Well system

• US 6,296,066 B1
• Filed: 05/20/1998
• Issued: 10/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services Incorporated (Halliburton Company)
• Original Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services Incorporated (Halliburton Company)
• Inventors: Terry, James B., Wilson, Thomas Platt
• Primary Examiner(s): Will, Thomas B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, JONG SUK
• Application Number:
  US09/081,961
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 175/73, 175/92, 175/99, 175/320, 166/242.2, 138/103, 138/108, 138/125, 138/130, 138/132, 138/133, 138/144, 138/153, 138/174
• US Class Current: 175/92
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 17/028 Electrical or electro-magnetic connections
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 17/03 between drilling rod or pipe and drill motor or surface drive, e.g. between drilling rod and hammer
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 17/206 with conductors, e.g. electrical, optical
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 19/07 Slip-type elevators
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 19/086 with a fluid-actuated cylinder E21B19/084, E21B19/087, E21B19/09 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 19/161 using a wrench or a spinner adapted to engage a circular section of pipe E21B19/168 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 23/001 Self-propelling systems or apparatus, e.g. for moving tools within the horizontal portion of a borehole
• 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 4/18 Anchoring or feeding in the borehole
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/01 Devices for supporting measuring instruments on drill bits, pipes, rods or wirelines; Protecting measuring instruments in boreholes against heat, shock, pressure or the like
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 49/08 Obtaining fluid samples or testing fluids, in boreholes or wells
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/068 drilled by a down-hole drilling motor down-hole drives per se E21B4/00, E21B7/067 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/30 operating with electromagnetic waves

Abstract

A drilling system includes a work string supporting a bottom hole assembly. The work string including lengths of pipe having a non-metallic portion. The work string preferably includes a composite umbilical having a fluid impermeable liner, multiple load carrying layers, and a wear layer. Multiple electrical conductors and data transmission conductors are embedded in the load carrying layers for carrying current or transmitting data between the bottom hole assembly and the surface. The bottom hole assembly includes a bit, a gamma ray and inclinometer instrument package, a propulsion system with resistivity antenna and steerable assembly, an electronics section, a transmission, and a power section for rotating the bit. The electrical conductors in the composite umbilical provide power to the electronics section and may provide power to the power section. The data transmission conduits in the composite umbilical transmit the data from the downhole sensors to the surface where the data is processed. The propulsion system includes two or more traction modules connected by rams disposed in cylinders for walking the bottom hole assembly up and down the borehole. The propulsion system includes a steerable assembly, controlled from the surface, for changing the trajectory of the borehole.

Claims

1. A system for conveying a well apparatus in a well, comprising:

a composite umbilical having a conductor disposed in a wall of said composite umbilical;

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite umbilical; and

said composite umbilical including a tube which is non-isotropic and which carries axial loads placed on said composite umbilical.

2. A system for conveying a well apparatus in a well from the surface, comprising:

a composite umbilical having a flowbore and forming an annulus in the well to circulate fluids through the flowbore and annulus;

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite umbilical and powered by the circulating fluids; and

said composite umbilical including a tube having a modulus of elasticity which is not the same in all axes.

3. The system of claim 2 further including another propulsion system in tandem with said propulsion system.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein said composite umbilical has a central axis and includes a woven or braided conductor disposed in a wall of said composite umbilical and extending around said central axis.

5. The system of claim 2 further including a release adjacent an end of said composite umbilical.

6. The system of claim 2 wherein said propulsion system includes a sensor measuring drilling parameters, said measurements being transmitted real time to a control at the surface, said control processing said measurements and transmitting instructions to said propulsion system.

7. The system of claim 2 wherein said propulsion system includes a control which determines the movement of the well apparatus.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said control communicates with the surface.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein said control is closed loop.

10. The system of claim 2 wherein said composite umbilical includes a plurality of lengths of a composite pipe, each length including an inner liner, a plurality of load carrying layers around said liner, at least one electrical conductor and at least one data transmission conductor extending through a wall of each said length;

at least one end connector disposed on ends of adjacent lengths and receiving one end of said liners, load carrying layers, electrical conductor and data transmission conductor; and

said end connector having conductor connectors for connecting said electrical conductors and said data transmission conductors and having seals to seal said flowbore through said composite umbilical.

11. The system of claim 2 further including a control at the surface receiving and sending signals downhole to and from said propulsion system and the well apparatus via a conductor in a wall of said composite umbilical.

12. The system of claim 2 further including:

a control at the surface controlling the drilling of the well;

said composite umbilical having a data transmission conduit coupled to said control;

the well apparatus including a drill bit coupled to said propulsion system for drilling a borehole in the well;

a steerable assembly coupled to said propulsion system and said data transmission conduit;

an orientation assembly coupled to said propulsion system and sending signals through said data transmission conduit to said control;

said steerable assembly and propulsion system receiving signals from said control;

said steerable assembly adapted to move said drill bit three dimensionally within the borehole in response to said signals received by said steerable assembly; and

said propulsion system adapted to move said drill bit upstream or downstream within the borehole in response to said signals received by said propulsion system.

