Drilling tool, apparatus and method for underreaming and simultaneously monitoring and controlling wellbore diameter

• US 8,511,404 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2010
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Smart Reamer Drilling Systems Ltd
• Original Assignee: Wajid Rasheed
• Inventors: Rasheed, Wajid
• Primary Examiner(s): Neuder, William P
• Assistant Examiner(s): WALLACE, KIPP CHARLES
• Application Number:
  US12/966,195
• Publication Number:
  US 20120037422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 981 Days
• Field of Search: 175/385, 175/384, 175/390, 175/391, 175/334, 175/342, 175/263, 175264-292
• US Class Current: 175/384
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 2300/00 Combinations or mixtures of active ingredients covered by classes A01N27/00 - A01N65/48 with other active or formulation relevant ingredients, e.g. specific carrier materials or surfactants, covered by classes A01N25/00 - A01N65/48
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 37/20 containing the group , wherein Cn means a carbon skeleton not containing a ring; Thio analogues thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 37/22 the nitrogen atom being directly attached to an aromatic ring system, e.g. anilides
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 37/26 containing the group; Thio analogues thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 43/10 with sulfur as the ring hetero atom
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 43/12 condensed with a carbocyclic ring
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 43/20 three- or four-membered rings
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 43/40 six-membered rings
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 43/78 1,3-Thiazoles; Hydrogenated 1,3-thiazoles
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 43/80 five-membered rings with one nitrogen atom and either one oxygen atom or one sulfur atom in positions 1,2
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 43/82 five-membered rings with three ring hetero atoms
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 47/12 containing a —O—CO—N< group, or a thio analogue thereof, neither directly attached to a ring nor the nitrogen atom being a member of a heterocyclic ring
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 47/16 the nitrogen atom being part of a heterocyclic ring
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 47/38 containing the group >N—CO—N< where at least one nitrogen atom is part of a heterocyclic ring; Thio analogues thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 57/14 containing aromatic radicals
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 21/54 Razor-blades B26B21/4006 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/32 with expansible cutting tools
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/124 Units with longitudinally-spaced plugs for isolating the intermediate space
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 44/00 Automatic control systems specially adapted for drilling operations, i.e. self-operating systems which function to carry out or modify a drilling operation without intervention of a human operator, e.g. computer-controlled drilling systems; Systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/013 Devices specially adapted for supporting measuring instruments on drill bits
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/08 : Measuring diameters or related dimensions at the borehole
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/085 : using radiant means, e.g. acoustic, radioactive or electromagnetic
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/09 : Locating or determining the position of objects in boreholes or wells , e.g. the position of an extending arm; Identifying the free or blocked portions of pipes
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/095 : by detecting an acoustic anomalies, e.g. using mud-pressure pulses
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/12 : Means for transmitting measuring-signals or control signals from the well to the surface, or from the surface to the well, e.g. for logging while drilling
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 49/00 : Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/28 : Enlarging drilled holes, e.g. by counterboring

Abstract

The Smart Reamer® Tool, Apparatus or Method is used to underream an oil or natural gas well while interlinked calipers and calibration sensors simultaneously record data relating to the geometry of the drilling operation (well diameter, diameter of the underreamed zone) and drilling fluid properties (density). Further sensors provide data on the relative position of the cutting and stabilizing blocks. Other sensors measure vibration data. All the sensors are interlinked by means of microprocessors which compare and correlate said data to automatically verify and deliver a desired wellbore diameter without the need to unnecessarily stop drilling or trip out of the hole.

Claims

1. A wellbore underreaming tool for use in oil and natural gas drilling arranged for attachment to a rotary drill-bit and associated drill-pipe to enlarge the wellbore to a diameter greater than a pass-through diameter of a wellbore restriction, the underreaming tool comprising:

at least one radially extendable cutter block to form the enlarged wellbore diameter;

at least one caliper to determine the wellbore diameter;

a position sensor to sense a relative position of the cutter block to a tool body;

at least one calibration sensor to measure and detect changes in fluid properties, the at least one calibration sensor sensing fluid properties from one of a group comprising flow, rpm, weight, and hydraulic force; and

at least one processor inter-connecting the at least one caliper and the at least one calibration sensor, said processor providing verification and control of a desired wellbore diameter by comparing simultaneous measurements from the caliper measuring wellbore diameter and from the position sensor for sensing the relative position of the extendable cutter block to the tool body, and compensating the measurements using said calibration sensor.

2. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

at least one extendable stabilizer block to stabilize the underreaming tool during expansion.

3. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 1, in which the processor is adapted to receive and send information to a transponder housed within a caliper tool body from the caliper and the at least one calibration sensor to determine underreamed wellbore diameter and control extension of said block in response to caliper data to achieve a desired wellbore diameter.

4. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 1, in which the processor receives and sends information to a transponder housed within the tool body from said caliper and the at least one calibration sensor as well as from the position sensor to control the extension of said block in response to obtained data from the caliper or the position sensor to achieve said desired wellbore diameter.

5. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 1, in which the at least one calibration sensor includes a transmitter and a receiver located at two fixed points, facing each other and embedded within open longitudinal channels in a caliper tool body to permit the measurement of the fluid properties.

6. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

the at least one calibration sensor measures fluid properties selected from the group consisting of;

drilling fluid density, drilling fluid sound transit time during drilling operations, drilling fluid sound transit time during non-drilling operations, and wellbore fluid sound transit time.

7. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a plurality of sets of expansion elements integrated within independent tool modules, the first module comprising a first said set of cutter blocks that adapt their expansion to the actual borehole diameter, and the second module comprises a second set of stabilizer blocks that stabilize the tool against a wellbore wall during expansion.

8. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of sets of expansion elements integrated within independent modules, the first module comprising a first said set of cutter blocks that adapt their expansion to the actual borehole diameter, and the second module comprises a second set of cutter blocks extended in response to feedback from caliper to deliver said wellbore diameter and reduce drilling downtime.

9. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the extendable cutter block is placed within an open chamber in the tool body and is composed of high strength cutting elements arranged externally and receiving drilling fluid from a source of drilling fluid to an external nozzle placed adjacent to said cutting elements.

10. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a telemetry device for communicating data from the caliper for measuring the wellbore diameter, and the position sensor measuring the position of the at least one extendable cutter block, and control signals between the underreaming tool and a control area provided at surface to permit an operator to optimize drilling performance in real-time.

11. The underreaming tool of claim 1, further comprising:

a calibration channel and a mechanism to determine in-situ properties of wellbore fluids using a transducer and the at least one processor to measure said wellbore fluid properties between two fixed points facing each other and located within said calibration channel.

12. The underreaming tool of claim 11, wherein said wellbore fluid is drilling mud and the sensed in-situ property is drilling mud density.

13. The underreaming tool of claim 12, wherein said mechanism is an acoustic caliper and the sensed in-situ property is sound transit time.

14. The underreaming tool of claim 13, wherein said acoustic caliper includes a mud-pulser.

15. The underreaming tool of claim 12, wherein said calibration channel is within a junk slot area, and the transducer is located in the junk slot area.

16. The underreaming tool of claim 1, wherein the underreaming tool outputs the desired wellbore diameter, and wherein the desired wellbore diameter is selected from the group consisting of:

cementing thickness, casing tolerance, a well section isolated from the formation, and a well isolated from the surface to a subsurface reservoir.

17. The underreaming tool of claim 1, wherein the underreaming tool outputs a desired wellbore diameter, and wherein the desired wellbore diameter is selected from the group consisting of:

expandable tubular expansion, expandable tubular cementing thickness, expandable casing tolerance for an expandable tubular, a well section isolated from the formation, and a well isolated from the surface to a substitute reservoir.

18. The underreaming tool of claim 10, further comprising:

at least one pressure signal generated during underreaming.

19. The underreaming tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drill-bit is replaceable by a bullnose, and wherein said enlarged wellbore diameter is greater than the pass-through diameter.

20. A method of real-time underreaming below a restriction in a well, comprising:

providing a drill-bit and an extendable tool to underream and increase a diameter of a borehole greater than a diameter of the drill-bit after passing through the restriction, said tool being activated to extend extendable blocks on the extendable tool to underream a diameter greater than that of the restriction and the drill-bit;

rotating said extendable tool and moving it axially along said borehole;

sensing a relative position of the extendable blocks to a body of the extendable tool using a position sensor;

measuring a borehole diameter using a caliper;

sensing a fluid property from one of a group comprising flow, rpm, weight, density, sound transit time and hydraulic force using at least one calibration sensor;

calibrating said measurements using a sensed fluid property from the at least one calibration sensor; and

using a processor, providing verification and control of a desired wellbore diameter by comparing and correlating data received from said caliper and from the position sensor to deliver the desired wellbore diameter.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the cutter blocks position is compared and correlated with the measured underreamed wellbore diameter to achieve said desired wellbore diameter and reduce drilling downtime.

