Wells – Processes – Cementing – plugging or consolidating
Patent
1996-01-11
1998-02-17
Suchfield, George A.
Wells
Processes
Cementing, plugging or consolidating
1661774, 166184, 166187, 166288, 166290, E21B 3314, E21B 33127
Patent
active
057182884
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a method of cementing casing inside a borehole or a conduit. It also relates to a cementing device for implementing the method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is particularly applicable to boreholes, especially in the oil industry. Although the following description relates to a vertical well, the invention may naturally also be implemented in wells that are not vertical, but that are deviated or even horizontal. It is also applicable to conduits, e.g. oil or gas pipelines, for the purpose of repairing them by installing an internal lining.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
by the English word "casing"--is a cylindrical pipe of rigid material designed to be put into place inside the well. It is fixed by means of cement, commonly referred to as "slurry". The presence of casing makes it possible to have a well that is cylindrical, of well-defined diameter, and with a rigid wall, thereby making it possible to pass various tools and elements required for operating the well.
At present, casing is cemented upwards from the bottom of the casing by injecting cement into the annular space between the casing and the well. The cement is injected from the surface via the inside of the casing (the slug method) or via the drilling string (a cementing techique commonly
Unfortunately, the principle on which that method is based, i.e. injecting and then moving a volume of slurry, prevents the slurry being put into place under satisfactory conditions when the available annular gap is very small or even missing, as happens when the outside diameter of the casing is close to the diameter of the well.
Casings have recently been proposed which are obtained from a tubular preform which is deformable by being expanded radially from a "folded" first state in which its maximum transverse dimension is considerably smaller than the diameter of the well, to an "unfolded" second state in which it is cylindrical in shape and has a diameter that is slightly smaller than that of the well, the preform being settable on site (after radial expansion) in order to constitute the casing.
Casings of that kind, and their method of installation, are described in documents FR-A-2 662 207 and FR-A-2 668 241, in particular.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a method and a device for cementing that kind of casing, and enabling cementing to be performed under satisfactory conditions, even if the annular space available for the cement is small.
The method of the invention achieves this object by the fact that the method comprises the following steps: conduit, and it is lowered down to the desired level; zone a hydraulically deformable closure member (a closure member of the kind commonly referred to in the oil industry by the English term "packer"); so as to surround the bottom portion of the preform, with the volume of said cement corresponding substantially to the volume required for cementing the casing in the well or in the conduit; deformation taking place progressively from the bottom upwards, so that the cement is displaced little by little along the annular space between the preform and the wall of the well or of the conduit, along the entire height of the preform; is allowed to set; and conduit.
In a preferred implementation of the invention, said closure member is inflated from the surface by means of a hydraulic fluid which is delivered by a tube that passes longitudinally right through the preform.
Also, in a certain number of non-limiting additional characteristics of the invention: fluid--a "flush fluid"--of density greater than that of the cement is injected so as to occupy the space extending between the closure member and the bottom end of the preform; via the same tube as is used for inflating the closure member, passing via a distributor jacket mounted at the end of the tube which carries said closure member; polymerizing when heat is applied thereto, the preform is caused to expand radially and to set by means of a hot fluid which is delivered fr
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Bertet Eric
Gueguen Jean-Marie
Saltel Jean-Louis
Signori Frederic
Drillflex
Suchfield George A.
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