DOWNHOLE TOOL ASSEMBLIES WITH SELECTIVELY ORIENTABLE AND LOCKABLE MEMBERS

Abstract

Downhole tool assemblies having mule shoe members housed within UBHO sub members being secured by fastening members and methods thereof are disclosed. A lower portion of the mule shoe member has many apertures disposed circumferentially around an external surface that are aligned with openings present in the UBHO sub member to achieve a specified orientation. Fastening members releasably engage and couple the apertures with the openings thereby securely locking the mule shoe member within the UBHO sub member in the specified orientation. Set screws having an elongated dowel member protruding from a centre of a face at a bottom end are disclosed. The dowel member is coaxial with the body of the screw having a lesser width and is configured for being substantially seated within a receiving member for providing a positive lock.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION AND PRIORITY CLAIM

The present disclosure claims priority from pending U.S. Provisional Patent application No. 62/352,017 filed on: 20 Jun. 2016, the pending application being incorporated in its entirety into the present application, to the extent not inconsistent with the disclosure herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to tools used in directional drilling of oil wells. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to selectively orientable and lockable downhole tool assemblies and methods thereof.

BACKGROUND

During directional drilling of wells, it is essential that the bottom hole assembly in the drill string is maintained in the correct orientation. It is of utmost importance that the helical face inside the mule shoe, which is in turn, inside the UBHO sub, is in perfect line with the bend in the drilling motor, known as the ‘high side’. In present conventional designs used in the industry, the mule shoe is held inside the UBHO sub by means of two or more set screws. These set screws sit on a knurled surface on the mule shoe, thereby preventing the mule shoe from rotating inside the UBHO sub. However, the set screws rely mainly on friction to do this. The amount of vibrations in downhole conditions is very high and this can easily magnify and cause the set screws to come lose and disorient the mule shoe. This in turn, would completely change the direction in which the drilling is happening and correct directional data cannot be relayed back to the surface. This leads to a very expensive mistake which can take a long time to fix.

In the light of aforementioned discussion, there exists a need for downhole tool assemblies, wherein the mule shoe is securely locked within the UBHO sub. The above mentioned problem is solved by the present invention that discloses downhole tool assemblies having mule shoes that can be selectively oriented to a specified angle and positively locked within the UBHO sub in the desired orientation. The mule shoes are provided with many apertures circumferentially disposed around the external surface that enables selective orientation of the mule shoe with up to 10 degree increments. The rib of the mule shoe is aligned with the “high side” marked on the UBHO sub and then the mule shoes are securely locked within the UBHO sub in the desired orientation by means of fastening members. These tool assemblies with a positive lock can withstand the high vibrations during the drilling process. In some embodiments, the fastening members are set screws with protruding dowel members that are seated inside the apertures present in the mule shoes. This makes it highly improbable that orientation will ever be lost during directional drilling, thereby reducing risk, increasing efficiency and ensuring significant cost savings.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and it does not identify key/critical elements of the invention or delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards downhole tool assemblies for directional drilling of wells. The tool assembly has an elongated, substantially cylindrical hollow mule shoe member housed within a longitudinal bore of an elongated, substantially cylindrical hollow UBHO sub member, the mule shoe member being secured by means of fastening members. The hollow mule shoe member has an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion has one or more ribs extending longitudinally. The lower portion has many apertures disposed circumferentially around an external surface. The lower portion also has a base that is supported by a projection on an inner surface of the UBHO sub member. The UBHO sub member has a proximal portion and a distal portion. The distal portion has the projection that supports the base. The distal portion further has two or more openings extending therethrough perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the UBHO sub member. The openings of the UBHO sub member are aligned with corresponding apertures in the mule shoe member. The fastening members releasably engage and couple the openings with the apertures thereby securely locking the mule shoe member within the UBHO sub member in a specified orientation. The downhole tool assembly is configured for selective orientation of the mule shoe member to a specified angle and positive locking of the mule shoe member within the UBHO sub member in the desired orientation.

Other exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter are directed towards set screws that serve as fastening members for providing a positive lock. The set screw consists of an elongated, substantially cylindrical threaded body with a top end and a bottom end. The bottom end has an elongated dowel member protruding from the centre of a face. The dowel member is coaxial with the body having a width that is lesser than the width of the body. The dowel member is configured to be substantially seated within a suitable receiving member such as the blind holes of mule shoes thereby providing a positive lock.

