JPH03233092A - Lubricator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To clean a winze easily and simply by a method wherein a plurality of packers are provided on a body of a lubricator while surrounding a through hole, and pressure sealing is made possible for the body by fluid pressure and, at the same time, automatization is made for operation by detecting a section in large diameter of a tubular body with a sensor. CONSTITUTION:A through hole 3 for insertion of a tubular body 10 therethrough is provided on a body 2 of a lubricator, then two packers 4 are arranged in the body to surround the through hole 3, and a fluid passage 6 and a fluid chamber 5 are provided in each of the packers for guiding of pressure. When fluid pressure is applied to each of the packers 4, the packers are pressed against the tubular body 10, and thereby the through hole 3 is sealed up at a place between the upper and the lower parts thereof. The tubular body 10 is then moved upward from the lower part, making the upper packer 4 closed and the lower packer 4 opened. Then the lower packer 4 is closed after passing there of a section of large diameter 10a of the tubular body, and the upper packer 4 is opened before the section of large diameter reaches there. Operations for the above-mentioned processes are automatized by a sensor 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a lubricator used to prevent blowouts during underground work in wells with accumulated pressure.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional techniques for cleaning wells include a gas lift method, a brushing method, an acid treatment method, and a water jet cleaning method.

In the gas lift method, high-pressure gas is blown into the straight section of the casing pipe at an appropriate depth.

In the brushing method, a metal tube with a brush attached is lowered into the casing pipe and dirt is scrubbed away by the brush. In the acid treatment method, acid is poured into the casing pipe to perform acid cleaning. In the water jet cleaning method, a metal tube with a nozzle attached is lowered into the casing pipe, water is sent into the tube, and the water jetted from the nozzle performs cleaning.

Conventional dredging techniques include gas lift dredging and pump dredging.

The gas lift method can be applied to relatively large-diameter casing pipes; a metal pipe is lowered to near the earth and sand layer, and gas is blown from the gas lift pipe attached to the metal pipe to blow up the earth and sand.

In the pump method, water is ejected from a metal pipe, blowing earth and sand up. This method does not require a gas lift pipe, so 3
It can also be applied to small diameter pipes of about 1 inch.

Furthermore, instead of wells, horizontal pipes such as pipelines are cleaned using the water jet method, which involves inserting a high-pressure hose equipped with a nozzle into the pipe and jetting water from the nozzle to clean the pipe.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In wells, the casing vibe reaches several hundred meters, sometimes more than a thousand meters, underground, and its lower part is a perforated tube with many holes. If dirt, rust, etc. accumulate in the pipes, it becomes impossible to extract the desired gas or liquid through the holes, so dredging is required periodically because the pipes cannot be cleaned.

However, there has been no simple and effective method for cleaning and dredging wells. That is, the cleaning method described above does not have a dredging effect, and the gas lift method has a cleaning effect near the gas lift pipe, but the cleaning effect cannot be expected much further away from there. In addition, in the brushing, acid treatment, and water jet cleaning methods, metal pipes are connected and lowered several hundred meters, so in order to carry out this work, iron plates are laid on the ground surface, turrets that reach tens of meters above the ground are installed, and metal pipes are lowered. A frying machine, etc. must be installed, and cleaning alone is a fairly large-scale task.

In addition, since conventional dredging technology uses metal pipes in the same way,
The scale of the work is the same as above. In lift dredging, gas lift pipes are also lowered into the wellbore in addition to metal pipes, so it cannot be applied to small-diameter wells. Pump dredging is applied to small-diameter wells, but this method involves a pressure drop when flowing through the hydraulic head and the gap between the metal pipe and casing to the wellhead, so the water jetting out from the metal pipe cannot escape from the hole. It can easily leak in large quantities to the outside, and its ability to send soil to the ground is extremely low.In general, the soil is simply pushed out of the casing vibrator, and in reality, even if it is dredged, the soil is immediately buried as it was before. . For this reason, it was often better to construct new wells than to dredge them, especially for small-diameter wells.

We use special metals in metal tubes to give them flexibility.
There are examples where the tube can be rolled up, eliminating the need for a turret, but even this example requires a trailer of several tens of tons, a crane, special equipment and an engine for feeding the tube, and the work is quite extensive.

Also, the technology is basically the same as conventional cleaning and dredging technology, except for the flexibility of the metal pipe.

In addition, the water jet cleaning method using high-pressure hoses used on pipelines uses lightweight hoses, so
The work is relatively simple, but because it is horizontal, there is no need to send soil hundreds of meters vertically for dredging, and it is a completely different technology from that used in wells.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present applicant proposed a simple and highly effective method for cleaning and dredging a well and a device for cleaning and dredging the well (Japanese Patent Application No. 63-321920).

