Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20050194143A1/en
Timestamp: 2020-01-23 19:37:56
Document Index: 778334420

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 656', 'art 658', 'art 656', 'art 656', 'art 656', 'art 658', 'art 656']

US20050194143A1 - One trip perforating, cementing, and sand management apparatus and method - Google Patents
US20050194143A1
US20050194143A1 US11/068,941 US6894105A US2005194143A1 US 20050194143 A1 US20050194143 A1 US 20050194143A1 US 6894105 A US6894105 A US 6894105A US 2005194143 A1 US2005194143 A1 US 2005194143A1
US7316274B2 (en
239000004576 sand Substances 0 abstract claims description title 9
241000282472 Canis lupus familiaris Species 0 description 25
241000424123 Trachinotus baillonii Species 0 description 18
FIGS. 1 and 2 are a section view of the apparatus of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a section view of the liner hanger setting subassembly of the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a section view of the hold down button and swab cup subassemblies of the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a section view of the liner packer setting subassembly and gauge ring shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 6 is a section view of a liner packer assembly which can be used with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a section view of a liner hanger assembly which can be used with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a section view of the landing assembly shown in FIG. 2;
FIGS. 9 and 10 are section views of a portion of the landing assembly, showing the hydraulic shut-off operation;
FIG. 11 is a two position section view of a portion of the liner hanger setting subassembly, showing the hydraulic release operation;
FIG. 12 is a section view of the landing assembly, showing hydraulic extension of the perforation elements and re-establishment of the main bore flow;
FIG. 13 is a section view of the landing assembly and the liner packer setting subassembly, showing mechanical extension of the perforation elements and initiation of cement flow;
FIG. 14 is a section view of the landing assembly and the liner packer setting subassembly, showing completion of cement flow;
FIGS. 15 and 16 are detailed section views of a portion of the liner packer setting subassembly, showing extension of the setting dogs;
FIGS. 17 and 18 are detailed section views of a portion of the landing assembly, showing seating of the pumpable plug and establishment of bypass flow of cement;
FIG. 19 is a section view of the liner packer setting subassembly, showing setting of the packer;
FIG. 20 is a two position section view of the liner hanger setting subassembly, showing emergency release of the setting assembly from the liner hanger;
FIG. 21 is a section view of one embodiment of a telescoping perforation element which can be used with the present invention, shown in the retracted condition; and
FIG. 22 is a section view of the perforation element of FIG. 21, shown in the extended condition.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus of the present invention includes a setting assembly 10 and a landing assembly 20. A liner L is suspended from the setting assembly 10 by a liner hanger, with a perforation assembly 500 and the landing assembly 20 attached at the bottom of the liner L. Instead of the perforation assembly 500, discussed in more detail below, another type of perforation tool, known in the art, can be used. The entire apparatus, including the liner L, is lowered through the casing C into the well bore.
The setting assembly 10 includes a liner hanger setting subassembly 100, a slip and button subassembly 200, a seal cup subassembly 300, and a liner packer setting subassembly 400. The landing assembly 20 includes a landing collar subassembly 600 and the float valve 700. The liner hanger and liner packer, as commonly known in the art, are shown only symbolically in FIG. 1, between the liner L and the casing C. This apparatus is designed to lower the liner L into the well bore through the casing C, hang the liner L from the casing C with the liner hanger, release the setting assembly 10 from the liner hanger, lower the setting assembly 10 into the landing assembly 20, pump cement into the annulus between the liner L and the formation, set the liner packer to seal the annulus between the liner L and the casing C, and withdraw the setting assembly from the well, all in one trip. Where a telescoping perforation assembly is used, the perforation elements are extended into contact with the formation before the cement is pumped. Otherwise, the cement layer is perforated by known methods after the cement sets.
