WO1998009055A1

WO1998009055A1 - Electrical/hydraulic controller for downhole tools

Info

Publication number: WO1998009055A1
Application number: PCT/US1997/015445
Authority: WO
Inventors: Darrin L. Willauer
Original assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated
Priority date: 1996-08-30
Filing date: 1997-09-02
Publication date: 1998-03-05
Also published as: CA2233480A1; GB9806774D0; NO981935L; GB2321076A; GB2321076A8; NO981935D0; AU4177197A

Abstract

The present invention is a method and apparatus for selectively activating and deactivating multiple, hydraulically-driven downhole tools (12, 14) with a system containing a single electrical line (30) and a single hydraulic line (28) which are connected in parallel to individual controllers (20, 22) associated with each down hole tool.

Description

TITLE: ELECTRICAL/HYDRAULIC CONTROLLER FOR DOWNHOLE TOOLS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the delivery of electrical signals and hydraulic

pressure to downhoie tools and/or completion equipment and more particularly to the

selective operation of multiple downhoie tools by utilizing single electrical and hydraulic

lines.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

During the drilling, completion and production phases required to produce

hydrocarbons (oil and gas) from earth formations, several different downhoie tools and

completion equipment are used. The wellbore, which is typically between nine and twelve

inches in diameter, provides limited capacity for running electrical and hydraulic lines to

such downhoie tools. Branch or lateral wellbores often are drilled from a trunk or main

wellbore to form deviated and/or horizontal wellbores for improving production of

hydrocarbons from the subsurface formations.

It is expensive and time consuming to run a single tool downhoie, use it and then

retrieve it before pursuing other operations. In some operations, such as completions, the

tool cannot be retrieved. Therefore, a tool string containing multiple tools is formed at the surface and run in hole to perform a number of operations. In conventional operations, a separate hydraulic line is connected to each tool before running in hole. The other end of

each hydraulic line is connected to an isolation valve which in turn is connected to a

hydraulic pump located at the surface. To operate a specific tool in the string, the isolation

valve that connects the specific hydraulic line to the hydraulic pump is opened. Pressure is

applied and the isolation valve is closed to trap the hydraulic pressure. Thus, during

downhoie operations, each tool in the string can be operated independently of the other tools

by utilizing such tool's independent hydraulic line.

Due to the small space available to run hydraulic lines downhoie, some operations run

more than one tool on the same hydraulic lines. The drawback of this system, however, is

that the tools are either all activated or all deactivated simultaneously. They are not

independently operable.

It is desirable to run multiple tools from a single hydraulic line but it would be

additionally advantageous if the multiple tools could be controlled independently of each

other.

The present invention addresses this deficiency of the prior art and provides a system

that delivers hydraulic pressure and electrical signals independently to multiple downhoie

tools utilizing a single hydraulic line and a single electrical line. The system is applicable to

hydrological (environmental ground water) testing as well as to hydrocarbon operations. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides an apparatus and a method for delivery of hydraulic

fluid/pressure and electrical signals to multiple downhoie tools via a single hydraulic line and

a single electrical line by connecting the lines in parallel to each of the downhoie tool

controllers and sending signals to the downhoie tool controllers for operating controls within

the controllers to allow the passage of hydraulic fluid/pressure to activate/deactivate the

associated tools.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a detailed understanding of the present invention, references should be made to

the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the

accompanying drawings, in which like elements have been given like numerals, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a typical wellsite wherein a completion string

utilizes the apparatus of the present invention to operate multiple downhoie tools from single hydraulic and electrical lines.

FIG. 2A is a partial cross-sectional view of a downhoie controller of the present

invention. FIG. 2B shows the top view of the downhoie controller of the present invention.

FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2A showing the hydraulic connection to

the downhoie tool.

FIG. 2D shows the bottom view of the downhoie controller of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a typical downhoie tool string containing multiple tools

and incorporating the apparatus of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a controller system 10, in operation at a typical wellsite,

for the delivery of hydraulic pressure to completion equipment or downhoie tools, such as a

packer 12 and a sliding sleeve 14, and for transmitting electrical signals between a control

unit 16, located on the surface 18, and controllers 20 and 22 associated with the packer 12

and the sliding sleeve 14, respectively.

Every hydraulically-operated tool needs a controller which can be either integral to

the tool or a separate device. For ease of understanding and without any intent to limit the

scope of the invention, FIGs. 1-3 depict the controllers as separate devices. As shown in FIG. 1, hydraulic fluid (not shown) from a supply source 24 is pumped

by a hydraulic pump 26 through a single hydraulic line 28 downhoie to a completion or tool

string 29. Similarly, electrical signals are communicated between the control unit 16 and the

completion of tool string 29, which contains downhoie tool controllers 20 and 22, over a

single electrical line 30. The hydraulic line 28 and the electrical line 30 can be contained

within a single tube (not shown) or run downhoie as individual lines as shown in FIG. 1. A

typical configuration for completion operations, as shown in FIG. 1 , would run the lines 28

and 30 between an outer surface 32 of a completion string 29 and the inner surface of the

casing 34 and the wall 36 of the open hole 38. The placement of the lines 28 and 30 is meant

by way of example and is not meant to limit the scope of the invention.

