CONTROL LINE SECUREMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM
Control lines are secured to a completion string by a wrap wound around the completion string and control lines. The control lines are positioned adjacent to the completion string as it is lowered towards a well, and the wrap is wound helically around the lines and string in an open or closed loop manner. The placement and pitch of the wrap may be regulated, such as based upon the rate of advancement of the string into the well. One or multiple wraps may be used, and successive turns of the one or more wraps may overlap or be spaced from one another.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application No. 13/706,125, entitled “Control Line Securement Method and System,” filed Dec. 5, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,273,520, and claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 61/581,258, entitled “Control Line Securement Method and System,” filed Dec. 29, 2011, which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUNDThe invention relates generally to the field of well completions, and more particularly to techniques for providing and securing control lines to completion or production strings during deployment in a well.
Following drilling of oil and gas wells, completion strings are typically placed and cemented into a well for production of fluids from one or more production horizons from which they are raised to the Earth's surface for further processing. In many cases small tubing lines and conduits, electrical wiring and other conductors are associated with the completion string to perform various operations, such as sensing downhole parameters, opening and closing valves, permitting closing in of the well, injection of various chemicals, and so forth. Such lines, conduits and conductors are commonly referred to as “control lines”, and one or many may be provided with any particular well.
There are a number of methods known for deploying control lines with tubes and piping lowered into wells. For example, various clamps may be placed over the control lines and at least a part of the piping to anchor the control lines to the outside of the piping. “Slips”, “spiders” or some other support device is sometimes used to hole the piping during attachment of the control lines. In one particular arrangement that has proven particularly useful, clamps or straps are applied fasten the control lines to the piping in a space between a rig floor and an entry to the well.
There still exists a need for further refinement in techniques for attachment of control lines to completion strings that may offer alternatives and advantages over known approaches. There is a particular need for techniques that may reduce or eliminate the need for clamps and bands, and reduce the need for operations personnel to place or monitor placement of such devices.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONThe present invention is designed to respond to such needs. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method for securing a control line to a tubular string for placement in a well includes lowering the string towards the well, placing the control line adjacent to an outer surface of the string, and winding a wrap helically around the string and control line to secure the control line between the wrap and the outer surface of the string.
The invention also provides a system securing a control line to a tubular string for placement in a well. The system includes a structure for holding and lowering the string towards the well, at least one store of control line to be secured to the string, and a winding station disposed downstream of a location where the control line approaches the string and configured to winding a wrap helically around the string and the control line to secure the control line between the wrap and an outer surface of the string.
Still further, the invention provides a tubular well string comprising a tubular string disposed in a well, a control line disposed adjacent to an outer surface of the string, and a wrap wound helically around the string and the control line to secure the control line to the string.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
The present invention provides novel control line securement systems and methods that can be used in any type of oil or gas well. The techniques allow for securement of one or multiple control lines, and these may include any desired tubing, conduit, wiring, conductors, and so forth. The techniques may allow for securement to the completion string as it is placed into the well with little or no stoppage for securement of the lines. Moreover, the techniques may be employed with limited modification of known support structures used for clamping or banding control lines to well piping.
The completion string 14 will be assembled and lowered by tubular handling equipment 16 in a conventional manner. The details of the handling equipment are beyond the scope of the present disclosure and may conform to generally known on- or off-shore systems. In general, the tubular handling equipment 16 will be positioned above a table or platform 18, with a winding station 20 disposed between the table or platform and an entrance to a well, indicated generally by the symbol W. The winding station 20 allows a wrap 22 to be disposed around the control lines and completion string as the completion string is lowered into the well. As described more fully below, parameters of the placement of the wrap, including its location, pitch, and so forth, as well as the location of the control lines may be controlled during this process. In the illustrated embodiment, the control lines 12 are stored on reels 24 that may be unwound to pay out the control lines during their placement. Equipment designed for this purpose may be generally conventional in nature, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,664 entitled “System, Apparatus, and Method for Installing Control Lines in a Well”, issued to Sonnier on Oct. 17, 2000, which is hereby incorporated into the present disclosure by reference.
The wrap 22 may also be stored on a reel 26 which may be controlled to pay out the wrap as it is wound around the completion string and the control lines. A wrapper 28 may be disposed at least partially around the completion string to wind the wrap helically around the completion string and control lines as they are advanced into the well. In certain embodiments, this component or other components of the winding station may also rotate around the completion string as it is lowered into the well. The wrapper 28 allows the wrap 22 to be paid out at a desired rate, which may be performed in an open-loop or closed-loop manner, as described below. In general, the wrapper 28 will be associated with a wrapper drive 30 which may be a motorized device that draws the wrap 22 from the reel 26 and winds it tightly around the completion string and control lines. A reel drive 32 may be associated with reel 26 to control the pay out and tension on the wrap. Tension may also be applied by other mechanisms generally known in the art. A wrap control system 34 is coupled to the wrapper drive 30 and to the reel drive 32, and controls operation of these devices to wind the wrap around the completion string and control lines as desired. The wrap control system 34 may also be coupled to the tubular handling equipment 16 so as to coordinate winding of the wrap with advancement of the completion string into the well.
Certain of the steps in the process may be controlled in closed-loop manner as mentioned above, and as indicated generally be reference numeral 76. For example, as the string is lowered into the well, the speed of advancement may be sensed as indicated at step 78. This speed may be detected by a sensor, or more than one sensor, or may be provided by some component of the tubular handling equipment that regulates the speed of advancement. Based upon this speed, then, the rate of placement of the control line may be regulated as indicated at step 80. That is, the control line placement equipment may be regulated to match the rate of advancement of the completion string into the well. Similarly, then, based upon the speed of advancement of the completion string, the wrap rate may be controlled as indicated at step 82, such as to provide a uniform (or more generally, a controlled) pitch of successive turns wound around the completion string and control lines.
While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
Claims
1. A system, comprising:
- tubular handling equipment configured to hold and lower a string into a wellbore;
- a winding station disposed downstream of a location where a control line approaches the string; and
- a wrapper drive of the winding station configured to helically wind a wrap around the string and the control line and configured to wind the wrap at a controlled rate of winding.
2. The system of claim 1, comprising at least one store of control line configured to be secured to the string.
3. The system of claim 1, comprising a reel drive of the winding station configured to control a tension of the wrap around the string and the control line.
4. The system of claim 3, comprising a controller, wherein the controller comprises processing circuitry and memory circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to execute instructions stored on the memory circuitry, and wherein the instructions are configured to control the wrapper drive to adjust the rate of winding and to control the reel drive to adjust a tension of the wrap based at least on feedback related to a rate of movement of the string into the wellbore.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to receive the feedback related to the rate of movement of the string into the wellbore from a speed sensor communicatively coupled to interface circuitry of the controller.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the instructions are configured to control the wrap drive and reel drive to adjust a pitch of the wrap around the string and the control line.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the pitch of the wrap based at least on a desired holding force applied to the string and the control line by the wrap.
8. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the pitch of the wrap based at least on a predetermined cost of the wrap.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the wrapper drive is configured to helically wind an intermediate layer of material between the string and the control line.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the wrap comprises a substrate layer and an adhesive layer.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the substrate layer comprises a synthetic plastic material, a polymeric material, a web-like material, a woven material, or any combination thereof.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the wrapper drive is configured to helically wind the wrap in a first circumferential direction about the string and the control line and to helically wind an additional wrap in a second circumferential direction opposite the first circumferential direction about the string and the control line.
13. A controller, comprising:
- memory circuitry configured to store instructions related to winding a wrap around a tubular string and a control line to secure the control line to the tubular string;
- processing circuitry configured to execute the instructions; and
- interface circuitry communicatively coupled with a speed sensor, wherein the speed sensor is configured to determine a rate of movement of the tubular string into a wellbore, and
- wherein the instructions are configured to adjust a rate of winding of the wrap around the tubular string and the control line based at least on the rate of movement of the tubular string into the wellbore.
14. The controller of claim 13, wherein the instructions are configured to adjust a pitch of the wrap around the tubular string and the control line based at least on a desired holding force applied to the string and the control line by the wrap.
15. The controller of claim 13, wherein the instructions are configured to adjust a pitch of the wrap around the tubular string and the control line based at least on a predetermined cost of the wrap.
16. The controller of claim 13, wherein the instructions are configured to adjust a tension of the wrap around the tubular string and the control line based at least on the rate of movement of the tubular string into the wellbore.
17. A system, comprising:
- tubular handling equipment configured to hold and lower a string into a wellbore;
- at least one store of control line configured to be secured to the string;
- a winding station disposed downstream of a location where the control line approaches the string;
- a wrapper drive of the winding station configured to helically wind a wrap around the string and the control line and configured to control a rate of winding the wrap;
- a reel drive of the winding station configured to control a tension of the wrap about the string and the control line; and
- a controller comprising processing circuitry, memory circuitry, and interface circuitry, wherein the controller is coupled to a speed sensor via the interface circuitry, wherein the speed sensor is configured to provide feedback to the controller related to a rate of movement of the string into the wellbore, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to execute instructions stored on the memory circuitry, and wherein the instructions are configured to control the wrapper drive to adjust the rate of winding and to control the reel drive to adjust the tension of the wrap based at least on the feedback.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions are configured to control the wrap drive and reel drive to adjust a pitch of the wrap around the string and the control line based at least on a desired holding force applied to the string and the control line by the wrap.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions are configured to control the wrap drive and reel drive to adjust a pitch of the wrap around the string and the control line based at least on a predetermined cost of the wrap.
20. The system of claim 17, wherein the controller comprises an operator interface configured to enable an operator to initiate wrapping, control wrapping, monitor wrapping, or any combination thereof.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 29, 2016
Publication Date: Jun 23, 2016
Inventor: Jonathan Brian O'Blenes (Calgary)
Application Number: 15/056,739