In that application, a high-pressure hose whose inner tube and outer sheath are made of resin and has a jet nozzle at the tip is lowered into a casing pipe through a lubricator placed in a wellhead device, and water is introduced into the high-pressure hose. At the same time, jetting water from the jet nozzle to clean the inside of the casing pipe and lifting up the object to be cleaned and/or the object to be dredged,
A method for cleaning and dredging a well, which comprises jetting out compressed gas from a gas lift pipe provided in a straight pipe part of a casing vibe, and discharging the object to be cleaned and/or the object to be dredged from the well along with the ejected gas. is proposed.

The above application further states that a hollow cylindrical packer having a conical surface on the outside and a hollow cylindrical packer pusher having a conical surface on the inside that engages with the conical surface are engaged with each other to form a set, and this set is The packers are arranged in the body at two-phase intervals in the axial direction, and each packer is partially fixed to the body, and each packer pusher is moved independently in the axial direction to adjust the force with which the packer pusher pushes the packer. A lubricator for different pipe diameters having two sets of means has been proposed. This lubricator is necessary when high-pressure hoses are connected by a joint in the above method because the diameters of the hose and joint are different, so when passing the high-pressure hose through the joint, first With the side lubricator closed, open the inlet side lubricator, pass the joint part between the inlet side lubricator and the outlet side lubricator, then close the inlet side lubricator. After that, open the lubricator on the exit side and allow the joint to pass through to the exit.

Before the above proposal was made, there was a lubricator as a wellhead device used to lower objects into a well under high pressure and recover them, but they were made using piano wire. It was mainly intended to be passed through, and it was not possible to freely pass through a string-shaped line that included different pipe diameters.

The cleaning and dredging method using the lubricator proposed above is very effective, but in order to raise and lower the connected high-pressure hose through the lubricator for different pipe diameters, the joint part must be connected to the lubricator for different pipe diameters. The worker must visually confirm that the lubricator has been reached, and then repeat the process of opening and closing the inlet and outlet lubricators, respectively, and the worker must constantly monitor the process.

In addition, until now, such lubricators have been opened and closed mechanically, for example, by screws, so opening and closing operations took time, and it was even necessary to temporarily stop the movement of the pipe or hose.

The purpose of the present invention is to improve the lubricator for different pipe diameters as described above, to enable the lubricator to be opened and closed instantly, and to make cleaning and dredging work much more efficient than the above proposals. Furthermore, it is possible to automate the lifting and lowering of cleaning and dredging pipes, which has not been possible until now.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention includes a body having a through hole for passing a tubular object, and a packer made of an elastic body provided inside the body so as to surround the through hole, The packer is a lubricator that is provided with a plurality of packers and has pressure guiding means for guiding fluid pressure to each packer.

The lubricator of the present invention is suitable for use in cleaning or dredging wells, but is not limited thereto, and is used to prevent blowouts through which tubular objects having different diameters can pass. It can be widely used as a device.

A conceptual sectional view of an example of this lubricator is shown in FIG. A through hole 3 is provided in the body 2 for passing the tubular object IO. Two packers 4 are arranged to surround the through hole,
Fluid path 6 as a pressure guiding means for guiding pressure to each packer
and two fluid chambers 5 are arranged in each body. A seal is provided between the fluid path and the fluid chamber and the through hole.

By connecting an external fluid pressure source to each fluid path, pressure can be applied to each packer and the packer can be pushed toward the center of the through hole.

The upper packer in the figure is pressurized by fluid, and when the tubular object is passed through, the packer is pressed against the tubular object. The packer at the bottom of the figure is in a state where no pressure is applied.

The packer is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and if the distance between the packer and the tubular object, the size and material of the packer, the pressure of the fluid, etc. are selected appropriately, the packer can be pressed strongly against the tubular object, and this part will be the boundary. The upper and lower parts of the through hole are sufficiently sealed.

The type of fluid is not particularly limited, but air or water may be used in normal use.

Usually two packers and two pressure guiding means are required.

The shape, material, dimensions, etc. of the body may be appropriately determined depending on the usage environment and the tubular object to be passed through.

The shape of the packer is various, for example, as shown in Fig. 2, it is cylindrical with a hollow part, or it is shaped like a tire tube, and a fluid passage 6 separate from the body is provided as a pressure guiding means. May be connected.

A seal between a fluid path for pressurizing (or depressurizing) and a through hole, a seal between a through hole and the outside of the body when the end of the through hole is blocked, and a seal for a fluid pressure generation source. When connected, the seal between the interior of the pressure guiding means and the exterior of the body is ensured to be sufficient.

