• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    annular barrier with a seal. The present invention relates to an annular downhole barrier (1) with an axial extension provided with an outer surface facing an inner surface of an outer structure (2). the annular downhole barrier comprises a tubular part (5), an expandable part (3), and at least one annular sealing element (41). the annular sealing element (41) is connected with the expandable part (3) and has an axial length along the axial extent of the annular downhole barrier which is less than 50% of a length of the annular downhole barrier along the axial extent of the annular downhole barrier. the annular sealing element comprises a spring element (43). also, the present invention relates to a downhole system and a method of providing sealing.
    公开号:BR112014022825B1
    申请号:R112014022825-6
    申请日:2013-03-27
    公开日:2021-07-27
    发明作者:Jørgen Hallundbæk；Lars Stæhr
    申请人:Welltec Oilfield Solutions Ag；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    FIELD OF THE INVENTION
    [001] The present invention relates to an annular downhole barrier with an axial extension provided with an outer surface facing an inner surface of an outer structure, comprising a tubular part, an expandable part, and at least one annular sealing element. Also, the present invention relates to a downhole system and a method of providing a seal. BACKGROUND TECHNIQUE
    [002] In wellboreholes, annular downhole barriers are used for different purposes, such as to provide a barrier to flow between an inner and an outer tubular structure or between an inner tubular structure and the inner wall of the borehole . The annular downhole barriers are fitted as part of the tubular structure of the downhole. An annular downhole barrier has an inner wall surrounded by an expandable annular sleeve. The expandable sleeve is typically made of an elastomeric material, but it can also be made of metal. The sleeve is fixed at its ends to the inner wall of the annular downhole barrier.
    [003] In order to seal a zone between an internal and an external tubular structure or a tubular structure of the well and the borehole, a second annular barrier is used, as shown in US7,216,706 or US4,515,213. The first annular barrier is expanded on one side of the zone to be sealed and the second annular barrier is expanded on the other Side of this zone, and in this way, the zone is sealed.
    [004] The quality of the seal of a fenced zone is often defined by the flow of fluids from the borehole that pass through a seal, for example, the requirements of one determined by the user. Therefore, a certain level of fluid that leaks into or away from the sealed zone is typically permissible and acceptable, but seal quality is compromised if too much fluid can pass through the seal.
    [005] When the annular barriers are expanded, they typically tend to retract when the expansion is over. This shrinkage effect occurs when the pressure on the expandable part used to expand the expandable part is terminated. Termination of the expansion pressure will result in a small decrease in the size of the expandable part due to the elastic retraction of the expanded material. Also, other settling effects, such as pressure equalization at the annular barrier, can cause less minimization of the barrier size. Even when using metals such as steel, a shrinkage effect of a small percentage can be expected. The shrinkage effect of the expandable part negatively affects the quality of the seal provided by the annular downhole barrier 1, as the seal becomes worse after expansion in terms of impermeability or the amount of fluid that possibly passes through the seal .
    [006] It is therefore desirable to provide a solution whereby problems caused by shrinkage effects and other settling effects of the annular barrier material after expansion can be avoided. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
    [007] It is an aim of the present invention to totally or partially overcome the above disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. More specifically, it is an objective to provide an improved annular downhole barrier which, despite problems with shrinkage and other settling effects in all materials usable for annular barriers, can provide improved sealing, thereby, increasing the quality of the seal provided by the annular downhole barrier.
    [008] The above objectives, together with numerous other objects, advantages and characteristics, which will become evident from the description below, are achieved by a solution according to the present invention by an annular downhole barrier with an axial extension provided with an outer surface facing an inner surface of an outer structure, comprising: - a tubular part, - an expandable part arranged around the tubular part, and - at least one annular sealing element connected with the expandable part and provided of an axial length along the axial extent of the annular downhole barrier that is less than 50% of a length of the annular downhole barrier along the axial extent of the annular downhole barrier, wherein the element of annular seal comprises a spring element.
