Patent Abstract:
A kickover tool for placing and extracting a valve in a mandrel having a hydraulic piston, a kickover arm portion mechanically connected to the hydraulic piston, the kickover arm portion being actuated by application of pressure to the piston. Upon full stoke of the piston, pressure is relieved, and measurement of the pressure relief can be used to indicate proper placement in a side pocket mandrel.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/848,838, filed Aug. 31, 2007, entitled “High Angle Water Flood Kickover Tool” herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present application generally relates to tools (e.g., kickover tools) for placement and removal of valves from side pocket mandrels. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The present application relates to valves such as waterflood/injection valves, gas lift valves (IPO Injection Pressure Operated and PPO Production Pressure Operated), chemical injection valves, shear orifice valves, orifice valves and dummy valves. 
         [0004]    One of those, gas lift valves, are used to artificially lift oil from wells where there is insufficient reservoir pressure to produce the well. The associated process involves injecting gas through the tubing-casing anulus. Injected gas aerates the fluid to make the fluid less dense; the formation pressure is then able to lift the oil column and forces the fluid out of the wellbore. Gas may be injected continuously or intermittently, depending on the producing characteristics of the well and the arrangement of the gas-lift equipment. 
         [0005]    A mandrel is a device installed in the tubing string of a gas-lift well onto which or into which a gas-lift valve is fitted. There are two common types of mandrels. In one conventional gas-lift mandrel, the gas-lift valve is installed as the tubing is placed in the well. Thus, to replace or repair the valve, the tubing string must be pulled. The second type is a sidepocket mandrel where the valve is installed and removed by wireline while the mandrel is still in the well, eliminating the need to pull the tubing to repair or replace the valve. 
         [0006]    With the sidepocket mandrel, the gas lift valves are replaced with a kickover tool. The Kickover tool is lowered into wells to place and remove gas lift valves. Normally, a kickover tool is lowered downhole by wireline. A kickover arm of the kickover tool is actuated mechanically to actuate the kickover arm. 
         [0007]    Existing kickover tools are generally intended for use in relatively vertical wells, i.e., wells with a deviation not more than about 45 degrees. Those designs are usually delivered by wireline. However, those designs have limited use in more horizontal wells that are prevalent now. Additionally, there are drawbacks associated with mechanical actuation of the kickover arm and the wireline deployment technique. Thus, there is a need for a kickover tool that will perform well in all situations and provide benefits in wells that are more horizontal. 
         [0008]    The present application describes designs that address those issues and limitations associated with mechanically actuated kickover tools that are deployed by wireline in vertical holes. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    A non-limiting embodiment of the invention includes a tool for inserting and removing a valve in a mandrel having a body that extends in a longitudinal direction and has a first end and a second end. A hydraulic chamber is within the body and extending from the first end. The first end and the hydraulic chamber being hydraulically connectable to coiled tubing. A piston chamber is inside the body. The piston chamber extends from a second end of the body. One end of the piston chamber is hydraulically connected to the hydraulic chamber, and an opposite end of the piston chamber is connected with an opening that connects with outside of the body. A piston is slidably located within the piston chamber. When the piston is most distal from the hydraulic chamber the hydraulic chamber is fluidly connected through the opening with the outside of the body. An actuation device is connected to the piston. The actuation device has an actuation part having a first position and a second position. The piston is slidably connected with the actuation part and is fastened with the actuation part by way of a shear pin. When the shear pin is not sheared, upon actuation and movement of the piston the actuation part moves to the second position. The actuator device is mechanically connected to a kickover arm device. The kickover arm device has a non-kicked-over position and a kicked-over position. When the actuation part is in the first position, the kickover arm device is prevented from moving from the non-kicked-over position to the kicked-over position. When the actuation part is in the second position, the kickover arm tool is allowed to move from the non-kicked-over position into the kicked-over position. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  shows a portion of a kickover tool. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows a portion of the kickover tool to the right of the portion shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows a portion of the kickover tool to the right of the portion shown in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  shows a portion of the kickover tool to the right of the portion shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  shows a portion of the kickover tool to the right of the portion shown in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  shows a portion of the kickover tool to the right of the portion shown in  FIG. 5 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  shows a side view of a mandrel. 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  shows a landing coupling portion. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present application. However, one skilled in the art will understand that the present application may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments are possible. 
         [0019]    As used here, the terms “above” and “below”; “up” and “down”; “upper” and “lower”; “upwardly” and “downwardly”; 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. However, when applied to equipment and methods for use in wells that are deviated or horizontal, such terms may refer to a left to right, right to left, or diagonal relationship as appropriate. 
