Wells – Means for guiding insertable element laterally of well axis
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-17
2001-04-03
Tsay, Frank S. (Department: 3672)
Wells
Means for guiding insertable element laterally of well axis
C166S117600, C166S374000, C175S080000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209635
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to subsurface well equipment and, more particularly, to devices and related methods for determining the position of subsurface well equipment within a well.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wells having one or more lateral branches extending therefrom are now commonplace in the petroleum-exploration industry. It is customary that it is desirable to enter one or more of the lateral branches with a some type of work or tool string. It is known that a deflecting device have an inclined surface (often called a “whipstock”) is used divert the string into the desired lateral, and that the whipstock must be remotely oriented and set in the well bore adjacent the lateral branch into which tool entry is desired. This is often accomplished by use of one or more locating and orienting keys on the whipstock that cooperate with an orienting profile and alignment slot in the well near the desired lateral branch. A problem that exists in this scenario is that current technology does not give a sufficiently reliable indication to an operator at the earth's surface that the whipstock has been properly landed in the alignment slot. In this regard, the current approach to determining whether the whipstock is properly landed is to compare the tension or compression on the string to the length of the string. This is not considered reliable for either coiled tubing or jointed pipes. The accuracy of this approach for coiled tubing is approximately ±50 feet and for jointed pipe approximately ±10 feet. With these margins of error, the whipstock could be stuck in the wrong place within the well several feet above or below the mating profile, but the surface indication would be that it was properly landed in the correct location.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been contemplated to meet the above described needs. In one aspect, the present invention provides a system for determining that a locking or locating device is positioned at a predetermined mating profile in a string, independent of linear measurements or conventional compression/tension gauges. This may be accomplished by substantially restricting circulation through a fluid circulation port located between two seals once the seals are positioned across sealing surfaces inside a mating nipple. The present invention may also include a conveying tool with a flexible arm that is clipped or clamped to a dedicated pocket on or near the inclined surface of the whipstock. The flexible arm is supported by a piston disposed for movement within the conveying tool. Some advantages of the conveying tool of the present invention are that all shifting parts are on the conveying tool side, the outside diameter of the whipstock may be maximized, and the whipstock inclined surface is not obstructed with a large opening. The apparatus of the present invention is conveyed inside the string on coiled tubing or jointed pipe. Additional aspects of the present invention will be summarized here and then more fully described under the detailed-description heading.
In one aspect, the invention may be a downhole well tool comprising: a nipple connected to a well conduit, the nipple including a longitudinal bore having an upper sealing surface and a lower sealing surface; a body member having an upper seal, a lower seal, and a fluid passageway extending from an upper end of the body member and exiting the body member between the upper and lower seals; and a key remotely shiftable between a running position and a locked position, the key being releasably engageable with the nipple when in its locked position, and the upper and lower seals being engaged with the upper and lower sealing surfaces, respectively, when the key is in its locked position, thereby substantially restricting fluid circulation through the fluid passageway in the body member and increasing fluid pressure therein. Another feature of this aspect of the present invention is that the key is engageable with an alignment profile in the nipple to rotate the well tool to a predetermined orientation. Another feature of this aspect of the present invention is that the key is releasably engageable with a protuberance disposed in an alignment slot in the nipple. Another feature of this aspect of the present invention is that the tool may further include a conveying tool having: a body with a longitudinal bore therethrough; a flexible arm extending from the body, a distal end of the arm having a latching finger; and a release piston disposed within the longitudinal bore and releasably attached to the body when in a locked position, the release piston having a shoulder adapted to maintain locking engagement between the latching finger on the flexible arm and a latching profile on the body member of the downhole well tool when the release piston is in its locked position, the release piston being shiftable within the longitudinal bore upon disengagement from the body to disengage the latching finger from the latching profile. Another feature of this aspect of the present invention is that the longitudinal bore further includes an upper seat and a lower seat, a diameter of the upper seat being greater than a diameter of the lower seat, the piston further including a fluid port disposed through a wall of the piston and between the upper and lower seats, the conveying tool further including a first ball engageable with the lower seat and adapted to divert fluid flow through the fluid port, an d a second ball engageable with the upper seat and adapted to restrict fluid flow through the longitudinal bore of the piston. Another feature of this aspect of the present invention is that the conveying tool further includes a sleeve extending from the body of the conveying tool and adapted to be disposed about an outside diameter of the body member of the downhole well tool.
In another aspect, the present invention may be a downhole well tool comprising: a nipple connected to a well conduit, the nipple including a longitudinal bore having an upper scaling surface and a lower sealing surface; a body member having an upper seal and a lower seal; a whipstock having an upper end, a lower end, an inclined surface at the upper end, a first fluid passageway extending longitudinally through the whipstock, a second fluid passageway extending from the lower end of the whipstock to an exit port disposed above the upper seal, and a third fluid passageway extending from the upper end of the whipstock to a piston chamber; a key piston releasably attached to the body member, adapted for movement upon disengagement from the body member, and in fluid communication with the third fluid passageway; and a key connected to the body member and remotely shiftable between a running position and a locked position, the key being releasably engaged with the nipple when in its locked position, the key being maintained in its running position by releasable engagement with the key piston, and the upper and lower scals being engaged with the upper and lower sealing surfaces, respectively, when the key is in its locked position, thereby substantially restricting fluid circulation through the third fluid passageway and increasing fluid pressure therein. Another feature of this aspect of the present invention is that the key is engageable with an alignment profile in the nipple to rotate the well tool to a predetermined orientation. Another feature of this aspect of the present invention is that the key is releasably engageable with a protuberance disposed in an alignment slot in the nipple. Another feature of this aspect of the present invention is that the key includes a first and a second diverging surface engageable with a first and a second inclined surface in the alignment slot in the nipple. Another feature of this aspect of the present invention is that the key includes a head with an arm extending therefrom, the arm having a slot extending from the head towards a distal end of the arm and terminating at an inclined surface, and whe
Brochman Mark W.
Gotlib Mikhail
Ohmer Herve
Griffin Jeffrey E.
Schlumberger Technology Corporation
Tsay Frank S.
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