Wellbore primary barrier and related systems

• US 6,209,636 B1
• Filed: 03/07/1999
• Issued: 04/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Weatherford Technology Holdings, LLC (Weatherford International PLC)
• Original Assignee: Weatherford/Lamb Incorporated (Weatherford International PLC)
• Inventors: Blizzard, William A. Jr., Enerstvedt, Eirik, Langford, Dale E., Drechsler, Jan, Salversen, Tom, Unsgaard, Tom, Carter, Thurman B., Roberts, John D.
• Primary Examiner(s): NEUDER, WILLIAM P
• Application Number:
  US09/264,546
• Time in Patent Office: 758 Days
• Field of Search: 166/387, 166/187, 166/117.5, 166/117.6, 166/386, 166/382
• US Class Current: 166/117.6
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/006 providing a cutting edge which is self-renewable during drilling
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/04 with core destroying means
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/08 Roller bits E21B10/26 takes precedence; roller core bits E21B10/06; characterised by wear resisting parts E21B10/50
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/46 characterised by wear resisting parts, e.g. diamond inserts
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/50 the bit being of roller type
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/60 characterised by conduits or nozzles for drilling fluids for roller bits E21B10/18; for percussion drill bits E21B10/38
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/62 characterised by parts, e.g. cutting elements, which are detachable or adjustable E21B10/64 takes precedence; for roller bits E21B10/20; for augers E21B10/44
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 12/04 Drill bit protectors
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 17/041 specially adapted for coiled tubing
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 17/1092 Gauge section of drill bits
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 21/10 Valve arrangements in drilling-fluid circulation systems
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 23/00 Apparatus for displacing, setting, locking, releasing or removing tools, packers or the like in boreholes or wells setting of casings, screens or liners E21B43/10
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 23/01 for anchoring the tools or the like E21B23/02 - E21B23/06 take precedence; anchoring of drives in the borehole E21B4/18
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 23/02 for locking the tools or the like in landing nipples or in recesses between adjacent sections of tubing E21B23/03 - E21B23/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 23/042 using a single piston or multiple mechanically interconnected pistons
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 23/06 for setting packers
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 29/06 Cutting windows, e.g. directional window cutters for whipstock operations E21B29/005 and E21B29/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/127 with inflatable sleeve E21B33/122, E21B33/124 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/1275 inflated by down-hole pumping means operated by a down-hole drive
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 34/10 operated by control fluid supplied from outside the borehole
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 34/101 : with means for equalizing fluid pressure above and below the valve
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 41/0035 : Apparatus or methods for multilateral well technology, e.g. for the completion of or workover on wells with one or more lateral branches
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 44/005 : Below-ground automatic control systems
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/095 : by detecting an acoustic anomalies, e.g. using mud-pressure pulses
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 49/06 : using side-wall drilling tools pressing or scrapers
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/061 : the tool shaft advancing relative to a guide, e.g. a curved tube or a whipstock
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/10 : Correction of deflected boreholes

Abstract

A new wellbore apparatus has been invented which, in certain aspects, has anchor apparatus for anchoring the wellbore apparatus in a bore, the anchor apparatus actuated by fluid under pressure supplied thereto, and sealing apparatus selectively inflatable to close off the bore to fluid flow therethrough, and temperature compensating apparatus for maintaining a desired fluid pressure in the sealing apparatus to prevent it from bursting or deflating. A method for closing off a bore in a well has been invented which, in certain aspects, includes installing wellbore apparatus in the bore, the wellbore apparatus comprising anchor apparatus for anchoring the wellbore apparatus in a bore, the anchor apparatus actuated by fluid under pressure supplied thereto, and sealing apparatus interconnected with the anchor apparatus and selectively inflatable with fluid under pressure to close off the bore to fluid flow therethrough, and the wellbore apparatus upon anchoring in the bore and inflation of the sealing apparatus including a primary barrier in the bore.

Claims

1. A wellbore apparatus comprising

anchor apparatus for anchoring the wellbore apparatus in a bore, the anchor apparatus actuated by fluid under pressure supplied thereto,

sealing apparatus selectively inflatable to close off the bore to fluid flow therethrough, and

whipstock apparatus connected to the anchor apparatus.

2. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 wherein the anchor apparatus is connected to and in fluid communication with a tubular string for lowering the wellbore apparatus down into the bore and the fluid under pressure for actuating the anchor apparatus and the sealing apparatus is supplied through the tubular string.

3. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 wherein the anchor apparatus is releasably connected to the sealing apparatus.

4. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 further comprising orienting apparatus for orienting the anchor apparatus to a desired orientation within the bore.

5. The wellbore apparatus of claim 4 wherein the orienting apparatus includes a measurement while drilling device.

6. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 wherein the anchor apparatus is connected to coiled tubing for lowering the wellbore apparatus down into the bore.

7. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sealing apparatus is an inflatable sealing packer.

8. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 further comprising

orienting apparatus for orienting the whipstock to a desired orientation within the bore.

9. The wellbore apparatus of claim 8 wherein the orienting apparatus includes measurement while drilling apparatus.

10. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 wherein the whipstock apparatus is retrievable from within the bore.

11. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 wherein the whipstock apparatus is hollow and filled with drillable or millable filler material.

12. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 wherein the whipstock, anchor apparatus and sealing apparatus are configured and sized for through-tubing wellbore operations.

13. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 further comprising

temperature compensating apparatus for maintaining a desired fluid pressure in the anchor apparatus.

14. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 further comprising temperature compensating apparatus for maintaining a desired fluid pressure in the sealing apparatus.

15. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 further comprising wellbore milling apparatus selectively releasably connected to the whipstock apparatus.

16. The wellbore apparatus of claim 15 wherein the wellbore milling apparatus, whipstock apparatus, anchor apparatus and sealing apparatus are configured and sized for through-tubing wellbore operations.

17. The wellbore apparatus of claim 15 wherein the wellbore milling apparatus is from the group consisting of:

a starter mill;

a window mill;

a combination of a plurality of at least two mills;

at least one watermelon mill; and

a milling-drilling apparatus.

18. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 wherein the whipstock apparatus has a channel therethrough and valve apparatus for controlling fluid flow through the channel.

19. The wellbore apparatus of claim 1 wherein the anchor apparatus and sealing apparatus can be selectively deactivated for retrieval from the bore.

54. The multi-bore wellbore system of claim 12 wherein the primary barrier is selectively deactivatable and retrievable.

20. A wellbore apparatus comprising

anchor apparatus for anchoring the wellbore apparatus in a bore, the anchor apparatus actuated by fluid under pressure supplied thereto, and

sealing apparatus selectively inflatable to close off the bore to fluid flow therethrough,

orienting apparatus for orienting the anchor apparatus to a desired orientation within the bore, and

wherein the orienting apparatus includes a measurement while drilling device.

21. A wellbore apparatus comprising

anchor apparatus for selectively anchoring in a bore the anchor apparatus actuatable by fluid under pressure,

temperature compensation apparatus for maintaining fluid under pressure in the sealing apparatus at a desired pressure, and

wherein the temperature compensating apparatus comprises a cylinder in which is displaceably positioned a reciprocatingly slidable piston which is movable in response to fluid pressure variations and which has a cavity in fluid communication with a cavity of said cylinder, the piston having a first piston surface which is influenced by the fluid pressure inside the sealing apparatus, and a second piston surface facing a direction opposite the first piston surface which second piston surface is influenced by fluid pressure in the bore, the two piston surfaces having mutually different areas, the temperature compensator arranged to regulate, on the basis of said difference in piston surface area, internal fluid pressure in the sealing apparatus in relating to ambient fluid pressure effective downstream of the sealing apparatus and thus constituting a reference pressure for the internal pressure of the sealing apparatus.

22. The wellbore apparatus of claim 21 further comprising a mill guide connected to the anchor apparatus.

23. The wellbore apparatus of claim 22 further comprising mill apparatus selectively releasably connected to the mill guide.

24. A wellbore apparatus comprising

anchor apparatus for anchoring the wellbore apparatus in a bore, the anchor apparatus actuated by fluid under pressure supplied thereto,

sealing apparatus selectively inflatable to close off the bore to fluid flow therethrough,

temperature compensating apparatus for maintaining a desired fluid pressure in the sealing apparatus, and

orienting apparatus for orienting the anchor apparatus to a desired orientation within the bore, wherein the orienting apparatus includes a measurement while drilling device.

25. A wellbore apparatus comprising

anchor apparatus for anchoring the wellbore apparatus in a bore, the anchor apparatus actuated by fluid under pressure supplied thereto,

sealing apparatus selectively inflatable to close off the bore to fluid flow therethrough,

temperature compensating apparatus for maintaining a desired fluid pressure in the sealing apparatus, and

whipstock apparatus connected to the anchor apparatus.

26. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 further comprising orienting apparatus for orienting the whipstock to a desired orientation within the bore.

27. The wellbore apparatus of claim 26 wherein the orienting apparatus includes measurement while drilling apparatus.

28. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the whipstock apparatus is retrievable from within the bore.

29. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the whipstock apparatus is hollow and filled with drillable or millable filler material.

30. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the whipstock, anchor apparatus and sealing apparatus are configured and sized for through-tubing wellbore operations.

31. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 further comprising

temperature compensating apparatus for maintaining a desired fluid pressure in the anchor apparatus.

32. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the temperature compensating apparatus comprises a cylinder in which is displaceably positioned a reciprocatingly slidable piston which is movable in response to fluid pressure variations and which has a cavity in fluid communication with a cavity of said cylinder, the piston having a first piston surface which is influenced by the fluid pressure inside the sealing apparatus, and a second piston surface facing a direction opposite the first piston surface which second piston surface is influenced by fluid pressure in the bore, the two piston surfaces having mutually different areas, the temperature compensator arranged to regulate, on the basis of said difference in piston surface area, internal fluid pressure in the sealing apparatus in relating to ambient fluid pressure effective downstream of the sealing apparatus and thus constituting a reference pressure for the internal pressure of the sealing apparatus.

33. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 further comprising

wellbore milling apparatus selectively releasably connected to the whipstock apparatus.

34. The wellbore apparatus of claim 33 wherein the wellbore milling apparatus, whipstock apparatus, anchor apparatus and sealing apparatus are configured and sized for through-tubing wellbore operations.

35. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the anchor apparatus is effective to anchor the wellbore apparatus, and the sealing apparatus is effective to seal the bore to create a primary barrier in the bore.

36. The wellbore apparatus of claim 33 wherein the wellbore milling apparatus is from the group consisting of:

a starter mill;

a window mill;

a combination of a plurality of at least two mills;

at least one watermelon mill; and

a milling-drilling apparatus.

37. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the whipstock apparatus has a channel therethrough and valve apparatus for controlling fluid flow through the channel.

38. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the anchor apparatus and sealing apparatus can be selectively deactivated for retrieval from the bore.

39. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the anchor apparatus is connected to and in fluid communication with a tubular string for lowering the wellbore apparatus down into the bore and the fluid under pressure for actuating the anchor apparatus and the sealing apparatus is supplied through the tubular string.

40. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 further comprising

a pump in fluid communication with and interconnected with the anchor apparatus for pumping fluid under pressure to the anchor apparatus to actuate the anchor apparatus and to the sealing apparatus to inflate the sealing apparatus.

41. The wellbore apparatus of claim 40 further comprising

a wellbore wireline connected to the pump for lowering the wellbore apparatus down into the bore.

42. The wellbore apparatus of claim 40 wherein the pump is selectively releasably connected to the anchor apparatus.

43. The wellbore apparatus of claim 40 wherein the pump carries a charge of fluid for pumping under pressure to supply the fluid under pressure.

44. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the fluid under pressure is hydraulic fluid.

45. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the anchor apparatus is releasably connected to the sealing apparatus.

46. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the anchor apparatus has a plurality of selectively extendable members movable in response to the fluid under pressure to anchor the anchor apparatus in the bore.

47. The wellbore apparatus of claim 46 wherein the plurality of selectively extendable members are movable to concentrically anchor the anchor apparatus centered within the bore.

48. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the bore is a wellbore.

49. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the bore is a bore within a tubular in a wellbore.

50. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the anchor apparatus is connected to coiled tubing for lowering the wellbore apparatus down into the bore.

51. The wellbore apparatus of claim 25 wherein the sealing apparatus is an inflatable sealing packer.

52. A multi-bore wellbore system comprising

a main wellbore cased with casing,

at least one lined lateral wellbore extending from and in fluid communication with the main wellbore,

at least one of the casing of the main wellbore and the at least one lined lateral wellbore closed off by a primary barrier comprising a wellbore apparatus comprising anchor apparatus for anchoring the wellbore apparatus in a bore, the anchor apparatus actuated by fluid under pressure supplied thereto, and sealing apparatus selectively inflatable to close off the bore to fluid flow therethrough, temperature compensating apparatus for maintaining a desired fluid pressure in the anchor apparatus and in the sealing apparatus, and whipstock apparatus connected to the anchor apparatus, and

wherein the temperature compensating apparatus comprises a cylinder in which is displaceably positioned a reciprocatingly slidable piston which is movable in response to fluid pressure variations and which has a cavity in fluid communication with a cavity of said cylinder, the piston having a first piston surface which is influenced by the fluid pressure inside the sealing apparatus, and a second piston surface facing a direction opposite the first piston surface which second piston surface is influenced by fluid pressure in the bore, the two piston surfaces having mutually different areas, the temperature compensator arranged to regulate, on the basis of said difference in piston surface area, internal fluid pressure in the sealing apparatus in relating to ambient fluid pressure effective downstream of the sealing apparatus and thus constituting a reference pressure for the internal pressure of the sealing apparatus.

53. The multi-bore wellbore system of claim 52 wherein tubing is above and in fluid communication with the casing of the main wellbore and the primary barrier is configured and sized for passage through the tubing into the main wellbore, the tubing smaller in diameter than diameter of the main wellbore.