13. The system of claim 12 further including a magnetometer and an inclinometer which provide representative signals of the borehole'"'"'s radial orientation and inclination for transmission to said control.

14. The system of claim 2 wherein said composite umbilical includes load carrying layers.

15. The system of claim 14 further including a conductor embedded in said load carrying layers, said conductor being embedded linearly, wound spirally or braided among said layers.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein said conductor conducts two-way communications with the surface.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said conductor is multi-plexed to conduct two-way communication through a single conductor.

18. A system for conveying a well apparatus in a well, comprising:

a composite umbilical having a conductor disposed in a wall of said composite umbilical;

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite umbilical; and

said composite umbilical including a tube having a modulus of elasticity which is not linear and having a yield strain which allows said tube to withstand loads placed on said composite umbilical.

19. A system for conveying a well apparatus in a well, comprising:

a composite umbilical;

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite umbilical; and

one or more sensors being housed within a wall of said composite umbilical.

20. A system for conveying a well apparatus in a well, comprising:

a composite umbilical for supplying fluids downhole in the well;

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite umbilical;

said composite umbilical including a tube engineered to cause said composite umbilical to achieve substantially neutral buoyancy in the fluids in the well;

said tube having a modulus of elasticity which is not the same in all axes.

21. A system for conveying a well apparatus in a well, comprising:

a composite umbilical for supplying fluids downhole in the well;

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite umbilical;

said composite umbilical being engineered to cause said composite umbilical to achieve substantially neutral buoyancy in the fluids in the well;

one or more sensors being housed within a wall of said composite umbilical.

22. A system for conveying a well apparatus in a well from the surface, comprising:

a composite umbilical having a flowbore and forming an annulus in the well to circulate fluids through the flowbore and annulus;

said composite umbilical having an energy conductor disposed in a wall of said composite umbilical;

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite umbilical;

said composite umbilical including a tube having a modulus of elasticity which is not the same in all axes;

said propulsion system being powered by the circulating fluids and being a part of a bottom hole assembly; and

said energy conductor supplying power to said bottom hole assembly.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly includes a power assembly powered by the circulating fluids and includes a three dimensional steerable assembly.

24. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly further includes an integral counter rotation mechanism.

25. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly further includes a resistivity tool.

26. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly further includes a gamma ray and inclinometer assembly.

27. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly further includes an NMR magnetic resonance imaging tool.

28. The system of claim 22 further including a transmission disposed downstream of a downhole motor.

29. The system of claim 22 further including a gamma ray and inclinometer instrument assembly.

30. The system of claim 22 further including a resistivity tool.

31. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly includes a logging while drilling sensor.

32. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly includes a magnetometer and at least one sensor detecting dynamic inclination and azimuth of said well apparatus.

33. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly includes a power assembly controlled from the surface.

34. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly further includes sensors measuring data relating to parameters and characteristics of the well, said data being transmitted to the surface through a data conductor.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein said sensors measure data selected from the group consisting of operating pressures, operating temperatures, annulus pressures, formation pressures, fluid identification, geomagnetic, seismic, sonic, magnetic resonance, gyroscopic surveying, inclination, azimuth, porosity, and density.

36. The system of claim 22 wherein said bottom hole assembly includes a formation measuring tool.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein said formation measuring tool includes an electronics package and instrumentation package collecting data on drilling measurements, logging, and geological steering.

38. The system of claim 37 further including a control at the surface receiving said data on measurement, logging and geological steering, and processing said data to identify formation properties immediately surrounding said bottom hole assembly.

39. The system of claim 22 further including a control circuit at the surface communicating with said bottom hole assembly and sending commands to said bottom hole assembly.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein said control circuit receives downhole information, analyzes said information and sends commands to said bottom hole assembly to direct downhole operations.

41. The system of claim 40 wherein said downhole information is selected from the group consisting of inclination, azimuth, gyroscopic survey data, resistivity, temperatures, pressures, flow rates, gamma ray measurements, fluid identification, formation samples, magnetic resonance (MRI), sonic, neutron density, formation pressure, shock and vibration of the well apparatus, weight on bit, torque on bit, rate of penetration, revolutions per minute, and differential pressures.

42. The system of claim 22 further including a control circuit exchanging signals with a steerable assembly and a prime mover.

