EP3633137A1 - Dispositif de commande d'un passage de fluide dans une colonne de tubage et son procédé de fonctionnement - Google Patents

Dispositif de commande d'un passage de fluide dans une colonne de tubage et son procédé de fonctionnement Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3633137A1
EP3633137A1 EP18198607.6A EP18198607A EP3633137A1 EP 3633137 A1 EP3633137 A1 EP 3633137A1 EP 18198607 A EP18198607 A EP 18198607A EP 3633137 A1 EP3633137 A1 EP 3633137A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
fluid
pistons
tubing string
piston
downhole
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP18198607.6A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Paul David Busengdal
Tore Sørheim
Geirmund Saetre
Tom Rune Koløy
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
National Oilwell Varco Norway AS
Original Assignee
National Oilwell Varco Norway AS
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by National Oilwell Varco Norway AS filed Critical National Oilwell Varco Norway AS
Priority to EP18198607.6A priority Critical patent/EP3633137A1/fr
Priority to PCT/NO2019/050205 priority patent/WO2020071922A1/fr
Publication of EP3633137A1 publication Critical patent/EP3633137A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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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
    • E21B34/14—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells in wells operated by movement of tools, e.g. sleeve valves operated by pistons or wire line tools
    • E21B34/142—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells in wells operated by movement of tools, e.g. sleeve valves operated by pistons or wire line tools unsupported or free-falling elements, e.g. balls, plugs, darts or pistons
    • 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
    • E21B21/00—Methods or apparatus for flushing boreholes, e.g. by use of exhaust air from motor
    • E21B21/10—Valve arrangements in drilling-fluid circulation systems
    • E21B21/103—Down-hole by-pass valve arrangements, i.e. between the inside of the drill string and the annulus