22. The method of claim 21, comprising using data received from the relative position of the extendable cutter blocks, from the caliper for measuring the underreamed wellbore diameter, and from the fluid properties sensor to a surface control area to transmit, data to a further location to achieve the desired wellbore diameter and reduce drilling time.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the cutter block is activated using hydraulic force or fluid flow.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the cutter block is lockable using hydraulic force or fluid flow.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

at least one said cutter block movable within a tool body.

26. An underreaming apparatus comprising:

extendable blocks;

wellbore diameter measurement calipers to determine a wellbore diameter, the wellbore diameter measurement calipers incorporating fluid properties calibration sensors to calibrate said calipers, said extendable blocks and calipers housed in separate tool bodies connected to each other, the fluid properties calibration sensors sensing fluid properties from one of a group comprising flow, rpm, density, sound transit time, weight, and hydraulic force, the wellbore diameter measurement calipers using said fluid properties calibration sensors and at least one telemetry system located at longitudinally separated positions each connected to a tool body;

a position sensor to sense a relative position of the extendable block to a tool body;

a first housing to underream the wellbore;

a second housing to stabilize the underreaming tool within the walls of the wellbore during expansion;

a third housing to measure wellbore diameter;

a fourth housing to transmit data; and

at least one processor inter-connecting the wellbore diameter measurement calipers and the fluid properties calibration sensors, said processor providing verification and control of a desired wellbore diameter by comparing simultaneous measurements from the wellbore diameter measurement calipers and from the position sensor, and compensating the measurements using said fluid properties calibration sensors.

27. The underreaming apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising:

the extendable blocks and the wellbore diameter measurement calipers incorporating data from the fluid properties calibration sensors to calibrate the caliper with at least two expansion housings configured with the extendable cutter blocks, the wellbore diameter measurement calipers incorporating said fluid properties calibration and the at least one said telemetry system located at longitudinally separated positions.

28. A method of closed loop underreaming to provide a wellbore of a predetermined diameter, comprising:

a drilling rig in contact with a downhole processor, the downhole processor measuring an underreamed wellbore diameter using an acoustic caliper;

sensing a relative position of the extendable blocks to a body of the extendable tool using a position sensor;

sensing a fluid property from one of a group comprising flow, rpm, density, sound transit time, weight, and hydraulic force using at least one calibration sensor;

calibrating said acoustic caliper using a sensed fluid property from the at least one calibration sensor;

using a processor, providing verification and control of the predetermined diameter by comparing and correlating data received from said acoustic caliper and from the position sensor to deliver the predetermined diameter; and

comparing measured underreamed wellbore diameter with one or more of;

calibration data, fluid properties, flow rate, underreamer cutter block position, weight and revolutions per minute to verify underreaming and delivery a desired wellbore diameter.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein a chamber is pressure compensated to the wellbore.

30. The method of claim 28 wherein a chamber is hydraulically sealed.

31. A method of closed loop underreaming to provide wellbore of a predetermined diameter, comprising:

providing a drilling rig in contact with a downhole processor, the downhole processor measuring underreamed wellbore diameter using an acoustic caliper;

sensing a relative position of the extendable blocks to a body of the extendable tool using a position sensor;

sensing a fluid property from one of a group comprising flow, rpm, density, sound transit time, weight, and hydraulic force using at least one calibration sensor;

calibrating said acoustic caliper using a sensed fluid property from the at least one calibration sensor;

using a processor, providing verification and control of the predetermined diameter by comparing and correlating data received from said acoustic caliper and from the position sensor to deliver the predetermined diameter; and

comparing a measured underreamed wellbore diameter with one or more of;

acoustic calibration data, fluid properties, flow rate, underreamer cutter block position, weight and revolutions per minute to verify underreaming and delivery of the predetermined diameter.

32. A method of real time reaming, comprising:

providing a drill-bit and an extendable tool to ream a borehole;

passing through a restriction;

activating said tool to extend extendable cutter blocks to a diameter greater than the diameter of the drill-bit;

sensing a relative position of the extendable cutter blocks to a body of the tool using a position sensor;

rotating said tool and moving it axially along said borehole;

measuring a borehole diameter using at least one caliper;

sensing a fluid property from one of a group comprising flow, rpm, density, sound transit time, weight, and hydraulic force using at least one calibration sensor;

calibrating said caliper using a sensed fluid property from the calibration sensor; and

using a processor connected to a control area which act in response to data received from said at least one caliper, verifying and controlling a predetermined diameter by comparing and correlating data received from the at least one caliper and from the position sensor to deliver the predetermined diameter.