AU765867B2 - Wellbore system having non-return valve - Google Patents
Wellbore system having non-return valve Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- AU765867B2 AU765867B2 AU17037/01A AU1703701A AU765867B2 AU 765867 B2 AU765867 B2 AU 765867B2 AU 17037/01 A AU17037/01 A AU 17037/01A AU 1703701 A AU1703701 A AU 1703701A AU 765867 B2 AU765867 B2 AU 765867B2
- Authority
- AU
- Australia
- Prior art keywords
- valve
- borehole
- closure member
- wellbore system
- fluid
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Ceased
Links
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 claims description 45
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 claims description 13
- 239000004215 Carbon black (E152) Substances 0.000 claims description 11
- 229930195733 hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 claims description 11
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 claims description 11
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 12
- VNWKTOKETHGBQD-UHFFFAOYSA-N methane Chemical compound C VNWKTOKETHGBQD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 239000004568 cement Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000006835 compression Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007906 compression Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000003345 natural gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007704 transition Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B34/00—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells
- E21B34/06—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells in wells
- E21B34/08—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells in wells responsive to flow or pressure of the fluid obtained
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B34/00—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells
- E21B34/06—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells in wells
- E21B34/10—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells in wells operated by control fluid supplied from outside the borehole
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/12—Methods or apparatus for controlling the flow of the obtained fluid to or in wells
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Geology (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
- Valve Housings (AREA)
- Lift Valve (AREA)
Description
1 WELLBORE SYSTEM HAVING NON-RETURN VALVE The present invention relates to a wellbore system comprising a borehole formed in the earth formation, the borehole being provided with a valve having a passage for a stream of fluid flowing from an upstream side of the valve to a downstream side of the valve. In the practice of production of hydrocarbon fluid from a wellbore, valves are generally applied to control the flow rate of the produced fluid or to shut off the wellbore in case of an emergency. Such valves generally allow flow of fluid through the borehole in both directions thereof.
A wellbore system is known from US patent No. 5,655,607. In the known wellbore lo system a one-way valve is arranged in a drill string to control the inflation of an inflatable packer that seals off the annular space between the drill string and borehole wall during a pressure test of the well.
US patent No. 5,293,905 discloses a pipeline plug which can be locked within the pipeline by a pressure responsive locking mechanism.
It is an object of the invention to provide a wellbore system comprising a borehole formed in the earth formation, the borehole being provided with a valve allowing flow of fluid in one direction through the borehole and preventing flow of fluid in the other i- direction through the borehole or provide an alternative to the prior art.
S-In accordance with the invention there is provided a wellbore system comprising a 20 borehole formed in the earth formation, the borehole being provided with a valve having a passage for a stream of fluid flowing from an upstream side of the valve to a downstream side of the valve, a closure member exposed to a drag force exerted by the stream and movable relative to the passage between an open position in which the closure member allows fluid to flow through the passage and a closed position in which the closure member closes the passage, said drag force biasing the closure member to the open position thereof, and a spring exerting a spring force to the closure member biasing the closure member to the closed position, wherein the spring force, when the closure member is in the closed position, exceeds a selected lower limit of the drag force; wherein the valve is fixedly arranged in the borehole and that the closure member is exposed to S. 30 the drag force exerted by a stream of hydrocarbon fluid passing through the fluid passage of the valve.
Suitably the valve is oriented in the borehole in a manner that the closure member is biased to the open [R:\LIBZZ]593401 speci.doc:gym
V
WO 01/36786 PCTEP00/1 1552 member is in the closed position exceeds a selected lower limit of the drag force.
Suitably the valve is oriented in the borehole in a manner that the closure member is biased to the open position thereof by the drag force exerted by the stream pumped through the borehole in downward direction thereof.
Preferably the valve is oriented in the borehole in a manner that the closure member is biased to the open position thereof by the drag force exerted by the stream flowing through the borehole in upward direction thereof.
The invention will be described further in more detail and with reference to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 schematically shows a wellbore system according to the invention formed in an earth formation; and Fig. 2 schematically shows an embodiment of the valve applied in the wellbore system according to the invention.
Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown a wellbore system 1 formed in an earth formation 3, the wellbore system including a main borehole 5 and two branch boreholes 7, 9 extending from the main borehole 5 into the earth formation 3 at respective borehole junctions 10, 12. The main borehole 5 is at its upper end in fluid communication with a hydrocarbon gas production facility 14 provided with a production control valve 15 arranged at surface. The boreholes 5, 7, 9 extend into respective hydrocarbon gas reservoirs 16, 18, 20 of mutually different gas pressures, whereby the gas pressure P 1 in reservoir 20 is higher than the gas pressure P 2 in reservoir 18, and the gas pressure P 2 in reservoir 18 is higher than the gas pressure P 3 in reservoir 16. Each branch borehole 7, 9 and the main borehole 5 are provided WO 01/36786 PCTEP0O/11552 -3with a respective wellbore casing (not shown), whereby the casings of the branch boreholes 7, 9 are connected to the casing of the main borehole at the respective wellbore junctions 10, 12 in a sealing manner.