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a device for controlling a passage of fluid in a tubing string and a method of operating it.
  • An intervention may be necessary, for example, for moving a part of a tool, such as a sleeve of a valve, using a wireline.
  • the major drawback of having to perform an intervention is that it takes time while the execution of other tasks in the well is stopped. The operator, however, is still paying for operational costs during the intervention.
  • a tool normally used for controlling injection or production flows in a well is a device provided on a tubing string for controlling a passage of fluid, such as a passage between the interior and the exterior of the tubing string.
  • This device is useful for various purposes such as selectively injecting water into a reservoir layer or shutting off excessive water being produced from a layer in an oil producing well.
  • a known solution is a type of valve that is hydraulically actuated using two control lines.
  • the valve opens and closes by controlling the hydraulic pressure in wire-lines.
  • the use of this type of valve is problematic for several reasons, such as the risk of damaging a control line during installation and this type of valve being an expensive solution and having a time-consuming installation process.
  • Another known solution is a device that makes use of a mechanism for converting axial movement to rotating movement, the axial movement being provided by an object that is deployed inside the tubing string.
  • the mechanism includes a seat inside the device onto which the object lands and exerts an axial force.
  • This mechanism has a behaviour similar to the one of a retractable pen.
  • An example of such a mechanism is the J-slot, which includes a profile creating a track for an actuating cam or pin that combines rotation and up or down movement.
  • This type of solution is expensive and complex, having many parts and requiring a spring, or similar compressing means, for creating a force in the uphole direction.
  • a device for controlling a passage of fluid in a tubing string comprising:
  • the pistons and the fluid chamber may be arranged so that a downhole motion of either of the pistons increases the pressure of the fluid in the fluid chamber. Also, the pistons may be arranged so that the passage of fluid is downhole in relation to both positions at which each of the pistons are adapted to catch the object.
  • the device may be configured to operate in at least one mode in which the passage of fluid is closed and another mode in which the passage of fluid is open.
  • One of the pistons may be adapted to catch the object at a downhole position in relation to the position at which the other piston is adapted to catch the object.
  • Each piston may include a portion for acting as a seat for catching the object.
  • the seat may include a hole with a section for catching the object.
  • the hole may include a section for catching a ball with a diameter larger than the diameter of the hole.
  • the seat of the downhole piston may be adapted for catching an object that is passable through the seat of the uphole piston.
  • the downhole piston may have a hole with a smaller diameter than the diameter of the hole of the other seat.
  • Each piston may be a portion of a sleeve adapted for moving along the device.
  • the object may be made of a dissolvable material and/or include an outer shell filled with sand, metallic particles, or a dissolvable internal structure.
  • the tubing string 2 is shown including the device embodiment 1 on it.
  • the tubing string 2 may be inside the wellbore with only the top end protruding from the wellhead. Also, the distance from the top end of the tubing string 2 to the device 1 may be in the range between a few hundred meters to a couple of kilometres.
  • the device 1 is being used for controlling the passage of fluid between the interior and the exterior of the tubing string 2 at the openings 103.
  • This passage of fluid may be useful during the completion of the well for various purposes, such as providing bore completion control and zone isolation for completion operations such as gravel packing, spot acidizing and fracturing, killing a well, or directing flow from the casing to the tubing string 2 in alternate or selective completion operations.
  • the device 1 is operated from the top end of the tubing string 2 to open or close the openings 103. This is achieved by inserting an object here in the form of a ball 120 into the interior of the tubing string 2 and have it pumped down until it reaches the interior of the device 1. Instead of being pumped, the ball 120 may also move through the tubing string 2 by free falling. Then, the ball 120 exerts an axial force on the device 1 that causes the latter to either open or close the openings 103, and thus to alter the flow of fluid to pass between the interior and the exterior of the tubing string 2.
  • the device 1 is provided so that the openings 103 are opened or closed depending on the diameter of the ball 120 that is inserted in the tubing string 2.
  • the device 1 can be operated multiple times to open or close, without requiring an intervention such as running a wireline with a shifting tool key to reopen the openings 103. Also, the device 1 is provided on the tubing string 2 without requiring further components such as control lines extending from the top end. Moreover, the operation of the device 1 by pumping balls through the tubing string 2 has the advantage of being a simple method requiring the pumping of a fluid into the top end of the tubing string 2 until the ball reaches the device 1.
  • Figure 2 shows a cross-sectorial view of the device 1 illustrating one possibility of what happens inside the device 1 after a ball has been inserted into the tubing string 2 as shown in Figure 1 and travelled until it reached the device 1.
  • the ball 120 is actuating on the device 1 so that it opens the openings 103.
  • the device 1 controls the passage of fluid through the openings 103 using the sleeve 104.
  • This sleeve slides in both the uphole and the downhole direction and in Figure 2 it is shown in its downhole end position, completely closing the openings 103.
  • the actuation of the ball 120 will cause the sleeve 104 to move in the uphole direction and open the openings 103. This is achieved by converting a downhole motion of the ball 120 into an uphole motion of the sleeve 104.
  • the device 1 includes the fluid chamber 110 and the two pistons 111 and 112, one uphole and the other downhole, for interacting with the fluid inside the fluid chamber 110. Also, the uphole piston 111 is adapted for catching the ball 120 and the piston 112 is adapted with the portion 104 that acts as the sleeve.
  • the uphole piston 111 includes a uphold seat 101 extending inwards to the interior of the tubing string 2, the seat being suitable for catching the ball 120 when the latter reaches the device 1 from the uphole side.
  • the seat 101 includes a hole that has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the ball 120. Thus, when the ball reaches the seat 101 from an uphole side, it gets blocked at the seat 101 because it cannot pass through the hole of the seat 101.
  • the ball 120 exerts an axial force on the seat 101 due to its weight and also, if the contact surface between the ball 120 and the seat 101 forms a seal, to pressure created on the uphole side of the seat 101.
  • the axial force exerted on the seat actuates the uphole piston 111, and the latter performs a downhole motion. Due to the arrangement of the uphole piston 111 and the fluid chamber 110 directing the uphole piston 111 in a downhole direction of the tubing string 2, the uphole piston 111 increases the pressure of the fluid inside the fluid chamber 110.
  • the pressure increase is transmitted to the other piston 112 through the fluid chamber 110.
  • the downhole piston 112 reacts to the fluid pushing it. Since the only degree of freedom available to the downhole piston 112 is in the uphole direction, the downhole piston 112 reacts in that direction.