As shown in FIG. 3, the liner hanger setting subassembly 100 includes a top connector 102 connected to a mandrel 104 with threads and one or more set screws. The mandrel 104 is in turn threadedly connected to a bottom connector 106. A cylindrical torque finger holder 108 is attached to the outer surface of the top connector 102 by one or more shear screws 110. The top end of the torque finger holder 108 has a serpentine profile as represented by the lower dashed line, and the outer surface of the top connector 102 has a similar profile, represented by the upper dashed line, designed to interlock with the serpentine profile on the top of the torque finger holder 108, to transfer torque in the clockwise direction. The profiles on the top end of the torque finger holder 108 and on the outer surface of the top connector 102 are designed not to transfer torque in the counter-clockwise direction, thereby allowing selective shearing of the shear screw 110 as will be discussed below.
A hollow cylindrical collet housing 112 is suspended below the top connector 102. The lower end of a cylindrical torque finger retainer 114 is attached to the inner surface of the collet housing 112 by splines and one or more set screws, and the upper end of the torque finger retainer 114 is bolted to the torque finger holder 108. A plurality of outwardly biased torque fingers 116 are positioned in slots in the torque finger retainer 114. The torque fingers 116 are biased outwardly into longitudinal slots in the inner surface of the liner hanger, as shown in FIG. 1. The torque fingers 116 and the aforementioned apparatus shearably connecting them to the top connector 102 are provided for the purpose of accomplishing an emergency release of the setting assembly 10 from the liner hanger, as will be described below. An outwardly biased collet 118 is attached to the collet mandrel 104, by means of a collet piston 120 which is attached to the mandrel 104 by one or more collet piston shear screws 122, and by means of one or more collet shear screws 124. Interconnecting structure between the collet 118, the collet piston 120, and the mandrel 104 is described in more detail below.
As shown in FIG. 4, the slip and button subassembly 200 includes a slip mandrel 202 which is threadedly attached to a bottom sub 204. A plurality of outwardly biased slips 210 are positioned around the outer surface of the slip and button subassembly 200, to provide longitudinal positioning of the setting assembly 10 relative to the liner L. Attached to the bottom sub 204 of the slip subassembly 200 is the upper end of a seal cup mandrel 302 of the seal cup subassembly 300. The lower end of the seal cup mandrel 302 is threadedly attached to a seal cup bottom sub 306. A plurality of seal cups 304 are positioned around the outer surface of the seal cup subassembly 300, to provide a pressure seal against fluid pressure below the seal cup subassembly 300, in the annulus between the setting assembly 300 and the liner L.
As shown in FIG. 5, the liner packer setting subassembly 400 includes a packer setter body 402, with a bottom sub 404 at its lower end. A cylindrical setting dog keeper 406 is shearably attached to the body 402 by one or more keeper shear screws 408. A setting dog keeper skirt 412 is formed at the lower end of the dog keeper 406, surrounding a plurality of packer setting dogs 414. The packer setting dogs 414 are outwardly biased by a plurality of dog springs 416, but they are held inwardly against the body 402 by the dog keeper skirt 412 when the dog keeper 406 is pinned in its lower position as shown. One or more packer setter ports 422 are provided through the wall of the body 402 from its inner bore to its outer surface, communicating fluid pressure to a chamber between the outer surface of the body 402 and the inner surface of the setting dog keeper 406. A gauge ring 418 is mounted on the body 402 below the packer setting dogs 414, and attached thereto with one or more shear screws. The outer diameter of the gauge ring 418 is only slightly smaller than the full inner diameter of the liner L. If the gauge ring 418 hangs up at any point in the process, the tool can be pulled free by shearing the shear screws.
A typical liner packer 800 is shown in FIG. 6, with a packer body 802, and a setting mandrel 804 which is attached to the packer body 802 with one or more shear screws 806. An expandable packer element 808 is provided around the outer surface of the packer 800. A liner support profile 810 is provided on the inner surface of the packer body 802. The collet 118 on the liner hanger setting subassembly 100 is outwardly biased into the liner support profile 810. This supports the liner L from the liner hanger setting subassembly 100 by creating an interference fit, with the collet 118 being forced firmly into the liner support profile 810 by the weight of the liner L and a reactive upward force of a tapered upper surface on the bottom connector 106 of the liner hanger setting subassembly 100.