Other exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter are directed towards methods for selectively orienting and locking a mule shoe member within an UBHO sub member. The method begins with the step of providing an elongated, substantially cylindrical hollow mule shoe member. The hollow mule shoe member has an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion has one or more ribs extending longitudinally, wherein one of the rib houses a key slot for receiving a key member for securing the mule shoe member with an inner assembly. The lower portion has many apertures disposed circumferentially around an external surface and a base. The next step is providing an elongated substantially cylindrical hollow UBHO sub member with a longitudinal bore that is configured to house the mule shoe member within the bore. The UBHO sub member has a proximal portion and a distal portion. The distal portion has a projection on an inner surface that is configured to support the base. The distal portion further has two or more openings extending therethrough perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the UBHO sub member. The openings of the UBHO sub member are configured to be aligned with corresponding apertures in the mule shoe member. The next step is threadably engaging the distal portion of the UBHO sub member to a bottom hole component of a drill string thus disposing the UBHO sub member above a downhole motor. This is followed by positioning the mule shoe member within the bore, the base of the mule shoe member being supported by the projection. Then the mule shoe member is rotated within the bore such that the rib is aligned with a high side marked on the UBHO sub member thus orienting the mule shoe member to a specified angle and aligning the aperture of the mule shoe member with the opening of the UBHO sub member. The next step is providing one or more of fastening members such as set screws followed by securely and positively locking the mule shoe member within the bore in the desired orientation by means of the fastening member, the fastening member thereof releasably engaging and coupling the opening with the aperture.

It is an object of the present invention to disclose downhole tool assemblies having mule shoes that can be selectively oriented and positively locked within the UBHO sub thereby ensuring that correct orientation is maintained during directional drilling.

Other objects of the present invention are to disclose downhole tool assemblies that increase efficiency and ensure significant cost savings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals have been used to designate like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an isometric view of a mule shoe member 100, in accordance with a non limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an isometric view of an UBHO sub member 214, in accordance with a non limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of another isometric view of the mule shoe member 100 depicting the position of two set screws relative to the mule shoe member in the downhole tool assembly, in accordance with a non limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are schematic representations of different views of a set screw 324, in accordance with a non limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 4A) Top view 4B) Front view and 4C) Longitudinal sectional view.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a longitudinal section of a downhole tool assembly 528, in accordance with a non limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a sectional view of a portion of the downhole tool assembly 528 depicting the alignment of the set screw with a mule shoe member and an UBHO sub member, in accordance with a non limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a sectional view of a portion of the downhole tool assembly 728 depicting the alignment of a shorter set screw with a mule shoe member, an UBHO sub member and a retaining clip, in accordance with a non limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a sectional view of a portion of the downhole tool assembly 828 depicting the alignment of a T-shaped set screw with a mule shoe member, an UBHO sub member and a retaining clip, in accordance with a non limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a portion of a mule shoe member 900 depicting longitudinal slots, in accordance with a non limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The present disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

The use of “including”, “comprising” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item. Further, the use of terms “first”, “second”, and “third”, and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another.

According to different non limiting exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, downhole tool assemblies for directional drilling of wells are disclosed.

In accordance with different non limiting exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter, methods for selectively orienting and locking mule shoes within UBHO subs are disclosed.

According to different non limiting exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, set screws for providing positive lock are disclosed.

The downhole tool assembly comprises of a mule shoe member housed within an UBHO sub member that is secured by means of fastening members. The mule shoe member has a plurality of apertures that are disposed circumferentially around an external knurled surface. These apertures are aligned with the openings in the UBHO sub member based on the desired orientation followed by positive locking of the mule shoe member within the UBHO sub by means of fastening members. The apertures of the mule shoe can be in the form of holes, blind holes, longitudinal slots or any other form that can receive and engage a portion of the fastening member without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The orientation, number and position of apertures of the mule shoe can vary depending on the openings present in the UBHO sub member without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The orientation, number and position of the openings in the UBHO sub can vary without limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

In a particular embodiment, the fastening member is a uniquely designed set screw though any other fastener that is known in the art such as regular set screws, other kinds of screws, pins or rods that can couple the mule shoe member with the UBHO sub member can be used without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The dimensions and other parameters of the fastener receiving openings of the UBHO sub and the apertures of the mule shoe would vary corresponding to the kind of fasteners that are used to efficiently engage the fastening members and for providing a secure lock.