         [0020]    As noted above, this application applies to kickover tools for use in connection with at least waterflood/injection valves, gas lift valves (IPO Injection Pressure Operated and PPO Production Pressure Operated), chemical injection valves, shear orifice valves, orifice valves and dummy valves. 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  shows a first end of the kickover tool  100 . The main body of the kickover tool  100  includes a first part  1 . The first part  1  includes therein a pressure chamber  10  that extends along a longitudinal axis within the kickover tool  100 . The first part  1  includes a female toothed region  11  that connects with a corresponding part of coiled tubing (not shown). The coiled tubing can provide pressure to the pressure chamber  10 . Tubing other than coiled tubing can be used instead, e.g., piping or other materials. Wireline can also be used, and pressure in the chamber can be generated by a spring chamber or a nitrogen chamber. The spring chamber or nitrogen chamber could be actuated mechanically or by hydraulic pressure transmitted through the coiled tubing. Many attachment configurations can be used such as clamping, bolting or welding. Other gas type chambers can be used in place of the nitrogen chamber. The first part  1  connects to a second part  2 . The first part  1  and the second part  2  can be secured to one another by one or more bolts  12 . The first part  1  and the second part  2  could be replaced by a single unitary part or multiple parts. 
         [0022]      FIG. 2  shows a portion of the kickover tool  100  to the right of the portion shown in  FIG. 1 . The second part  2  includes a snap lock portion  20 . The snap lock portion  20  extends from the second part  2  in a radial direction and is moveable in and out in the radial direction. The in/out movement is achieved by spring action of the second part  2 . The in/out motion can also be from hydraulic pressure, e.g., from the pressure chamber  10 . The snap lock portion  20  has a stepped portion  20   a  that is configured to abut a corresponding surface in a landing coupling portion of a dowhole mandrel to provide a locking force in the uphole axial direction. The snap lock portion  20  also provides placement guidance for the kickover tool  100 . An extension of the first part  1  connects to a third part  3 . The first part  1  and the third part  3  are shown as separate parts but could be a single unitary part or multiple parts. The first part  1  and the third part  3  can be secured to one another by one or more bolts  12 . The third part  3  includes an extension of the pressure chamber  10 . The third part  3  also includes a locator key part  30 . The locator key part  30  is supported on the third part  3  by springs  32  that provide bias in the radial direction and allows the locator key part  30  to move in/out in the radial direction. The locator key part  30  has protruding portions  34   a ,  34   b ,  34   c ,  34   d ,  34   e  and  34   f  that are formed in a predetermined pattern. There can be more or fewer protruding portions than shown. The pattern of protruding portions  34   a ,  34   b ,  34   c ,  34   d ,  34   e  and  34   f  is designed to match a corresponding pattern of recesses on an inside surface of a landing coupling portion of a downhole mandrel to locate the kickover tool  100 . That is, the locator key  30  will lock into a mandrel with a proper configuration of recesses, thereby locating the kickover tool  100  properly in the intended mandrel. Though springs  32  are shown, a number of biasing devices could be used including elastomeric materials, cushions, linear springs, etc. 
         [0023]      FIG. 3  shows a portion of the kickover tool  100  that is to the right of the portion shown in  FIG. 2 . A fourth part  4  is connected with the third part  3 . The fourth part  4  and the third part  3  could be a single unitary part or multiple parts. The fourth part  4  makes up a valve  40  comprising an outer valve portion  40   a  and an inner valve portion  40   b . The inner valve portion  40   b  is slidably located within the outer valve portion  40   a . At least one passageway  46  fluidly connects a volume  42  inside the inner valve  40   b  to outside the kickover tool  100 . The volume  42  is hydraulically connected with the pressure chamber  10 . The inner valve  40   b  has a first position where the inner valve  40   b  is to the left. The inner valve  40   b  has a second position that is to the right. When the inner valve  40   b  is in the first position (to the left) the passageway  46  is open and the volume  42  is hydraulically connected to the outside of the kickover tool  100 . When the inner valve  40   b  is in the second position (to the right) the passageway  46  is closed and the volume  42  is not connected to the outside of the kickover tool  100 . 