    [009] The axial length of the annular sealing element along the axial extent of the annular downhole barrier may preferably be less than 40% of the length of the annular downhole barrier along the axial extent of the annular downhole barrier, more preferably less than 25% of the length of the annular downhole barrier, even more preferably less than 10% of the length of the annular downhole barrier.
    [0010] In one embodiment, the annular sealing element may further comprise an annular sealing sleeve connected with the expandable part and defining a cavity of the annular sealing element between the expandable part and the annular sealing sleeve, and the sealing element. spring can be arranged in the cavity of the annular sealing element.
    [0011] Furthermore, the spring element may be a corrugated annular sealing sleeve.
    [0012] The invention further relates to an annular shaft bottom barrier, wherein the annular sealing element comprises an annular sealing sleeve connected with the expandable part and defining a cavity of the annular sealing element between the expandable part and the annular sealing sleeve, and wherein the expandable element is disposed in the cavity of the annular sealing element.
    [0013] Furthermore, the spring element can be a spring device or a spring such as a spiral or helical spring.
    [0014] Also, the annular sealing sleeve can be made of a metallic material.
    [0015] Furthermore, an expandable element can be arranged in the cavity of the annular sealing element.
    [0016] Said expandable part may be an expandable sleeve that surrounds the tubular part.
    [0017] In one embodiment, the expandable sleeve may be a metal sleeve.
    [0018] Furthermore, the spring element can be made of a metallic material.
    [0019] Additionally, the downhole annular sealing sleeve may have at least one opening or be perforated.
    [0020] By perforated it is meant that the glove has a plurality of openings.
    [0021] Furthermore, the expandable element may be made of a swellable material.
    [0022] Additionally, the annular sealing sleeve can be made of a metallic material.
    [0023] Furthermore, the annular sealing sleeve can be made of an elastomeric material.
    [0024] In one embodiment, the expandable part may have an expandable sleeve that surrounds the tubular part, the tubular part comprising an opening for injecting pressurized fluid into the space defined by the expandable sleeve and the tubular part.
    [0025] Additionally, the annular sealing sleeve can be made of a material having an E-module lower than the expandable part.
    [0026] The annular downhole barrier described above may additionally comprise connecting parts for connecting the annular sealing sleeve with the expandable part.
    [0027] Furthermore, the expandable part may additionally comprise a valve.
    [0028] Also, the annular downhole barrier may additionally comprise a sensor for determining a pressure exerted by the annular sealing element on the inner surface of the outer structure.
    [0029] The annular downhole barrier may additionally comprise a sensor for determining a fluid temperature in the cavity of the annular sealing element.
    [0030] Furthermore, the annular downhole barrier may comprise a sensor for determining a perimeter length of the annular downhole barrier.
    [0031] Furthermore, the annular downhole barrier may comprise a first connecting part that surrounds and is connected with a first end of the tubular part and a second connecting part that surrounds and is connected with a second end of the part. tubular.
    [0032] Additionally, the annular downhole barrier may comprise a first connection part that surrounds and is connected with the tubular part and a second connection part that surrounds and is connected with the tubular part.
    [0033] In one embodiment, the expandable part can be connected with the first connecting part and the second connecting part, the expandable part, the first and second connecting parts and the tubular part surrounding an internal space, and the first connecting part can be slidably connected with the tubular part.
    [0034] Furthermore, the spring may be a spiral spring.
    [0035] The coiled spring can be wound with a plurality of windings around the expandable part.
    [0036] Furthermore, at least one coiled spring can form a closed loop around the expandable part and have two ends joined to form a ring.
    [0037] Furthermore, the annular downhole barrier may comprise an expandable part provided with a central geometric axis that extends outside the tubular part in the longitudinal direction.
    [0038] Furthermore, the central geometric axis of the expandable part can wrap around the tubular part in the longitudinal direction.
    [0039] Additionally, an expandable tube cross-section may be substantially oval-shaped in a relaxed position.
