GRAVEL PACK TO INFLOW CONTROL CONVERSION SYSTEM AND

METHODOLOGY

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present document is based on and claims priority to US Provisional Application

Serial No.: 62/888,084, filed August 16, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Gravel packs are used in wells for removing particulates from inflowing hydrocarbon fluids. In a variety of applications, gravel packing is performed in long horizontal wells by pumping gravel suspended in a carrier fluid down the annulus between the wellbore and a screen assembly. The carrier fluid is returned to the surface after depositing the gravel in the wellbore annulus. To return to the surface, the carrier fluid flows through the screen assembly, through base pipe perforations, and into a production tubing, which routes the returning carrier fluid back to the surface. Additionally, some applications utilize alternate path systems having various types of shunt tubes, which help distribute the gravel slurry. In some applications, inflow control devices have been combined with screen assemblies to provide control over the subsequent inflow of production fluids.

[0003] More specifically, an APS-ICD (Alternate Path System - Inflow Control Device) downhole completions tool is a screened joint that may be used for (1) gravel packing, and (2) production. When the APS-ICD tool is in gravel packing mode, the surrounding annulus is packed with gravel that is pumped from surface. In the tool, the gravel flows through shunt tubes and nozzles to create an alternate flow path that bypasses sand bridges and fills in voids that may occur during the gravel pumping. To achieve the production of formation fluids, the gravel is dehydrated through the screened joint into drainage ports in the tool.

[0004] After the annulus is packed, the APS-ICD tool transitions from gravel packing mode to production mode. During production mode, a piston mechanism seals the drainage ports in the tool, directing all formation fluids through inflow control devices. A system and method to activate the piston mechanism is necessary to establish a successful transition from gravel packing mode to production mode.

SUMMARY

[0005] One or more embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a completion string that includes at least one screen assembly and a blank pipe section connected to a top of the at least one screen assembly, wherein the at least one screen assembly includes a base pipe including a high flow area containing a plurality of perforations, at least one inflow control device, and a flow surface area conversion system, and a filter disposed around the base pipe. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the completion string also includes a single control line spanning an entirety of the at least one screen assembly and the blank pipe section, the single control line being open-ended in an annulus proximate the blank pipe section. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the flow surface area conversion system is configured to by hydraulically activated by pressure transferred to the at least one screen assembly through the single control line.

[0006] One or more embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a method that includes conveying a completion string downhole in a wellbore, the completion string including at least one screen assembly, and a blank pipe section connected to a top of the at least one screen assembly, wherein the at least one screen assembly includes a base pipe including a high flow area containing a plurality of perforations, at least one inflow control device, and a flow surface area conversion system, and a first filter disposed around the base pipe. The method according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure also includes running a single control line that spans an entirety of the at least one screen assembly and the blank pipe section, the single control line being open-ended in an annulus proximate the blank pipe section. The at least one screen assembly has a gravel packing mode and a production mode. The method according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure also includes initiating a gravel packing operation when the at least one screen assembly is in the gravel packing mode, completing the gravel packing operation, hydraulically activating the flow surface area conversion system by transferring pressure to the at least one screen assembly through the single control line, and converting the at least one screen assembly from the gravel packing mode to the production mode.

[0007] However, many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Certain embodiments of the disclosure will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying figures illustrate the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein, and:

[0009] FIG. 1(a) shows a downhole completions tool in a gravel packing configuration according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0010] FIG. 1(b) shows a downhole completions tool in a production configuration according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0011] FIG. 2 shows an application of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure to elements of a completion string including at least one screen assembly and a blank pipe section;

[0012] FIG. 3 shows a schematic of a full activation system according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; [0013] FIG. 4 shows the rupture disc module and pressure activation schematic shown in the full activation system of FIG. 3 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0014] FIG. 5 shows a dart chamber of the at least one screen assembly shown in the full activation system of FIG. 3 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. DESCRIPTION

[0015] In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of some embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the system and/or methodology may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible.

[0016] In the specification and appended claims: the terms “up” and “down,” “upper” and “lower,” “upwardly” and “downwardly,” “upstream” and “downstream,” “uphole” and “downhole,” “above” and “below,” “top” and “bottom,: and other like terms indicating relative positions above or below a given point or element are used in this description to more clearly describe some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0017] The present disclosure generally relates to a system and method for activating a change in configuration or mode of a downhole completions tool. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for activating a change of a hybrid APS-ICD system from a gravel packing configuration or mode to a production configuration or mode. Gravel packing operations require a large flow area to allow dehydration and carrier fluid flow back to the surface, which in turn, enables gravel transport and deposition. Production operations require a minimal and tailored flow surface area, which creates a specific pressure drop, thus preventing disproportionate hydrocarbon production from formation zones having varying permeability. Because gravel packing and production operation requirements are in opposition, there is a need for in-situ reduction of the flow area in a sand screen system as the system transitions from gravel packing mode to production mode without intervention from the surface. The system and method according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may hydraulically activate a flow surface area conversion system to facilitate an autonomous switch between gravel packing mode and production mode.