  • the downhole motion of the uphole piston 111 actuating on the fluid chamber 110 results in the downhole piston 112 reacting in an uphole motion.
  • the portion of the downhole piston 112 that provides the sleeve 104 will also move, and the openings 103 will be open to allow a passage of fluid between the interior and the exterior of the tubing string 2.
  • the ball 120 then needs to be removed from uphole seat 101, in order to allow fluid to pass through the interior of the tubing string 2.
  • This may be achieved by having the ball 120 comprising a dissolvable material, such as metallic powder that disintegrates over time in salt containing ions.
  • the ball 120 does not need to fully disintegrate, only requiring that it becomes small enough to pass.
  • This may also be achieved by having the ball 120 comprise an outer shell filled with sand, metallic particles, or a dissolvable internal structure. In this case, when submitted to pressure above a predetermined threshold, the ball 120 crushes into smaller pieces and disintegrates from the inside.
  • Figure 3 shows a schematic view of the two seats of the device 1, the seats being arranged coaxially but at different positions in the tubing string 2. For the purposes of simplicity, only the uphole side of the seats 101 and 102 and some abstract alignment lines are shown.
  • the seats 101 and 102 have holes with different diameters, in particular the downhole seat 102 has a smaller diameter than the uphole seat 101.
  • This configuration allows performing one of three operations when a ball moves through the tubing string 2.
  • One operation happens when the ball has a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the hole of the uphole seat 101 (and smaller than the diameter of the tubing string 2). In this case, the ball gets caught by the uphole seat 101, as explained above for Figure 2 .
  • Another operation happens when the ball has a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the hole in the downhole seat 101, but larger than the diameter of the hole in the uphole seat 102. For this situation, the ball passes through the hole in uphole seat 101 and gets caught by the seat 102.
  • a further operation happens when the ball has a diameter that is smaller than the diameters of the holes in both seats 101 and 102, resulting in the ball passing through both seats and continuing its trip along the downhole portion of the tubing string 2.
  • Figure 4 shows a cross-sectorial view of the device 1 of Figure 2 , illustrating another possibility of what happens inside the device 1 after a ball has been inserted into the tubing string 2 as shown in Figure 1 and travelled until it reached the device 1.
  • the ball 121 is actuating the downhole piston 112 so that it closes the openings 103.
  • the ball 121 has a diameter that allows it to pass through the seat 101 and get caught by the seat 102. That is, the diameter of the ball 121 is smaller than the hole in the seat 101 but larger than the hole in seat 102 (see the arrows and abstracts lines in the middle of the seat 101 in Figure 4 , illustrating the gap between the ball 102 and the hole in the seat 101).
  • the ball 121 After having moved through the tubing string 2 and passed the seat 101, the ball 121 gets caught by the seat 102 where it exerts an axial force in the downhole direction. This results in a downhole motion being carried out by both the piston 112 and the sleeve 104. That is, due to the downhole motion of the ball 121, the sleeve 104 closes the openings 103 and the piston 112 increases the pressure in the fluid chamber 110.
  • the pressure in the fluid chamber 110 is transmitted to the piston 111, in a path opposite to the one that is explained above for Figure 2 .
  • the piston 111 has only one degree of freedom for moving, and it reacts to the pressure increase inside the fluid chamber 110 by moving in the uphole direction.
  • the device After the ball 121 has moved the piston 112 to its downhole end position, the device achieves the state shown in Figure 2 with the openings 103 closed/covered and the seats 101 and 102 in position to catch a new ball at the uphole seat 101.
  • the device 1 thus provides a solution for opening or closing the openings 103 multiple times without requiring an intervention.
  • the balls 120 and 121 inserted in the tubing string 2 only move in the downhole direction, the device 1 is capable of converting that motion in either an uphole or a downhole motion for opening/covering or closing/uncovering its openings 103.
  • this makes it easy for the operators to control how they want the device 1 to operate the passage of fluid through the openings 103, simply requiring them to change the diameter of the ball being pumped through the tubing string 2 depending on which mode of operation they wish the device 1 to have.
  • Figure 5 shows a part of the device 1 with a possible design of the openings 103.
  • the openings 103 enable a passage of fluid between the exterior 201 of the tubing string 2 and the interior 202. This can be achieved by having a circular strip of block ribs 1032 creating intermediary spaces 1031.
  • the openings may also be created by providing a tubular body and then drilling, or perforating in any other way, holes perpendicularly on its surface. In that case, the openings through which the fluid may pass may have a circular shape.
  • the passage of fluid controlled by the device embodiment may be implemented in many other ways.
  • the device 1 may be provided so that there is only one opening implementing the passage of fluid.
  • Figure 6 shows a device embodiment illustrating how a fluid chamber 110 may be formed.
  • the fluid chamber 110 is delimited by an outer part 113, an interior part 114, and the two pistons 111 and 112 (none of the pistons is shown).
  • the inner part 114 is mechanically connected to the outer part 113 by two circular strips of block ribs 115, similar to the one shown in Figure 5 . These strips of block ribs 115 serve the purpose of providing the fluid chamber 110 connecting the two pistons, at the same time that it establishes a mechanical connection between the inner and the outer parts 114 and 113 of the fluid chamber.
  • the fluid used inside the fluid chamber 110 may comprise oil or any other incompressible fluid.
  • the main purpose of the fluid inside the fluid chamber 110 is to provide a liquid medium that can transmit forces between the two pistons 111 and 112.
  • Figure 7 shows a tubing string 2 including three device embodiments.
  • the seats of the three devices 701, 702, and 703 are configured so that they have different diameters between not only the seats of each device but also the seats of the other devices.
  • the uphole seat inside the device 701 is the one which has the hole with the largest diameter
  • the downhole seat inside the device 703 is the one which has the hole with the smallest diameter.
  • the intermediate holes have a decreasing diameter as further in the downhole direction they are positioned.
  • This configuration allows providing several device embodiments on a tubing string that can be operated independently of each other using different sized balls. This is quite useful for defining different well zones during completion operations.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (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)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Earth Drilling (AREA)
EP18198607.6A 2018-10-04 2018-10-04 Dispositif de commande d'un passage de fluide dans une colonne de tubage et son procédé de fonctionnement Withdrawn EP3633137A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP18198607.6A EP3633137A1 (fr) 2018-10-04 2018-10-04 Dispositif de commande d'un passage de fluide dans une colonne de tubage et son procédé de fonctionnement
PCT/NO2019/050205 WO2020071922A1 (fr) 2018-10-04 2019-10-04 Dispositif de commande d'un passage de fluide dans une colonne de production et son procédé de fonctionnement