43. A system for use in a well from the surface, comprising:

a composite tube having fibers in a predetermined orientation bonded in a matrix;

said composite tube having a modulus of elasticity which is not the same in all axes and which withstands axial loads;

said composite tube including a liner and a plurality of conductors disposed between said liner and said fibers; and

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite tube and conveying a well apparatus, one of said conductors supplying power to said well apparatus.

44. The system of claim 43 wherein said well apparatus is selected from the group consisting of an electric motor, turbine, vane, positive displacement drilling motor, a sensor to measure three dimensional position in space, a member for displacing formation, an acoustic or mechanical caliper log, a whipstock, a casing mill, and a casing exit system.

45. The system of claim 43 wherein said well apparatus is a production tool selected from the group consisting of a downhole pump, an open hole packer, a cased hole packer, a sand screen, a pressure control downhole valve, a perforated liner, and a perforating gun.

46. The system of claim 43 wherein said well apparatus is a workover tool.

47. The system of claim 43 wherein said well apparatus is a formation treatment tool selected from the group consisting of a casing scraper, a jet cleaning tool, a well treatment fluid assembly, and a zonal treatment fluid assembly.

48. The system of claim 43 wherein said well apparatus is a well intervention tool, a well stimulation tool, a density tool, a perforating tool, a mill or a logging tool.

49. The system of claim 43 for use in a cased well wherein said well apparatus is a cutting member to cut a window in the cased well to allow said system to exit the cased well.

50. A system for conveying a well apparatus through a wellbore having wellbore fluids, comprising:

a composite umbilical having a conductor disposed in a wall of said composite umbilical;

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite umbilical; and

said composite umbilical having a density substantially the same as that of the wellbore fluids and a tube having a modulus of elasticity which is,not the same in all axes.

51. The system of claim 50 wherein said density of said composite umbilical is a specific gravity in the range of 0.99 to 2.9 grams per cubic centimeter.

52. The system of claim 50 wherein said tube is specifically engineered to be substantially buoyant in the wellbore.

53. The system of claim 50 wherein said conductor is disposed between layers of fibers making up said tube.

54. The system of claim 50 wherein said conductor is wound at a predetermined angle in said composite umbilical.

55. The system of claim 50 wherein said tube is constructed of layers of wound fibers.

56. The system of claim 55 wherein said fibers are oriented in different directions.

57. The system of claim 55 wherein said fibers are engineered to provide a modulus of elasticity in an axial direction and yield stress which produces a spoolable composite umbilical.

58. A system for conveying a well apparatus, comprising:

a composite tube made of oriented layers of fibers in a matrix and including a liner and a plurality of conductors disposed between said liner and said fiber layers;

said composite tube having a yield strain which allows said composite tube sufficient bending to be spooled onto a spool;

said composite tube having a modulus of elasticity which is not the same in all axes; and

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite tube adapted for attachment to the well apparatus.

59. The system of claim 58 wherein said yield strain is at least 0.01818.

60. The system of claim 58 wherein said composite tube has a modulus of elasticity in an axial direction and a yield stress, said yield strain being a ratio of said yield stress to said modulus of elasticity.

61. The system of claim 60 wherein said modulus of elasticity in the axial direction is in the range of 0.5 to 5.0 million psi.

62. The system of claim 60 wherein said modulus of elasticity in an axial direction is determined by dividing the yield strain into the yield stress required for said composite tube to be engineered for a particular well.

63. The system of claim 60 wherein said modulus of elasticity in an axial direction is at least 1.43 million psi.

64. The system of claim 60 wherein said yield stress is at least 26,000 psi.

65. A system for conveying a well apparatus through a wellbore having wellbore fluids, comprising:

a composite tube made of oriented layers of fibers in a matrix and including a liner and a plurality of conductors disposed between said liner and said fiber layers;

said composite tube having a conductor disposed in a wall of said composite tube and having a modulus of elasticity which is not the same in all axes;

said composite tube having a yield strain, modulus of elasticity in an axial direction, and a yield stress, said modulus of elasticity in the axial direction being determined by dividing the yield strain into the yield stress required for said composite tube to be spoolable; and

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite tube.

66. The system of claim 65 wherein said composite tube has a density substantially the same as that of the wellbore fluids.

67. The system of claim 65 wherein said propulsion system is powered by the circulating fluids.

68. A system for drilling a wellbore using drilling fluids having a specific gravity between 8.4 and 12.5 pounds per gallon, comprising:

a composite umbilical having a conductor disposed in a wall of said composite umbilical and a tube having a modulus of elasticity which is not the same in all axes;

said composite umbilical having a density substantially the same as that of the drilling fluids; and

a propulsion system attached downhole to said composite umbilical applying a pull force on said composite umbilical between zero and 14,000 pounds depending upon the specific gravity of the drilling fluids.

69. The system of claim 68 wherein said propulsion system is powered by the circulating drilling fluids.