         [0024]    One advantage of the configuration described above is an ability to flush out debris that may be present in an inside diameter of a wellbore or completion component. Also, this configuration allows the coiled tubing to be filled by pumping while running in hole (if desired) without building up pressure differential or trapping air in the coiled tubing. Further, the configuration allows circulation to be maintained while running in hole to ensure that the coiled tubing can pump down the coil, which is related to well control reasons. That is, when the inner valve  40   b  is in the first position (to the left) fluid can be forced through the pressure chamber  10  and out the passageway  46  thereby performing the flushing out operation. The valve  40   b  can be moved from the first position (to the left) to the second position (to the right) by increasing the flow of fluid through the volume  42 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  shows a fifth part  5  that is connected with the fourth part  4 . The fourth part  4  includes an extension  43  of the pressure chamber  10 . The fifth part  5  and the fourth part  4  can be a unitary part or multiple parts. Further, the fifth part  5  includes a hydraulic piston chamber  10   b . A hydraulic piston  50  is located inside the hydraulic piston chamber  10   b . A first end of the piston  50   a  is hydraulically connected to the extension  43 . As hydraulic pressure increases in the extension  43  pressure is transferred to the end  50   a  of the piston  50 . The piston  50  moves within the piston chamber  10   b.    
         [0026]      FIG. 4  shows a portion of the kickover tool  100  that is to the right of the portion shown in  FIG. 3 . The piston  50  extends within the piston chamber  10   b . A downhole side  10   c  of the piston chamber is shown. The piston chamber  10   c  is hydraulically connected to outside the kickover tool  100  by way of passageways  54 . As is shown, when a certain pressure is applied to the end  50   a  a shear pin  15  is sheared and allows movement. When the end  50   a  moves to the right, the extension  43  becomes fluidly connected through the piston chamber  10   b , the piston chamber  10   c , and passageways  54  to allow for pressure relief. The fifth part  5  connects with a sixth part  6 . The fifth part  5  and the sixth part  6  could be a single unitary part or multiple parts. An orientation key  60  is connected to the surface of the sixth part  6 . The orientation key  60  comprises a protruding portion that extends beyond a surface of the sixth part  6 . The orientation key  60  can be movable in/out in the radial direction and can be biased by springs  62  in the radial direction. Bolts  61  can be used to secure the orientation key  60 . In operation, as the kickover tool  100  is lowered downhole and in proximity to a mandrel, orienting sleeves ( FIG. 7 ) are encountered. The orienting sleeves are angled and contact the orientation key  60  thereby rotating the kickover tool  100  to a proper angle. A downhole direction orienting sleeve can be used, and an uphole orientating sleeve can be used. As the orienting key  60  passes through the downhole orienting sleeve in the downhole direction the kickover tool  100  is rotated. Also, as the orienting key  60  travels through the orienting sleeve in the uphole direction, the kickover tool  100  rotates. That aspect is beneficial because when lowering in the downhole direction, there is potential for the orienting key  60  to contact a “point” of the orienting sleeve and to not achieve rotation. Thus, by lowering the kickover tool  100  and then raising the kickover tool  100  within a mandrel, any chances of the kickover tool  100  being improperly oriented are greatly reduced. 
         [0027]      FIG. 5  shows an extension  50   c  of the piston  50  that extends into a seventh part  7 . The piston extension  50   c  connects with and extends into an actuation part  56  that is slidably located inside the seventh part  7 . The actuation part  56  is biased to the left by a spring  59 . The actuation part  56  is within and adjacent to another actuation part  58 . Shear pins  57  extend from the actuation part  56  into the piston extension  50   c . A shear pin  63  can extend between the actuation part  56  and the actuation part  58  as shown and can shear under certain force. Alternatively, no shear pin can be present between the actuation part  56  and the actuation part  58 . Also, the actuation part  56  and the actuation part  58  can be a single unified part. Under a certain force, the shear pins  57  will shear, but absent shear the movement of the piston extension  50   c  and the actuation part  56  is unified. The actuation part  58  has a first position that is to the left and a second position that is to the right. As shown, the actuation part  58  has an “L” shaped tip that can impede an actuation pin  72 . Upon movement to the right of actuation part  56  actuation part  58  will move to the right until further movement is prevented by a kickover arm  71 . Upon application of a certain pressure of the piston  50  to actuation part  56 , the shear pin  63  between actuation part  56  and actuation part  58  will shear and actuation part  56  will continue to move to the right into actuation part  58  until movement is prevented. Thus, once the shear pin  63  is sheared, when the actuation part  56  is withdrawn to the left, the spring  59  will extend and maintain the actuation part  58  in the position to the right abutting the kickover arm  71 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , during extension of the piston  50 , actuation part  56  will abut a shoulder  64  formed in part  7 . Once movement to the right of actuation part  56  is prevented there, further stroke of the piston extension  50   c  into the actuation part  56  occurs by shearing of the shear pins  57  upon application of a certain force. The further stroke can allow the piston end  50   a  to move to the right into the piston chamber  10   c  thereby connecting the piston chamber  10  with the passages  54  to release pressure. 