Referring to FIG. 1, the hollow mule shoe member 100 is elongated and substantially cylindrical. It has an upper portion 102 configured to be oriented up hole in the drill string and a lower portion 104 configured to be oriented downhole in the drill string. The upper portion 102 has three ribs that extend longitudinally. One of the ribs 106 has a slot 112 for receiving an orientation key that orients the assemblies inside the mule shoe. It is imperative for operators on the rig floor to perfectly align this rib 106 to the ‘high side’ which is the side with the bend in the motor below this assembly. The lower portion 104 of the mule shoe member 100 has grooves for o rings to seal against the inner face of an UBHO sub member. The space between these o ring grooves has a knurled external surface 110 for a set screw to bite into and ensure a high frictional lock. FIG. 1 is a simplistic representation where the knurled nature of the external surface is not depicted. In this particular embodiment, apart from the knurled external surface 110, there are 36 equally spaced blind holes 108 that are circumferentially disposed around the external surface 110 of the mule shoe 100. These holes 108 receive a dowel portion of the set screw inside them to ensure a positive lock and to ensure that the orientation is always maintained intact, in case the friction between the set screw and the knurled face of the mule shoe comes loose due to downhole vibrations during operation. There are 36 of the blind holes 108 even though, at any given point, only two of them are engaged with the dowels on the set screws. This to allow for the operators to have an option to fine tune the orientation of the mule shoe in about +/−10 degree increments which is necessary during rig up to align the mule shoe to match the ‘high side’.

Referring to FIG. 2, the hollow UBHO sub member 214 is elongated and substantially cylindrical with a longitudinal bore 216. The UBHO sub member 214 is configured to house a mule shoe member within the bore 216. The UBHO sub member 214 has a proximal portion 218 configured to be oriented up hole in the drill string and a distal portion 220 configured to be oriented downhole in the drill string. It is to be noted that the view shown is not an entire UBHO sub. The figure only shows a small portion of the sub that is relevant to the invention being discussed here. An actual UBHO sub is much longer having box threads on its proximal portion 218 and mating pin threads on the distal portion 220. These subs come in varying diameters and lengths. The inner surface of this sub 214 has a large projection at the distal portion 220 on which the mule shoe shoulders and sits. The distal portion 220 of the UBHO sub 214 also has two threaded openings 222 a and b extending therethrough perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the UBHO sub member 214. These threaded openings 222 are configured to receive set screws that are threaded on till a biting feature at the bottom end of the set screw bites into the knurled external surface 110 (FIG. 1) of the mule shoe 100 (FIG. 1). The two threaded openings 222 a and b are usually 90° apart and their number and position can vary.

Referring to FIG. 3, this depicts the position of two set screws 324 a and b relative to the mule shoe member 100 in the downhole tool assembly. This is not a representation of the complete downhole tool assembly but depicts only the mule shoe member and the set screws for better understanding. It is to be noted that the set screws 324 a and b are 90° apart in this particular embodiment. This orientation and number of the set screws can vary in different embodiments without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The base 326 of the mule shoe member 100 that is configured to be seated within the projection inside the UBHO sub member 214 (FIG. 2) can be discerned in this view.

Referring to FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C, they depict a set screw 324 having an elongated and substantially cylindrical threaded body 434 which is configured to provide a positive lock. The body 434 has a top end 438 and a bottom end 440. The bottom end 440 has a face 444 that is curved inward and an elongated, cylindrical dowel member 442 protruding from the centre of the face 444. The dowel member 442 is coaxial with the body with a width that is lesser than the width of the body. The dowel member is configured to be substantially seated within a suitable receiving member such as the blind holes of mule shoes thereby providing a positive lock. The bottom end 440 further has a sharp biting feature 446 at an edge that is configured to bite into a surface such as the knurled external surface 110 (FIG. 1) of the mule shoe 100 (FIG. 1) thereby further providing a friction lock. In this particular embodiment, the top end 438 of the set screw 324 has an Allen key socket 436 for receiving an Allen key to drive the set screw 324 into the opening. The length, diameter and pitch of the threads of the screw can vary depending on the corresponding thread parameters of the UBHO sub opening 222 (FIG. 2). In another embodiment, the top end of the set screw has a T-shaped head with a greater width than the width of the body of the set screw. The head is configured to be seated over a corresponding step within a mating member such as the openings of the UBHO sub.

