land on a designated ball seat while passing through other seats that are bigger still. However, in installation that use many sleeves there is only a finite number of ball sizes that can be used for a given size of the completion string. There is also the matter of keeping track of what size ball has been dropped so that the order is not lost. This technique shifts sleeves in a single direction to open them relying on subsequent balls to isolate sleeves already open from a new sleeve being opened for fracturing a new location.
Wireline or slickline have been used to engage mechanical shifting tools to sleeves with shift keys that can then shift a sleeve between an open and closed position and another position in between for the purpose of pressure equalization, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,833 and US Publication 2010/0282475.
Another technique is to run a motor with a ball screw drive that is connected to a sleeve so that power supplied to the motor from a wireline moves the sleeve in opposed directions as requires. This design is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,857. Shifting tools have been delivered to a desired location by alternative techniques of lowering on a wireline or using a pumpdown technique as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,718. Another reference to the use of a pumpdown technique for injector valves is U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,608.
In some cases the desire to avoid wireline delivery and its limitations such as inability to advance in horizontal runs, inability to push and limited ability to pull tension has resulted in providing pressure responsive actuators with the sliding sleeves that are sensitive to application and removal of tubing pressure as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,875.
Other attempts to overcome the delivery shortcomings of wireline have involved using a rigid rod to deliver a shifting tool to shift a sleeve in opposed directions as shown in USP Publication 20100108323. Another approach has been to add a tractor system to a wireline run tool and located tractors at opposed ends for driving the tool in opposed direction such as shown in FIG. 16 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,538. Similar to the latter design is U.S. Pat. No. 7,150,318 FIGS. 5-10 that illustrated a pair of driven tracks at opposite ends of a shifting tool. After the tool latches to a sleeve a pressure control member 64 is allowed to extend and applied pressure is then used to shift the tool that is now latched to the sleeve. On opposite hand control member 222 is used for motion in the reverse direction with the tool latched to the sleeve. A similar concept of using pressure to latch and to shift an already delivered tool is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,556,102.
What is needed and provided by the present invention is a way to rapidly deploy a subterranean tool to a desired location using a pumping down technique while it is tethered to a wireline or slickline and then using power either stored onboard if a slickline is used or delivered on a wireline to latch the subterranean tool such as a sliding sleeve. Once latched further applied pressure can shift the sleeve in one direction going further downhole. Shifting in the uphole direction is also envisioned with anchoring to the tubular near the sleeve while latched to the sleeve with another portion of the tool where relative movement takes the latched sleeve uphole toward the anchor set in the tubing wall near and above or below the sliding sleeve. These and other aspects of the present invention will be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the detailed description and the associated figures while recognizing that the full scope of the invention is to be determined by the appended claims.
A shifting tool for sleeves is supported on wireline or slickline and is pumped to the desired location by pressure from above delivered against the tool and passing around its periphery or against an articulated peripheral extending member that can optionally seal. Once in the vicinity of the desired sleeve to be shifted the shifting key is engaged to the sleeve and further applied pressure on the articulated peripheral seal shifts the sleeve in a downhole direction. The sleeve can also be shifted in an uphole direction with an anchor that grabs near the sleeve and a latch key that grabs the sleeve and is configured to retain grip as a motor moves the latch key uphole. Power can come from a wireline or can be locally provided if using slickline. The seal or extending member is retractable for tool removal or relocation.
The shifting tool 24 is suspended on wireline or slickline 26. If using a slickline there can be an onboard power module 28 for selective operation of sleeve 30 whose movement retracts or allows a peripheral seal such as a cup seal 32 to extend into a sealing position as shown in
Some variations are envisioned. The tool 24 can be longer and have on it a unique key assembly 34 that can fit the unique profile of each of the sleeves in the tubular 12 so that more than one sleeve such as 20 or 22 can be shifted in a single trip if desired. Seal 23 is preferably a packer cup but can be another type of seal with either internal pliability to be retracted such as when sleeve 30 is advanced over it. However the depiction of sleeve 30 and seal 32 is schematic and those skilled in the art will recognize that a radially articulated seal such as an inflatable can also be used. Some leakage past the seal 32 is tolerable as long as by differential pressure enough force is delivered to the dogs 34 when latched in profile 40 to shift the engaged sliding sleeve. While reference to a seal 32 is made it should be realized that other extending peripheral members around the tool 24 can be used to create the force on the sleeve such as 20 by simply substantially blocking the peripheral space about the tool 24 so that pumped fluid creates a shifting force large enough to move a sleeve such as 20 downhole using applied pressure from the surface despite some leakage flow.
It should be noted that the tool 24 can only be driven in the downhole direction with pressure 38 from the surface. However, the seal 32 can be retracted using sleeve 30 and the line 26 can be used to reposition the tool 24 in either direction. This is a different operation than trying to shift a sleeve such as 20 in an uphole direction where flow in the direction of arrow 38 will not be effective. One option is to engage a sleeve such as 20 and pull tension on the line 26. However, this is not the optimal solution as the tension stress capacity of the line 26 could be reached before the sleeve such as 20 will budge in the uphole direction.
It should be noted that tractor drives are not used with the designs described above so that the tool is far simple and lighter than the prior designs that combine forward and rear tractor drives with a wireline. The pressure from the surface enables a wireline or slickline supported tool to be rapidly deployed to the desired locations and further enables pressure from above to be the actual driving force for tool operation. Although the preferred embodiment is a sleeve shifting tool 24 other types of tools are envisioned that can be rapidly deployed using an articulated seal or even a leaking peripheral barrier that produces a net force to propel the tool. Some examples are bridge plugs, anchors or fishing tools such as spears or overshots.
The above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment and many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention whose scope is to be determined from the literal and equivalent scope of the claims below:
