Patent Application
20220243582
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to the measuring and recording of a subsurface wellbore's thermal conditions during wireline or slickline logging operations-. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cable mounted (or slickline mounted) device for measuring and recording the maximum borehole temperature of a subsurface wellbore through the deployment of one or more temperature sensitive strips that may be disposed in the cable mounted (or slickline mounted) device.
Wireline logging is a common operation in the oil industry whereby down-hole tools are conveyed on wireline (also known as “e-line” in industry parlance) to acquire data or perform services in either the open-hole or cased-hole sections of a wellbore. Some cased-hole services can also be conducted by slickline. During these wireline or slickline logging operations, maximum borehole temperature may be an important measurement to record and obtain. For instance, after severing a stuck drill pipe with an explosive cutter, cement may need to be pumped some distance above the severed pipe before side tracking the wellbore. As such, a maximum recorded temperature at the severing depth may be essential for designing a cement mix and ensuring a retardant may be properly matched to the environment. Without having temperature data, there may be risk in having a problematic cementing job.
Currently, an operator may acquire maximum borehole temperature by using an electronic recording system and/or thermo-couple built into a tool-string or mounted on a cable. By this method, data may either be transmitted to surface or recorded in memory during a logging run for analysis, which may reveal the maximum borehole temperature observed during the run. However, not all tool-strings are faceted with the required sensors that record temperature, and those that are may record internal tool temperature (affected by electronic heating) as opposed to the external mud column temperature. Further, on certain tool-strings, such as slim free-point tools used in pipe-recovery operations, there may be no electronic means of recording maximum temperature. Therefore, using an electronic recording system and/or thermo-couple may not be a viable or accurate option for obtaining maximum borehole temperature.
Alternatively, an operator may deploy mercury thermometers on a tool-string for a logging run and manually document their recorded temperatures. However, the regulations that may restrict their use globally, their questionable accuracy and resolution, and their fragility during operations, makes utilizing mercury thermometers impractical and inaccurate, particularly in the event of wireline jars being fired to free a stuck tool-string. Further, slim free-point tools may not have the capacity or space for mercury thermometers to be attached to the tool-string.
Consequently, there is a need for a cable mounted wireline thermal standoff, compatible with both common and slim-hole services, comprising one or more temperature sensitive strips that may accurately and reliably measure and record the maximum borehole temperature during a wireline or slickline logging run.
These and other needs in the art are addressed in one embodiment by a wireline thermal standoff (WSTO) comprising a pair of cable insert halves, a pair of opposing WTSO body halves, a plurality of thermal half shells each comprising a thermal strip capable of measuring thermal conditions, and one or more fasteners, wherein the one or more fasteners are configured to couple the pair of cable insert halves, the pair of opposing WTSO body halves, and the plurality of thermal half shells together onto a cable.
These and other needs in the art are addressed in one embodiment by a cable assembly comprising a cable, and a wireline thermal standoff (WTSO), wherein the WTSO comprises: a pair of cable insert halves, a pair of opposing WTSO body halves, a plurality of thermal half shells each comprising a thermal strip capable of measuring thermal conditions, and one or more fasteners, wherein the one or more fasteners are configured to couple the pair of cable insert halves, the pair of opposing WTSO body halves, and the plurality of thermal half shells together onto the cable.