Referring to FIG. 5, the downhole tool assembly 528 has the mule shoe member 100 positioned within the UBHO sub member 214 and locked in the desired orientation by means of set screws 324. The UBHO sub member 214 has a projection 530 on its inner surface 532 that supports the base 326 of the mule shoe member 100. The mule shoe 100 is positioned in such a way that the threaded openings 222 of the UBHO sub 214 are aligned with corresponding blind holes 108 of the mule shoe 100. The alignment is such that once the set screw is driven through the threaded opening 222 of the UBHO sub member 214, the dowel member 442 (FIG. 4) of the set screw 324 gets substantially seated within the blind hole 108. The set screws 324 engage and couple the openings 222 with the blind holes 108 and provide a positive orientation lock. The biting feature 446 (FIG. 4) of the set screw 324 bites into the knurled section of the mule shoe 100 to ensure friction lock.

It is to be noted that the entire downhole tool assembly can be adapted to be used in an upside down orientation also but with the same function and for the same purpose.

Referring to FIG. 6, it shows the alignment of the set screw 324 with the mule shoe member 100 and the UBHO sub member 214 in greater detail. It is to be noted that there is a gap 633 between the dowel member 442 and the base of the blind hole 108. This ensures that the biting feature 446 on the set screw 324 has allowance to bite into the knurled external surface 110 on the mule shoe. These features ensure that there will always be a positive locking mechanism to maintain orientation of the drill motor via the mule shoe to ensure directional control.

A different variation of the UBHO threaded opening is envisaged wherein, the threaded portion starts deeper down into the opening and has a groove above it to receive an internal retaining member for ensuring that the set screw doesn't ‘back off’ and lose its grip on the knurled section of the mule shoe and to ensure that the dowel in the set screw doesn't come out of the blind hole on the mule shoe.

Referring to FIG. 7, it is a depiction of another embodiment of the present invention to improve performance. The figure shows the alignment of a shorter set screw 724 with a mule shoe member 700, an UBHO sub member 714 and a retaining clip 748 in greater detail. Here, the UBHO sub member 714 has a mating groove 750 above the threaded portion in the opening 722 to receive a retaining member such as a retaining clip 748. Any other retaining member that is known in the art such as snap rings or other retainers that would mechanically retain the fastening member preventing its “backing-off” can be used without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The set screw 724 is driven into the opening 722 and then the retaining clip 748 is positioned in the mating groove 750 above a top surface 751 of the set screw 724. The retaining clip 748 prevents the set screw from ‘backing off’ thereby providing guaranteed orientation lock. The set screw 724 depicted in this embodiment is shorter for accommodating the retaining clip 748 within the opening 722. The reduced number of threads does not affect the performance in any way as the main function of the set screws' is to bite into the mule shoe 700 and prevent undesired movement of the mule shoe 700. There is no upwards or outward direct force that would shear the threads of the set screw 724. Hence, the set screw 724 can be made shorter and the retaining member can be added for reducing the risk of loosened screws and to make sure that the screw doesn't back off and allow the orientation to get changed. Other features of the set screw 724 that engages and couples the opening 722 with the blind hole 708 such as the dowel member 742, the biting feature 746 and the curved face 744 are also depicted in this figure.

Referring to FIG. 8, it is a depiction of another embodiment of the present invention to improve performance. The figure shows the alignment of T-shaped set screw 824 with a mule shoe member 800, an UBHO sub member 814 and a retaining clip 848 in greater detail. This set screw has a T shaped head 852 seated over a step 854 within the opening 822. The T-shaped head 852 has a greater width than the body 834 of the set screw 824. This increases the area of contact between the set screw 824 and the retaining clip 848 thus making the locking stronger and even less likely to back off. This design, therefore, maintains better orientation and reduces risk of the set screw from backing off.