         [0028]    The kickover arm tool  70  is connected with the seventh part  7 . The kickover arm tool  71  is rotatable with respect to the seventh part  7  by way of a hinge mechanism  74 . Any rotating connection can be made so that the kickover arm  74  is in rotational connection with respect to the seventh part  7 . The actuation pin  72  is connected to the kickover arm  71  and is positioned so that when the actuation part  58  is in the first position (to the left) the pin  72  is adjacent to the “L” part of the actuation part  58  thereby preventing counterclockwise rotation of the kickover arm  71 . When the actuation part  58  moves to the second position (to the right), the kickover arm  71  is no longer prevented from rotating in a counterclockwise direction and moves to the kicked-over position. 
         [0029]      FIG. 6  shows a portion of the kickover tool  100  further to the right than that shown in  FIG. 5 . The kickover arm  71  farther to the right, a second kickover arm  81 , a valve port  200  and a spring  90  are shown. The spring part  90  provides bias to move the kickover arm  71  and a kickover arm  81  into a kicked-over position once the actuation part  58  moves to the second position (to the right). The force of the springs  90  causes the kickover arm  71  to rotate counterclockwise and the kickover arm  81  to rotate clockwise. The resulting kicked-over configuration leaves the kickover arm  71  at an angle compared to the longitudinal axis of the kickover tool  1  and the kickover arm  81  extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the kickover tool  100 . That configuration leaves the kickover arm  81  in position to enter a side pocket of a mandrel. 
         [0030]    Referring back to  FIG. 5 , as the piston  50  actuates and moves forward, due to the shear pins  57  and shear pin  63 , the actuation part  56  and actuation part  58  are moved forward until the actuation part  58  is in the second position and contacts the kickover arm  71 . Once the actuation part  58  is moved into the second position to the right out of alignment with the actuation pin  72 , the kickover arms  71 ,  81  move to the kicked-over position. Upon further actuation of the piston  50 , the actuation part  56  applies a force that shears the pin  63  between the actuation part  56  and the actuation part  58  and moves farther to the right. Upon further actuation of the piston  50  the actuation part  56  moves to the right until the actuation part  56  encounters the shoulder  64  in the seventh part  7  that prevents further movement. At that point, as the piston  50  continues extension, the seventh part  7  is moved with the piston  50  toward an extended position thereby locating the second kickover arm  81  and the valve port  200  (with valve in actual use) into a side pocket mandrel, where the valve (not shown) is either placed or removed into/from the side pocket mandrel. During the movement of the piston, pressure inside the piston chamber  10   b  is at a level thereby driving the piston  50  outward and moving the part  7 . Given no impedance, once the piston  50  reaches the end of the stroke, the piston chamber  10  connects through the passages  54  to release pressure. If the snap lock portion  20  is engaged and if the kickover arm  81  is properly located with the side pocket mandrel, resistance will be provided against the piston stroke before the piston  50  reaches full stroke. Additional pressure is then applied thereby increasing pressure to a point where the shear pins  57  shear thereby providing additional stroke so that the piston end  50   a  can move to the right in the piston chamber  10   c  thereby providing connection through openings  54  and releasing pressure. The pressure in the piston chamber can be tracked, thereby providing indication that the tool has properly moved into a side pocket mandrel. For example, a minimum pressure will be reached as the piston  50  extends and moves part  7 , a second minimum pressure will be reached in the piston chamber when the tool bottoms out in a side pocket mandrel before the pins  57  shear, and a pressure release will occur when the pins  57  shear and the piston  50  moves to full stroke thereby allowing for pressure to be released through the opening  54 . In contrast, if bottoming out does not occur, resistance will not be encountered and the minimum pressure indicative of the pins  57  shearing will not be reached. 
         [0031]      FIG. 7  shows a side view of a cross section of a mandrel. A downhole orienting sleeve and an uphole orienting sleeve are shown. As noted earlier, the downhole orienting sleeve and the uphole orienting sleeve can each interact with the orientation key  60 . The body pipe includes a pocket assay wherein the valve is located. The mandrel is connected to production tubing at the thread sub. 
         [0032]      FIG. 8  is a closer view of a portion of the mandrel, focusing on the snap latch profile and the locator key profile. The snap latch profile interacts with the snap lock portion  20 . The locator key profile interacts with the locator key part  30 . 
         [0033]    The previous description mentions a number of devices, including mandrels and valves. Detailed specifications for both are available at www.slb.com (Schlumberger&#39;s website) and they are available for purchase from Schlumberger. 
         [0034]    Also, one should note that this invention is in no way limited to applications concerning the valves noted herein, and can extend to other applications including but not limited to the noted valve applications. 
         [0035]    The preceding description is meant to illustrate certain features of embodiments and are not meant to limit the literal meaning of the claims as recited herein.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4