[0018] Referring now to FIG. 1(a), a downhole completions tool in a gravel packing configuration is shown according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. According to one or more embodiments, the downhole completions tool is a hybrid APS-ICD system, in which inflow control devices are incorporated into an alternate path system. As shown in FIG. 1(a), the APS-ICD system may include a base pipe 10, a filter 12 disposed around the base pipe 10, and a drainage layer 14 disposed between the filter 12 and the base pipe 10. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the base pipe 10 may be a metal tubular member, and the filter 12 may be a screen or another type of filter medium, for example.

[0019] As further shown in FIG. 1(a), the base pipe 10 has two ends. At the first end, the base pipe 10 may include a coupling 16 for connecting to another screen assembly or another downhole completion tool, for example. Near the second end, the base pipe 10 may include at least one ICD 18 uphole of a high flow area 20 containing a plurality of perforations. In other embodiments, the at least one ICD 18 may also be disposed near the coupling 16 at the first end of the base pipe 10 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The base pipe 10 may also include a dart housing 22 disposed around the second end. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the dart housing 22 may include at least one dart or piston 24, which is configured to seal at least one drainage port 26 contained within the dart housing 22.

[0020] Still referring to FIG. 1(a), the hybrid APS-ICD system is shown in a gravel packing configuration, which may be the run-in-hole configuration of this downhole completions tool. As shown, in the gravel packing configuration, the at least one dart 24 has not been activated, and as such, the at least one dart 24 does not seal the at least one drainage port 26 in the dart housing 22. As such, after depositing gravel slurry in the wellbore annulus during a gravel packing operation, the carrier fluid from the gravel slurry returns through the filter 12, flows along the drainage layer 14 between the filter 12 and the base pipe 10, and into the dart housing 22. Because the at least one dart does not seal the at least one drainage port 26 in the dart housing 22 when the hybrid APS-ICD system is in the gravel packing configuration, the carrier fluid continues to flow through the at least one drainage port 26, through the plurality of perforations in the high flow area 20, and into the interior of the base pipe 10 for returning to the surface, via a wash pipe and service tool, and casing annulus, for example. When the hybrid APS-ICD system is in the gravel packing configuration, very little to no carrier fluid flows into the interior of the base pipe 10 via the at least one ICD 18 in the base pipe 10.

[0021] After the gravel packing operation is complete, the hybrid APS-ICD system may transition from the gravel packing configuration shown in FIG. 1(a) to a production configuration (or intelligent flow management mode) shown in FIG. 1(b), according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In one or more embodiments, the at least one dart 24 of the APS-ICD system may be activated hydraulically or mechanically, for example. Activation of the at least one dart 24 actuates the at least one dart 24 to shift and seal the at least one drainage port 26 in the dart housing 22, as shown in FIG. 1(b). Sealing of the at least one drainage port 26 by the at least one dart 24 causes the hybrid APS-ICD system to transition from the gravel packing configuration shown in FIG. 1(a) to the production configuration shown in FIG. 1(b).

[0022] Still referring to FIG. 1(b), in the production configuration, sealing of the at least one drainage port 26 by the at least one dart 24 isolates the high flow area 20 from the reservoir. As such, in the production configuration, the produced fluid will enter through the filter 12, travel along the drainage layer 14 between the filter 12 and base pipe 10, into the at least one ICD 18, which maintains uniform inflow rates across the completed zones in the well, and into the interior of the base pipe 10 for returning to the surface without flowing through the plurality of perforations in the high flow area 20. In the production configuration, the production fluid may flow into a conventional ICD, a ResCheck ICD, or an AICD, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0023] One or more embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to activating transition of the APS-ICD system from gravel packing mode to production mode. That is, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to hydraulically activating the sealing of the at least one drainage port 26 by the at least one dart 24 by utilizing a screen-out pressure that occurs at the end of a gravel packing procedure. This hydraulic activation obstructs the large flow area necessary for gravel packing mode, thereby forcing production flow only through the ICDs 18 during production mode.

