Method and apparatus for subsurface fluid sampling
First Claim
1. A downhole tool useful for extracting fluid from a subsurface formation penetrated by a wellbore surrounded by a layer of contaminated fluid, the subsurface formation having virgin fluid therein beyond the layer of contaminated fluid, the downhole tool comprising:
- at least two packers carried by the downhole tool, the at least two packers capable of sealingly engaging the sidewall of the wellbore whereby an isolated portion of the wellbore therebetween is fluidly isolated from a remainder of the wellbore;
a plurality of intakes positioned along the downhole tool between the packers; and
at least one pump operatively connected to the plurality of intakes for selectively drawing fluid into one or more specific intakes of the plurality of intakes whereby the virgin fluid is collected in the downhole tool.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The apparatuses and methods herein relate to techniques for extracting fluid from a subsurface formation. A downhole sampling tool is provided with a probe having an internal wall capable of selectively diverting virgin fluids into virgin flow channels for sampling, while diverting contaminated fluids into contaminated flow channels to be discarded. The characteristics of the fluid passing through the channels of the probe may be measured. The data generated during sampling may be sent to a controller capable of generating data, communicating and/or sending command signals. The flow of fluid into the downhole tool may be selectively adjusted to optimize the flow of fluid into the channels by adjusting the internal wall within the probe and/or by adjusting the flow rates through the channels. The configuration of the internal wall and/or the flow rates may be automatically adjusted by the controller and/or manually manipulated to further optimize the fluid flow.
-
Citations
15 Claims
-
1. A downhole tool useful for extracting fluid from a subsurface formation penetrated by a wellbore surrounded by a layer of contaminated fluid, the subsurface formation having virgin fluid therein beyond the layer of contaminated fluid, the downhole tool comprising:
-
at least two packers carried by the downhole tool, the at least two packers capable of sealingly engaging the sidewall of the wellbore whereby an isolated portion of the wellbore therebetween is fluidly isolated from a remainder of the wellbore; a plurality of intakes positioned along the downhole tool between the packers; and at least one pump operatively connected to the plurality of intakes for selectively drawing fluid into one or more specific intakes of the plurality of intakes whereby the virgin fluid is collected in the downhole tool. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method of sampling virgin fluid from a subterranean formation penetrated by a wellbore surrounded by contaminated fluid, the subterranean formation having virgin fluid therein, the method comprising:
-
positioning a downhole tool in the wellbore adjacent the subterranean formation, the downhole tool having a pair of expandable packers with a plurality of intakes positioned along the downhole tool between the packers and adapted to draw fluid therein; isolating a portion of the wellbore using the expandable packers; establishing fluid communication between the plurality of intakes and the formation; and selectively drawing at least a portion of the virgin fluid through one or more specific intakes of the plurality of intakes and into the downhole tool. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
-
Specification