Referring further to Fig. 2, the branch borehole 7 is provided with tubular wellbore casing 22 cemented in the branch borehole by a layer of cement 24. A valve 26 is fixedly arranged in the casing 22 by means of a lock mandrel schematically indicated by reference numeral 28, the valve having a central longitudinal axis 32 which forms an axis of symmetry of the valve. In Fig. 2 the valve 26 is shown in two different modes of operation for the two different sides relative to the axis of symmetry 32. Arrow 30 indicates the direction from the reservoir 16 to the junction 10 (cf. Fig. The valve 26 includes a tubular housing 34 having a fluid inlet 36, fluid outlets 38a, 38b, and a fluid passage providing fluid communication between the inlet 36 on one hand and the outlets 38a, 38b on the other hand. The fluid inlet 36 and the fluid outlets 38a, 38b are arranged such that fluid flowing through the borehole 7 in the direction of arrow 30 flows via the inlet 36 and the fluid passage 40 to the outlets 38a, 38b. The housing 34 is provided with an annular valve seat 42 extending around the fluid passage 40, and a closure member 44 movable relative to the housing 34 in longitudinal direction thereof between an open position (indicated at the upper side of axis 32) in which the closure member is remote from the valve seat 42, and a closed position (indicated at the lower side of axis 32) in which an end surface 46 of the closure member 44 contacts the valve seat 42. The shape of the end surface 46 matches the shape of the valve seat 42 so that the fluid passage is closed when the closure member is in the closed position. A compression spring 48 is at one WO 01/36786 PCTEP00/I 1552 -4end thereof biased against the closure member 44 and at the other end thereof against an adjustable stop ring arranged in the housing 34, the spring 48 exerting a force F to the closure member 44 when the latter is in the closed position.
The closure member 44 is provided with a central bore 52 having an internal shoulder 54 defining a transition between a larger diameter part 52a and a smaller diameter part 52b of the bore 52, the larger diameter part 52a being closer to the valve seat 42 than the smaller diameter part 52b. The larger diameter part 52a of the bore 52 is provided with a plug 56 removable from the bore 52 in the direction of the fluid passage 40 by application of a selected fluid backpressure in the smaller diameter part 52b relative to a fluid pressure in the fluid passage 40 when the closure member is in the closed position.
The main borehole 5 (Fig. 1) is provided with a valve 60 arranged between the reservoir 18 and the wellbore junction 12, and the branch borehole 9 is provided with a valve 62 arranged between the reservoir 20 and the junction 12. The valves 60, 62 are similar to the valve 26.
During normal operation hydrocarbon fluid, for example natural gas, is to be produced a) from reservoir 20 only, b) from reservoirs 20 and 18 simultaneously, or c) from reservoirs 20, 18 and 16 simultaneously. Before start of production the fluid pressure P 0 in the upper part of the main wellbore is at a level so that the pressure differences across the valves 26, 60, 62 is such that the closure members 44 of the respective valves 26, 60, 62 are in their closed position. When it is desired to produce gas from reservoir 20 only (option the pressure P 0 in the upper part of the main borehole 5 is gradually lowered by WO 01/36786 PCT/EPOO/1 1552 opening production control valve 15 until the pressure difference (P 1
-P
0 across the valve 62 exceeds the spring force F, whereupon the valve 62 moves to the open position and fluid is produced from reservoir 20 through the production facility 14.
When thereafter it is desired to produce gas from reservoirs 20 and 18 simultaneously (option the pressure P 0 in the upper part of the main borehole 5 is gradually further lowered by further opening production control valve 15 until the pressure difference (P 2
-P
0 across the valve 60 exceeds the spring force F, whereupon the valve 60 moves to the open position and gas is produced from reservoirs 18 and 20 to the production facility 14.
When in a next phase it is desired to produce gas from reservoirs 16, 18 and 20 simultaneously (option c), the pressure P 0 in the upper part of the main borehole is gradually even further lowered by even further opening production control valve 15 further until the pressure difference (P 3
-P
0 across the valve 26 exceeds the spring force F, whereupon the valve 26 moves to the open position and gas is produced from reservoirs 16, 18 and to the production facility 14.
In case fluid is to be transferred from surface into one or more of the branch boreholes 7, 9 or the lower part of the main borehole 5, said fluid back-pressure is applied at the downstream side of the respective valve(s) 26, 60, 62 thereby removing the plug(s) 56 from the bore(s) 52 so that fluid can be transferred through the bore(s) 52 in the direction opposite the direction Furthermore the valves 26, 60, 62 prevent flow of fluid from one reservoir into another since the valves 26, 60, 62 prevent fluid flow in the direction opposite to the direction WO 01/36786 PCTIEP0O/11552 6 Production of fluid in an order different than the order c) described above can be achieved by adapting the spring forces F of the springs 48 of the respective valves 26, 60, 62 accordingly.
Claims (9)
1. A wellbore system comprising a borehole formed in the earth formation, the borehole being provided with a valve having a passage for a stream of fluid flowing from an upstream side of the valve to a downstream side of the valve, a closure member exposed to a drag force exerted by the stream and movable relative to the passage between an open position in which the closure member allows fluid to flow through the passage and a closed position in which the closure member closes the passage, said drag force biasing the closure member to the open position thereof, and a spring exerting a spring force to the closure member biasing the closure member to the closed position, wherein the spring force, when the closure member is in the closed position, exceeds a selected lower limit of the drag force; wherein the valve is fixedly arranged in the borehole and that the closure member is exposed to the drag force exerted by a stream of hydrocarbon fluid passing through the fluid passage of the valve.
2. The wellbore system of claim 1, wherein the valve is oriented in the borehole in a manner such that the closure member is biased to the-open position thereof by the drag force exerted by the stream pumped through the borehole in a downward direction thereof.
3. The wellbore system of claim 1, wherein the valve is oriented in the borehole in a manner such that the closure member is biased to the open position thereof by the drag force exerted by the stream flowing through the borehole in an upward direction thereof.
4. The wellbore system of claim 3, wherein said borehole is one of a plurality of boreholes arranged to produce hydrocarbon fluid from the earth formation to a common hydrocarbon fluid production facility.
5. The wellbore system of claim 4, comprising a plurality of said valves, each V valve being arranged in a corresponding one of said boreholes.
6. The wellbore system of claim 5, wherein the spring forces of the springs of the valves are mutually different.
7. The wellbore system of any one of claims 4-6, wherein the common 30 hydrocarbon fluid production facility is provided with valve means for controlling the flow rate of hydrocarbon fluid produced from each of said boreholes.
8. The wellbore system of any one of claims 3-7, wherein each closure member is provided with an opening allowing flow of fluid from the upstream side of the valve to the downstream side of the valve via said opening, the closure member further being [R:\LIBZZ]593401 speci.dc:gym provided with a plug closing said opening, the plug being removable from the closure member in the direction of the upstream side of the valve by the application of a selected fluid pressure in the borehole at the downstream side of the valve.
9. The wellbore system of claim 1, wherein the wellbore system comprises a main borehole and a plurality of branch boreholes, which branch boreholes are each equipped with a valve according to claim 1 for controlling transfer of hydrocarbon fluid between the main borehole and the branch borehole. A wellbore system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated 30 July, 2003 Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V. Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON S* *t «e 4 o *6 C. 0• 0€ S [R:\LIBZZ]593401spcci.doc:gym
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP99309113 | 1999-11-16 | ||
EP99309113 | 1999-11-16 | ||
PCT/EP2000/011552 WO2001036786A1 (en) | 1999-11-16 | 2000-11-15 | Wellbore system having non-return valve |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
AU1703701A AU1703701A (en) | 2001-05-30 |
AU765867B2 true AU765867B2 (en) | 2003-10-02 |
Family
ID=28799794
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
AU17037/01A Ceased AU765867B2 (en) | 1999-11-16 | 2000-11-15 | Wellbore system having non-return valve |
Country Status (6)
Country | Link |
---|---|
CN (1) | CN1390274A (en) |
AU (1) | AU765867B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE60007779T2 (en) |
MX (1) | MXPA02004815A (en) |
OA (1) | OA12086A (en) |
RU (1) | RU2002115865A (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2005045183A1 (en) * | 2003-11-07 | 2005-05-19 | Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V. | Method and system for injecting a treatment fluid into a well |
CN106150472B (en) * | 2016-08-28 | 2019-05-17 | 中为(上海)能源技术有限公司 | Conjugation tube injected system and operating method for coal underground gasifying technology |
-
2000
- 2000-11-15 DE DE60007779T patent/DE60007779T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2000-11-15 MX MXPA02004815A patent/MXPA02004815A/en unknown
- 2000-11-15 CN CN00815794A patent/CN1390274A/en active Pending
- 2000-11-15 RU RU2002115865/03A patent/RU2002115865A/en unknown
- 2000-11-15 AU AU17037/01A patent/AU765867B2/en not_active Ceased
- 2000-11-15 OA OA1200200142A patent/OA12086A/en unknown
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
MXPA02004815A (en) | 2003-01-28 |
DE60007779T2 (en) | 2004-10-21 |
AU1703701A (en) | 2001-05-30 |
RU2002115865A (en) | 2004-01-10 |
CN1390274A (en) | 2003-01-08 |
DE60007779D1 (en) | 2004-02-19 |
OA12086A (en) | 2006-05-04 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
FGA | Letters patent sealed or granted (standard patent) |