Abstract:
A method of completing a wellbore system that includes a main wellbore and a lateral wellbore intersecting the main wellbore at a junction is disclosed, wherein in one embodiment the method includes placing a first outer assembly below the junction in the main wellbore and placing a second outer assembly below the junction in the lateral wellbore; placing a first inner assembly in the second outer assembly with a top end thereof below the junction, the top end of the first inner assembly including a first wet connect associated with at least one link in the first inner assembly; and connecting a second wet connect of a string with the first wet connect with a top end of the string having a third wet connect corresponding to the at least one link above the junction in the main wellbore.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Disclosure 
       [0001]    The disclosure relates generally to forming instrumented multi-lateral wells for the production of hydrocarbons from or injection of water into formation zones and monitoring various parameters of interest relating to the completion of such well and during production of hydrocarbons from such wells. 
       2. Background Art 
       [0002]    Wells or wellbores are formed for the production of hydrocarbons (oil and gas) from subsurface formation zones where such hydrocarbons are trapped. Some wellbore systems include a main wellbore formed from a surface location and one or more lateral wellbores formed from the main wellbore initiating at selected depths in the main wellbore. Sometimes additional lateral wellbores (sub lateral wellbores) are formed from one or more of the lateral wellbores. Completion assemblies containing a variety of devices, such as packers, sliding sleeves, valves, screens, etc. are placed inside the main wellbore and the lateral wellbore for the production of hydrocarbons through such wellbores. A completion assembly typically includes an outer assembly or string and an inner assembly or string inside the outer assembly. An outer assembly typically includes packers, screens, sliding and sleeves while the inner assembly includes flow paths for the production of hydrocarbons from different zones, valves to control the flow from each zone into the inner assembly, etc. It is desirable to include sensors, both in the main wellbore and the lateral wellbore, to monitor various parameters of interest in each such wellbore and to control valves and other devices therein. It is therefore necessary to provide one or more links that run from the sensors in the wellbores to the surface. The links in a lateral wellbore will run from a location in the lateral wellbore through a junction between the main wellbore and the lateral wellbore to the main wellbore and then to the surface. The lateral wellbore may be an open hole or cased hole. Such wellbores are filled with a fluid during the placement of completion assemblies. It is therefore desirable to provide apparatus and methods for forming reliable connections to run the links from the lateral wellbore to the surface through the junction and the main wellbore in fluid filled wellbores. 
         [0003]    The disclosure herein provides apparatus and methods for placing continuous links from a main wellbore and from a lateral wellbore intersecting the main wellbore at a junction to the surface to control devices in the main and lateral wellbores and to monitor various parameters of interests in each such wellbore. Such wellbores may provide fully instrumented lateral and/or main wellbores for monitoring the wellbores and for zonal control of multiple zones in each such wellbore. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    In one aspect, a method of completing a wellbore system that includes a main wellbore and a lateral wellbore intersecting the main wellbore at a junction is disclosed. The wellbore system in one non-limiting embodiment includes: placing a first outer assembly below the junction in the main wellbore and placing a second outer assembly below the junction in the lateral wellbore; placing a first inner assembly in the outer assembly in the lateral wellbore with a top end thereof having a first wet connection below the junction; providing a junction assembly having a second wet connection at a bottom end thereof and a third wet connection at a top end thereof; connecting the second wet connection to the first wet connection and placing the third wet connection in the min wellbore above the junction. Placing an inner string in the main wellbore and connecting the third wet connection to fourth wet connection of string deployed from a surface location. The completed system includes a first wet connect assembly in the lateral well bore and a second wet connect assembly in the main wellbore to provide a continuous link from the lateral wellbore to the surface. 
         [0005]    In another aspect, a wellbore system is disclosed that in one non-limiting embodiment includes a main wellbore and a lateral wellbore formed from the main wellbore at a junction. The wellbore system, in one non-limiting embodiment, includes one or more links in the lateral wellbore linked to a control system at the surface. The link includes a wet mate connection assembly in the lateral wellbore below the junction and another wet mate connection assembly in the main wellbore above the junction. The link provides a two-way communication between sensors and circuits in the lateral wellbore to the surface control system and enables the surface control system to control selected devices in the lateral wellbore. 
