Undulating well bore
First Claim
1. A subterranean drainage pattern for accessing an area of a subterranean zone comprising at least one undulating well bore, the undulating well bore confined within a single layer of subterranean deposits and comprising:
- at least one inclining portion drilled through the subterranean zone at an inclination sloping toward an upper boundary of the single layer of subterranean deposits;
at least one declining portion drilled through the subterranean zone at a declination sloping toward a lower boundary of the single layer of subterranean deposits; and
at least one bending portion coupling the at least one inclining portion and the at least one declining portion to form a waveform;
wherein the drainage pattern comprises a plurality of waveforms varying over space in a substantially periodic manner.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a subterranean drainage pattern for accessing a subterranean zone includes at least one undulating well bore. The undulating well bore includes at least one inclining portion drilled through the subterranean zone at an inclination sloping toward an upper boundary of the single layer of subterranean deposits and at least one declining portion drilled through the subterranean zone at a declination sloping toward a lower boundary of the single layer of subterranean deposits. At least one bending portion couples the at least one inclining portion and the at least one declining portion to form a waveform.
266 Citations
24 Claims
-
1. A subterranean drainage pattern for accessing an area of a subterranean zone comprising at least one undulating well bore, the undulating well bore confined within a single layer of subterranean deposits and comprising:
-
at least one inclining portion drilled through the subterranean zone at an inclination sloping toward an upper boundary of the single layer of subterranean deposits;
at least one declining portion drilled through the subterranean zone at a declination sloping toward a lower boundary of the single layer of subterranean deposits; and
at least one bending portion coupling the at least one inclining portion and the at least one declining portion to form a waveform;
wherein the drainage pattern comprises a plurality of waveforms varying over space in a substantially periodic manner. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
an undulating main well bore extending from a surface well bore located at a first end of the layer to a second end of the layer;
a first plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a first side portion of the undulating main well bore to the periphery of the area; and
a second plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a second, opposite side portion of the undulating main well bore to the periphery of the area.
-
-
8. The subterranean drainage pattern of claim 7, wherein:
-
each of the first plurality of lateral well bores extend from a bending portion of the undulating main well bore; and
each of the second plurality of lateral well bores extend from a bending portion of the undulating main well bore.
-
-
9. The subterranean drainage pattern of claim 7, wherein the wavelength of a waveform is approximately twice the interval spacing between each lateral well bore on a side on the main well bore.
-
10. The subterranean drainage pattern of claim 7, wherein each lateral well bore comprises:
-
a radiused portion extending from a bending portion of the undulating main well bore, the radiused portion comprising a radius of curvature that is substantially equal to a radius of curvature of the bending portion of the undulating well bore; and
an elongated portion extending from the radiused portion to the periphery of the area.
-
-
11. The subterranean drainage pattern of claim 1, further comprising:
-
a main well bore extending from a surface well bore located at a first end of the area of the subterranean zone to a second end of the area;
a first plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a first side portion of the main well bore to the periphery of the area, the first plurality of lateral well bores comprising a plurality of undulating lateral well bores; and
a second plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a second side portion of the main well bore to the periphery of the area, the second plurality of lateral well bores comprising a plurality of undulating lateral well bores.
-
-
12. The subterranean drainage pattern of claim 1, further comprising:
-
an undulating main well bore extending from a surface well bore to define a first end of the layer to a second end of the layer;
a first plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a first side portion of the undulating main well bore to the periphery of the area, the first plurality of lateral well bores comprising a plurality of undulating lateral well bores; and
a second plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a second, opposite side portion of the undulating main well bore to the periphery of the area, the second plurality of lateral well bores comprising a plurality of undulating lateral well bores.
-
-
13. A method for accessing an area of a subterranean zone comprising at least one undulating well bore confined with a single layer of subterranean deposits, the method comprising:
-
drilling at least one inclining portion of a well bore through the subterranean zone at an inclination sloping toward an upper boundary of the single layer of subterranean deposits;
drilling at least one declining portion through the subterranean zone at a declination sloping toward a lower boundary of the single layer of subterranean deposits;
drilling at least one bending portion coupling the at least one inclining portion and the at least one declining portion; and
drilling a plurality of waveforms, each waveform comprising an inclining portion, a declining portion, and a bending portion, wherein the plurality of waveforms vary over space in a substantially periodic manner. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
drilling an undulating main well bore extending from a surface well bore located at a first end of the layer to a second end of the layer;
drilling a first plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a first side portion of the undulating main well bore to the periphery of the area; and
drilling a second plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a second, opposite side portion of the undulating main well bore to the periphery of the area.
-
-
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:
-
drilling each of the first plurality of lateral well bores extending from a bending portion of the undulating main well bore; and
drilling each of the second plurality of lateral well bores extending from a bending portion of the undulating main well bore.
-
-
21. The method of claim 19, further comprising drilling the lateral well bores such that the wavelength of the waveform is approximately twice the interval spacing between each lateral well bore on a side of the main well bore.
-
22. The method of claim 19, wherein drilling each lateral well bore comprises:
-
drilling a radiused portion extending from a bending portion of the undulating main well bore, the radiused portion comprising a radius of curvature that is substantially equal to a radius of curvature of the bending portion of the undulating well bore; and
drilling an elongated portion extending from the radiused portion to the periphery of the area.
-
-
23. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
-
drilling a main well bore extending from a surface well bore located at a first end of the layer to a second end of the layer;
drilling a first plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a first side portion of the main well bore to the periphery of the area, the first plurality of lateral well bores comprising a plurality of undulating lateral well bores; and
forming a second plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a second side portion of the main well bore to the periphery of the area, the second plurality of lateral well bores comprising a plurality of undulating lateral well bores.
-
-
24. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
-
drilling an undulating main well bore extending from a surface well bore to define a first end of the layer to a second end of the layer;
drilling a first plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a first side portion of the undulating main well bore to the periphery of the area, the first plurality of lateral well bores comprising a plurality of undulating lateral well bores; and
drilling a second plurality of lateral well bores extending in spaced apart relation to each other from a second side portion of the undulating main well bore to the periphery of the area, the second plurality of lateral well bores comprising a plurality of undulating lateral well bores.
-
Specification