The lubricator of the present invention is suitable for passing tubular objects having partially different diameters. In explaining how to use it, we will refer to the state in which the tubular object and the packer are in contact, as in the upper packer in Figure 1, as "closed," and the state in which they are spaced apart, as in the lower part of the figure, as "closed." It is called "Open."

In the figure, a tubular object 10 (a large diameter portion 10a and a small diameter portion 10b)
) from below to above.

The lower end of the through hole 3 is connected to, for example, a well pipe. First, set the upper packer closed and the lower packer open.

The tubular material is raised, and after passing either the large diameter part or the lower packer, the lower part is closed, and the tubular material is raised, and the upper part is closed before the large diameter part reaches a part of the upper packer. FIG. 1 shows the large diameter section passing through the lower packer. If the tubular object is to be moved downward in the figure, this procedure may be reversed. By doing this, while maintaining the seal between the lower end of the through hole (and the well connected to it) and the upper end of the through hole (for example, open to the atmosphere), the pipe diameter can be partially reduced. can be passed through different tubes.

According to the replicator of the present invention, the packers can be opened and closed simply by changing the fluid pressure applied to each packer, so the opening and closing operations can be performed instantaneously.

As can be seen in the above-mentioned lifting and lowering operation of the tubular object, it is necessary to know that the large diameter portion has passed through one packer.

This can be done by marking an appropriate location on the tubular object and having the worker check it, but if it is done using a sensor that can detect large diameter parts, the work will be more reliable and It becomes possible to automatically open and close the packer.

The sensor only needs to be able to detect different pipe diameters.
For example, when a tubular object has a large diameter part made of a non-magnetic material and a small diameter part made of a magnetic material, a coil 9 is provided as a sensor to surround the through hole, as shown in FIG. The large diameter portion can be detected by detecting changes in electromotive force or changes in reflectance. It is also possible to detect differences in tube diameter using sound waves.

FIG. 3 shows the concept of an example of the automatic opening/closing lubricator system of the present invention. This comprises a lubricator provided with a sensor and means for applying fluid pressure to the pressure conducting means of the lubricator in response to a signal from the sensor;
This means is connected to the pressure guiding means and includes a pressure generation source, a fluid circuit (fluid path and valve), a control device, and a signal circuit.

As in the above procedure, consider moving a tubular object having a large diameter part and a small diameter part upward in the figure.

First, the pressure of the fluid pressure generation source 24 is adjusted, and the three-way valve (for example, an electromagnetic three-way valve) 25a equipped with an actuator for switching is placed on the line 27a side, and the upper packer 4
Pressurize to 8 and keep closed. A similar three-way valve 25b connects the lines 26b and 27b, and the lower packer 4b is left open without being pressurized. When the tubular object is raised and the sensor 9 senses its large diameter section, and the signal is sent to the control device 23, a signal is sent from the control device through the signal line 28b to switch the three-way valve 25b, and the pressure of the fluid is is applied to the lower packer 4b through the line 27b, and this is closed. At the next moment, a signal is sent from the control device through the signal line 28a to switch the three-way valve 25a, the pressure in the upper packer 4a is released through the line 26a, and the upper packer 48 is opened. Since each packer can be opened and closed instantaneously, the opening and closing are completed before the tubular object reaches the upper packer from the sensor, and the series of operations described above can be performed while continuously moving the tubular object without stopping it.

The above automatic opening/closing lubricator device shows the basic concept and can be modified as appropriate. For example, the sensor may be integrated into the lubricator, but depending on the control sequence it may also be placed outside the lubricator, for example near the top or bottom end of the lubricator. In addition to the above-mentioned devices, a pressure indicator, a pressure regulator, a stop valve, a safety valve or a stop valve, a CRT display, a keyboard, etc. may be added as appropriate.

Alternatively, the fluid exiting the line 26 may be recovered and returned to the pressure source.

By storing all of the above operations in the control device, the operator only has to instruct the control device to move the tubular object or stop it.
It is also possible to put the valves etc. together and place them in the car together with the means for winding up/feeding out the tubular material.

Furthermore, even when sensors are used, it is not necessarily necessary to automate the process, and it may be sufficient to simply notify the worker of the signal from the sensor using light, sound, or the like.

In the explanation so far, the tubular object has been described as having only two types of diameters, large and small, but this is for convenience of explanation, and in reality, not only the diameters are diverse, but the shapes are also diverse.

For example, the cross-sectional shape of a hose joint is not necessarily circular. However, such a portion only needs to be able to pass through the lubricator, and does not impede the application of the present invention.

