Tubular actuation system and method

• US 10,119,365 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2015
• Issued: 11/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Baker Hughes Holdings LLC (Baker Hughes Company)
• Original Assignee: Baker Hughes, a GE Company, LLC (Baker Hughes Company)
• Inventors: Sanchez, James Scott, Harper, Jason M., King, James G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hutchins, Cathleen R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Runyan, Ronald R
• Application Number:
  US14/605,032
• Publication Number:
  US 20160215589A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,380 Days
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 2200/06 Sleeve valves
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 34/142 unsupported or free-falling elements, e.g. balls, plugs, darts or pistons

Abstract

A tubular actuation system includes a housing and an activatable sleeve including a first assembly having a first radially movable seat, a second assembly having a second radially movable seat, and an insert disposed between the first and second assemblies. The activatable sleeve is movable longitudinally from a first position to a second position, and from a second position to a third position within the housing.

Claims

1. A tubular actuation system comprising:

a housing having a radial port; and

an activatable sleeve including;

a first assembly having a first radially movable seat;

a second assembly having a second radially movable seat; and

an insert disposed between the first and second assemblies;

wherein the activatable sleeve is movable longitudinally from a first position with the first radially movable seat expanded into the housing and the second radially movable seat retracted within the housing to form a seat to a second position with the second radially movable seat expanded into the housing, and from the second position to a third position within the housing exposing the radial port, the first radially movable seat and the second radially movable seat are both retracted within the housing in the third positon, the insert isolating an interior of the tubular actuation system from the radial port until the sleeve is moved to the third position.

2. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein at least two activation devices are required to move the activatable sleeve from the first position to the third position.

3. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein the housing includes a first enlarged seat receiving section and a first restricted seat receiving section having an inner diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the first enlarged seat receiving section, and the first radially movable seat is movable from the first enlarged seat receiving section to the first restricted seat receiving section when the activatable sleeve is moved longitudinally.

4. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein the first radially movable seat has a first inner diameter in the first position of the sleeve, a second inner diameter in the second position of the sleeve, the second inner diameter smaller than the first inner diameter.

5. The tubular actuation system of claim 4, wherein the second radially movable seat has an inner diameter in the first position of the sleeve that is smaller than an inner diameter in the second position of the sleeve.

6. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein, in the first position of the sleeve, the first radially movable seat is expanded within the housing to allow a first activation device having a first outer diameter to pass thereby, and the second radially movable seat is radially compressed within the housing to seat the first activation device thereon.

7. The tubular actuation system of claim 6, wherein, in the second position of the sleeve, the first radially movable seat is radially compressed within the housing, and the second radially movable seat is expanded within the housing to allow the first activation device to pass thereby.

8. The tubular actuation system of claim 7, wherein, in the second position of the sleeve, the first radially movable seat is restricted within the housing to receive a second activation device thereon.

9. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein the first and second radially movable seats each include a seat support having a plurality of circumferential windows and a plurality of segmented dogs configured to retract within the windows when in a restricted section of the housing and at least partially extend through the windows when in an enlarged section of the housing.

10. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second radially movable seats includes a collet with radially expandable and compressible fingers.

11. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein a first shear apparatus is operatively disposed between the housing and the insert to prevent premature movement of the activatable sleeve from the first position to the second position.

12. The tubular actuation system of claim 11, further comprising a second shear apparatus operatively disposed between the housing and the insert to prevent premature movement of the activatable sleeve from the second position to the third position.

13. The tubular actuation system of claim 12, wherein the second shear apparatus is longitudinally movable with the insert from the first position to the second position, and blocked from longitudinal movement with the insert from the second position to the third position.

14. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein the first and second radially movable seats are alternately movable from a radially expanded position to a radially restricted position within the housing depending upon a longitudinal location of the sleeve with respect to the housing.

15. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein the first and second assemblies and the insert are longitudinally movable together in a downhole direction upon receipt of an activation device within either of the first seat or second seat and pressure build-up uphole of the activation device.

16. The tubular actuation system of claim 1, wherein the first position of the sleeve corresponds to a closed condition of the tubular actuation system where the port is blocked by a first portion of the sleeve, the port is blocked by a second portion of the sleeve in the second position, and the third position of the sleeve corresponds to an open condition of the tubular actuation system where the port is not blocked by the sleeve.

17. A downhole system comprising:

a string disposable within a borehole;

at least one tubular actuation system of claim 1 connected to the string; and

,

first and second activation devices;

wherein a first tubular actuation system amongst the at least one tubular actuation system is operable from the first position to the second position through deployment of the first activation device, and from the second position to the third position through deployment of the second activation device.

18. A method of actuating the tubular actuation system of claim 1, the method comprising:

dropping a first activation device into the sleeve in the first position within the housing of the tubular actuation system, the first activation device passing through the first radially movable seat of the sleeve expanded into the housing and landing the first activation device on the second radially movable seat of the sleeve restricted within the housing;

increasing pressure within the tubular actuation system uphole of the first activation device landed on the second radially movable seat;

moving the sleeve in a downhole direction with respect to the housing to the second position to restrict the first radially movable seat within the housing, and to expand the second radially movable seat into the housing to release the first activation device;

dropping a second activation device into the sleeve and landing the second activation device on the first radially movable seat restricted within the housing;

increasing pressure within the tubular actuation system uphole of the second activation device landed on the first radially movable seat; and

,

moving the sleeve in a downhole direction with respect to the housing to the third position.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the sleeve blocks the port in the first and second positions, and moving the sleeve to the third position includes moving the sleeve to unblock the port.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising engaging a first shear apparatus prior to moving the sleeve in a downhole direction from the first position to the second position.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising engaging a second shear apparatus prior to moving the sleeve in a downhole direction from the second position to the third position.

22. A method of treating a wellbore comprising:

dropping a first activation device into the tubular actuating system according to claim 1, landing the first activation device on the second seat, downhole of the first seat;

increasing pressure within the tubular actuation system uphole of the first activation device to move the sleeve in a downhole direction and release the first activation device from the second seat;

dropping a second activation device into the tubular actuation system, the second activation device landing on the first seat;

increasing pressure within the tubular actuation system uphole of the second activation device landed on the first seat to move the sleeve in a downhole direction and expose the port in the housing; and

,

treating the wellbore through the port of the tubular actuation system.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein treating the wellbore includes one or more of hydraulic fracturing, stimulation, tracer injection, cleaning, acidizing, steam injection, water flooding, and cementing.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the tubular actuation system is a first tubular actuation system and further comprising, prior to dropping the second activation device, treating the wellbore through a second tubular actuation system, downhole of the first tubular actuation system, the second tubular actuation system in receipt of the first activation device after releasing the first activation device from the second seat.