[0024] Referring now to FIG. 2, a system including a completion string 28 having at least one screen assembly 30 and a blank pipe section 32 is shown. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the blank pipe section 32 is connected to a top, or a heel end, of the at least one screen assembly 30. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the blank pipe section 32 includes a non-perforated base pipe. For reasons further described below, the blank pipe section 32 functions as a pressure activation module where pressure may be harvested, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Although three screen assemblies 30 are shown in FIG. 2, the completion string 28 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may include an arbitrary number of screen assemblies 30, such as 10 to 80 or more screen assemblies, for example. Screen assemblies 30 in the completion string 28 are linked to each other by a jumper tube according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As previously described with respect to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), the at least one screen assembly 30 includes a base pipe 10 and a filter 12 disposed around the base pipe 10. As also previously described with respect to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), the base pipe 10 of the at least one screen assembly 30 may include a high flow area 20 containing a plurality of perforations and at least one ICD 18 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As more specifically described below with respect to FIG. 5, the base pipe 10 of the at least one screen assembly 30 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may also include a flow surface area conversion system 34 that includes a dart chamber 36, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0025] The system shown in FIG. 2 may also include a single control line 38 spanning an entirety of the at least one screen assembly 30 and the blank pipe section 32. That is, the blank pipe section 32 and all of the screen assemblies 30 in the completion string 28 may be in hydraulic communication through the single control line 38, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Further to the heel end of the at least one screen assembly 30, the single control line 38 may be interrupted by a main rupture disc module 46 included in the blank pipe section 32, as shown in FIG. 2, for example. More specific details of the main rupture disc module 46 of the blank pipe section 32 are provided below with respect to FIG. 4. As further shown in FIG. 2, past the main rupture disc module 46 toward the heel end of the completion string 28, the single control line 38 has an open end 40 in the wellbore annulus 42 proximate the blank pipe section 32, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Insofar as the open end 40 of the single control line 38 is disposed in the wellbore annulus 42, the single control line 38 is exposed to the hydrostatic pressure, and the open end 40 of the single control line 38 will see any and all pressures in the wellbore annulus 42 at the blank-pipe 32 level. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a filter 44 may be disposed in the wellbore annulus 42 to protect the open end 40 of the single control line 38 from unwanted drilling fluids debris. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, instead of the filter 44, a screen may be wrapped around the non-perforated base pipe of the blank pipe section 32, including the open end 40 of the single control line 38, to filter out debris. Other filter mechanisms with respect to the open end 40 of the single control line 30 proximate the blank pipe section 32 are contemplated as being within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, the single control line 38 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is self-filling. That is, the single control line 38 may be run downhole empty, and then be autonomously filled once installed downhole when the open end 40, which serves as an inlet, contacts fluid. To facilitate this self-filling feature, the other end of the single control line 38 opposite the open end 40 is closed, thereby creating a closed system. In this way, and as further described below, a pressure increase at the top of the system at the blank pipe section 32 may be applied to the entire completion string 28 at once. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the single control line 38 does not extend to the surface. Moreover, the single control line 38 may have a diameter in a range of about .25 inch to about 1 inch in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] Still referring to FIG. 2, the blank pipe section 32 and the at least one screen assembly 30 of the completion string 28 may include a plurality of transport tubes 48, which help distribute slurry (i.e., gravel with carrier fluid) during a gravel packing operation via a gravel pack inlet 50 in an alternate path system, as previously described. During the gravel packing operation, the gravel may be deposited between the wellbore annulus 42 and the outer diameter (OD) of the at least one screen assembly 30. As previously described, gravel prevents formation sand from penetrating the ICD of the production tubing. [0027] FIG. 2 also shows that the at least one screen assembly 30 may be positioned in either the open hole section or the cased hole section of the wellbore, which may be compartmentalized by packers 52 that are set in the casing/liner or in the open hole section of the wellbore, as required. However, packers 52 may be omitted from the completion string 28 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0028] Referring now to FIG. 3, a schematic of a full activation system according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. FIG. 3 will be described concurrently with FIGS. 4 and 5, which show sub-systems of the full activation system shown in FIG. 3. Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the blank pipe section 32 includes a main rupture disc module 46 toward the heel end of the at least one screen assembly 30, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the main rupture disc module 46 includes a main rupture disc 47, which is a physical barrier between hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore annulus 42 and atmospheric pressure in the single control line 38. Still referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, when the gravel packing operation completes and reaches a screen- out pressure, which may be several thousands psi’s above local hydrostatic pressure, this sudden pressure increase is transferred directly to the heel end, i.e., uphole side, of the main rupture disc 47 through the filter 44 and the open end 40 of the single control line 38. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the main rupture disc 47 is designed to burst at a predetermined pressure that is above the local hydrostatic pressure, which may be above or at the screen-out pressure. Once the main rupture disc 47 bursts, the hydrostatic fluid will flood the single control line 38. In this way, the blank pipe section 32 functions as a pressure activation module as previously described, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the pressure is then transferred to the at least one screen assembly 30 through the single control line 38.