    [0040] Furthermore, a cross section of the expandable tube may be substantially circular in an expanded position.
    [0041] In one embodiment, the annular downhole barrier may comprise a plurality of expandable parts that extend outside the tubular part in the longitudinal direction.
    [0042] Furthermore, the annular downhole barrier may comprise a plurality of spring elements in a cavity of the annular sealing element.
    [0043] Furthermore, both an expandable element such as an expandable material and a spring element can be disposed in the cavity of the annular sealing element.
    [0044] The present invention further relates to a downhole system comprising a tubular structure of the well and at least one annular downhole barrier as described above, wherein the tubular part forms part of the tubular structure of the well. .
    [0045] Furthermore, a plurality of annular downhole barriers can be positioned at a distance from each other along the tubular part.
    [0046] The invention furthermore relates to a method of providing a seal comprising the steps of: - inserting an annular downhole barrier as described above into a borehole, - expanding the expandable part by injecting pressurized fluid in an opening, - compressing the spring element when the outer surface of the annular downhole barrier engages the inner surface of the outer structure by additionally injecting pressurized fluid into the opening, - minimizing the expandable part when the pressurized fluid injection has ended due to the retraction of the expandable part, and - decompressing the spring element so that the pressure exerted by the annular sealing element on the inner surface of the outer structure is maintained and a sealing effect of the annular downhole barrier is maintained.
    [0047] Furthermore, the invention relates to a method of providing cervix which comprises the steps of: - inserting an annular downhole barrier as described above into a borehole, - expanding the expandable part by injecting fluid pressurized in an opening, - minimize the expandable part when finishing the injection of pressurized fluid due to retraction of the expandable part, and - expand the expandable element so that the pressure exerted by the annular sealing element on the inner surface of the external structure is maintained and a sealing effect of the annular downhole barrier is maintained.
    [0048] In one embodiment, the expandable portion may be made of a swellable material that swells by allowing a fluid to enter the cavity of the annular sealing element.
    [0049] In another embodiment, the expandable part can be made of a swellable material, and the expansion can be controlled by deliberately injecting a fluid into the cavity of the annular sealing element using injection means.
    [0050] Finally, the invention relates to a method of providing sealing comprising the steps of: - inserting an annular downhole barrier as described above into a borehole, - expanding the expandable part by injecting fluid pressurized into an opening, and - injecting a fluid into the cavity of the annular sealing element. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
    [0051] The invention and its many advantages will be described in more detail below with reference to the attached schematic drawings, which, for illustration purposes, show some non-limiting embodiments and in which:
    [0052] Figure 1a shows a schematic view of a part of an annular downhole barrier provided with an annular sealing element,
    [0053] Figure 1b shows a schematic view of a part of an annular downhole barrier provided with another modality of an annular sealing element,
    [0054] Figure 2 shows a schematic view of an annular downhole barrier,
    [0055] Figures 3a-3c show schematic views of another annular downhole barrier,
    [0056] Figures 4a-4c show schematic views of another annular downhole barrier,
    [0057] Figure 5 shows a schematic view of another annular downhole barrier,
    [0058] Figure 6 shows a schematic view of another annular downhole barrier,
    [0059] Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view of an annular downhole barrier, and
    [0060] Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional view of another annular downhole barrier.
    [0061] All Figures are highly schematic and not necessarily to scale, and they show only those parts which are necessary to elucidate the invention, the other parts being omitted or merely suggested. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
    [0062] The annular downhole barriers 1 according to the present invention are typically fitted as part of the well tubular structure column before the well tubular structure 23 is lowered into the well bottom of the borehole, as shown in the cross-sectional view of an annular downhole barrier in Figure 2. The well tubular frame 23 is constructed of the well tubular frame parts joined together as a long column of the well tubular frame. Often, annular barriers are fitted between parts of the well's tubular structure when the shaft of the well's tubular structure is fitted.
    [0063] The annular downhole barrier 1 is used for a variety of purposes, all of which require an expandable portion3 of the annular downhole barrier 1 to be expanded, so that an outer surface 11 of the annular downhole barrier shaft 1 supports an inner surface 21 of an outer structure 2, such as a borehole casing or a formation surrounding a borehole. The annular downhole barrier 1 has an axial extension parallel to the direction of the borehole extension.
    [0064] As shown in Figures 1a and 1b, the annular downhole barrier 1 comprises a tubular part 5 to be fitted as part of the tubular structure of the well and an expandable part 3 that surrounds the tubular part. The expandable part 3 may have an expandable sleeve, as shown in Figure 2, which can be expanded by injecting a fluid through an opening 51 of the tubular part 5, thereby increasing a space 6 between the expandable part 3 and the tubular part. 5. Outside the expandable part, at least one annular sealing element 4 is arranged in connection with the expandable part 3. The annular sealing element 4 has an axial length along the axial extent of the annular barrier of the well bottom 1 which is less than 50% of a length of the annular barrier along the axial extent of the annular barrier. In this way, the surface area that contacts the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 is less than the surface of the expandable part 3 facing the inner surface 21 of the outer frame. Consequently, the pressure between the inner surface 21 of the outer frame and the outer surface 11 of the annular barrier is increased to improve the sealing effect.
    [0065] In Figure 1a, the annular sealing element 4 comprises an annular sealing sleeve 41 connected with the expandable part 3, thereby defining a cavity of the annular sealing element 42 between the expandable part 3 and the annular sealing sleeve 41. A spring element 43 is disposed in the cavity of the annular sealing element 42 so that when the annular downhole barrier 1 is expanded and engages the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2, the spring element 43 is compressed. When the expandable part 3 is fully expanded strut and supports the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 creating a seal, the expansion is terminated, for example, by depressurizing or releasing the fluid used for injection through opening 51 into space and leaving the fluid flows through the opening 51 to the tubular part. Then, the material of the expandable part 3 retracts, decreasing a pressure exerted on the inner surface 21 and thereby decreasing the tightness of the seal. The shrinkage effect and other settling effects occur when the pressure on the expandable part used to expand the expandable part is terminated. Termination of the expanding pressure will result in a small decrease in the expandable portion size due to elastic shrinkage of the expanded material and other settling effects such as pressure equalization in the annular barrier can also lead to a minimization of the barrier size. However, since the spring element 43 has been compressed during the expansion, providing an inherent spring force in the spring element, the spring element 43 expands when the expandable part 3 seats after the expansion, thereby, maintaining the pressure exerted on the inner surface 21 of the outer structure 2 obtained during the expansion of the annular downhole barrier 1. The sealing ability of the annular downhole barrier 1 is substantially increased as the tiny gap between the outer structure 2 and the expandable part 3 is reduced compared to prior art solutions which do not have a spring element. As can be seen, the annular sealing sleeve 41 has an inlet 45 to allow well fluid in the cavity to press against the sleeve from the inside if the pressure surrounding the annular barrier increases.
    [0066] In Figure 1b, the annular downhole barrier 1 comprises an annular sealing element 4 provided with a spring element where the spring element is a corrugated annular sealing sleeve 43B. Thus, the corrugated annular sealing sleeve 43 forms part of the annular sealing sleeve 41 having the inlet 45. When the expandable sleeve of the annular downhole barrier 1 is expanded, the corrugated annular sealing sleeve 43B is compressed, providing a spring force inherent in the 43B corrugated annular seal sleeve. When the expansion process has ended, the expandable sleeve tends to retract, resulting in reduced pressure between the outer structure 2 and the annular downhole barrier 1 or even a small gap between the annular sealing element 4 and the outer frame 2. Simultaneously, the compressed corrugated annular sealing sleeve 43B expands thereby maintaining the pressure exerted on the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 obtained during expansion of the downhole annular barrier 1. The ability to sealing of the annular downhole barrier 1 is substantially increased as the pressure between the outer structure 2 and the annular downhole barrier 1 increases or the small gap between the outer structure 2 and the expandable part 3 is reduced or removed. As the corrugated annular sealing sleeve 43B compresses the fluid within, the sleeve 43B is pressed out of the cavity 42, and as the sleeve 43B expands, the fluid enters the cavity 42.