As shown in FIG. 7, a typical liner hanger 900 is suspended below the packer 800, including a hanger body 902, a plurality of hanger slips 904, and one or more hanger setting ports 906, through the wall of the hanger body 902. As is commonly known in the art, this type of liner hanger is set by applying sufficient fluid pressure through the ports 906 to shift one or more sleeves on the hanger 900 to wedge the slips 904 outwardly and downwardly against the inner surface of a casing. After the hanger 900 is set, the weight of the liner L applies additional outward force against the slips 904, wedging them more tightly against the casing C.
As shown in FIG. 8, the landing collar subassembly 600 includes a landing collar body 602 which is attached below the telescoping perforation assembly 500, which is discussed in more detail below. A liner section having a slightly increased inner diameter is provided between the perforation assembly 500 and the landing collar subassembly 600. A stinger seat 604 is fixedly mounted to the inner bore of the landing collar body 602, with a stinger seating profile 606 on its inner surface. Below the stinger seat 604, a reduced diameter in the bore provides a dart seat 608. At least one upper bypass port 612 above the dart seat 608, and at least one lower bypass port 614 below the dart seat 608, are provided from the inner bore to the annulus within the landing collar body 602. A cylindrical indicating ring 610 is slidingly positioned to cover the upper bypass ports 612, and held in place by one or more shear screws.
As seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, a middle connector 616 essentially isolates the upper annulus within the landing collar body 602 from the lower annulus. A shifting mandrel 618 is slidingly positioned to contact the inner surface of the lower end of the middle connector 616 and to extend down through the main bore of the landing collar subassembly 600. Near the lower end of the shifting mandrel 618, one or more flow ports 620 are provided through the wall of the shifting mandrel 618. One or more orifices 622 are provided in fluid flow communication with the flow ports 620, to allow fluid to flow from the main bore, through the flow ports 620, through the orifices 622, and through a plurality of longitudinal flow channels 634 in the orifice housing 662, to exit the lower end of the landing collar subassembly 600. The orifice housing 662 is held in place in the landing collar body 602 by a lock ring 644.
The mandrel 618 is held in place in its lower position, shown in FIG. 9, by one or more balls 626 and a ball retainer 624, interacting with the piston 628. The ball 626 sits in a groove in the outer surface of the mandrel 618 and in a hole in the ball retainer 624. A shoulder on the top end of the piston 628 extends over the ball retainer 624 and holds the ball 626 down in the groove in the mandrel 618. The upper end of the ball retainer 624 is biased against the lower end of the spring housing 650, preventing the ball retainer 624, the ball 626, and the mandrel 618 from moving upwardly. As will be discussed further below, a shifting port 652 is provided through the mandrel 618, from the main bore to a chamber within the piston housing 648 above the piston 628.
The apparatus is assembled and lowered into the well bore, until the landing collar subassembly 600 and the perforation assembly 500 are at the desired depths. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the fluid flow rate through the apparatus is increased, until backpressure created by the orifices 622 exerts enough pressure through the shifting port 652 to shear the piston shear screw 630 and drive the piston 628 down against the seal sub 646. This allows the ball 626 to come out of the groove in the mandrel 618, releasing the mandrel 618. Bleeding off pressure then allows the mandrel spring 632 to drive the mandrel 618 upwardly, blocking off flow through the orifices 622. An increasing pressure alerts the operator that the mandrel 618 has shifted. Alternatively, a standard drop-in-ball type landing collar could be used, instead of the illustrated fluid actuated landing collar.