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP18198607.6A EP3633137A1 (fr) 2018-10-04 2018-10-04 Dispositif de commande d'un passage de fluide dans une colonne de tubage et son procédé de fonctionnement

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3633137A1 true EP3633137A1 (fr) 2020-04-08

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ID=63762366

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP18198607.6A Withdrawn EP3633137A1 (fr) 2018-10-04 2018-10-04 Dispositif de commande d'un passage de fluide dans une colonne de tubage et son procédé de fonctionnement

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP3633137A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2020071922A1 (fr)

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20130302193A1 (en) * 2010-09-29 2013-11-14 Rivener Musavirovich Gabdullin Well-drilling sucker-rod pump
US20140262325A1 (en) * 2013-03-12 2014-09-18 Weatherford/Lamb, Inc. Resettable Ball Seat for Hydraulically Actuating Tools
US20160326833A1 (en) * 2015-05-05 2016-11-10 Weatherford Technology Holdings, Llc Ball seat for use in a wellbore
US20170130559A1 (en) * 2013-12-27 2017-05-11 Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. Ball valve having dual pistons each individually actuable

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20130302193A1 (en) * 2010-09-29 2013-11-14 Rivener Musavirovich Gabdullin Well-drilling sucker-rod pump
US20140262325A1 (en) * 2013-03-12 2014-09-18 Weatherford/Lamb, Inc. Resettable Ball Seat for Hydraulically Actuating Tools
US20170130559A1 (en) * 2013-12-27 2017-05-11 Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. Ball valve having dual pistons each individually actuable
US20160326833A1 (en) * 2015-05-05 2016-11-10 Weatherford Technology Holdings, Llc Ball seat for use in a wellbore

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Publication number Publication date
WO2020071922A1 (fr) 2020-04-09

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