[0029] In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the main rupture disc module 46 and the main rupture disc 47 may be omitted without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In embodiments of the present disclosure where the main rupture disc module 46 and the main rupture disc 47 are omitted, hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore annulus 42 will enter the open end 40 of the single control line 38 at the blank pipe 32 level, and hydrostatic pressure will flood the single control line 38 and be applied to every screen assembly 30 in the completion string 28 at substantially the same time. As used herein, “substantially the same time” means that it takes 0-30 seconds for a screen assembly 30 to be pressure activated by the blank pipe section 32 or a previous screen assembly 30 in the completion string 28. In this alternative way, the blank pipe section 32 functions as a pressure activation module as previously described, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the blank pipe section 32 may include a plurality of control lines for inlet pressure redundancy purposes in addition to the single control line 38. For example, the blank pipe section 32 may include the single control line 38 and two additional redundant control lines, totaling three control lines, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Advantageously, the redundant control lines will still allow the blank pipe section 32 to properly function as a pressure activation module even if the single control line 38 becomes clogged with unwanted debris at the blank pipe 32 level. In embodiments of the present disclosure that include the redundant control lines, the redundant control lines and the single control line 38 may be fed into a hydrostatic pressure module disposed between the blank pipe section 32 and the first screen assembly 30 adjacent the blank pipe section 32. In this module, hydrostatic pressure fluid from the redundant control lines and the single control line 38 may be collected and then output into the single control line 38 at an outlet of the module for activation of the screen assemblies 30 in the completion string 28, as previously described.

[0031] Referring more particularly to FIGS. 3 and 5, the at least one screen assembly 30 may include a flow surface area conversion system 34 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The flow surface area conversions system 34 regulates through which type of flow surface area fluid from the wellbore annulus 42 enters the production tubing inner diameter (ID). A large or high flow surface area corresponds to gravel packing operations, where significant flow returns are flowing through the production tubing ID to the surface. In contrast, a small flow surface area is dedicated for hydrocarbon production.

[0032] Still referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, in one or more embodiments, the flow surface area conversion system 34 may include a dart chamber 36 having a compensating piston 54, at least one dart 24, and at least one drainage port 26, as previously described with respect to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), for example. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the dart chamber 36 of the flow surface area conversion system 34 may also include a local rupture disc 56 hydraulically connected to the compensating piston 54 and the at least one dart 24. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the dart chamber 36 may include two darts 24 as shown in FIG. 3, for example. When hydrostatic pressure is transferred to the flow surface area conversion system 34 of the at least one screen assembly 30 through the single control line 38, the compensating piston 54 will move once the pressure in the dart chamber 36 changes from atmospheric pressure to hydrostatic pressure, and the pressure in the single control line 38 within the dart chamber 36 will actuate the at least one dart 24. To clarify, each of the screen assemblies 30 and the dart chambers 36 in the completion string 28 are connected to another screen assembly 30 and dart chamber 36 in the completion string 28 via the single control line 38. In this way, the single control line 38 establishes hydraulic communication between all screen assemblies 30 in the completion string 28. In embodiments of the present disclosure where the dart chamber 36 includes the local rupture disc 56, the pressure will be applied to the local rupture disc 56 instead of being directly applied to the at least one dart 24. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the local rupture disc 56 is designed to burst at a predetermined pressure, as determined by the operator. In such embodiments, the at least one dart 24 will be actuated when pressure in the single control line 38 within the dart chamber 36 and uphole of the local rupture disc 56 reaches the predetermined pressure that causes the local rupture disc 56 to burst.

[0033] Still referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, actuation of the at least one dart 24 will cause the at least one dart 24 to shift and seal the at least one drainage port 26 of the dart chamber 36, thereby isolating the high flow area 20 of the base pipe 10 of the at least one screen assembly 30. That is, once actuated, the at least one dart 24 converts the at least one screen assembly from gravel packing mode to hydrocarbon production mode through the at least one ICD 18. More specifically, the at least one dart 24 in the dart chamber 36 may be actuated with hydrostatic pressure, but the at least one dart 24 is kept in a non-actuated state by atmospheric pressure captured at the surface, prior to running the completion string 28 in the wellbore, and the at least one dart 24 stays in this non-actuated, contracted position during the gravel packing operation. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one dart 24 is spring loaded and serves as a flow surface area reducer upon actuation. That is, when actuated by release of the spring, the at least one dart 24 moves forward to shift, seal, and obstruct the fluid flow at the at least one drainage port 26 of the dart chamber 36, thereby allowing the at least one ICD 18 to be used. [0034] Other embodiments may eliminate the need for the at least one dart 24 and a the dart chamber 36 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, other embodiments of the present disclosure may include a sleeve with pre-positioned ICD/AICD nozzles. The sleeve may be kept in a locked position while being run in the wellbore and during a gravel packing operation. Once the gravel packing operation is complete, the sleeve may be released to obstruct the large high flow area 20, and ICD/AICD nozzles may be introduced for hydrocarbon production.

[0035] Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail above, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims.