WELL INTEGRITY TESTING TOOL

Abstract

A liner top testing tool to be fitted on a drilling equipment configured to perform drilling for formation of a well and cleaning a casing inside the well is disclosed. The tool comprises a landing sub coated with crushed carbide, configured to land on liner top of the casing inside the well, a junk breaker configured to break casing drill cement and junk into small pieces, an element packer configured to isolate mud of the casing drill cement and the junk inside the casing and test integrity of the well, a scraper configured to scrap the casing and clean ahead of the element packer for improved isolation and good test, a stabilizer sleeve having bearing ball configured to stabilize the tool and provide high RPM to the stabilizer sleeve, and a mandril disposed in between the landing sub, the junk breaker, the element packer scraper, and the stabilizer sleeve.

Claims

1. A liner top testing tool to be fitted on a drilling equipment configured to perform drilling for formation of a well and cleaning a casing inside the well, the tool comprising: a landing sub coated with crushed carbide, configured to land on liner top of the casing inside the well; a junk breaker configured to break casing drill cement and junk into small pieces, wherein the junk breaker comprises a filter sub to further reduce size of the junk and the cement while the drilling; an element packer configured to isolate mud of the casing drill cement and the junk inside the casing and test integrity of the well; a scraper configured to scrap the casing and clean ahead of the element packer for improved isolation and good test; a stabilizer sleeve having bearing ball configured to stabilize the tool; and a mandril disposed in between the landing sub, the junk breaker, the element packer scraper, and the stabilizer sleeve; wherein the mandril is configured to rotate the junk breaker, and the stabilizer sleeve.

2. The tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the landing sub is configured to land on liner top of the casing with 45-degree profile, wherein, on application of mechanical weight resulting in application of shear force, thereby allowing element packer to activate and redress liner top of cement in the well.

3. The tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stabilizer sleeve having bearing ball configured to provide high rotations per minute (RPM) to the stabilizer sleeve.

4. The tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the stabilizer sleeve having spiral groves configured to provide large flow area to drilling water created from the mud while rotation.

5. The tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scraper is non-rotating and comprising one or more collapsible blade configured to provide high flexibility with high flow area to the drilling fluids.

6. The tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scraper comprising one or more thrust bearing to avoid friction with the junk breaker.

7. The tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the element packer is supported by an upper packer support and a lower packer support for enhanced rigidity.

8. The tool as claimed in claim 7, comprising an inner sleeve configured to accommodate the landing sub, the junk breaker, the scraper, and the lower packer support.

9. The tool as claimed in claim 8, wherein the inner sleeve comprises grove for mechanical stop key to stop excessive weight form the tool.

10. The tool as claimed in claim 1, comprising a spring configured to act as shock absorber to reduce impact caused due to the tool shear.

11. The tool as claimed in claim 10, wherein the spring is configured to work as retract mechanism to push the landing sub, the junk breaker, and the scraper, back to original position after usage of the tool.

12. The tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the test of the integrity of the well is conducted using pressure test selected from group comprising negative pressure test or positive pressure test or a combination thereof.

13. The tool as claimed in claim 12, wherein the negative pressure test of the integrity of the well is conducted by keeping a drilling fluid generated from the mud above the element packer and generating a static pressure equal to a formation pressure of the well.

14. The tool as claimed in claim 13, wherein an underbalanced fluid is fed below the element packer to lower the static pressure.

15. The tool as claimed in claim 12, wherein the integrity is determined by measuring the difference between the lowered static pressure and the formation pressure.

16. The tool as claimed in claim 12, wherein the well is considered integrated where there is no increment of the lowered static pressure.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may have been referred by embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

[0022] These and other features, benefits, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following text figure, with like reference numbers referring to like structures across the views, wherein

[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a liner top testing tool to be fitted on a drilling equipment configured to perform drilling for formation of a well and cleaning a casing inside the well, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates a landing sub of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates a junk breaker of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] FIG. 4 illustrates a scraper of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates a stabilizer sleeve of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] FIG. 6 illustrates a mandril of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] FIG. 7 illustrates an inner sleeve of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] FIG. 8 illustrates a spring of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0031] FIG. 9 illustrates working of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawing correspond to the like elements throughout the description.

[0033] While the present invention is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim.

[0034] As used throughout this description, the word may is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense, (i.e., meaning must). Further, the words a or an mean at least one and the word plurality means one or more unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as including, comprising, having, containing, or involving, and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. Likewise, the term comprising is considered synonymous with the terms including or containing for applicable legal purposes.