         [0006]    Examples of the more important features of an apparatus and methods have been summarized rather broadly in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the contributions to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    For a detailed understanding of the apparatus and methods disclosed herein, reference should be made to the accompanying drawing and the detailed description thereof, wherein like elements are generally given same numerals and wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  shows a main wellbore and a lateral wellbore that have been formed from the main wellbore at a junction and wherein a first lower outer completion assembly has been placed in the main wellbore and a second lower outer completion assembly has been placed in the lateral wellbore via a diverter at the junction; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  shows the wellbores of  FIG. 1 , wherein an inner completion assembly has been placed inside the second lower outer completion assembly in the lateral wellbore and wherein the top end of the inner lateral completion assembly includes a first wet connection below the junction; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  shows the wellbores of  FIG. 2  wherein a string having a second wet connection at its bottom end has been connected to the first wet connection in the lateral wellbore and wherein a third wet connection at the top end of the string has been placed in the main wellbore above the junction; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  shows the wellbore system of  FIG. 3 , wherein an inner completion assembly has been placed in the outer completion assembly in the main wellbore at a fourth wet connection has been connected to the third wet connection to provide a continuous link from the lateral wellbore to the surface. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]      FIG. 1  shows a main wellbore  101  formed in a formation  102  and a lateral wellbore  130  formed from the main wellbore  101  at a junction  105 . The main wellbore  101  is shown with a lower or outer completion assembly or string  110  placed therein with its upper end  110   a  below the junction  105 . An anchor  108 , an excluder sub  109  and a combination seal and bore diverter  112  (“diverter”) are placed in that order above the upper end  110   a  of the lower completion assembly  110 . The diverter  112  includes an inclined member  114  that enables apparatus, such as a completion assembly, a production assembly or another string, conveyed from a location into the main wellbore  101  to pass into the lateral wellbore  130 . The lower completion assembly  110  may include any desired apparatus for performing desired wellbore operations, including, but not limited to, packers for isolating zones, such as zone Z 1 , sliding sleeves or other valves for supplying fluid into the zones for fracturing operations, flowing fluid from the zones into the lower completion assembly  110 , and sensors for providing information about various parameters of interest, including, but not limited to, pressure, temperature, flow, vibration, corrosion and abrasion. 
         [0013]    Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the exemplary lower completion assembly  110  is shown to include packers  116   a  and  116   b  to isolate or provide a seal between the lower completion assembly  110  and the wellbore  101 , a screen  118  to prevent flow of certain solid particles from the formation  102  into the lower completion assembly  110 , a frac sleeve  119  to supply fracturing fluid supplied from the surface into a selected zone Z 1  in the formation  102 , etc. Any number of other desired devices may be placed in the lower completion assembly  110 . The lateral wellbore  130  is shown with a lower completion assembly  140  with its upper end  140   a  below the junction  105 . The exemplary lower completion assembly  140  is shown to include packers  142   a  and  142   b , screen  144  and frac sleeve  146  adjacent a production zone Z 2 . A variety of lower completions assemblies and methods of installing such assemblies in wellbores are known and different assemblies are used depending upon the desired wellbore system and are thus not described herein in detail. Any suitable lower completion assembly may be utilized for the purpose of this disclosure. At this stage, a first well  101  includes a lower completion assembly or string  110  with a diverter at the junction  105 , while a second wellbore  130  that intersects with the first wellbore  101  at junction  105  includes an outer assembly  140 . The wellbore  130  and the junction  105  are shown to be open holes, i.e., without any casing in the junction  105  or the wellbore  130 . At this stage, the wellbores  101  and  130  are ready for performing certain wellbore operations, including, but not limited to, setting of packers, fracturing zones Z 1  and Z 2 , etc. 
         [0014]    Once the completion operations have been performed in the wellbores  110  and  130 , these wellbores are ready for the installation of production assemblies (also referred to herein as inner assemblies or strings) for the production of hydrocarbons from various zones, such as zones Z 1  and Z 2 , controlling various downhole devices such as valves and monitoring of various downhole parameters of interest from the downhole sensors, including, but not limited to, pressure, temperature, flow rate, corrosion, abrasion and vibration, as described later.  FIG. 2  shows wellbore  130  after an inner assembly or production assembly  150  has been placed inside the outer assembly  140  to a location below the junction  105 . The inner assembly  150  includes devices, such as valve  152 , monitoring gauges or sensors  160  and a link  155 , which may include one or more individual links or lines  151 . Sensors may include, but are not limited to, temperature sensors, pressure sensors and flow measurement sensors. The links  151  may control one or more devices, such as valves, and receive information from the sensors  160  and provide communication with a surface control and monitoring apparatus, including a computer-based control unit (not shown). The links  151  terminate at a wet mate (also referred to as a “wet connect”)  165  at the top end  152  of the inner assembly  150 . The wet connect  165  includes a connection or terminal for each of the individual links  156  included in the link  155 . The connections for links  151  in the wet connect  165  may be male or female connections. Such wet connections can be mated with their mating counterparts in wellbores filled with a fluid. The inner assembly  150  is conveyed from the surface into the upper portion  101   b  of the wellbore  101 , which is diverted at the junction  105  into the lateral wellbore  130  and placed inside the lower completion assembly  140 . Links  151  may include electrical lines (conductors), fiber optic lines and hydraulic lines. Links  151  are connected to sensors  160  and their associated electrical circuits (collectively denoted by numeral  162 ) to transfer power to such sensors and circuits and to receive sensor data and to provide two-way communication between sensors  160  and circuits  162  and a surface control unit (not shown), which may be a computer-based system. Links  151  also are coupled to various devices, such as valves  152  to control the operations of such devices. At this stage, the inner upper end  152  of the completion assembly  150  and the wet connect  165  is exposed to the fluid in the wellbore  130  below the junction  105  and is ready for connection to an assembly in the main wellbore  101  as described below. 