FIG. 2A shows a partial cross-sectional view of a downhoie tool controller 40, such

as the controllers 20 and 22 shown in FIG. 1. The electrical line 30 enters the controller 40

through an electrical inlet port 42 and is connected in parallel to an electronic circuit board 44

before exiting the controller 40 through an electrical outlet port 46 (shown in FIG. 2D). A

solenoid valve 48 is connected to the electronic circuit board 44 via an electrical line 50.

The hydraulic line 28 enters the controller 40 through an hydraulic inlet port 52

(shown in FIG. 2B) and is connected in parallel through a hydraulic tool line 53 (shown in

FIG. 2C) to the downhoie tool, such as the packer 12 or the sliding sleeve 14 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2D, the hydraulic line 28 then exits the controller 40 through a

hydraulic outlet port 54 and the hydraulic tool line 53 exits the controller 40 through a

hydraulic tool outlet port 55.

.An electrical signal (not shown) is sent from the control unit 16, shown in FIG. 1,

down the electrical line 30 to the first controller 20 in the downhoie string 29. The

electronics (electronic circuit board 44 as shown in FIG. 2A) within the controller 20

determine if the signal is addressing the first controller 20. If the first controller 20 is being

addressed, the electronics in the controller 20 direct the power from the electrical signal to

move the solenoid valve 48 (FIG. 2A) to allow the hydraulic fluid/pressure in the hydraulic

line 28 to pass through the controller 20 to the first tool, the packer 12, which is associated

with the controller 20. The hydraulic pressure/fluid is then available to operate the connected

tool, the packer 12.

If the first controller 20 is not being addressed, then the solenoid valve 48 (FIG. 2A)

remains in its closed position and the associated tool, the packer 12, is not activated.

The electrical signal continues through the electrical line 30 to the next controller 22,

as shown in FIG. 1. Regardless of the action of the previous controller 20, the second

controller 22 goes through the same sequence of operations to determine if it should activate

the second tool, the sliding sleeve 14, by moving the solenoid valve 48 (FIG. 2A) in the controller 22 to allow the hydraulic fluid/pressure to pass through the solenoid valve 48 to the

sliding sleeve 14.

In similar fashion, the electrical signal and the hydraulic fluid/pressure continue

downhoie to each of the controllers 40 in the completion or tool string 29. Because the

individual tool controllers 40 are connected in parallel to the hydraulic line 28 and the

electrical line 30, multiple tools/equipment in a tool/completion string 29 can be operated

selectively and individually.

FIG. 3 illustrates a typical tool string 29 containing a first controller 60, a sliding

sleeve 62, a second controller 64, a packer 66, a third controller 68 and a sliding sleeve/choke

70 which can all be selectively operated via a single hydraulic line 72 and a single electrical

line 74.

Various telemetry methods can be used to send commands to the downhoie tool

controllers 40 such as mud pulse, electromagnetic pulse, acoustic pulse, electrical pulse and

others. The electrical signal described in the preferred embodiment is meant by way of

example and is not meant to limit the scope of the invention.

Likewise, the valve shown in FIG. 2A is a solenoid valve 48, which is well known in

the industry, is meant by way of example without limiting the invention. While the foregoing disclosure is directed to the preferred embodiments of the

invention, various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended that all variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims be embraced by the

foregoing disclosure.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A system for providing hydraulic fluid and electrical signals to multiple

hydraulically-driven downhoie tools deployed in a wellbore, comprising:

(a) a single hydraulic line for supplying hydraulic fluid to each of the downhoie tools;

(b) a single electrical line for supplying electrical power and signals to each of the

downhoie tools; and

A plurality of downhoie controllers, wherein the controllers are connected in parallel

to the single hydraulic line and to the single electrical line and wherein a separate controller

is connected to a separate downhoie tool.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein each said controller further comprises:

(a) a valve operable in an open mode for allowing the flow of the hydraulic

fluid from the hydraulic line into the downhoie tool connected to the controller and in a

closed mode for blocking the flow of hydraulic fluid; and

(b) A circuit for transmitting a command signal from a remote control unit via

the electrical line to operate the valve between the desired open and closed modes to activate

and deactivate the tool, respectively.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a two-way communication system between the downhoie tools and the remote control unit for sending over the electrical line

control information to the downhoie tools and for receiving status information from the

downhoie tools.

4. A method for selectively activating a plurality of hydraulically-operated downhoie

tools via a single hydraulic line and a single electrical line, comprising: connecting the hydraulic line in parallel to each of the downhoie tools;

connecting the electrical line in parallel to each of the downhoie tools; sending an

activate command via an electrical signal through the electrical line, wherein the activate

command is received by each downhoie tool and decoded to determine whether the activate

command is for this downhoie tool; and

positioning the valve in the commanded position for the relevant downhoie tools,

wherein hydraulic fluid flows through the open valve thereby activating the downhoie tool.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising initializing the valves in the downhoie

tools to known starting positions.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising periodically sending a signal from the

downhoie tool indicating the position of the valve.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising sending a deactivate command to individual downhoie tools, wherein the command is received and decoded by each downhoie

tool and valves are moved accordingly.