MANIFOLD IMPLEMENTED IN MULTI-CHANNEL SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING FLOW OF FLUIDS IN OIL WELL

Abstract

Disclosed is a manifold implemented in multi-channel system deployed in an oil well for controlling flow of fluids. The multi-channel system includes plurality of passageways to transport one or more fluids from the oil well. The manifold includes body having plurality of inlet ports and plurality of outlet ports, and a flow control arrangement provided in the body. The flow control arrangement including a channel formed between each one of the inlet ports and one of the outlet ports, and a check valve arranged in the channel at each one of the inlet ports of the body. The channel is adapted to receive fluids through the inlet port of the body creating a differential pressure between the inlet ports and the outlet ports. The check valve is configured to regulate flow of fluids into the channel based on the created differential pressure.

Claims

1. A manifold implemented in a multi-channel system deployed in an oil well for controlling flow of fluids, with the multi-channel system comprising a plurality of passageways to transport one or more fluids from the oil well, the manifold comprising: a body having a plurality of inlet ports and a plurality of outlet ports, the plurality of inlet ports being in fluid communication with the plurality of passageways; and a flow control arrangement provided in the body, the flow control arrangement comprising: a channel formed between each one of the inlet ports and one of the outlet ports, the channel adapted to receive fluids through the inlet port of the body creating a differential pressure between the inlet ports and the outlet ports; and a check valve arranged in the channel at each one of the inlet ports of the body, the check valve configured to regulate flow of fluids into the channel based on the created differential pressure.

2. The manifold according to claim 1, wherein the flow control arrangement further comprises a filter screen arranged at each one of the inlet ports to restrict impurities from entering the channel.

3. The manifold according to claim 1, wherein the check valve comprises threads formed therein to be engaged with threads formed in the channel proximal to the inlet port therein.

4. The manifold according to claim 1, wherein the body of the manifold is made of steel or steel alloy.

5. The manifold according to claim 1, wherein the body of the manifold is fabricated by machining of a single block of steel or steel alloy.

6. The manifold according to claim 1, wherein the manifold body is first machined and subsequently plated or coated.

7. The manifold according to claim 1, wherein said manifold body comprises a coating from the group consisting essential of a zinc-nickel plated ductile iron, a ceramic coating, a passivation layer or a corrosion prevention layer.

8. A system for controlling a flow of fluids, the system comprising: a plurality of passageways to transport one or more fluids from the oil well; and a manifold in fluid communication with the plurality of passageways, the manifold comprising: a body having a plurality of inlet ports and a plurality of outlet ports, the plurality of inlet ports being in fluid communication with the plurality of passageways; and a flow control arrangement provided in the body, the flow control arrangement comprising: a channel formed between each one of the inlet ports and one of the outlet ports, the channel adapted to receive fluids through the inlet port of the body creating a differential pressure between the inlet ports and the outlet ports; and a check valve arranged in the channel at each one of the inlet ports of the body, the check valve configured to regulate flow of fluids into the channel based on the created differential pressure.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the flow control arrangement further comprises a filter screen arranged at each one of the inlet ports to restrict impurities from entering the channel.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the check valve comprises threads formed therein to be engaged with threads formed in the channel proximal to the inlet port therein.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the body of the manifold is made of steel or steel alloy.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein the manifold body is first machined and subsequently plated or coated.

13. The manifold according to claim 8, wherein said manifold body comprises a coating from the group consisting essential of a zinc-nickel plated ductile iron, a ceramic coating, a passivation layer or a corrosion prevention layer.

