Abstract:
An expandable contraction joint is disclosed. Telescoping sections form a contraction joint with an expandable control line (electric, hydraulic or combination) extends through the contraction joint. An external mandrel provides superior mechanical support. The control line can be coiled within the contraction joint to accommodate the changing length.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos.: 61/968,113, filed Mar. 20, 2014, entitled CONTRACTION JOINT WITH LOAD-BEARING EXTERNAL MANDREL, 61/968,131, filed Mar. 20, 2014, entitled CONTRACTION JOINT WITH MULTIPLE TELESCOPING SECTIONS, and 61/955,551, filed Mar. 19, 2014, entitled SECTIONAL CONTRACTION JOINT WITH BY-PASS LINES, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Hydrocarbon fluids such as oil and natural gas are obtained from a subterranean geologic formation, referred to as a reservoir, by drilling a well that penetrates the hydrocarbon-bearing formation. Once a wellbore is drilled, various forms of well completion components may be installed in order to control and enhance the efficiency of producing the various fluids from the reservoir. Information from the wells can prove valuable, but reliably obtaining useful information from the well is difficult. Some connections between completion sections are spaced apart at an unknown distance. Also, some completions equipment is long enough that transporting and assembly is challenging. For these reasons a contraction joint capable of bridging the gap between completion sections that is easily assembled at the well site is desired. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0003]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of a contraction joint according to embodiments of the present disclosure in a contracted state. 
           [0004]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of a contraction joint of  FIG. 1  in an expanded state. 
           [0005]      FIG. 3  is a illustration of two contraction joints coupled together with altering orientation according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
           [0006]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a contraction joint according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     SUMMARY 
       [0007]    In some embodiments the present disclosure is directed to a contraction joint including an upper portion having a first mandrel, an upper sub, and an activation sub. The first mandrel extends between the upper sub and the activation sub, and the first mandrel has a smaller exterior diameter than the activation sub and the upper sub. The contraction joint also includes a lower portion having a second mandrel, a lower sub, and an upper shoulder. The second mandrel extends between the lower sub and the upper shoulder, and the second mandrel has smaller exterior diameter than the lower sub and the upper shoulder. The upper and lower portion telescope relative to one another to move from a contracted position to an extended position. The activation sub of the upper portion is between the lower sub and upper shoulder of the lower portion to define the telescoping travel of the joint. The contraction joint also includes an extendible line configured to expand and contract within the contraction joint as the contraction joint moves between extended and contracted positions. The extendible line is coupled through the upper sub and lower sub. 
         [0008]    Further embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a contraction joint configured to connect between a first completion component above the contraction joint and a second completion component below the contraction joint. The contraction joint includes an upper portion comprising a first mandrel and a lower portion comprising a second mandrel. The first and second mandrels are configured to telescope relative to one another to extend and contract. The contraction joint also includes a control line extending through the contraction joint and configured to connect to the first and second completion components through the contraction joint. The control line has an extendible portion configured to extend and contract with the contraction joint as the upper and lower portions telescope relative to one another. 
         [0009]    Still further embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a method of deploying a contraction joint. The method includes positioning a contraction joint in a wellbore, the contraction joint including a first portion and a second portion that telescope relative to one another and contain an expandable control line extending through the contraction joint, and coupling the contraction joint to a first and second completion component between the first and second completion component. The method also includes expanding the contraction joint to a suitable length between the first and second completion components, and expanding a control line segment within the contraction joint to accommodate the expanded contraction joint. The control line communicates between the first and second completion components through the contraction joint. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible. 
         [0011]    Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a telescoping contraction joint  100  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  in contracted and telescoped states, respectively. The contraction joint  100  includes a top portion  102  and a bottom portion  104  that telescope relative to one another as needed to accommodate a gap between completion equipment in a well. The top portion  102  includes an upper sub  106 , an upper mandrel  108 , and an activation sub  110 . The upper sub  106  is configured to engage with completion equipment above the joint  100 . The upper mandrel  108  is thinner than the upper sub  106  and the activation sub  110  to form a shoulder that limits the extension of the joint  100 . 
         [0012]    The bottom portion  104  includes a lower sub  112 , a lower mandrel  114 , and an upper shoulder  116 . The lower mandrel  114  has a smaller outer diameter than the lower sub  112  and the upper shoulder  116 . The activation sub  110  is situated between the lower sub  112  and the upper shoulder  116  such that the activation sub  110  contacting the upper shoulder  116  and lower sub  112  defines the extent of travel of the upper portion  102  relative to the lower portion  114 .  FIG. 2  shows the upper portion  102  and lower portion  104  in an extended position with the upper shoulder  116  contacting the activation sub  110 . 
         [0013]    The lower portion  104  also includes a coiled line  118 , shown in cross-section in a contracted state in  FIG. 1  and an extended state in  FIG. 2 . The coiled line  118  is a continuation of a line  120  extending through the upper sub  106  and lower sub  112 . The coiled line  118  and line  120  can be an electric line, a hydraulic line, or any combination thereof, and can include multiple lines. The lower portion  104  also includes an external mandrel  122  extending over a portion of the joint  100  to provide mechanical strength and support to the joint  100 . In some embodiments the external mandrel  122  is load-bearing and provides a greater degree of resistance to bending forces on the contraction joint  100 . 
         [0014]    The structure of the joint allows for efficient connection to other completion components in the well. The upper sub  106  and lower sub  112  include connections to the other components, including connections for the line  120 . This eliminates the need for a splice within the contraction joint  100  itself. 
         [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates another embodiment of the present disclosure in which two contraction joints are coupled together. A first joint  200  is oriented with upper sub to the left-hand side of the figure, and a second joint  202  is oriented with upper sub to the right-hand side. In place of a lower sub as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the joints  200  and  200  include a center sub  204  configured to couple the first and second joints together. In other embodiments, multiple joints can be coupled together with the components oriented in a similar direction. Two or more joints can be used. 
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a contraction joint  300  according to still further embodiments of the present disclosure. The joint  300  includes a lower sub  302 , an inner mandrel  304 , an external mandrel  306 , an activation sub  308 , upper collar  310 , a lower collar  312 , and a coiled control line  314 . The coiled control line  314  is coupled between upper and lower collars and provides a control line (electric or hydraulic) through the joint  300 . The activation sub  308  includes an anti-rotation key  316  and a shear screw  318  to maintain the components in an undeployed state with the proper rotation. The activation sub  308  is coupled to an extension  320  which can be of any desired length. The joint  300  also includes an upper sub  322 . When the joint  300  is to be extended, the activation sub  308  moves along the inner mandrel  304  between the inner mandrel  204  and external mandrel  306 , coiling the coiled line  314 . Multiple joints  300  can be coupled together in series in a well. The joints  300  can be coupled in any suitable orientation 
         [0017]    In the specification and appended claims: the terms “connect”, “connection”, “connected”, “in connection with”, and “connecting” are used to mean “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more elements”; and the term “set” is used to mean “one element” or “more than one element”. Further, the terms “couple”, “coupling”, “coupled”, “coupled together”, and “coupled with” are used to mean “directly coupled together” or “coupled together via one or more elements”. As used herein, the terms “up” and “down”, “upper” and “lower”, “upwardly” and downwardly”, “upstream” and “downstream”; “above” and “below”; and other like terms indicating relative positions above or below a given point or element are used in this description to more clearly describe some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         [0018]    While the present disclosure has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate numerous modifications and variations there from. It is intended that the appended claims cover such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.