[0035] Referring to the drawings, the invention will now be described in more detail. FIG. 1 illustrates a liner top testing tool to be fitted on a drilling equipment configured to perform drilling for formation of a well and cleaning a casing inside the well, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the tool comprises may be, but not limited to, a landing sub 102, a junk breaker 104, an element packer 108, a scraper 110, a stabilizer sleeve 112 a mandril 116, and an inner sleeve 114. As shown in FIG. 1, the junk breaker 104 comprises a filter sub 106. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the element packer 108 is supported by an upper packer support 1080 and a lower packer support 1082 for enhanced rigidity.

[0036] FIG. 2 illustrates the landing sub 102 of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The landing sub 102 may be a simple but effective means of landing out in a liner (or casing) top in the well or other profile in the wellbore to activate any type of weight set tool. The landing sub 102 may be made of, but not limited to iron, steel, titanium, aluminum, brass, or a combination thereof. The landing sub 102 is placed at bottom of a drill string to land or sit on the liner top of the wellbore.

[0037] Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the landing sub 102 of the tool is connected with the junk breaker 104. FIG. 3 illustrates the junk breaker 104 of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The junk breaker 104 is especially designed to break cement and junk into small pieces and avoid damage to outer components such as the element packer 108 scraper 110. The junk breaker 104 is adapted to make sure that casing elastomer approaches liner top intact while drilling application for test integrity.

[0038] The junk breaker 104 may be rotatory, pneumatically or hydraulically operated based on a drilling or testing operations. Further as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the junk breaker 104 comprises a filter sub 106 to further reduce size of the junk and the cement while the drilling. The filter sub 106 may provide protective mechanisms that are installed above drill motors that would typically wear out when constantly exposed to solid surfaces. These filters will prevent nozzles and motors from clogging up with debris.

[0039] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the junk breaker 104 is in connection with the scraper 110. FIG. 4 illustrates the scraper 110 of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the scraper 110 may comprise, may be, but not limited to, one or more thrust bearing to avoid friction with the junk breaker 104. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the scraper 110 may comprise rotating blades. The rotating blades may be one or more collapsible blade 1101 may be configured to provide high flexibility with high flow area to the drilling fluids.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 1, connected with the scraper 110 is the element packer 108. The element packer 108 may be flexible elastomeric components that are used to seal between the outside diameter of the production tubing and the casing, liner or wellbore. As shown in FIG. 1, the element packer 108 may be supported by an upper packer support 1080 and a lower packer support 1082 for enhanced rigidity over the scraper 110.

[0041] Further, as shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, above the element packer 108, is disposed the stabilizer sleeve 112. FIG. 5 illustrates a stabilizer sleeve 112 of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The stabilizer sleeve 112 may be a piece of downhole equipment which may be used in wellbore assembly specifically, in a drill string. The stabilizer sleeve 112 may mechanically stabilize the wellbore assembly in the borehole in order to centralize the tool to have a good seal and guaranteed test. As shown in FIG. 5, the stabilizer sleeve 112 may have, but not limited to, spiral groves 1121 configured to provide large flow area for drilling fluids while rotation. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the stabilizer sleeve 112 may have bearing ball configured to allow high rotations per minute (RPM).

[0042] Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the mandril 116 is disposed in between the landing sub 102, the junk breaker 104, the element packer 108 scraper 110, and the stabilizer sleeve 112. FIG. 6 illustrates a mandril 116 of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The mandril 116 may be a bar, shaft, or spindle around which other components such a, but not limited to, the landing sub 102, the junk breaker 104, the element packer 108 scraper 110, and the stabilizer sleeve 112 are arranged or assembled.

[0043] In accordance with an embodiment, the mandril 116 maybe a fracturing mandril 116, gas-lift mandril 116 or packer mandril 116 based on specification of the operation. In accordance with an embodiment, the mandril 116 may have an outside diameter of 4 1/2 inches in case of a box connection. Further, the mandril 116 may have an outside diameter of 3 1/2 inches in case of a pin connection. There may be provisions of drilling fluid to pass through the mandril 116 such as a conduit or an external pipe to facilitate drilling fluid to transfer beyond the element packer 108.

[0044] Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the inner sleeve 114 configured to accommodate the landing sub 102, the junk breaker 104, the scraper 110, and the lower packer support 1082. FIG. 7 illustrates an inner sleeve 114 of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the inner sleeve 114 comprises grove for mechanical stop key to stop excessive weight of may be, but not limited to, the tool, the drilling assembly, static pressure etc.

[0045] Further, the tool may comprise a spring. FIG. 8 illustrates a spring of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The spring may be configured to act as shock absorber to reduce impact caused due to the tool shear. However, a person skilled in the art would appreciate that the spring may also be configured to work as retract mechanism to push the landing sub 102, the junk breaker 104, and the scraper 110, back to original position after usage of the tool.

[0046] FIG. 9 illustrates working of the tool, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The tool may be inserted inside the wellbore heading the mandril 116 first through the wellbore. The wellbore may have casing 202 that extend back to wellhead. Further the wellbore may have liners which are suspended from inside the bottom of the casing 202 string. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the mandril 116 is configured to rotate the junk breaker 104, and the stabilizer sleeve 112.