    [0067] Figure 2 shows a schematic view of an annular downhole barrier 1 in an expanded state, comprising two annular sealing elements 4 having the annular sealing sleeve 41 disposed outside the expandable part 3 surrounding the member of spring 43. The expandable part 3 was connected with the tubular part 5 by a first connecting part 32 and a second connecting part 33. The first connecting part 32 connects a first end 27 of the expandable sleeve with a first end 22 of the part tubular, and the second connecting part 33 connects a second end 28 of the expandable sleeve with the second end 24 of the tubular part. One or more of the connecting parts 32, 33 can be fixedly connected with the tubular part or slidably connected with the tubular part 5 to decrease the pressure needed to expand the expandable part 3. As illustrated, the spring member 43 is, in a compressed state, indicated by the oval-shaped cross-section of the spring element 43. Once the spring element 43 is compressed, it will decompress to its original circular shape if the diameter of the expandable part 3 is decreased, by example, during retraction of the expandable part 3. Also, an increased borehole pressure decreases the diameter of the expandable part 3 by applying an external force on the expandable part. This type of decrease in diameter of the expandable part 3 can also be absorbed by decompression of the spring element 43.
    [0068] Figures 3a-3c show three consecutive situations during the expansion of an annular downhole barrier 1 according to the invention. Figure 3a shows the annular downhole barrier 1 just after expansion has started where the fluid has entered space 6 and the spring element 43 is in an uncompressed state. As shown in Figure 3b, the spring element 43 begins to compress when the annular sealing sleeve engages the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 during expansion. As shown in Figure 3c, the expandable part 3 partially retracts when the expansion has ended, thereby increasing a distance between the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 and the expandable part. was in a compressed state, the spring element 43 will revert or go to its original uncompressed state with a circular cross section as shown in Figure 3a.
    [0069] Figures 4a-4d show four consecutive situations during the expansion of another annular downhole barrier 1 in which the annular downhole barrier comprises several spring elements 43. Figure 4a shows the annular downhole barrier of well 1 shortly after the expansion has started. The spring element 43 shown in Figures 1 to 3 is circled by an expandable element 44, like an element made of an expandable material. This is a solution to the same problem, that is, overcoming the shrinkage effect problems in an annular barrier by providing an annular sealing element capable of increasing its dimension after the diameter of the expandable part 3 decreases due to the shrinkage effects on the expandable part material. The spring elements 43 shown in Figure 4a are in an unexpanded state. As shown in Figure 4b, the annular sealing element 4 engages the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 towards the expansion end, thereby creating a tight seal between the inner surface 21 and the annular sealing sleeve 41. expansion is completed, the expandable part3 partially retracts due to the retraction effect, resulting in a complete or partial loss of the sealing effect, as shown in Figure 4c. However, as shown in Figure 4c, fluid from borehole 20 is allowed to enter the cavity of the annular sealing element through an inlet or perforation 45, thereby contacting the expandable element 44, which can be made of a swellable material, causing it to start increasing in volume when it comes in contact with the fluid from borehole 20, as shown in Figure 4d. When the expandable element 44 starts to expand as it is mixed with the borehole fluid, the seal between the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 and the annular sealing element 4 are restored and the annular barrier is, now, tighter. The expandable element 44 may alternatively be pressure sensitive, electrically sensitive, magnetically sensitive or radiation sensitive chemical compositions which can be initiated by applying a pressure such as expansion pressure, an electric current, a magnetic field or radiation, respectively.
