Sealer ball catcher and method of use thereof

• US 3,895,678 A
• Filed: 07/08/1974
• Issued: 07/22/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Billy C. Williams, Charles L. Wright
• Original Assignee: Billy C. Williams, Charles L. Wright
• Inventors: Wright, Charles L., Williams, Billy C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Novosad, Stephen J.
• Application Number:
  US05/486,288
• Time in Patent Office: 379 Days
• Field of Search: 166/284,296,35R,51,56,278,276,74,307,308,162-169,242,243,191,202
• US Class Current: 166/284
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/124 Units with longitudinally-spaced plugs for isolating the intermediate space
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 41/00 Equipment or details not covered by groups E21B15/00 - E21B40/00
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/261 Separate steps of (1) cementing, plugging or consolidating and (2) fracturing or attacking the formation

Abstract

A tool for use with perforation sealer balls utilizes a hollow outer mandrel, a perforated liner, and an elastomeric ball guide and casing seal to channel perforation balls from the casing into a hollow retention mandrel in the lower packer.

Claims

1. Oil well servicing apparatus for diverting perforation sealer balls into a collection area, said apparatus comprising:

upper mandrel means having a bore passage therethrough and flow port means through the wall thereof;

lower tubular mandrel means connected to the lower end of said upper mandrel means and having flow port means through the wall thereof;

perforated tubular liner means located concentrically in said upper and lower mandrel means with the upper end of said liner means being open and communicating with said upper mandrel flow port means, and the perforations in said liner means communicating with said lower mandrel port means; and

, annular seal means on said apparatus, located below said upper port means, and adapted to provide an annular seal between said apparatus and the oil well casing in which it is located, said seal means further adapted to channel sealer balls into said upper port means.

2. The well servicing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said perforated liner means further comprises an extended tubular member having a plurality of perforations through the wall thereof, said perforations being substantially smaller than perforation sealer balls used in the oil well being serviced, and said tubular member being a cylindrical tube having an inner diameter of less than twice the diameter of the perforation sealer balls with which it is used.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising annular seal means between said perforated liner means and said upper mandrel means, and annular attachment means between said perforated liner means and said lower mandrel means.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising releasable attachment means near the top of said upper mandrel means adapted to receive a latching tool on a workstring and to be engaged with and disengaged from the latching tool.

5. Oil well servicing apparatus for use with perforation sealing balls in treating oil wells having perforated casing, a tubing string within the casing, and a retrievable packer having a bore passage therethrough in communication with the tubing string, said apparatus comprising:

elongated tubular body means adapted to be interconnected in the tubing string above the packer;

means for diverting fluid and sealer balls into the inner bore passage of said body means;

means for separating fluid from sealer balls and returning the fluid to the external annulus area around said body means; and

, means for channeling the perforation sealer balls through the bore passage of a retrievable packer located below said apparatus.

6. A method of treating an oil producing formation through a wellbore penetrating the formation, said wellbore communicating with said formation by means of perforations in the well casing and cement, said method comprising:

isolating the formation by means of expandable packing means above and below said formation;

injecting treating fluid under pressure through a string of tubing and into the isolated formation;

simultaneously injecting sealer balls with said injected fluid, said balls sized to seal the perforations;

releasing the fluid pressure;

diverting the sealer balls into the inner bore of the tubing string; and

collecting the sealer balls in a chamber at the lower end of the tubing string.

7. A method of treating a plurality of oil producing formations in a single wellbore without pulling the workstring from the bore or reverse circulating perforation sealer balls out of the well, said method comprising:

lowering into the wellbore a workstring of tubing having a plurality of packers thereon;

placing the workstring so that the first formation to be treated is between two of the packers;

setting the packers in the casing thereby sealing the workstring in the casing above and below the formation to be treated;

injecting treating fluid into the formation through perforations in the casing;

simultaneously injecting sealer balls into the treating fluid and down the workstring into the casing perforations;

holding fluid pressure on the formation until the treatment is completed;

releasing fluid pressure on the formation;

diverting the sealer balls through the packer below the formation being treated;

retaining the sealer balls in a hollow receptacle in the workstring;

unsetting the packers;

moving the workstring in the wellbore to isolate another formation to be treated; and

repeating the above steps for each formation in the wellbore to be treated.

8. Apparatus for use in a tubing string for treating a multi-formation wellbore having a plurality of producing formations communicating with the wellbore through perforations in the casing, said apparatus comprising:

upper packer means on the tubing string for sealing the annulus between the tubing string and the casing;

lower packer means on the tubing string and located a spaced distance below said upper packer means;

diverting means on the tubing string between said upper and lower packer means for diverting fluid flow into the tubing string inner bore;

separating means in the tubing string for separating solid particles from the fluid flow and returning fluid to the annulus; and

hollow retaining means in the tubing string for receiving and retaining solid particles in the fluid.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said diverting means comprises resilient cup means on the tubing string arranged to engage the casing wall;

and, upper port means through the wall of the tubing string immediately above said cup means.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said separating means comprises perforated inner liner means sealingly engaged in the tubing string immediately below said upper port means;

and, lower port means through the tubing wall below said cup means communicating said liner means with the casing inner annulus.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said lower packer means contains an inner bore passage passing therethrough, and said retaining means comprises a hollow retainer mandrel attached to said lower packer means, said retainer mandrel having a bore passage closed off at its lower end, and communicating with said lower packer means inner bore passage at its upper end.