Moreover, "up and down" in the description simply means the direction in the drawing.

[Example] Using the lubricator shown in FIG. 4, a nozzle 53 was attached to the high-pressure hose 42 as shown in FIG. 5, and the inside of the well 51 was cleaned by a water jet. At this time, gas lift pumping using a gas injection pipe 54 was used to discharge the material washed by the water jet to the surface together with underground fluid.

The lubricator 55 is provided so that the high-pressure hose can be lifted and lowered while preventing the fluid produced from the well 51 by the gas lift from spouting around the ground surface.As shown in FIG. A magnetic sensor 47 is installed between 46a and b, which has the function of sensing the joint 48 of the high pressure hose and generating a signal thereof. The high-pressure hose used has a steel reinforcing layer inside, and the joint is made of stainless steel, the former being a magnetic material and the latter being a non-magnetic material. A magnetic sensor detects the approach of a joint by detecting the difference in magnetism between the two.

When frying the high pressure hose, close the packer 46a, 46b
When the magnetic sensor 47 detects the approach of the joint 48, the signal is sent to the control section 49, and the control section operates the hydraulic circuit to close the packer 46b (packer pressurized state). (In particular, the actuator of the three-way valve (not shown) is actuated). Next, the control unit operates the water pressure circuit to open the packer 46a (packer pressure release state).

This allows the joint to be raised without the fluid in the wellbore gushing out. When lowering the high pressure hose, just do the opposite.

A portion of the fluid circuit and the control section were mounted on a cleaning vehicle 56.

The fluid for pressurizing the packer is water supplied from a water well 57 by a pump 58 to a tank (30
0β) and used it. A pump (not shown) placed inside the washing vehicle was used as a fluid pressure generation source. The fluid circuit was basically the same as that shown in Fig. 3, but valves and the like were added as appropriate.

Pressure lines 59a, b for pressurizing the packer and a signal line 60 from the magnetic sensor were connected to the fluid circuit and control within the washing vehicle.

The high-pressure hose was connected to an upper sheave 62 attached to a tripod 61, and a tension meter 63 was placed between the upper sheave and the tripod. This is to prevent abnormal force from being applied to the high-pressure hose when it is raised or lowered.The tension applied to the hose is measured and sent to the control unit via the tension meter cable 64. The control unit has a function to issue an alarm and stop the hose from moving if the tension is abnormal. Further, in order to measure the depth of the nozzle, a depth sounder 65 and a depth gauge cable 66 were provided to measure the nozzle depth.

Compared to the case where the worker visually checks the marks placed in front and behind the joint of the high-pressure hose to know when the joint is approaching, and then stops raising and lowering the high-pressure hose, then opens and closes the packer to pass the joint. By adopting this system, work efficiency has been greatly improved. In other words, by detecting the joint part of the hose with a sensor, there is no need for workers to monitor it, and by using fluid to open and close the packer, it can be opened and closed instantly, eliminating the need to temporarily stop the hose. By combining the opening and closing of the packer with joint detection using a sensor, it has become possible to automate the hoisting and lowering of the hose.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the lubricator can be opened and closed instantaneously and even automatically, making it easier to clean and dredge wells.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are conceptual diagrams of an example of a lubricator of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of an example of an automatic opening/closing lubricator system, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a lubricator used in an example. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing all the equipment used in the cleaning work of the example. 1: Lubricator 2: Body 3: Through hole 4: Packer 5: Fluid chamber 6: Fluid path 9: Sensor 1o: Tubular object] Oa: Large diameter portion 10b: Small diameter portion 23: Control device 24. Pressure source 25: Three-way valve
26.27: Fluid line 28.29: Signal line 42: High pressure hose 46: Packer 47: Magnetic sensor 48: Joint 49: Control part 51: Well 53: Nozzle 54, gas injection pipe 55: Lubricator 56: Cleaning car
57: Well 58, pump 59: Pressure line 60 signal line 61: Tripod 62, upper sheave
63: Tension meter 64 Tension meter cable

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A body having a through hole for passing a tubular object, and a packer made of an elastic body provided inside the body so as to surround the through hole, and a plurality of packers are provided. A lubricator having pressure guiding means for guiding the pressure of the fluid to each packer. 2) The lubricator according to claim 1, wherein the lubricator is used for passing tubular objects having partially different diameters, and is provided with a sensor that detects the larger diameter portion of the tubular object. 3) a sensor that is used to pass a tubular object that partially has a different diameter and that senses a portion of the tubular object that has a large diameter; a lubricator according to claim 1; an automatic opening/closing lubricator system comprising means for applying fluid pressure to the pressure guiding means of the lubricator according to the requirements;