    [0070] Figure 5 shows another annular downhole barrier 1 comprising two separate annular sealing elements 4, each comprising three closed-loop or helical spring elements 43 in the cavity of the annular sealing element 42. The expandable part 3 has been connected with the tubular part 5 by a first connecting part 32 and a second connecting part 33. One or more of the connecting parts 32, 33 can be slidably connected with the tubular part 5 to decrease the pressure needed to expand the expandable part 3. As seen in Figure 6, the annular sealing sleeve 4 can be connected with the expandable part by the connecting parts 46 as well. The connecting parts 46 can serve an additional purpose in addition to connecting the annular sealing sleeve 41 to the expandable part, i.e. restricting the expansion of the expandable part 3 in certain regions, resulting in a corrugated structure of the expandable part 3, as per shown in Figure 6. This corrugated structure increases the strength of the downhole annular barrier 1, thereby increasing the collapse pressure, i.e., the pressure in the borehole, which can cause the downhole annular barrier to well 1 breaks. Furthermore, the connecting parts 46 protect the annular sealing sleeve 41 when the annular barrier is inserted into the well as part of the tubular structure of the well. Furthermore, the annular downhole barrier 1 may comprise a sensor 47 to determine the degree of expansion of the annular downhole barrier 1, for example, by measuring the pressure on the inner surface of the outer structure or by measuring the diameter of the sleeve. of annular seal 41 or the diameter of the expandable part 3. The annular barrier may also comprise a valve 49, such as a one-way valve, to allow fluid from the borehole to enter the annular well-bottom barrier 1 at pressure. of the borehole fluid becoming greater than the pressure within the annular barrier, thereby preventing a collapse of the downhole annular barrier 1.
    [0071] Also, the annular sealing sleeve 41 can be pierced in the form of inlets 45, and as shown in Figure 6, the expandable part 3 can be slidably connected with the tubular part 5 and tightened by seals 48.
    [0072] Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the annular downhole barrier as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, which comprises a spring element 43. As illustrated, the threading of the element of spring 43 is preferably transverse to the axial extent of the annular downhole barrier 1 so that the spring element 43 scores the annular sealing sleeve 41 all around the circumference of the annular sealing sleeve 41. In this way, it is capable of create a tight seal towards the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 which is normally and substantially circular in downhole environments. The spring elements 43 can be joined end to end, forming coiled spring rings as shown in Figure 7. The annular barrier of Figure 7 is shown in its expanded position.
    [0073] As shown in Figure 8, the annular barrier may comprise a plurality of expandable parts 3, in the form of elongated expandable tubes, extending outside the tubular part 5. The expandable parts 3 can be arranged around the periphery of the part. tubular 5. A central geometric axis A1 of each of the expandable parts 3 then extends outside the tubular part 5 in the longitudinal direction of the annular downhole barrier 1. This is in opposition to the design of the prior art annular barriers, as described in the prior art, where the tubular portion that extends in a longitudinal direction, such as a casing, is surrounded by an expandable sleeve that surrounds the tubular portion. The expandable tubes are secured to the tubular part 5. The annular downhole barrier 1 comprises an embedding element 31 provided on an outer surface 34 of the plurality of expandable parts 3. The embedding element 31 then forms an expandable sleeve. Hereby, the inlay element 31 or the expandable sleeve is adapted to provide a sealing barrier between the tubular part and the annular sealing element 4. The inlay element and/or the expandable sleeve can be made of metal, polymer, elastomer, rubber, a swellable material, etc. A swellable material can further enhance the sealing effect of the sealing element or expandable sleeve as the material can be designed to swell when it comes into contact with specific types of fluid, such as water present in the borehole, a injected liquid or gas, etc.
    [0074] The expandable part 3 and the annular sealing sleeve 41 are, in the preferred embodiments, made of a metallic material to be able to withstand high temperatures. Also, spring element 43 is preferably made of metallic materials in the preferred embodiments where heat resistance is important. In this way, all parts and seals are made of metal capable of withstanding the harsh downhole environment with high temperature, high pressure and an acid-containing well fluid.
    [0075] If lower operating temperatures are present in the well, the annular sealing sleeve can be made of an elastomeric material.