14. The system according to claim 8, wherein the body of the manifold is made of zinc-nickel plated ductile iron.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The present subject matter will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, which are provided as illustrative examples of the subject matter so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice the subject matter. It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals. Notably, the FIGUREs and examples are not meant to limit the scope of the present subject matter to a single embodiment, but other embodiments are possible by way of interchange of some or all of the described or illustrated elements and, further, wherein:

[0027] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of components of a drilling system having a manifold therein, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 2A is a diagrammatic perspective view of a manifold (such as, the manifold of FIG. 1) employed in the drilling system of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 2B is a diagrammatic front view of the manifold of FIG. 2A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 2C is a diagrammatic rear view of the manifold of FIG. 2A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 2D is a diagrammatic top view of the manifold of FIG. 2A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG. 2E is a diagrammatic bottom view of the manifold of FIG. 2A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG. 2F is a diagrammatic left-side view of the manifold of FIG. 2A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG. 2G is a diagrammatic right-side view of the manifold of FIG. 2A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG. 3A is a schematic illustration of a hydraulic circuit for the manifold of FIGS. 2A-2G as implemented in the drilling system of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 3B is a schematic illustration of a section representing a flow control arrangement in the hydraulic circuit of FIG. 3A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 4A is a diagrammatic illustration of a check valve implemented in the flow control arrangement of FIG. 3B, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 4B is a diagrammatic illustration of a channel with the check valve of FIG. 4A arranged therein, as implemented in the flow control arrangement of FIG. 3B, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0039] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a section of the manifold of FIGS. 2A-2G depicting a section of the flow control arrangement therein, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0040] In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to these specific details.

[0041] Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, 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 items. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not for other embodiments.

[0042] Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words “right,” “left,” “lower,” and “upper” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the personalized air conditioning system and designated parts thereof. The words “first”, and “second”, are only used to represent a particular entity, and are not used to depict any specific order. The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.

[0043] The present invention provides a system for controlling flow of fluids from an oil or gas well. The present disclosure utilizes an improved manifold and a methodology that can be employed during, for example, well cleanup and flow periods or during other well related procedures. The manifold is both adjustable and calibrated to regulate the flow of well related fluids, such as multiphase production fluids. Additionally, the manifold may be integrated with other components at a surface location in an efficient arrangement that facilitates regulation of fluid flow rates. In one application, the combination of components of the manifold is used to regulate the flow rate of a multiphase fluid before that multiphase fluid enters a separator. Beneficially, in the present disclosure, the manifold is fabricated from a much rigid metallic alloy such as steel, instead of aluminum as in conventional manifold systems. Steel grants the manifolds an enhanced resistance to the washouts, fatigue or stress fractures, stress cracks, and chipping associated with aluminum manifolds. In addition, using a steel-based manifold greatly reduces the risk of accidentally stripping a port and ruining the manifold.

[0044] In addition to use in an oil and/or gas field for promoting the flow of fluid from the oil or gas wells in compliance with the fluid flow requirements, the method and system of the present disclosure may be used for other applications. Such other applications may include, for example, heavy construction machines, off-highway equipment etc.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 1, illustrated is a schematic illustration of an implementation of a drilling system and a system for controlling flow of fluids employed therein, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, drilling system 100 includes tubular drill string 102 suspended from drilling rig 104. Drill string 102 has a lower end which extends downwardly through blowout preventer (BOP) stack 106 and into borehole 108. Drill bit 110 is attached to the lower end of drill string 102. Top drive system 112 is operatively coupled to an upper end of drill string 102 for turning or rotating drill string 102 along with drill bit 110 in borehole 108. BOP stack 106 is coupled to well casing 112 via wellhead connecter 114.

[0046] When drilling is stopped (i.e., top drive system 112 is no longer turning drill string 102 and drill bit 110), one or more conventional annular BOPs 113 can be closed to effectively close well bore from the atmosphere. Kill line “A” couples between fluid injection line “B” via standpipe manifold 116 and conventional BOP stack 106 via kill line valve 118. Kill line “A” permits fluid communication between conventional surface fluid/mud pump 120 and well bore when kill line valve 122 and valving in standpipe manifold 116 are opened. Thus, while BOP 113 is closed, conventional surface fluid/mud pump 120 may be used to pump fluid from reservoir 122 into borehole 108 via fluid injection line B, standpipe manifold 116, kill line “B”, kill line valve 122, and BOP stack 106. Alternatively, while BOP 113 is closed, conventional surface fluid/mud pump 120 may be used to pump fluid from reservoir 122 into borehole 108 via fluid injection line “B”, standpipe manifold 116, drill string 102 and drill bit 110.

