Drone conveyance system and method

• US 10,605,037 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2019
• Issued: 03/31/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DynaEnergetics Europe GmbH (DMC Global, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DynaEnergetics Europe GmbH (DMC Global, Inc.)
• Inventors: Eitschberger, Christian, McNelis, Liam, Scharf, Thilo, Zemla, Andreas Robert, Silverman, Shmuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Gay, Jennifer H
• Application Number:
  US16/423,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20190368301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 308 Days
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 23/08 Introducing or running tools by fluid pressure, e.g. through-the-flow-line tool systems
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 23/14 for displacing a cable or a cable-operated tool, e.g. for logging or perforating operations in deviated wells
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/068 having provision for introducing objects or fluids into, or removing objects from, wells cementing-heads E21B33/05

Abstract

A drone conveyance system for deploying drones into an oil or gas wellbore is described. The system includes a platform, a drone magazine, a platform receiver, a conveyance, and a wellhead receiver. A drone magazine contains a plurality of the drones and selectively releases/feeds the drones into the platform receiver. More than one drone magazine, each containing different drone types, may supply drones to the platform receiver such that different drones may be ordered for disposal into the wellbore. The platform receiver prepared the drones to be moved from the platform to the wellhead by the conveyance. The wellhead receiver accepts the drones from the conveyance and prepares each received drone for dropping into the wellbore via the wellhead.

Claims

1. A method for delivery of a drone into a wellbore, the method comprising:

attaching a drone magazine containing the drone to a drone conveyance, the drone conveyance including a conveyance entrance and a conveyance exit;

moving the drone from the drone magazine into the drone conveyance through the conveyance entrance;

transporting the drone from adjacent the conveyance entrance to adjacent the conveyance exit, wherein the conveyance exit is adjacent a wellhead receiver;

receiving the drone into the wellhead receiver, wherein the wellhead receiver is adjacent the conveyance exit and is connected to the wellhead;

closing a wellhead receiver valve disposed between the conveyance exit and the wellhead receiver after the receiving the drone into the wellhead receiver;

adapting a set of conditions in the wellhead receiver to a set of wellbore conditions;

opening a launcher valve disposed between the wellhead receiver and the wellhead after the adapting the set of conditions in the wellhead receiver to the set of wellbore conditions; and

dropping the drone into the wellbore.

2. The drone delivery method of claim 1, wherein the drone conveyance comprises an elongate chamber extending from the conveyance entrance to the conveyance exit, the elongate chamber being sized to fit the drone, the method further comprising:

sealing the elongate chamber of the drone conveyance; and

establishing a set of conditions in the elongate chamber different from a set of conditions outside the elongate chamber, the set of conditions in the elongate chamber configured for the transporting the drone from adjacent the conveyance entrance to adjacent the conveyance exit.

3. The drone delivery method of claim 2, further wherein the set of conditions in the elongate chamber comprise a pressurized fluid.

4. The drone delivery method of claim 1, wherein the drone is one of a plurality of drones, wherein the moving comprises:

selecting one drone of the plurality of drones from the magazine to be moved.

5. The drone delivery method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of drones comprise a first group of drones occupying a first section of the magazine and a second group of drones occupying a second section of the magazine wherein the selecting comprises:

determining which of either the first group of drones or the second group of drones will be selected.

6. The drone delivery method of claim 1, further comprising:

attaching an additional drone magazine to the drone conveyance.

7. The drone delivery method of claim 1, further comprising:

testing the drone.

8. The drone delivery method of claim 7, wherein, if the drone is rejected based on the testing, the method further comprises:

preventing the rejected drone from being moved into the drone conveyance, the wellbore receiver or into the wellbore.

9. The drone delivery method of claim 1, further comprising:

attaching a drop ball magazine containing one or more drop balls to the drone conveyance;

moving the one or more drop balls from the drop ball magazine into the drone conveyance; and

dropping the one or more drop balls into the wellbore.

10. The drone delivery method of claim 1, further wherein the drone is selected from the group comprising a perforation gun, a puncher gun, a logging tool, a jet cutter, a plug, a frac plug, a bridge plug, a setting tool, a self-setting bridge plug, a self-setting frac plug, a mapping tool, a positioning tool, an orientating tool, a bailer tool, a dump bailer tool and a ballistic tool.