Water Dissolvable Released Material Used as Inflow Control Device
Methods and devices for controlling fluid flow into a wellbore tubular includes an in-flow control device, an element co-acting with the in-flow control device, and a disintegrating medium at least partially surrounding the element. The medium may be configured to release the element upon disintegration of the medium. The disintegrating medium may be configured to disintegrate when exposed to a selected fluid. The element may be configured to at least partially restrict flow across a flow path associated with the in-flow control device when released. The flow path may convey the fluid from the formation to a flow bore of the wellbore tubular and the element may be positioned along the flow path. The element may be: a liquid, a solid, a particle and/or particles. The selected fluid may be water, a hydrocarbon, an engineered fluid, and/or a naturally occurring fluid.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to systems and methods for selective control of fluid flow into a wellbore.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hydrocarbons such as oil and gas are recovered from a subterranean formation using a wellbore drilled into the formation. Such wells are typically completed by placing a casing along the wellbore length and perforating the casing adjacent each such production zone to extract the formation fluids (such as hydrocarbons) into the wellbore. These production zones are sometimes separated from each other by installing a packer between the production zones. Fluid from each production zone entering the wellbore is drawn into a tubing that runs to the surface. It is desirable to have substantially even drainage along the production zone. Uneven drainage may result in undesirable conditions such as an invasive gas cone or water cone. In the instance of an oil-producing well, for example, a gas cone may cause an inflow of gas into the wellbore that could significantly reduce oil production. In like fashion, a water cone may cause an inflow of water into the oil production flow that reduces the amount and quality of the produced oil. Accordingly, it is desired to provide even drainage across a production zone and/or the ability to selectively close off or reduce inflow within production zones experiencing an undesirable influx of water and/or gas.
The present disclosure addresses these and other needs of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREIn aspects, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for controlling flow of a fluid into a wellbore tubular. The apparatus may include an in-flow control device controlling the flow of the fluid, an element co-acting with the in-flow control device, and a disintegrating medium at least partially surrounding the element. In arrangements, the medium may be configured to release the element upon disintegration of the medium. The disintegrating medium may be configured to disintegrate when exposed to a selected fluid. The element or elements, when released, may at least partially restrict flow across a flow path that conveys the fluid from the formation to a flow bore of the wellbore tubular. The element may be positioned along the flow path or elsewhere. In embodiments, the element may be: a liquid, a solid, a particle and/or particles. In embodiments, the selected fluid may be water, a hydrocarbon, an engineered fluid, and/or a naturally occurring fluid.
In aspects, the present disclosure provides a method for controlling a flow of fluid from a subterranean formation. In embodiments, the method may include suspending an element in a medium that disintegrates when exposed to a selected fluid; positioning the element in a wellbore; and restricting a fluid flow across a flow path by releasing the element. The method may include releasing the element into the flow path when the medium disintegrates.
In aspects, the present disclosure provides a system for controlling flow of a fluid in a well. The system may include a wellbore tubular positioned in the well; an in-flow control device positioned along the wellbore tubular; an element co-acting with the in-flow control device; and a disintegrating medium at least partially surrounding the element, the disintegrating medium being calibrated to disintegrate when exposed to a selected fluid.
It should be understood that examples of the more important features of the disclosure have been summarized rather broadly in order that detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the contributions to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto.
The advantages and further aspects of the disclosure will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or similar elements throughout the several figures of the drawing and wherein:
The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for controlling production of a hydrocarbon producing well. The present disclosure is susceptible to embodiments of different forms. There are shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, specific embodiments of the present disclosure with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure, and is not intended to limit the disclosure to that illustrated and described herein. Further, while embodiments may be described as having one or more features or a combination of two or more features, such a feature or a combination of features should not be construed as essential unless expressly stated as essential.
Referring initially to
Each production device 34 features a production control device 38 that is used to govern one or more aspects of a flow of one or more fluids into the production assembly 20. As used herein, the term “fluid” or “fluids” includes liquids, gases, hydrocarbons, multi-phase fluids, mixtures of two of more fluids, water, brine, engineered fluids such as drilling mud, fluids injected from the surface such as water, and naturally occurring fluids such as oil and gas. Additionally, references to water should be construed to also include water-based fluids; e.g., brine or salt water. In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the production control device 38 may have a number of alternative constructions that ensure selective operation and controlled fluid flow therethrough.
Referring now to
In one embodiment, the production control device 100 includes a particulate control device 110 for reducing the amount and size of particulates entrained in the fluids, a flow control device 120 that controls overall drainage rate from the formation, and an in-flow control device 130 that controls in-flow area based upon the composition of a fluid in the vicinity of the in-flow control device 130. The particulate control device 110 can include known devices such as sand screens and associated gravel packs and the flow control device 120 can utilize devices employing tortuous fluid paths designed to control inflow rate by created pressure drops.
An exemplary in-flow control device 130 may be configured to control fluid flow into a flow bore 102 based upon one or more characteristics (e.g., water content) of the in-flowing fluid. In embodiments, the in-flow control device 130 is actuated by one or more element 132 that is partially or completed suspended in a medium 134 that disintegrates upon exposure to one or more specified fluids in the vicinity of the in-flow control device 130. The elements 132 may, depending on the application, be a solid, a liquid, a slurry, a particle, particles or an engineered component. The medium 134 is a body of one or more materials that have a relatively fast rate of disintegration. Exemplary types of disintegration include, but are not limited to, oxidizing, dissolving, melting, fracturing, and other such mechanisms that cause a structure to lose integrity and fail or collapse. The medium 134 may be formed of a material, such as aluminum, that oxidizes, or corrodes, when exposed to water. In embodiments, the elements 132 may be calibrated to disintegrate. By calibrate or calibrated, it is meant that one or more characteristics relating to the capacity of the element to disintegrate is intentionally tune or adjusted to occur in a predetermined manner or in response to a predetermined condition or set of conditions. For convenience, the “elements” as used herein are not intended to limit the present disclosure as requiring a plurality of discrete elements. Rather, the term “elements” is used merely for the sake of convenience. Embodiments of the present disclosure may utilize one or more “elements” as described herein.
