Wells – Pistons – fluid driven into well – With stop
Patent
1997-03-13
1999-12-28
Neuder, William
Wells
Pistons, fluid driven into well
With stop
166319, E21B 3410
Patent
active
060068280
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to apparatus for the remote deployment of valves. The invention is particularly relevant in the oil industry where a valve which can be remotely deployable allows such valves to be installed and replaced when required without incurring huge expense.
As oil and gas reserves have been consumed over the years, the extraction of the oil and gas has become increasingly more difficult under more demanding conditions. Accordingly, there is a need for the reserves to be more widely monitored to a higher quality than hitherto, and this is particularly so for oil and gas reserves which lie beneath the sea bed. Optical fibre sensors, together with optical fibre cables to link the sensor to the measurement instrumentation, are being developed for this purpose since they offer specific advantages, particularly in the ability to withstand extremes of high pressure and temperature. Furthermore, such optical fibre sensors may be of a structure and diameter similar to those of the optical fibre cable itself. Sensors are being developed which can be remotely deployed into oil wells through convenient size hydraulic tubing. Communication to the production string (through which the oil is extracted) can be achieved by use of valves which can be opened and closed by means of appropriate control signals (usually electrical or hydraulic). However a problem with this approach is that if the valve were to fail then it would need to be replaced. Unfortunately, conventional methods to do this are expensive, and for subset wells probably prohibitively expensive.
This problem is even more acute when sensors are required to measure parameters past the packer. The packer is the seal surrounding the production string which prevents the reservoir pressure from accessing the annulus. Clearly penetrating the packer with hydraulic channels is potentially dangerous and reliable valves in the hydraulic conduit are therefore required. Again the problem exists as what to do if the valves were to fail.
A different application where expensive replacement of valves is often required in oil wells is with gas lift. Here valves are placed at intervals down the production string (the inner tubing through which the oil flows up out of the ground). The valves connect the inside of the production string to the annulus surrounding the production string. Gas (typically nitrogen) is pumped down the annulus and it enters the production string via gas-lift valves. These valves close in sequence down the production string when the pressure in the annulus exceeds the pressure in the production string. The last valve is left open. Unfortunately, these valves can fail and their replacement is extremely expensive.
An aim of the present invention is to improve on known apparatus by allowing valves to be deployed to awkward locations, and a further aim is to allow the valve to be replaced simply.
According to the present invention, there is provided apparatus for the remote deployment of one or more valves, comprising channel means through which the valve will be deployed, channel location means in which the valve will sit, seal means to seal between the valve and the channel means, valve location means to seat the valve onto the channel location means, and valve means to control the passage of fluid.
The channel means may be any conveniently sized hydraulic tubing, for example 1/4" or 3/8" (6 mm or 10 mm).
The channel location means may be a tapered section of hydraulic tubing having a diameter greater than the channel means at one end, tapering down to the same diameter at the other.
The seal means may be fabricated with one or more O-rings to provide a seal between the valve and the channel means.
The valve location means may be based on inserts which spring out when they enter a section of tubing having an increased diameter.
The valve location means and channel location means may of such a design that the valve can be ejected by increasing the flow of fluid through the channel means such that springs are pushed in and the valve is pushed i
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Kluth Erhard Lothar
Varnham Malcolm Paul
Neuder William
Sensor Dynamics Limited
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