These and other needs in the art are addressed in one embodiment by a method for measuring and recoding thermal conditions in a wellbore during wireline or slickline operations comprising: coupling one or more wireline thermal standoffs (WTSOs) to a cable connected to a wellbore logging tool, wherein the one or more WTSOs comprise: a pair of cable insert halves, a pair of opposing WTSO body halves, a plurality of thermal half shells each comprising a thermal strip capable of measuring thermal conditions, and one or more fasteners, wherein the one or more fasteners are configured to couple the pair of cable insert halves, the pair of opposing WTSO body halves, and the plurality of thermal half shells together onto the cable; deploying the wellbore logging tool into a wellbore; allowing the thermal strips to measure thermal conditions in the wellbore; and monitoring the thermal conditions measured by the thermal strips in the wellbore.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other embodiments for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent embodiments do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
For a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
In embodiments, cable insert halves 4 may be available in various sizes to ensure the central bore diameter of WTSO 2 corresponds to the diameter of cable 14. In embodiments, cable 14 may vary in diameter between about 5.0 mm and about 20.0 mm. During installation of WTSO 2, cable insert halves 4 may be configured to slightly deform around an outer armor of cable 14 to prevent physical damage to the cable. To accomplish this deformity, cable insert halves 4 may be manufactured from any suitable material, such as, without limitation, aluminum and other soft metals. Further, cable insert halves 4 may be disposable. In embodiments, cable insert halves 4 may be manufactured from aluminum, and because aluminum may be considerably softer than the armor of cable 14, there may be a reduced risk of damage to the wireline or slickline during installation of WTSO 2. At installation, cable 14 may be any suitable diameter required for a particular logging operation and may even vary in diameter size along its length, taking into account any manufacturing tolerances and varying degrees of wear or distortion. Therefore, a range of different cable insert halves 4 may be employed for a plurality of WTSOs 2 installed on cable 14 to ensure a proper fit along the length of cable 14 and prevent slippage on and/or damage to cable 14. In embodiments, the length of cable insert halves 4 may be between about 10.0 cm and about 20.0 cm, or alternatively between about 10.0 cm and about 15.0 cm.
As set forth above, cable insert halves 4 may be at least partially encased within the opposing WTSO body halves of upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 and thermal half shells 10. Upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 may be of similar structure and in the general shape of a tapered half cylinder comprising an inner surface 32 and an outer surface 34. In embodiments, inner surface 32 of both upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 may comprise portions of cable insert recesses 24 and thermal half shell recesses 25, that together, may be configured to receive thermal half shells 10 and cable insert halves 4. The portions of cable insert recesses 24 may comprise anti-rotation spigots 30 and insert fastener clearance holes 28 that may extend from inner surface 32 to outer surface 34 of upper and lower bodies 6 and 8. Thermal half shell recesses 25 may each comprise at least two thermal windows 31 that may be cut outs in upper and lower bodies 6 and 8, and further a thermal undercut 33 that may be a groove disposed on inner surface 32 that connects thermal windows 31 and acts as a channel between the windows.
In embodiments, thermal half shell recesses 25 may be configured in shape to accurately receive thermal half shells 10. Each thermal half shell 10 may be in the general shape of a hollow, half cylinder comprising an inner circumference and an outer circumference. Further, each thermal half shell 10 may be manufactured from any suitable material including, without limitation, stainless steel or other high-performance material. While received by each thermal half shell recess 25 at the outer circumference, the inner circumference of each thermal half shell 10 may be configured to receive a portion of each cable insert half 4. Therefore, upon assembly of WTSO 2, the inner circumferences of thermal half shells 10 may be in contact with cable insert halves 4 and the outer circumferences of thermal half shells 10 may be in contact with thermal half shell recesses 25. In order to prevent radial movement or rocking within WTSO 2 upon assembly, thermal half shells 10 may comprise spiral pins 37. Each thermal half shell 10 may comprise any suitable number of spiral pins 37, measuring at any suitable diameter, and disposed at any suitable location on the structure. In embodiments, each thermal half shell 10 may comprise two spiral pins 37, measuring between about 1 mm and about 5 mm, and disposed on the top-side or bottom-side of the structure. Further, any number of pairs of thermal half shells 10, and by extension, any number of thermal half shell recesses 25 may be present within WTSO 2. As illustrated in
In embodiments, each thermal half shell 10 may be provided external exposure by thermal windows 31 and thermal undercut 33. In particular, thermal windows 31 and thermal undercut 33 may provide external exposure to thermal strips 35 disposed about the outer circumference of each thermal half shell 10. In embodiments, thermal strips 35 may be temperature test strips capable of measuring and recording material, surface, or surrounding temperatures, without limitation, from about 20° C. to about 400° C. Further, thermal strips 35 may be fixed to thermal half shells 10 by any suitable means. In some embodiments, thermal strips 35 may be fixed to thermal half shells 10 with an adhesive.
