Method and apparatus to selectively reduce wellbore pressure during pumping operations
First Claim
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1. A service tool for use in a well, comprising:
- a tubular having a central passageway therethrough;
a crossover through which fluid flowing down the central passageway can exit the central passageway and enter a lower annulus below a packer and fluid flowing up the central passageway can exit the central passageway and enter an upper annulus above the packer;
a valve having a housing mounted to the tubular, the valve being positioned to allow or block fluid flow from the lower annulus into the central passageway through an opening in a wall of the tubular, in which the valve further comprises a piston sealingly and moveably mounted within the housing; and
a responsive member mounted in a wall of the housing, wherein the responsive member must be transitioned from a closed position to an open position to enable fluid flow through the wall for actuation of the valve.
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Abstract
A downhole tool has at least one diverter valve. The diverter valves are used to reduce pressure in a wellbore caused by frictional resistance to fluid flow during a gravel pack operation. The increased pressure tends to be created as the beta wave of a gravel pack operation makes its way up the wellbore.
54 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A service tool for use in a well, comprising:
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a tubular having a central passageway therethrough; a crossover through which fluid flowing down the central passageway can exit the central passageway and enter a lower annulus below a packer and fluid flowing up the central passageway can exit the central passageway and enter an upper annulus above the packer; a valve having a housing mounted to the tubular, the valve being positioned to allow or block fluid flow from the lower annulus into the central passageway through an opening in a wall of the tubular, in which the valve further comprises a piston sealingly and moveably mounted within the housing; and a responsive member mounted in a wall of the housing, wherein the responsive member must be transitioned from a closed position to an open position to enable fluid flow through the wall for actuation of the valve. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for use in a well, comprising:
a service tool for gravel packing a wellbore region, the service tool being formed as a tubing surrounded by a screen, the tubing having an opening and a valve positioned in the opening radially beneath the screen, the valve being a one-way valve comprising; an upper housing having a port therethrough; a lower housing joined to the upper housing, the lower housing having a responsive member therein; a piston sealingly and moveably mounted within the upper and lower housings to form a chamber, the piston having a piston head extending into the chamber and sealingly dividing the chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, the responsive member being adjacent to the upper chamber;
and in which the piston allows or prevents fluid communication through the port.- View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method to reduce wellbore pressure during pumping operations, comprising:
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a) providing a service tool having a tubing to which diverter valves can be mounted, the tubing being radially surrounded by an outer screen; b) computing the optimal location for each diverter valve along the service tool based on specific characteristics of the well in which the service tool is to be deployed; c) spacing the diverter valves along the service tool'"'"'s length according to the computed optimal locations; d) locating the diverter valves radially beneath the outer screen; e) setting each diverter valve to actuate independently from the other diverter valves to an open state when the wellbore pressure reaches a predetermined threshold unique to each diverter valve; f) placing the service tool in the wellbore;
andg) performing pumping operations. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification