Electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone and method

An electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone including a body, a motor with a mill or hone disposed thereon in radially adjustable position with respect to the body, a clamping device extendable from the body and configured for anchoring the tool in a tubular, and a portion of the body that is rotatable about an axis of the electromechanical pipe mill or hone. A method for removing material in a tubular including running on electric wireline an electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone as in any prior embodiment to a target location in a tubular, registering the mill or hone with a feature identified for removal of material, deploying the clamping device, rotating the mill or hone on its own axis, rotating a portion of the body about its own axis, and radially displacing the mill or hone to remove material.

BACKGROUND

In subsurface resource recovery industries tubular strings are often run into boreholes for various operations. Sometimes strings may have multiple uses, this being desirable due to cost in tripping strings. For multiple uses however, there may be features of the string that have to be modified. For example, restrictions in a string that are originally disposed therein for specific utility may become a hindrance for a secondary use of the string in the borehole. These restrictions then have been removed in order to effect whatever secondary use of the string is contemplated. Traditionally, such restrictions are removed utilizing a broach on slickline. The method works and has been used for years but it is difficult to control the cutting action and the broach is prone to becoming stuck in the very restriction it is designed to remove. Issues such as these create problems for operators and invariably end up increasing costs. Accordingly, the art would welcome alternative concepts in material removal.

SUMMARY

An electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone including a body, a motor with a mill or hone disposed thereon in radially adjustable position with respect to the body, a clamping device extendable from the body and configured for anchoring the tool in a tubular, and a portion of the body that is rotatable about an axis of the electromechanical pipe mill or hone.

A method for removing material in a tubular including running on electric wireline an electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone as in any prior embodiment to a target location in a tubular, registering the mill or hone with a feature identified for removal of material, deploying the clamping device, rotating the mill or hone on its own axis, rotating a portion of the body about its own axis, and radially displacing the mill or hone to remove material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring toFIG. 1, a perspective view of an electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone10also termed tool10herein configured to be run on electric wireline to reliably and controllably remove material from an inside surface of a tubular member is illustrated. The tool10includes a body12having a nose14. The body12supports a clamping device16remotely actuable from, for example a surface controller using a casing collar locator (not shown) or automatically actuable based upon a local input such as a sensory input that confirms location of the tool10at the target location. Once the location has been confirmed (sensorily or from surface), the clamping device16is deployed to anchor the tool10in place. At the target location a material remover18, such as a mill or a hone for example, of the tool10will be at longitudinal register with a feature (wireline seating nipple, no-go or seal bore, for example) in the tubular that is to have material removed. In an embodiment, the material remover18will have a longitudinal dimension greater than a longitudinal dimension of the feature from which material is to be removed. Accordingly, no movement axially is needed from tool10but rather it will stay anchored by the clamping device16and allow rotary movements discussed below to effect the goals of the tool10. Removal of material is effected by rotation of the material remover18about its own axis pursuant to an electrically energized motor20in conjunction with rotation of a portion22of the tool10that is downhole of the clamping device16. The rotation of portion22is about its own axis. The material remover18is also laterally displaceable along with motor20. The combination of movements causes the material remover18to not only spin about its own axis but to move through space in a circle about the axis of the tool10. The circle can be adjusted in diameter to suit a particular need and so that a precise depth of cut in a radial direction from the tool10is achievable. More specifically, because of the precise control of where the axis of the material remover18is relative to the axis of the tool10, the exact cutting depth as measured from an innermost surface of a feature from which material is to be removed to an end of removal can be controlled. Enablement for the configurations and movements noted and the controls necessary to provide for these movements is found in a commercially available tool from Baker Hughes Incorporated known as a mechanical pipe cutter (MPC™) tool, further disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,410,389, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The precise depth of cut allows any amount of material desired to be removed from the feature and importantly allows the material removal to comprise an ultimate diameter greater than a restriction existing uphole of the target feature. While the tool10may be used anywhere in a borehole system, the particular utility in removal of material in areas of a borehole system downstream of a restriction that has a smaller diameter than the diameter that will result from operation of the tool10provides significant benefit over any tool of the prior art.