[0047] Surface fluid pump 120 pumps fluid from surface fluid reservoir 122 through fluid injection line “B”, through the upper end of drill string 102, down the interior of drill string 102, through drill bit 110 and into a borehole annulus. Choke line “C” couples between conventional BOP stack 106 via choke line valve 124 and surface fluid reservoir 122 via manifold 126. Manifold 126 includes flow control arrangement 128. Flow control arrangement 128 controls flow rate through choke line “C” thereby controlling pressure upstream of flow control arrangement 128.

[0048] Referring to FIGS. 2A-2G, illustrated are different views of manifold 200 (such as, manifold 126 of FIG. 1) employed in system 100 of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Throughout the present disclosure, the term “manifold” as used herein refers to a flow-routing hardware with plurality of inlet ports and plurality of outlet ports, which is used to transport fluids and control fluid flow. The different types of manifold include, but are not limited to production (oil, gas, or condensate), lift, water injection, and mixed (production and water injection). Typically, manifolds are equipment which connect two or more valves of a hydraulic system. A variety of block/isolate valves can be combined in a single body configuration. Each of these valves has a separate opening below in order to connect a pipe. The main body or valve chamber is common to all. Such manifolds commonly include ball, bleed, needle, and vent valves. The use of such manifolds in savings in terms of space and installation costs.

[0049] As shown in FIGS. 2A-2G, manifold 200 includes a body 202. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, body 202 of manifold 200 is made of steel or steel alloy. In the present embodiments, body 202 of manifold 200 is fabricated by machining of a single block of steel or steel alloy. Optionally, body 202 of manifold 200 is made of zinc-nickel plated ductile iron. With the present subject matter, manifold 200 may be first machined and then plated or coated. Plating or coatings may be form of zinc-nickel, ceramic coating material, a passivation layer, or any number of plating processes to capable of preventing corrosion of the manifold steel.

[0050] As aforementioned, manifold 200 is implemented in a multi-channel system, such as drilling system 100 of FIG. 1, as deployed in an oil well, for controlling flow of fluids. Herein, the multi-channel system includes a plurality of passageways (not shown) to transport one or more fluids from the oil well.

[0051] Referring again to FIGS. 2A-2G, as shown, body 202, of manifold 200, has a plurality of inlet ports 204 and a plurality of outlet ports 206. Herein, the plurality of inlet ports 204 are in fluid communication with the plurality of passageways of the multi-channel system, as discussed in the preceding paragraph. Manifold 200 further includes flow control arrangement (such as, flow control arrangement 300B of FIG. 3B, as discussed later in the description) provided in body 202. Such a flow control arrangement is explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. Further, as shown, manifold 200 includes a set of multiples valves such as valves 208 and 210. The various components in manifold 200 are arranged as per the design requirement of manifold 200 and space constraints in the drilling system (such as, system 100 of FIG. 1) in which manifold 200 is implemented.

[0052] Referring to FIG. 3A, illustrated is hydraulic circuit diagram 300A of manifold 200 of FIG. 2 as implemented in drilling system 100 of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hydraulic circuit diagram 300A includes one or more power sources, one or more valves, one or more controllers for controlling an operation of the valves, one or more filters, one or more orifices and channels, one or more inlets, one or more outlets and so forth. Referring to FIG. 3B, illustrated is a section representing flow control arrangement 300B in hydraulic circuit diagram 300A of FIG. 3A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Herein, flow control arrangement 300B includes power source 302, check valve 304, channel 306 and filter screen 308.

[0053] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a single pressed-in embodiment may include a check valve, orifice, and a filter screen. Other embodiments may further provide two separate components, one may be a thread-in check valve, another may be a one-thread-in filter screen, and a machined orifice for matching performance specifications according to a single-component design. Herein, filter screen 308 is arranged at each one of the inlet ports (such as, inlet ports 204) to restrict impurities from entering channel 306. Throughout the present disclosure, the term “filter screen” as used herein refers to a device that may generally be in the form of a mesh and is used to prevent impurities from reaching the outlet ports thereby ensuring high cleanliness level of the fluid. Moreover, it also ensures reliable operations of subsequent apparatuses used in the system. These screens can be made up of metal, alloys etc.