In embodiments, cable insert recesses 24 (formed by upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 together with thermal half shells 10) may be configured in shape to accurately receive cable insert halves 4, such that anti-rotation spigots 30 fit into anti-rotation spigot recesses 22, thus preventing radial rotation of cable insert halves 4 within WTSO 2. Further, cable insert halves 4 may be secured within cable insert recess portions 24 with cable insert fasteners 26, such that cable insert fasteners 26 may travel through insert fastener clearance holes 28 to be received by or fit into cable insert fastener threads 20, and sit flush with outer surface 34 of upper and lower bodies 6 and 8. In embodiments, cable insert fasteners 26 may be any suitable fasteners, bolts, or screws such as, without limitation, small cap head bolts or screws. In embodiments, cable insert fasteners 26 may have a diameter of 3 mm (i.e., M3 bolts).
In embodiments, upper and lower bodies 6 and 8, which securely encase cable insert halves 4 and thermal half shells 10, may be coupled together onto cable 14. Coupling of upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 onto cable 14 may be accomplished via dowel pins 36 and dowel pin recesses 38. In embodiments, dowel pin recesses 38, configured to receive dowel pins 36, may be disposed on inner surface 32 of both upper and lower bodies 6 and 8. In embodiments, one dowel pin 36 may correspond to two dowel pin recesses 38, one recess being disposed on inner surface 32 of upper body 6 and the other recess being disposed on inner surface 32 of lower body 8. As illustrated in
In addition to dowel pins 36 and dowel pin recesses 38, coupling of upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 may be accomplished via clamping bolts 40, clamping bolt female threads 42, and clamping bolt clearance holes 44. In embodiments, clamping bolt female threads 42 may be disposed on upper body 6 or lower body 8 with corresponding clamping bolt clearance holes 44 disposed on the opposing body relative to clamping bolt female threads 42. For instance, as illustrated on
In further embodiments, upper body 6 and lower body 8 may comprise lanyard holes 62 disposed on outer surface 34. Lanyard holes 62 may travel through one of the tapered portions of upper and lower bodies 6 and 8. As illustrated in
The two opposing WTSO body halves, upper body 6 and lower body 8, may be manufactured from any suitable material such as, without limitation, stainless steel or other high-performance material. Further, upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 may also be surface hardened (e.g., vacuum hardened) to improve wear resistance during use. Further, upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 may be available in various sizes to accommodate the wellbore in which WTSO 2 may be used. In embodiments, the length of upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 may be between about 10.0 cm and about 15.0 cm, or alternatively between about 12.0 cm and about 13.0 cm. Further, the diameters of upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 may range from about 4.0 cm to 10.0 cm according to the application.
When fully assembled, referring once again to
Further, WTSO 2 may be capable of measuring and recording a wellbore's maximum temperature via thermal windows 31, thermal undercut 33, and thermal strips 35. In embodiments, thermal windows 31 may allow thermal strips 35 to be exposed to surroundings for temperature measurement, while maintaining pressure equalization via thermal undercut 33. For instance, during operation, WTSO 2 may come in contact with mud disposed in the wellbore. The mud may enter through a first thermal window 31, travel through a thermal undercut 33, and exit out a second thermal window 31, thus coming in contact with a thermal strip 35. By this process, WTSO 2 may be capable of measuring or recording maximum temperature of the wellbore. Further, because WTSO 2 may comprise a plurality of thermal strips 35, an operator may be capable of finding an average maximum temperature of the wellbore as well as an accurate maximum temperature.
In further embodiments upon full assembly, WTSO 2 may comprise disassembly cutouts (not illustrated). Sometimes during the disassembly or removal of WTSO 2 from cable 14, WTSO 2 may become stuck or fixed to the wireline or slickline. In such case, a parting tool or special jig may be used to pry WTSO 2 from cable 14. In embodiments, the parting tool may utilize disassembly cutouts disposed on inner surface 34 of upper and lower bodies 6 and 8 to achieve leverage when disengaging a stuck WTSO 2 from cable 14.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