[0047] Further, the landing sub 102 of liner top 208 testing tool may be configured to land on liner top 208 of the casing 202 inside the well. The landing sub 102 is configured to land on liner top 208 of the casing 202 with 45-degree profile. The landing sub 102 may be coated/dress with crushed carbide which makes it more aggressive when cement encounter on liner top 208. Further, the groove as shown in FIG. 2 may act as the junk breaker 104. The stabilizer sleeve 112 having bearing ball may be configured to stabilize the tool to keep element in center position for a good test.

[0048] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, on application of mechanical weight at the landing sub 102, resulting in application of shear force, thereby allowing element packer 108 to activate and redress the liner top 208 of cement. Redressing the liner top 208 makes it more leak proof. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, and 9, the junk breaker 104 is disposed above the landing sub 102. Later, the junk breaker 104 may be configured to break casing 202 drill cement and junk into small pieces. Further, the junk breaker 104 comprises the filter sub 106 to further reduce size of the junk and the cement while the drilling After the breaking of casing 202 drill cement and junk into small pieces, the scraper 110 is configured to scrap the casing 202 and clean ahead of the element packer 108 for improved isolation and good test.

[0049] Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the element packer 108 is configured to isolate mud of the casing 202 drill cement and the junk inside the casing 202 and test integrity of the well. In accordance with an embodiment of present invention, the landing sub 102 on application of mechanical weight resulting in application of shear force, thereby allowing element packer 108 to activate and redress the liner top 208 of cement.

[0050] The test of the integrity of the well is conducted using pressure test selected from group comprising negative pressure test or positive pressure test or a combination thereof. Negative pressure test is a method of predicting the pressures at different depths of the well. The pressure inside the casing 202 or liner 204 or overlap 206 is lowered from inside the well to see if fluids due to formation pressure leak in, past or through the bottomhole cement job such as casing 202, liner, liner top 208 or overlap 206. However, in positive pressure test, also known as leak off test, a test to determine the strength or fracture pressure of the open formation, usually conducted immediately after drilling below a new casing 202 shoe. During the test, the well is shut in and fluid is pumped into the wellbore to gradually increase the pressure that the formation experiences. At some pressure, fluid will enter the formation, or leak off, either moving through permeable paths in the rock or by creating a space by fracturing the rock. The results of the leak off test dictate the maximum pressure or mud weight that may be applied to the well during drilling operations.

[0051] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the negative pressure test of the integrity of the well is conducted by keeping a drilling fluid generated from the mud above the element packer 108 and generating a static pressure equal to a formation pressure of the well. Next, an underbalanced fluid is fed below the element packer 108 to lower the static pressure. After allowing inflow, and negative tests to be carried out on a liner overlap 206 as shown in FIG. 9 and the liner 204 shoe track on the same trip as the wellbore cleanup. It can also be used to perform an inflow or negative test on the liner top 208 and liner 204 shoe track at any time during the life of the well. Further, the integrity is determined by measuring the difference between the lowered static pressure and the formation pressure. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the well is considered integrated where there is no increment of the lowered static pressure.

[0052] The invention has various advantages. The tool eliminates the need for a controlled displacement of the entire well to lower density fluid through the choke with the blowout preventers closed. The present invention eliminates a dedicated run with a retrievable packer to perform the test, saving significant rig time. Further, along with negative tests, positive tests on the casing or liner can also be carried out in same run. Other main advantage of the present invention is significant reduction in waste volumes of contaminated fluids is also made.

[0053] The present invention produces wellbore clean out quality no pipe re-run in hole after displace to completion fluid. In the present invention, the liner top testing tools with inner sleeve 114 to make upward and downward motion of the tool increase flexibility of performance. In the present invention, the junk break device was design ahead of element packer 108 to break junk into small pieces will pass without damage component. Further, the scraper 110 with collapsible blade 1101 covering 360 with rotating sleeve to clean well without damage casing wall. Therefore, the tool does not face much wear and tear during operation.

[0054] Further, the operations need not be performed in the disclosed order, although in some examples, an order may be preferred. Also, not all functions need to be performed to achieve the desired advantages of the disclosed system and method, and therefore not all functions are required.

[0055] The terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Examples and limitations disclosed herein are intended to be not limiting in any manner, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the disclosure, and their equivalents, in which all terms are to be understood in their broadest possible sense unless otherwise indicated.

[0056] Various modifications to these embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings. The principles associated with the various embodiments described herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the description is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown along with the accompanying drawings but is to be providing broadest scope of consistent with the principles and the novel and inventive features disclosed or suggested herein. Accordingly, the invention is anticipated to hold on to all other such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention and appended claims.