Abstract:
A completion involving expandable tools and/or tubulars involves running the assembly downhole in a single trip. The expansion can take place using a swage or inflatable or other expansion techniques. The assembly can be delivered on production tubing so that upon conclusion of the expansion and the setting of any hangers and barriers production or injection can proceed from a pre-selected zone or zones.

Description:
PRIORITY INFORMATION 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/559,889, filed on Apr. 6, 2004. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The field of this invention is completions that involve expansion downhole where the completion can be accomplished in a single trip. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Intelligent well completions involve various elements for remote downhole flow control and monitoring. Typically oil, gas and/or water production is monitored and controlled. A completion assembly can also include other components such as screens, packers, liner hangers and blank pipe. A more recent development has been to use expansion technology to expand screens, packers, hangers and other downhole equipment. The expandable completion equipment can be used in open hole, cased and perforated holes or holes with perforated or slotted liners, to name a few examples. Typically the expandable downhole components were run in to the hole on drill pipe along with an anchor and a stroker device to sequentially drive a swage through the tools to be expanded. Even using expansion technology, the completion that then occurred was done in a separate trip. The prior procedure was to run in with the tools to be expanded and position them downhole. When placed into position the tools would be expanded, such as by driving a swage through them. The running string, typically drill pipe, would be pulled out of the hole (POOH) and a second trip on production tubing would follow with the remainder of the completion products. A tubing hanger would then be set and then packers would be set prior to the start of production. 
   The present invention addresses a one-trip solution to a completion that involves expansion so that the expansion device and the tools to be expanded as well as other tools that are needed for the completion can be delivered at one time. The expansion would take place and the remaining completion equipment set to allow production to then commence. 
   Others have combined drilling a wellbore on a composite coiled tubing string while transporting expandable casing. After the well is drilled, the bit is dropped and the casing is expanded with an inflatable. This method is illustrated in U.S. 2003/0106688 A1. Another method, shown in U.S. 2003/0221829 A1, delivers a lower and upper completion assembly is connected together and run in the well in a single trip. Thereafter a screen expander is run through tubing on a work string. It could have a shifting tool at its lower end to operate a valve before the expansion starts. Yet others deliver the completion assembly and an inflatable for expansion in two trips, as shown in U.S. 2003/0196820 A1. These techniques stop short of delivery of a completion system along with the expansion assembly in a single trip to allow the completion and expansion operations to take place with a single run. Those skilled in the art will more readily appreciate the scope of the present invention from the claims that appear below as further explained by a discussion of the preferred embodiment including the drawings. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A completion involving expandable tools and/or tubulars involves running the assembly downhole in a single trip. The expansion can take place using a swage or inflatable or other expansion techniques. The assembly can be delivered on production tubing so that upon conclusion of the expansion and the setting of any hangers and barriers production or injection can proceed from a pre-selected zone or zones. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows the one trip completion assembly in the run in position; and 
       FIG. 2  is the view of  FIG. 1  after expansion and with the balance of the completion assembly ready for the next downhole operation. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of the one trip completion system is illustrated. In this specific example, there are three producing zones  10 ,  12  and  14  that are spaced apart. Casing  16  is perforated to create perforations  18 ,  20  and  22  adjacent zones  10 ,  12  and  14  respectively. The outer completion  24  comprises screens  26 ,  28  and  30  and blank pipe  32 ,  34 ,  36  and  38 . Expandable packers  40  and  42  straddle screen  26  so as to isolate zone  10  after expansion. For a similar reason as to zones  12  and  14  respectively packers  44  and  46  straddle screen  28  and packers  48  and  50  straddle screen  30 . 
   The expansion assembly  52  is shown schematically at the top of blank pipe  32 . In the preferred embodiment it comprises a releasable anchor adjacent a stroker, which is connected to a swage. Through a series of repetitive steps the anchor is set and the stroker strokes the swage as it advances top to bottom through the outer completion  24 . The swage can be fixed or of variable diameter. The expansion assembly can be in a variety of styles and can accomplish the desired expansion by mechanical force on a swage, inflatable technology or other equivalent techniques. The expansion can take place in either direction, although top to bottom simplifies the operation of the preferred embodiment. A bottom to top expansion can be done with a collapsible swage to allow the inner completion  54  to be advanced into position with respect to the outer completion  24  after expansion. With top to bottom expansion, the inner completion  54  is simply advanced into the outer completion  24  as the expansion assembly  52  is actuated to advance into and expand the outer completion  24 . This position is shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     FIG. 2  shows that the outer completion  24  has been expanded. Zones  10 ,  12  and  14  have access to the interior of the outer completion  24  only through screens  26 ,  28  and  30  each of which has a pair of external packers straddling it and in a sealed position with the casing  16 . 
   The inner completion  54  comprises packers  56 ,  58  and  60  that are spaced properly so that when the position of  FIG. 2  is achieved, the screens  26 ,  28  and  30  are isolated from each other. Optionally, for intelligent completions, a sensor module  62  can be put adjacent one or more of the packers  56 ,  58  and  60 . It can contain a variety of instruments, sensors and/or valves  64 . Control lines, fiber optic cable or other power lines can go through the inner completion  54  to reach the various sensor modules  62  or valves  64 . Valves  64  can be run in open to allow circulation and later selectively closed. Should any splices in cables or fiber optic lines be required a splice protector  66  can be used as needed. The valves  64  can be operated hydraulically, with locally mounted drives or with shifting tools subsequently delivered through the production tubing  68 . Use of intelligent well completion components is optional. 
   Those skilled in the art will now appreciate that a complete completion system where part of the procedure is to expand can be delivered in a single trip and put into operating position for production, injection or the like. While the preferred embodiment has shown three zones and three screens other configurations are contemplated involving screens and expandable packers in the outer completion  24 . The inner completion  54  can be configured in many other varieties than shown for the preferred embodiment. It can include hangers as well as packers and valves. The assembly can be run in open, cased or other types of wellbores such as those with slotted or perforated liners. The common denominator to the various available configurations is that the completion assembly is delivered in a single trip and put into operating position and that part of such set up is the use of expansion technology. Assisting in the effort is the ability to advance one part of the completion assembly with respect to another and preferably allowing this to occur as the expansion takes place. As previously stated, the expansion can occur in either direction or through use of inflatables or other techniques. If a wage is used it can be of fixed or variable diameter. Provisions can be made to drop the expansion assembly after expansion is completed. A variety of instruments and control devices can be integrated into the completion assembly to allow intelligent well management coupled with the cost and time savings of a single trip in the well to deliver and set in position a completion assembly that incorporates an expansion technique. 
   The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.