The portion of FIG. 11 above the centerline of the tool shows the tool in this weight-neutral condition. The collet 118 is still extending into the profile 810 in the liner, but the liner is not exerting weight on the collet 118, or on the bottom connector 106. Slack in movement of the collet 118 is absorbed by a collet spring 144 on a collet spring guide 142. It can be seen in this Figure that the upper end of the collet 118 engages a split ring 140 and a collet retainer 138. The upper end of the collet retainer 138 engages the lower end of the collet piston 120, by means of a snap ring 126 and a snap ring retainer 128. As mentioned before, the collet piston 120 is held in place up to this point by one or more shear screws 122, 124.
After the liner hanger is set and the collet 118 is weight-neutral, pressure is further increased through a mandrel port 134 until hydrostatic pressure between a piston seal 130 and a mandrel seal 132 is sufficient to shear the shear screws 122, 124. This drives the collet piston 120 upwardly, pulling with it the collet 118, until the collet 118 pulls out of the liner profile 810 and up within the collet housing 112, as shown in the portion of FIG. 11 below the tool centerline. This releases the liner from the liner hanger setting subassembly 100. A body lock ring 136 between the collet retainer 138 and the collet mandrel 104 holds the collet 118 in this position within the collet housing 112.
Then, fluid pressure is further increased until the bull plug shear screws 638 are sheared, releasing the bull plug 636 to drop down into the bull plug catcher 640, as shown in FIG. 12. This opens up flow through the main bore, through the main flow ports 654, and out through the float valve 700, by displacing the float valve ball 704 against the bias of the float valve spring 706 which tends to seat the ball 704 against the housing 702. In the condition shown in FIG. 12, flow out the float valve 700 passes into the annulus and back up around the liner L.
FIG. 21 shows one embodiment of such a telescoping perforation element 504 in the retracted position, while FIG. 22 shows the telescoping perforation element 504 in the extended position. The element 504 can have one, two, or more tubular extensions 510, 512, arranged in a telescoping fashion. The innermost end 506 of these extensions protrudes radially inwardly into the inner bore of the perforation assembly 500, with the outermost end 508 of the extensions oriented radially outwardly. The interior 514 of the innermost extension provides a flow path for fluids. As seen in FIG. 22, when the element 504 is fully extended, the outermost end 508 contacts the surface of the formation F. As also shown in FIG. 22, the interior 514 of the element 504 can be filled with a sand control medium 516, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,520. Further, the sand control medium 516 can be retained in place as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,520. Or, the sand control medium can be retained within the element 504 by screens placed generally at the inner surface 506 and the outer surface 508. The spaces between the sand control medium can be filled with a selectively removable blocking medium, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,520.
After flow is established through the float valve 700, the work string is picked up to make sure that the liner hanger setting subassembly 100 has released from the liner hanger. If it has not, the emergency release procedure is employed, as discussed below. If the hanger has released, the setting assembly 10 is lowered into the liner until the stinger or bottom sub 404 of the liner packer setting subassembly 400 is landed in the stinger seating profile 606 of the stinger seat 604 of the landing collar subassembly 600, as shown in FIG. 13. As the setting assembly 10 is lowered, the torque transfer fingers 116 deflect inwardly against their biasing elements, collapsing the torque fingers 116 to the OD of the setting assembly 10, thereby allowing the torque transfer fingers 116 to exit the longitudinal slots in the inner surface of the liner. During the lowering of the setting assembly 10, the gauge ring 418 will mechanically extend any of the telescoping perforators 504 that did not fully extend hydraulically. The increased diameter of the liner section between the perforation assembly 500 and the landing collar subassembly 600 prevents fluid pressure under the seal cups from interfering with the seating of the stinger.
