Apparatus and methods for flow control gravel pack
First Claim
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1. A wellbore completion, comprising:
- a first gravel pack section and a second gravel pack section, each gravel pack section being adapted to produce fluid therethrough and disposed within a well, the gravel pack sections capable of imposing a predetermined substantially radial flow restriction upon fluid production flowing substantially radially through the gravel pack section;
wherein the first gravel pack section imposes a substantially radial flow restriction that is different at a heel end of a horizontal wellbore from a substantially radial flow restriction at a toe end of the horizontal wellbore imposed by the second gravel pack section.
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Abstract
A wellbore completion includes a plurality of longitudinal gravel pack sections disposed within a well, the gravel pack sections being capable of imposing a predetermined substantially radial flow restriction upon fluid production flowing radially through the gravel pack section. At least one of the gravel pack sections creates a radial flow restriction that is different from the radial flow restriction of at least one other gravel pack section. The gravel pack sections may comprise graded gravel material having an effective permeability within a predetermined range when placed in the well.
136 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A wellbore completion, comprising:
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a first gravel pack section and a second gravel pack section, each gravel pack section being adapted to produce fluid therethrough and disposed within a well, the gravel pack sections capable of imposing a predetermined substantially radial flow restriction upon fluid production flowing substantially radially through the gravel pack section;
wherein the first gravel pack section imposes a substantially radial flow restriction that is different at a heel end of a horizontal wellbore from a substantially radial flow restriction at a toe end of the horizontal wellbore imposed by the second gravel pack section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A wellbore completion, comprising:
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a first gravel pack section and a second gravel pack section, each gravel pack section being adapted to produce fluid therethrough and disposed within a well, the gravel pack sections capable of imposing a predetermined substantially radial flow restriction upon fluid production flowing substantially radially through the gravel pack section;
wherein the first gravel pack section imposes a substantially radial flow restriction that is different from a substantially radial flow restriction imposed by the second gravel pack section, wherein the gravel pack sections impose a greater pressure drop at a heel end of a horizontal wellbore.
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10. A wellbore completion, comprising:
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a first gravel pack section and a second gravel pack section, each gravel pack section being adapted to produce thud therethrough and disposed within a well, the first gravel pack section having a different gravel density than the second gravel pack section; and
wherein the first gravel pack section creates a substantially radial flow restriction upon fluid production that is different from the substantially radial flow restriction upon fluid production of the second gravel pack section along a generally horizontal well length. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for controlling production drainage rates within a wellbore completion, comprising:
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placing a gravel pack within a well, the gravel pack comprising a first longitudinal gravel pack section and a second longitudinal gravel pack section, each of the gravel pack sections being adapted to produce fluid therethrough and being capable of imposing different flow restrictions upon fluid production flowing substantially radially through the gravel pack sections; and
varying the density of a gravel pack longitudinally within a horizontal well. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A method for restricting production drainage rates within a wellbore completion, comprising:
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placing a gravel pack within a wellbore, the gravel pack comprising a first gravel pack section and a second gravel pack section, each of the gravel pack sections being adapted to produce fluid therethrough and having different gravel densities; and
varying a substantially radial flow restriction upon fluid production along the wellbore length within a generally horizontal well. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A method for restricting production drainage rates within a horizontal wellbore completion, comprising:
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providing a sand screen having a plurality of flow restricting sections capable of imposing flow restrictions upon fluid flowing radially through the sand screen sections within the wellbore, wherein the flow restricting sections comprise one or more from the following group;
sand packed sections within the screens, wire mesh within the screens, tortuous path elements within the screens and hole within a base pipe;
placing the sand screen within the wellbore, the sand screen defining an annulus area between the sand screen and the wellbore; and
placing a gravel pack within the sand screen/wellbore annulus,wherein the gravel pack comprises a first gravel pack section and a second gravel pack Section being capable of production and being capable of imposing different flow restrictions at a heel end and at a toe end of a horizontal wellbore upon production fluid flowing radially through the gravel pack sections.
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20. A method for completing a wellbore, comprising:
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developing a simulation completion model for the well that provides a desired flow restriction per well length to provide substantially equal drainage rates within the well productive zone length; and
providing a completion system comprising a sand screen and a gravel pack, the system having generally the desired flow restriction per well length as determined by the simulation completion model. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification