High power laser workover and completion tools and systems

• US 8,869,914 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Foro Energy, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Foro Energy, Inc.
• Inventors: Zediker, Mark S., Faircloth, Brian O., Koblick, Yeshaya, Rinzler, Charles C., Moxley, Joel F.
• Primary Examiner(s): GAY, JENNIFER HAWKINS
• Application Number:
  US13/800,820
• Publication Number:
  US 20140060802A1
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• Field of Search: 175/57, 175/11, 175/15, 175/16, 166/65.1, 219/121.7, 219/121.72, 385/100, 372/4
• US Class Current: 175/16
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/60 characterised by conduits or nozzles for drilling fluids for roller bits E21B10/18; for percussion drill bits E21B10/38
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 21/103 Down-hole by-pass valve arrangements, i.e. between the inside of the drill string and the annulus valves specifically for maintaining circulation of drilling fluid while connecting or disconnecting tubular joints E21B21/019
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 29/00 Cutting or destroying pipes, packers, plugs or wire lines, located in boreholes or wells, e.g. cutting of damaged pipes, of windows; Deforming of pipes in boreholes or wells; Reconditioning of well casings while in the ground
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/11 Perforators; Permeators
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/14 Drilling by use of heat, e.g. flame drilling
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/15 of electrically generated heat

Abstract

Workover and completion systems, devices and methods for utilizing 10 kW or more laser energy transmitted deep into the earth with the suppression of associated nonlinear phenomena. Systems and devices for the laser workover and completion of a borehole in the earth. These systems and devices can deliver high power laser energy down a deep borehole, while maintaining the high power to perform laser workover and completion operations in such boreholes deep within the earth.

Claims

1. A high power laser workover and completion system for providing high power laser energy to a location in a wellbore in a precise and controlled manner to perform a laser workover and completion operation in the wellbore, the system comprising:

a. a high power laser source capable of providing a high power laser beam having a power of at least about 15 kW, and a beam parameter product of about less than 100 mm milliard;

a chiller operably associated with the high power laser source;

b. a means for transmitting the laser beam from the high power laser source to a predetermined location in the wellbore for performing a workover and completion operation; and

,

c. the transmitting means optically associated with a means for suppressing nonlinear scattering phenomena arising from the transmission of the laser beam having a power of at least about 15 kW; and

,

d. the transmitting means optically and mechanically associated with a high power laser workover and completion bottom hole assembly;

e. whereby, the high power laser beam is delivered to the predetermined location in the wellbore with sufficient power to perform the laser workover and completion operation.

2. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 1, wherein the laser source comprises a single laser;

the transmitting means has a length of at least about 3,000 feet; and

the workover and completion operation is selected from the group consisting of pipe cutting, perforating casing, plug removal, window cutting and perforating production casing.

3. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 1, wherein the laser source comprises two lasers;

the transmitting means having a length of at least about 3,000 feet; and

the workover and completion operation is pipe cutting.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the high power laser source is a low order mode source characterized by an M²<

2.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the high power laser source is a low order mode source.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein a laser source from the combination of a plurality of laser sources is a low order mode source.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the laser source is a bandwidth broadened laser source.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting comprises an optical fiber and an armored casing.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the armored casing comprises a metal tube having a diameter of about ¼

″

, and the fiber having a core having a diameter of at least about 500 microns.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting has a means for break detection.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting comprises an optical fiber, the optical fiber having a core having a core diameter of at least about 100 microns, a first protective member and a second protective member, wherein the protective members are selected from the group consisting of a steel tube, a polymer coating, a polytetrafluoroethylene coating, a polyimide, an acrylate, a carbon polyamide, and a carbon coating.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting comprises a single mode optical fiber.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting comprises a multimode optical fiber.

14. A high power laser workover and completion system for providing high power laser energy to a location in a wellbore in a precise and controlled manner to perform a laser workover and completion operation in the wellbore, the system comprising:

a. a high power laser source capable of providing a high power laser beam having a power of at least about 10 kW, an M² of less than about 2, and a beam parameter product of about less than 100 mm millirad;

the laser source operably associated with a chiller;

b. a laser beam transmission conductor for transmitting the laser beam from the high power laser source to a predetermined location in the wellbore for performing a workover and completion operation; and

,

c. a nonlinear scattering phenomena suppression system for suppressing nonlinear scattering arising from the transmission of the laser beam having a power of at least about 10 kW; and

,

d. the laser beam transmission conductor in optical and mechanical associated with a high power laser workover and completion assembly;

e. whereby, the high power laser beam is delivered to the predetermined location in the wellbore with sufficient power to perform the laser workover and completion operation.

15. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 14, wherein the laser source comprises a single laser and the transmitting conductor has a length of at least about 3,000 feet, and the workover and completion operation is window cutting.

16. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 14, wherein the nonlinear scattering phenomena suppression system comprises a means for spoiling the coherence of the nonlinear scattering phenomena and the means for transmitting the laser beam has a length of at least about 1,000 feet.

17. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 14, wherein the nonlinear scattering phenomena suppression system is selected from the group consisting of a means for spoiling the coherence of the Stimulated Brillouin Scattering, a means for varying a linewidth of the laser source, a means for decreasing a Brillouin gain factor, and a means for increasing a Brillouin linewidth.

18. A high power laser workover and completion system for providing high power laser energy to a borehole to perform a workover and completion operation at a location within the borehole, the system comprising:

a. a source of high power laser energy, the laser source capable of providing a laser beam having at least about 20 kW of power;

b. a conveyance assembly having a distal end and a proximal end thereby defining a length of at least about 3,000 ft;

c. a source of a fluid for use in a laser workover and completion operation;

d. the proximal end of the conveyance assembly being in fluid communication with the source of fluid;

e. the proximal end of the conveyance assembly being in optical communication with the laser source;

f. the conveyance assembly comprising a high power laser transmission cable, the transmission cable having a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal end being in optical communication with the laser source, and the distal end being in optical communication with a downhole assembly, whereby the laser beam is transmitted by the cable from the proximal end to the distal end of the cable and to the downhole assembly for delivery of the laser beam energy to a location in the borehole to perform a workover and completion operation;

g. a means for suppressing nonlinear scattering phenomena from the laser beam in associations with at least one of elements a., b., e., or f.; and

,

h. the power of the laser energy at the downhole assembly adjacent to the location in the borehole to perform the workover and completion operation being at least about 5 kW.

19. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 18, wherein the workover and completion operation is selected from the group consisting of pipe cutting, perforating casing, plug removal, window cutting and perforating production casing.

20. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 18, wherein the high power laser source comprises a combination of a plurality of laser sources, wherein each laser source of the combination is capable of providing a high power laser beam characterized by a linewidth;

wherein the means for suppressing comprises a combination of the laser beams from the plurality of laser sources, and a combined laser beam characterized by an effective linewidth greater than the linewidth of a laser beam from a laser source from the plurality of laser sources; and

wherein the combined beam is characterized by having a power of at least about 40 kW.

21. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 18, wherein the means for suppressing comprises a Faraday isolator.

22. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 18, wherein the means for suppressing comprises a Bragg Grating reflector.

23. The high power laser workover and completion high power laser workover and completion system of claim 18, wherein a laser source comprises a solid-state laser.

24. A high power laser workover and completion system for providing high power laser energy over a long distance to a location in a borehole to perform a workover and completion operation, the system comprising:

a. a high powered laser source, capable of providing a high power combined laser beam, the high power laser source comprising a combination of a plurality of laser sources, wherein each laser source of the combination is capable of providing a high power laser beam characterized by a power of at least about 1 kW and a linewidth;

b. a means for suppressing nonlinear scattering phenomena arising from transmission of the high power laser beam, comprising the high power combined laser beam characterized by an effective linewidth greater than the linewidth of a laser beam from a laser source from the plurality of laser sources; and

,

c. a means for transmitting the laser beam from the high power laser source to a location in the borehole to perform a workover and completion operation;

d. whereby, the high power combined laser beam is delivered to the location within the borehole for performing the workover and completion operation and, whereby the combined laser beam has a power of at least about 15 kW.

25. The high power laser workover and completion system of claim 24, wherein the transmitting means has a length of at least about 5,000 feet;

and the workover and completion operation is selected from the group consisting of pipe cutting, perforating casing, plug removal, window cutting and perforating product.