The cement is then pumped into the work string, with a pumpable dart 656 in front of, or below, the cement. A second pumpable dart 658 can also be pumped behind, or above, the cement. When the lower dart 656 has landed in the dart seat 608, as shown in FIG. 13, pressure is increased to release the liner hanger setting dogs 414. As shown in more detail in FIG. 15, the setting dogs 414 are held in place by a top holding ring 420 and set screw 424. The setting dogs 414 are held inwardly, against the bias of the dog springs 416, by the skirt 412 on the lower end of the dog keeper 406. The dog keeper 406 is held in place by one or more shear screws 426. As shown in FIG. 16, as pressure increases between an upper o-ring 428 and a lower o-ring 430, through the packer setter port 422, the keeper shear screws 426 are sheared. This allows the dog keeper 406 to be forced upwardly by the hydrostatic pressure, until the keeper skirt 412 pulls away from the dogs 414, allowing the dog keeper springs 416 to push the dogs 414 outwardly. Since, at this point, the packer setting subassembly 400 is still within the liner L, the dogs 414 will move out against the inner surface of the liner L.
Pressure is then further increased to open the upper bypass port 612, as shown in more detail in FIGS. 17 and 18. That is, as pressure is increased on the upper bypass port 612, this pressure eventually shears the indicating ring shear screw 660, which releases the indicating ring 610 to be driven downwardly. This opens the upper dart bypass port 612 for cement flow, which passes through the annulus and back into the main bore through the lower bypass port 614, thereby bypassing the lower dart 656 and providing an indication for the operator that the dart has seated and the bypass flow of cement has been established. If the upper bypass port 612 does not open, the pressure is increased until a blow out plug in the lower dart 656 is ruptured. When the upper dart 658 has seated against the lower dart 656, this again blocks flow through the bypass ports 612, 614 or through the blow-out plug.
After completion of the cementing, the annulus surrounding the perforation assembly 500 is filled with cement, except for the flow paths provided by the telescoping perforation elements 504, where the telescoping element type of perforation assembly is used. When the cement back pressure is being held by the float valve, the setting assembly 10 is pulled upwardly, until the packer setting dogs 414 are above the upper end of the packer 800, and the dogs 414 are fully extended, as shown in FIG. 19. The setting assembly 10 is then set down on top of the liner, applying force to expand and set the packer 800, as is commonly known in the art. The tool is then pulled from the well bore. Where a telescoping element type of perforation assembly is not used, the perforation assembly is used to perforate the liner and the cement, as is known in the art, after the cement sets.
As mentioned above, if the collet 118 fails to release from the liner profile 810, the emergency release procedure is used. This is illustrated in FIG. 20, where the portion of the tool to the right of the centerline illustrates the emergency released position, and the portion to the left of the centerline illustrates the tool when the work string has been pulled upwardly to mechanically pull the collet 118 out of the liner profile 810. The torque fingers 116 ride in longitudinal slots in the liner. Rotating the work string counterclockwise shears the shear screw 110, allowing the top connector 102 to drop down relative to the liner, as shown in the right hand portion of FIG. 20. This moves the bottom connector 106 out of contact with the collet 118. At the same time, the mandrel 104 is moved downwardly relative to the collet 118, and the collet 118 is held in this new position on the mandrel 104 by the body lock ring 136, shown in FIG. 11. Then, the work string is pulled upwardly, pulling the collet 118 out of the liner profile 810, as shown in the left hand portion of FIG. 20. Thereafter, the setting assembly 10 is pulled from the well bore and the liner packer setting subassembly 400 is made up on the work string. The tool is then lowered to land the stinger in the landing collar subassembly 600, pump cement, and set the packer, as discussed above.
1. A method for installing a perforated liner in a well bore, and cementing the liner in place, in a single trip, said apparatus comprising:
US7316274B2 US7316274B2 (en) 2008-01-08
NO (1) NO340049B1 (en)
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2006-09-07 NO NO20064030A patent/NO340049B1/en unknown
GB2437084B (en) * 2006-04-14 2008-08-27 Schlumberger Holdings Integrated sand control completion system and method
US7316274B2 (en) 2008-01-08