[0054] It may be understood that a valve when employed in a steel-based manifold (such as, manifold 200 of the present disclosure) may not seat properly due to the hard nature of the steel. Such a valve may come unseated and thus may affect the proper functioning of the manifold. This may not be a problem with aluminum-based manifold as known in the art because, with such manifolds, the valve may be installed by pressing it into the manifold, as the aluminum was malleable enough to conform to the shape of the pressed valve. Some of the existing manifolds employ a particular directional flow valve by Lee® company which has integrated functionalities of a check valve, an orifice drilling, and a last-chance filter screen.

[0055] Manifold 200 of the present disclosure reshape one or more ports therein (as discussed in more detail with reference to FIG. 5, later in the description) to enable installation of a fixed orifice (in the form of channel 306), a screen (such as, filter screen 308), and thread-in check valve 304 with suitable operational specifications. Such a distributed arrangement of flow control arrangement 300B, replacing a single press-in seated check valve as in the conventional manifolds, improves the reliability of flow control arrangement 300B.

[0056] Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, illustrated are schematic representations of components of the flow control arrangement of FIG. 3B, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4A represents check valve 400A to be implemented in manifold 200 of the present disclosure. Throughout the present disclosure, thread-in check valve 400A as used herein refers to devices whose functions include, but not limited to, allowing free flow in one direction while preventing flow in the reverse direction, and regulating the pressure there through. Check valve 400A may be used to isolate portions of a hydraulic circuit or to provide a free flow path around a restrictive valve. Optionally, check valve 400A may be either manual or hydraulically actuated. Check valve 400A are configured to regulate the flow of fluids into channel 400A based on the created differential pressure. FIG. 4B represents channel 400B into which check valve 400A is fitted in an embodiment. Herein, channel 400B is formed between each one of the inlet ports and one of the outlet ports of the manifold, as discussed. Channel 400B is adapted to receive fluids through the inlet port of the body creating a differential pressure between the inlet ports and the outlet ports. Optionally, channel 400B may be a fixed orifice or a variable orifice.

[0057] As may be contemplated from FIGS. 4A and 4B, check valve 400A is arranged in channel 400B at each one of the inlet ports (such as inlet ports 204) of manifold 200. Herein, as may be seen from FIGS. 4A and 4B, check valve 400A is a threaded valve that ensures that check valve 400A is properly fixed into the channel (i.e. channel 306) and eliminates any risk of disengagement of check valve 400A from channel 306 in manifold 200, due to any vibrations, forces or torques induced in flow control arrangement 300B. In the present embodiments, check valve 400A includes threads formed therein to be engaged with corresponding threads formed in channel 400B proximal to the inlet port therein. Such an arrangement ensures that check valve 400A is properly seated in body 202 of manifold 200 and does not get dislocated from its original position due to pressure and constant vibrations in the drilling system (such as, system 100 of FIG. 1).

[0058] Referring to FIG. 5, illustrated is a section of manifold (such as, manifold 200) depicting the flow control arrangement implemented therein, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, check valve 400A of FIG. 4B is arranged in port 502 of manifold 200; and channel 400B of FIG. 4B forms part of port 504. As shown, there is a cross-drilling connection 506 between port 502 and port 504, and thereby check valve 400A is able to control an inflow of fluids, such as oil, through port 502. As discussed, channel 400B may be a fixed orifice including a filter screen (not shown) arranged at one end, within port 504.

[0059] Manifold 200, when implemented in a fluid control and/or regulation system such as drilling system 100 of FIG. 1, improves the efficiency as well as reduces energy costs. Beneficially, manifold 200 introduces shorter path flows which reduce pressure drop and heat fluctuations, improving the overall energy efficiency of system 100 of FIG. 1. Beneficially, manifold 200 also reduces installation costs as well as fluid connections because of a simpler, more compact design. Furthermore, manifold 200 mitigates chances of oil leak due to a lesser number of connections, further reducing the need for upkeep against fatigue, wear and lose joints. Furthermore, manifold 200 being of a small and compact size enables installation thereof in confined spaces of the drilling systems, such as system 100 of FIG. 1 without requiring any significant change in design of system 100.

[0060] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present disclosure and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.