Referring to FIG. 9, it is another embodiment of the mule shoe member 900 wherein the blind holes 108 (FIG. 1) are replaced with longitudinal slots 908. This will be of use in case precision machining is not possible on old UBHO subs. The downhole tool assembly can utilise such old UBHO subs and new mule shoes 900 having longitudinal slots 908. The longitudinal slots 908 allow for a degree of adjustability allowing this concept to be used with UBHO subs that are out of tolerance.

According to different exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter, methods for selectively orienting and locking a mule shoe member within an UBHO sub member are disclosed. The method begins with the step of providing an elongated, substantially cylindrical hollow mule shoe member. The hollow mule shoe member has an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion has one or more ribs extending longitudinally, wherein one of the rib houses a key slot for receiving a key member for securing the mule shoe member with an inner assembly. The lower portion has many apertures disposed circumferentially around an external surface and a base. The next step is providing an elongated substantially cylindrical hollow UBHO sub member with a longitudinal bore that is configured to house the mule shoe member within the bore. The UBHO sub member has a proximal portion and a distal portion. The distal portion has a projection on an inner surface that is configured to support the base. The distal portion further has two or more openings extending therethrough perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the UBHO sub member. The openings of the UBHO sub member are configured to be aligned with corresponding apertures in the mule shoe member. The next step is threadably engaging the distal portion of the UBHO sub member to a bottom hole component of a drill string thus disposing the UBHO sub member above a downhole motor. This is followed by positioning the mule shoe member within the bore, the base of the mule shoe member being supported by the projection. Then the mule shoe member is rotated within the bore such that the rib is aligned with a “high side” marked on the UBHO sub member thus orienting the mule shoe member to a specified angle and aligning the aperture of the mule shoe member with the opening of the UBHO sub member. The next step is providing one or more of fastening members such as set screws followed by securely and positively locking the mule shoe member within the bore in the desired orientation by means of the fastening member, the fastening member thereof releasably engaging and coupling the opening with the aperture. In a particular embodiment, the method further comprises of providing a retaining member such as retaining clips. In a particular embodiment, the step of orienting the mule shoe member to a specified angle is carried out with about +/−10 degree increments.

Although the present disclosure has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments and illustrations thereof, other embodiments and modifications to preferred embodiments may be possible that are within the principles and spirit of the invention. The above descriptions and figures are therefore to be regarded as illustrative and not restrictive.

Thus the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and includes both combinations and sub combinations of the various features described herein above as well as variations and modifications thereof, which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description.

Claims

1. A downhole tool assembly for directional drilling of wells comprising:

a) an elongated substantially cylindrical hollow mule shoe member, the mule shoe member thereof having an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion having a plurality of a rib extending longitudinally, the lower portion thereof having a plurality of an aperture and a base, the aperture being disposed circumferentially around an external surface of the lower portion;

b) an elongated substantially cylindrical hollow UBHO sub member having a longitudinal bore, the UBHO sub member thereof housing the mule shoe member within the bore, the UBHO sub member further having a proximal portion and a distal portion, the distal portion thereof having a projection on an inner surface, the projection thereof supporting the base, the distal portion thereof further having at least one of an opening extending therethrough perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the UBHO sub member, the opening thereof being aligned with the aperture; and

c) a plurality of a fastening member, the fastening member thereof releasably engaging and coupling the opening with the aperture, the fastening member thereof being configured to securely lock the mule shoe member within the UBHO sub member in a specified orientation, the downhole tool assembly thereof being configured for selective orientation of the mule shoe member to a specified angle and positive locking of the mule shoe member within the UBHO sub member in the desired orientation.

2. The downhole tool assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apertures are 36 in number and equally spaced for selectively orienting the mule shoe member to a specified angle with about 10 degree increments.

3. The downhole tool assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aperture is a blind hole.

4. The downhole tool assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the aperture is a longitudinal slot.

5. The downhole tool assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastening member is a set screw.

6. The downhole tool assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the set screw comprises of an elongated substantially cylindrical threaded body, the body thereof comprising a top end and a bottom end, the bottom end thereof having an elongated dowel member protruding from the center of a face, the dowel member thereof being coaxial with the body, the dowel member having a width associated therewith, the width thereof being lesser than a width of the body, the dowel member thereof being configured to be substantially seated within the aperture thereby providing a positive lock.