More specifically, the tool10has a relatively small diameter when the material remover18is retracted so that it can fit through a smaller restriction to access some feature downhole of that restriction. Then the feature may be milled or honed out to a larger diameter than the restriction through which the tool10passed to access the feature because of the radial displacement of the material remover18. In other words, the tool10may be run through a smaller restriction, for example a 6 inch diameter restriction and yet remove material downhole of the 6 inch restriction to a diameter of, for example, 7 inches. This is due to the ability to radially displace the axis of the material remover18from the axis of the tool10.

Depth of cut control gives a large degree of precision in what modification is desired for material removal. Specifically, it may be that a small amount of material is required to be removed so that another tool may pass the restriction or it may be that significantly more material is required to be removed for the next purpose of the operator. For example, a feature in a tubular such as perhaps a seat used in a previous operation and no longer required may need to be removed in its entirety in a particular iteration. The tool10allows careful and precise removal of material in a radial direction controlled by the radial displacement of the material remover18. The rotation of the portion22of tool10moves the material remover18about its circle at that radial displacement dimension or can move the material remover18incrementally radially at each completion of a circular movement to slowly and precisely remove material. Removal can continue until, in an iteration, the tubing diameter is matched so that the end result would be as if the feature were never there or the amount of removal can be more or less removal. It is possible to remove material to a diameter larger than the tubing diameter providing there is enough material thickness of the tubular to accommodate the resulting undercut.

In another embodiment, the feature is a seal bore that requires polishing due to previous damage or wear. This can be accomplished by employing as the material remover18a hone, which will polish the seal bore to restore its sealing capacity. In other respects the tool10will be the same and include the same controls.

Referring toFIGS. 2-7a method of using the tool10and method for removing material is illustrated. InFIG. 2, a tubular30is illustrated with a restriction32through which the tool10must pass and a target feature34from which material will be removed. The tool10is run into the tubular on electric wireline36past the restriction32until it is properly located with the material remover18in register with the target feature34(seeFIG. 3), “register” being used to indicate that the entire length of feature34will be milled or honed without axial movement of the tool10. This is achieved due to the length of the mill or hone being longer than the feature34such that an uphole end of the mill or hone is more uphole than the feature34and a downhole end of the mill or hone is more downhole of the feature34simultaneously. Once in this position, and referring toFIG. 4, the clamping device16is deployed to anchor the tool10to the tubular30. Referring toFIG. 5, the tool10is actuated (electrically by wireline36) to radially displace material remover18to the prescribed distance while rotating the same on its own axis and rotating the portion22of tool10about its own axis. This is continued until the desired amount of material is removed by material remover18. Referring toFIG. 6, it can be seen that the feature34has been removed, the material remover18retracted into the tool10, and the clamping device16has been disengaged. Referring toFIG. 7, the tool10is withdrawn from the tubular30past the restriction32and removed from the borehole system.

An electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone including a body, a motor with a mill or hone disposed thereon in radially adjustable position with respect to the body, a clamping device extendable from the body and configured for anchoring the tool in a tubular, and a portion of the body that is rotatable about an axis of the electromechanical pipe mill or hone.

The electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone as in any prior embodiment wherein the mill or hone is of a longitudinal dimension greater than a target feature from which material is to be removed.

The electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone as in any prior embodiment wherein the portion is rotatable about the axis of the electromechanical pipe mill or hone while the mill or hone is rotatable about its own axis.

The electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone as in any prior embodiment wherein the mill or hone proceeds in a circle about the axis of the electromechanical pipe mill or hone.

A method for removing material in a tubular including running on electric wireline an electromechanical rotary pipe mill or hone as in any prior embodiment to a target location in a tubular, registering the mill or hone with a feature identified for removal of material, deploying the clamping device, rotating the mill or hone on its own axis, rotating a portion of the body about its own axis, and radially displacing the mill or hone to remove material.

The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the registering includes ensuring the mill or hone extends beyond an uphole and downhole end of the feature.

The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the rotating the mill or hone is by electric motor.

The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the running includes through a restriction having a diameter smaller than a planned dimension of the feature after removing material.

The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the feature is a restriction.

The method as in any prior embodiment wherein the feature is a seal bore.