         [0015]      FIG. 3  shows the wellbores  101  and  130  of  FIG. 2 , wherein a wet connect  167  at a bottom of an assembly  125  conveyed from the main wellbore  101  has been mated with the wet connect  165  of the inner assembly  150  to provide a connection path for the links  151  in the lateral wellbore  130  to the main wellbore  101  through the open hole junction  105 . The mated wet connects  165  and  167  are referred herein as wet mate assembly  170 . The assembly  125  includes a separate link  171  corresponding to each of the links  151 . The links  171  terminate at a wet connect  180  in the main wellbore  101  above the junction  105 . The wet connect  180  thus includes a connection corresponding to each link  151  in the inner assembly  150  in the lateral wellbore  130 . At this stage, the links  155  run from the lateral wellbore  130  to a location in the main wellbore  101  above the junction  105 . The assembly  125  also includes a string  127  that is connected to the upper end  110   a  of the lower completion assembly  110  in the main wellbore  101 . The assemblies  110  and  125  provide a continuous assembly from the bottom of the wellbore  101  to an upper end  125   a  of the assembly  125  located above the junction  105  in the main wellbore  101 . At this stage wellbore  101  is ready for the installation of an inner or production assembly there and for the placement of an upper assembly extending from location  125   a  above the junction to the surface for the production of hydrocarbons from wellbores  101  and  130  as described below. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , an upper completion assembly  188  conveyed from the surface is coupled to the upper end  125   a  of the assembly  125  that also connects a wet mate  182  at the bottom end of the assembly  188  to the wet mate  180 . The mated wet mates  180  and  182  provide a wet mate assembly  185 . The wet mate  182  includes a separate connection and link  181  corresponding to each link  171 . Thus, links  151 ,  171  and  181  provide continuous links from the lateral wellbore  130  to the surface. An inner production assembly  190  is conveyed from the surface into the lower completion assembly  110  in the main wellbore  101 . The inner production assembly  190  includes links  191  coupled to various sensors  192  and devices  193  in the inner production assembly  190 . Links  191  provide continuous connections between sensors  192  and devices  193  and the surface in the wellbore system shown in  FIG. 4 . Fluid from production zones in the main wellbore  101 , such as zone Z 1 , flows to the surface via screen  118  and valve  195  in the production string  190 . Fluid from lateral wellbore zone Z 2  flows to the surface via screen  144 , valve  159 , the production assembly  150  and then the production assembly  190  to the surface. 
         [0017]    Thus, in the exemplary well system shown in  FIGS. 1-4  includes a first wet mate assembly or carrier  170  in the lateral wellbore  130  that includes an open hole wet mate connection  165  and a feed through connection  167  that mates with connection  165 ; and a second wet mate assembly or carrier  185  in the main wellbore that includes a wet mate  180  and a mating feed though connection  187  to provide continuous links ( 151 ,  171 ,  181 ) from the lateral wellbore  130  to the surface. Also, continuous links  191  run from the main wellbore to the surface in the inner production assembly  190  in the main wellbore. Such a system allows for the monitoring and control of the main wellbore and each zone in the lateral wellbore. 
         [0018]    The foregoing disclosure is directed to certain exemplary non-limiting embodiments. Various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended that all such modifications within the scope of the appended claims be embraced by the foregoing disclosure. The words “comprising” and “comprises” as used in the claims are to be interpreted to mean “including but not limited to”. Also, the abstract is not to be used to limit the scope of the claims.