As will be appreciated, the elements 132 suspended in the medium 134 may be used in numerous arrangements to partially or complete restrict flow through the in-flow control device 130. In embodiments, the medium 134 may dissolve or otherwise disintegrate when a threshold value of water concentration, or water cut, in the fluid flowing across the in-flow control device 130 exceeds a preset value. Once the disintegration sufficiently degrades the medium 134, the elements 132 are released to perform any number of functions. Illustrative functions for the elements 132 are described below.
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It should be understood that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the arrangements wherein an element suspended in a media may be released to restrict flow from a formation into a production flow bore. For instance, in
Additionally, in certain embodiments, the elements suspended within the disintegrating medium may be formed of material that disintegrates when exposed to oil. Thus, for instance, an oil-soluble plugging element may be encapsulated in a water soluble media. In such an arrangement, if the flowing fluid were to return to substantially oil flow after the oil-plugging element has seated into an orifice, then the oil-soluble element may disintegrate to restore flow through that orifice. It should be appreciated that such an arrangement provides a reversible in-flow control mechanism. In other embodiments, a fluid supplied from the surface may be used to displace or disintegrate an element plugging an orifice, permeable membrane or actuating a flow restriction element.
For the sake of clarity and brevity, descriptions of most threaded connections between tubular elements, elastomeric seals, such as o-rings, and other well-understood techniques are omitted in the above description. The foregoing description is directed to particular embodiments of the present disclosure for the purpose of illustration and explanation. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that many modifications and changes to the embodiment set forth above are possible without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Claims
1. A method for controlling a flow of fluid from a subterranean formation, comprising:
- positioning a housing in a wellbore, the housing having a flow path formed therein;
- suspending an element in a medium that disintegrates when exposed to a selected fluid;
- positioning the element in housing; and
- restricting a fluid flow across the flow path by releasing the element.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the selected fluid is water.
3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising releasing the element into the flow path when the medium disintegrates.
4. The method according to claim 1 further comprising configuring the flow path to convey fluid from the formation into a bore of a wellbore tubular; forming a passage in the housing and that communicates with the bore of the wellbore tubular; and at least partially blocking the passage with the element by releasing the element.
5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising forming the flow path to convey the fluid from the formation to a flow bore of a wellbore tubular; and reducing an amount of particles in the fluid entering the flow path by using a particulate control device.
6. The method according to claim 1 further comprising positioning the element along the flow path and maintaining the element substantially stationary in the flow path while the element is suspended in the medium.
7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the element is one of: (i) a liquid, (ii) a solid, (iii) a particle, and (iv) particles.
8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the selected fluid is one of: (i) water, (ii) a hydrocarbon, (iii) an engineered fluid, and (iv) a naturally occurring fluid.
9. An apparatus for controlling flow of a fluid into a wellbore tubular, comprising:
- an in-flow control device having a housing;
- an element positioned in the housing; and
- a disintegrating medium at least partially surrounding the element, the disintegrating medium being configured to disintegrate when exposed to a selected fluid.
10. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the disintegrating medium disintegrates upon exposure to water in the fluid.
11. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the element is configured to at least partially restrict flow across a flow path associated with the in-flow control device.
12. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the medium is configured to release the element after the medium at least partially disintegrates.
13. The apparatus according to claim 9 further comprising a flow path to convey the fluid from the formation to a flow bore of the wellbore tubular.
14. The apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the element is positioned along the flow path.
15. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the element is one of: (i) a liquid, (ii) a solid, (iii) a particle, and (iv) particles.
16. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the selected fluid is one of: (i) water, (ii) a hydrocarbon, (iii) an engineered fluid, and (iv) a naturally occurring fluid.
17. A system for controlling flow of a fluid in a well, comprising:
- a wellbore tubular positioned in the well; an in-flow control device having a housing and positioned along the wellbore tubular; an element positioned in the housing; and a disintegrating medium at least partially surrounding the element, the disintegrating medium being calibrated to disintegrate when exposed to a selected fluid.
18. The system according to claim 17 wherein the disintegrating medium disintegrates upon exposure to water in the fluid.
19. The system according to claim 17 wherein the element is configured to at least partially restrict flow across a flow path associated with the in-flow control device.
20. The system according to claim 17 wherein the medium is configured to release the element upon disintegration of the medium.
21. A method for controlling a flow of fluid from a subterranean formation, comprising:
- flowing a fluid from an annulus of a wellbore into a flow bore of a wellbore tubular;
- reducing one of (i) a size and (ii) an amount of particles in the fluid flowing into the flow bore;
- suspending in a flow path of the fluid an element in a medium that disintegrates when exposed to a selected fluid; and
- restricting a fluid flow across the flow path by releasing the element when the flowing fluid includes the selected fluid.
22. The method according to claim 21 further comprising:
- forming a passage along the flow path, the passage communicating with the flow bore of the wellbore tubular; and
- at least partially blocking the passage with the released element.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 19, 2007
Publication Date: Apr 23, 2009
Applicant: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED (HOUSTON, TX)
Inventors: Stephen L. Crow (Kingwood, TX), Martin P. Coronado (Cypress, TX), Michael H. Johnson (Katy, TX)
Application Number: 11/875,499
International Classification: E21B 33/12 (20060101);