7. The downhole tool assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the face being curved inward, the bottom end thereof having a sharp biting feature at an edge, the biting feature thereof being configured to bite into a knurled surface of the lower portion thereby further providing a friction lock.

8. The downhole tool assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein the top end has a head, the head having a width associated therewith, the width thereof being greater than the width of the body, the head being configured to be seated over a corresponding step within the opening.

9. The downhole tool assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a retaining member, the retaining member thereof being disposed above a top surface of the fastening member and being configured to retain the fastening member in position.

10. The downhole tool assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein the retaining member is a retaining clip and wherein the UBHO sub member has a mating groove within the opening to receive the retaining clip.

11. A set screw for providing a positive lock comprising an elongated substantially cylindrical threaded body, the body thereof comprising a top end and a bottom end, the bottom end thereof having an elongated dowel member protruding from the center of a face, the dowel member thereof being coaxial with the body, the dowel member having a width associated therewith, the width thereof being lesser than a width of the body, the dowel member thereof being configured to be substantially seated in a suitable receiving member thereby providing a positive lock.

12. The set screw as claimed in claim 11, wherein the face being curved inward, the bottom end thereof having a sharp biting feature at an edge, the biting feature thereof configured to bite into a knurled surface thereby further providing a friction lock.

13. The set screw as claimed in claim 12, wherein the top end has a head, the head having a width associated therewith, the width thereof being greater than the width of the body, the head being configured to be seated over a corresponding step within a mating member.

14. A method for selectively orienting and locking a mule shoe member comprising:

a) Providing an elongated substantially cylindrical hollow mule shoe member, the mule shoe member thereof having an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion thereof having a plurality of a rib extending longitudinally, wherein at least one of the rib houses a key slot for receiving a key member, the key member being configured to secure the mule shoe member with an inner assembly, the lower portion thereof having a plurality of an aperture and a base, the aperture being disposed circumferentially around an external surface of the lower portion;

b) Providing an elongated substantially cylindrical hollow UBHO sub member having a longitudinal bore, the UBHO sub member thereof being configured to house the mule shoe member within the bore, the UBHO sub member further having a proximal portion and a distal portion, the distal portion thereof having a projection on an inner surface, the projection thereof being configured to support the base, the distal portion thereof further having at least one of an opening extending therethrough perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the UBHO sub member, the opening thereof being configured to be aligned with the aperture;

c) threadably engaging the distal portion to a bottom hole component of a drill string, the UBHO sub member thereof being disposed above a downhole motor;

d) positioning the mule shoe member within the bore, the base thereof being supported by the projection;

e) rotating the mule shoe member within the bore such that the rib is aligned with a high side on the UBHO sub member, the mule shoe member thereof being oriented to a specified angle and the aperture thereof being aligned with the opening;

f) providing a plurality of a fastening member; and

g) securely and positively locking the mule shoe member within the bore in the desired orientation by means of the fastening member, the fastening member thereof releasably engaging and coupling the opening with the aperture.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the step of orienting the mule shoe member to a specified angle is carried out with about 10 degree increments.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising providing a retaining member, the retaining member thereof being positioned above a top surface of the fastening member and being configured to retain the fastening member in position.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the retaining member is a retaining clip and wherein the UBHO sub member has a mating groove within the opening to receive the retaining clip.

18. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the apertures are 36 in number and equally spaced for selectively orienting the mule shoe member to a specified angle with about 10 degree increments.

19. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the aperture is a blind hole.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the aperture is a longitudinal slot.

21. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the fastening member is a set screw.

22. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the set screw comprises of an elongated substantially cylindrical threaded body, the body thereof comprising a top end and a bottom end, the bottom end thereof having an elongated dowel member protruding from the center of a face, the dowel member thereof being coaxial with the body, the dowel member having a width associated therewith, the width thereof being lesser than a width of the body, the dowel member thereof being configured to be substantially seated within the aperture thereby providing a positive lock.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the face being curved inward, the bottom end thereof having a sharp biting feature at an edge, the biting feature thereof being configured to bite into a knurled surface of the lower portion thereby further providing a friction lock.

24. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the top end has a head, the head having a width associated therewith, the width thereof being greater than the width of the body, the head being configured to be seated over a corresponding step on a mating member.