Method and apparatus for cementing drill strings in place for one pass drilling and completion of oil and gas wells

• US 7,048,050 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2003
• Issued: 05/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Weatherford/Lamb Incorporated (Weatherford International PLC)
• Original Assignee: Weatherford/Lamb Incorporated (Weatherford International PLC)
• Inventors: Chitwood, James E., Vail, William Banning III
• Primary Examiner(s): TSAY, FRANK
• Application Number:
  US10/678,731
• Publication Number:
  US 20040112646A1
• Time in Patent Office: 964 Days
• Field of Search: 175/257, 175/318, 175/171, 175/202, 166/250.01, 166/250.15, 166/65.1, 166/66.7
• US Class Current: 166/250.01
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 17/206 with conductors, e.g. electrical, optical
• 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 23/001 Self-propelling systems or apparatus, e.g. for moving tools within the horizontal portion of a borehole
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/1243 with inflatable sleeves
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/126 with fluid-pressure-operated elastic cup or skirt E21B33/122, E21B33/124 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/14 for cementing casings into boreholes
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/16 using plugs for isolating cement charge; Plugs therefor stage cementing E21B33/146; spacer compositions C09K8/424
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 4/04 Electric drives E21B4/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 4/18 Anchoring or feeding in the borehole
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/103 of expandable casings, screens, liners, or the like
• 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: E21B 7/20 Driving or forcing casings or pipes into boreholes, e.g. sinking; Simultaneously drilling and casing boreholes

Abstract

The steel drill string attached to a drilling bit during typical rotary drilling operations used to drill oil and gas wells is used for a second purpose as the casing that is cemented in place during typical oil and gas well completions. Methods of operation are described that provide for the efficient installation a cemented steel cased well wherein the drill string and the drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass down into the earth. The normal mud passages or watercourses present in the rotary drill bit are used for the second independent purpose of passing cement into the annulus between the casing and the well while cementing the drill string into place during one single pass into the earth. A one-way cement valve is installed near the drill bit of the drill string that allows the cement to set up efficiently under ambiently hydrostatic conditions while the drill string and drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass into the earth.

Claims

1. An apparatus for drilling a wellbore comprising:

a drill string having a casing portion for lining the wellbore;

a drilling assembly operatively connected to the drill string and having an earth removal member, a portion of the drilling assembly being selectively removable from the wellbore without removing the casing portion; and

a one-way cement valve disposed within the casing portion.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the earth removal member is connected to a lower end of the casing portion.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the earth removal member is a boring element.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the earth removal member is operatively connected to the casing portion.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the portion of the drilling assembly being selectively removable from the wellbore is the earth removal member.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the earth removal member is a drill bit.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the earth removal member is operatively connected to the drill string while the one-way cement valve is disposed within the casing portion.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the entire earth removal member which is used to drill the wellbore is removable from the wellbore without removing the casing portion.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an extended outer diameter of the earth removal member is at least as large as an outer diameter of the casing portion.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the earth removal member is attached to a section of the casing portion having a maximum sustained outer diameter that is no larger than a maximum outer diameter of the entire casing portion.

11. A method for lining a wellbore with a tubular comprising:

drilling the wellbore using a drill string, the drill string having a casing portion;

locating the casing portion within the wellbore;

placing a physically alterable bonding material in an annulus formed between the casing portion and the wellbore;

establishing a hydrostatic pressure condition in the wellbore by substantially displacing the physically alterable bonding material from an interior of the tubular; and

allowing the bonding material to physically alter under the hydrostatic pressure condition.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein placing the physically alterable bonding material in the annulus comprises flowing the material through an earth removal member connected to the drill string.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising circulating drilling fluid through the earth removal member while locating the casing portion within the wellbore.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the bonding material is allowed to physically alter by reducing fluid pressure within the drill string.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising stabilizing the drill string while drilling the wellbore.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising maintaining the casing portion in a substantially centralized position in relation to a diameter of the wellbore after locating the casing portion within the wellbore.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the physically alterable bonding material is cement.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein drilling the wellbore using the drill string comprises drilling with an earth removal member operatively connected to the drill string.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the earth removal member is connected to the casing portion.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the earth removal member is connected to a lower end of the casing portion.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the hydrostatic pressure condition is maintained by use of a one-way valve member.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein drilling the wellbore using the drill string is accomplished by an earth removal member, the earth removal member being operatively connected to the drill string and capable of drilling the entire, complete swept bore for the casing portion.

23. An apparatus for drilling a wellbore comprising:

a drill string having a casing portion for lining the wellbore; and

a drilling assembly operatively connected to the drill string and having an earth removal member and a geophysical parameter sensing member.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein a porosity of an earth formation is measured by the geophysical parameter sensing member.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein electrical resistivity is measured by the geophysical parameter sensing member.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the geophysical parameter sensing member is disposed within the drill string.

27. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the earth removal member is connected to a lower end of the drill string.

28. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the geophysical parameter sensing member comprises a measuring-while-drilling tool.

29. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the geophysical parameter sensing member comprises a logging-while-drilling tool.

30. A method for drilling and lining a wellbore comprising:

drilling the wellbore using a drill string, the drill string having an earth removal member operatively connected thereto and a casing portion for lining the wellbore;

selectively causing a drilling trajectory to change during the drilling; and

lining the wellbore with the casing portion.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein drilling the wellbore using a drill string comprises lowering the drill string into an earth formation.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein drilling the wellbore using a drill string further comprises rotating the earth removal member while lowering.

33. The method of claim 30, further comprising stabilizing the drill string while drilling the wellbore using the drill string to maintain drilling trajectory.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the earth removal member is connected to a tower end of the drill string.

35. A method for drilling and lining a wellbore comprising:

drilling the wellbore using a drill string, the drill string having an earth removal member operatively connected thereto and a casing portion for lining the wellbore;

stabilizing the drill string while drilling the wellbore;

locating the casing portion within the wellbore;

maintaining the casing portion in a substantially centralized position in relation to a diameter of the wellbore;

placing a physically alterable bonding material in an annulus between the diameter of the wellbore and the casing portion; and

allowing the physically alterable bonding material to physically alter under an established hydrostatic pressure condition, the hydrostatic pressure condition established by substantially displacing the physically alterable bonding material from an interior of the casing portion.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein stabilizing the drill string while drilling creates an annulus between the casing portion and the diameter of the wellbore which is substantially uniform in width circumferentially.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein stabilizing the drill string comprises stabilizing the casing portion while drilling the wellbore.

38. An apparatus for drilling a wellbore comprising:

a drill string having a casing portion for lining the wellbore;

a drilling assembly selectively connected to the drill string and having an earth removal member; and

a one-way cement valve located within the casing portion.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the earth removal member is connected to a lower end of the drill string.

40. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the earth removal member is a boring element.

41. An apparatus for drilling a wellbore comprising:

a drill having a casing portion for lining the wellbore; and

a drilling assembly operatively connected to the drill string and having an earth removal member, a portion of the drilling assembly being selectively removable from the wellbore without removing the casing portion,

wherein the one-way cement valve is disposed near the earth removal member.

42. A method for drilling and lining a wellbore comprising:

drilling the wellbore using a drill string, the drill string having an earth removal member operatively connected thereto and a casing portion for lining the wellbore;

selectively causing a drilling trajectory to change during the drilling;

lining the wellbore with the casing portion; and

sensing a geophysical parameter while drilling the wellbore using the drill string.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the geophysical parameter is the drilling trajectory.

44. A method for drilling and lining a wellbore comprising:

drilling the wellbore using a drill string, the drill string having an earth removal member operatively connected thereto and a casing portion for lining the wellbore;

selectively causing a drilling trajectory to change during the drilling; and

lining the wellbore with the casing portion, wherein the earth removal member is a jet deflection bit.

45. A method for drilling and lining a wellbore comprising:

drilling the wellbore using a drill string, the drill string having an earth removal member operatively connected thereto and a casing portion for lining the wellbore;

selectively causing a drilling trajectory to change during the drilling; and

lining the wellbore with the casing portion, wherein selectively causing the drilling trajectory to change is accomplished by measuring while drilling.

46. A method for drilling and lining a wellbore comprising:

drilling the wellbore using a drill string, the drill string having an earth removal member operatively connected thereto and a casing portion for lining the wellbore;

selectively causing a drilling trajectory to change during the drilling; and

lining the wellbore with the casing portion, wherein selectively causing the drilling trajectory to change is accomplished by logging while drilling.

47. An apparatus for drilling a wellbore comprising:

a drill string having a casing portion for lining the wellbore;

a drilling assembly selectively connected to the drill string and having an earth removal member; and

a one-way cement valve located within the casing portion, wherein the one-way cement valve is disposed near the earth removal member.