    [0076] The annular sealing sleeve 4 may preferably be made of a material that has a modulus E smaller than the expandable part to facilitate expansion of the annular downhole barrier 1.
    [0077] The spring element 43 is preferably a spiral spring or helical spring 43, but it is not restricted to be spiral springs, and in the case of several windings in a cavity of the annular sealing element 42, the windings can be parallel closed loop springs or a long spiral spring wrapped around the tubular part 5.
    [0078] To increase the possible expansion ratio of the annular downhole barrier 1 between the unexpanded and the expanded state, the expandable part 3 may have a central geometric axis A1 that extends outside the tubular part 5 in the longitudinal direction, as shown in Figure 8. The central axis of the expandable part or tube may also, in some embodiments, wrap around the tube part in the longitudinal direction. These types of expandable parts 3 can be substantially oval shaped in cross section in a relaxed and substantially circular position when expanded. Furthermore, the annular downhole barrier 1 may comprise a plurality of such expandable parts 3 which extend outside the tubular part in the longitudinal direction.
    [0079] Both the expandable elements 44 and the spring elements 43 can be arranged in the same cavity as the annular sealing element to improve the sealing effect of the annular barrier of the well bottom 1, as shown in Figures 4a-d.
    [0080] The invention also relates to a method of providing a seal comprising the steps of inserting an annular barrier into a borehole and expanding the expandable portion by injecting pressurized fluid into an opening. The spring element 43 is then compressed when the outer surface 11 of the annular barrier engages the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 by additionally injecting pressurized fluid into the opening 51. After finishing the injection of pressurized fluid into the expandable part, the expandable part 3 is minimized due to material shrinkage of the expandable part. The minimization of the expandable part results in a decompression of the spring member 43 so that the pressure exerted by the annular sealing element 4 on the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 is maintained and a sealing effect of the annular barrier is also maintained.
    [0081] An additional sealing effect of the annular downhole barrier 1 is also obtained by allowing the fluid from the borehole to enter the cavity of the annular sealing element 42 at the inlet port 45. By allowing the fluid from the borehole between the borehole sealing sleeve 42, a very high pressure in the borehole fluid is not destructive to the sealing effect, since the pressure inside the annular sealing sleeve 41 in the cavity annular sealing sleeve 42 is equalized with the pressure of the borehole. Therefore, the sealing effect is still guaranteed during high pressures in the borehole by the sealing effect of the spring element 43.
    [0082] The invention also relates to another method of providing a seal comprising the steps of inserting an annular barrier into a borehole and expanding the expandable portion by injecting pressurized fluid into an opening. When the expandable part is fully expanded, the injection of pressurized fluid into space 6 has ended and the expandable part 3 is correspondingly minimized due to the shrinkage of the material that constitutes the expandable part3. Due to the retraction of the expandable part 3, the seal provided by the annular downhole barrier 1 may have become worse. However, when the expandable part 3 has expanded, the expandable element 44 arranged in the annular sealing element 4 is also expanded so that the pressure exerted by the annular sealing element 4 on the inner surface 21 of the outer frame 2 is maintained. An annular barrier sealing effect is also obtained by allowing fluid from the borehole to enter the cavity of the annular sealing element 42 in the inlet port 45 and contact the expandable element 44 disposed in the cavity of the annular sealing element 42. In this way, the annular sealing sleeve 41 is directionally energized from the inside, thus closing the gap between the surface of the borehole 21 and the outside of the sealing sleeve 41 and achieving a sealing effect stronger. Alternatively, a fluid can be purposely injected into the expandable part to begin to dilate.
    [0083] Furthermore, the expandable part 3 preferably has a wall thickness that is thinner than a length of the expandable part, the thickness being preferably less than 25% of the length, more preferably less than 15% of the length and even more preferably less than 10% of the length.
    [0084] An annular downhole barrier 1 may also be called an obturator or similar expandable means. The tubular structure of the well can be production piping or casing or a similar type of downhole tubing in a well or a borehole. The annular downhole barrier 1 can be used either between the inner production pipe and an outer pipe in the borehole or between a pipe and the inner wall of the borehole. A well can have several types of pipes and the annular downhole barrier 1 of the present invention can be fitted for use in all of them.
    [0085] Valve 49 can be any type of valve capable of controlling the fluid, such as a ball valve, butterfly valve, throttling valve, check valve or non-return valve, diaphragm valve, expansion valve, gate valve, globe valve, knife gate valve, needle valve, piston valve, pinch valve or plug valve.
    [0086] The expandable part 3 can be a tubular metallic sleeve obtained from a cold-drawn or hot-drawn tubular structure.
    [0087] The fluid used to expand the expandable part can be any type of borehole fluid or well fluid present in the borehole that surrounds the tool and/or the tubular structure of the well. Also, the fluid can be cement, gas, water, polymers, or a two-component composite such as a powder or particles that mix or react with a binding or hardening agent or a thermosetting fluid such as resin, commonly used in the art. Some of the fluid, such as the hardening agent, may be present in the cavity between the tubular part and the expandable sleeve before injecting a subsequent fluid into the cavity.
    [0088] By fluid, drillhole fluid or well fluid is meant to be any type of fluid that may be present in the well bottom of oil and gas wells, such as natural gas, oil, oil mud, crude oil, water, etc. By gas it is meant any type of gas composition present in a well, completion or open orifice and by oil it is understood to be any type of oil composition, such as crude oil, a fluid containing oil, etc. Gas, oil and water fluids can then all comprise elements or substances other than gas, oil and/or water, respectively.
    [0089] By a well 23 tubular structure is meant a casing that is any type of pipe, pipe, tubular structure, lining, column, etc. used at the bottom of the well in relation to the production of oil and natural gas.
    Although the invention has been described above in connection with preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that various modifications are conceivable without departing from the invention, as defined by the following claims.
    权利要求:
    Claims (14)
    [0001]
    1. Annular downhole barrier (1) with an axial extension provided with an outer surface (11) facing an inner surface (21) of an outer structure (2), comprising: a tubular part (5), a expandable part (3) arranged around the tubular part (5), and at least one annular sealing element (4) connected with the expandable part (3) and outside the expandable part (3) and provided with an axial length along of the axial extent of the annular downhole barrier (1) which is less than 50% of a length of the annular downhole barrier (1) along the axial extent of the annular downhole barrier (1), characterized in that the annular sealing element (4) comprises a spring element (43) and the annular sealing element (4) further comprises an annular sealing sleeve (41) connected with the expandable part (3) and defining thus a cavity of the annular sealing element (42) between the expandable part (3) and the annular sealing sleeve (41) and wherein the spring element (43) is disposed in the cavity of the annular sealing element (42) and the spring element (43) is a spring device or a spring, such as a coil or coil spring, of so that when expanding the annular barrier (1) the spring element (43) is compressed providing an inherent spring force in the spring element (43) allowing the spring element (43) to expand when the ex- Pansible(3) expanded settles after expansion.
    [0002]
    2. Annular downhole barrier (1), according to claim 1, characterized in that the annular sealing sleeve (41) is made of a metallic material or metal.
    [0003]
    3. Annular downhole barrier (1), according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that an expandable element (44) is disposed in the cavity of the annular sealing element (42).
    [0004]
    4. Annular downhole barrier (1), according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the expandable part (3) is an expandable sleeve that surrounds the tubular part (5).
    [0005]
    5. Annular downhole barrier (1), according to claim 4, characterized in that the expandable sleeve (3) is a metal sleeve.
    [0006]
    6. Annular downhole barrier (1), according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the spring element (43) is made of a metallic material or metal.
    [0007]
    7. Annular downhole barrier (1), according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the annular sealing sleeve (41, 43B) has at least one inlet (45) or is perforated.
    [0008]
    8. Annular downhole barrier (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it additionally comprises connecting parts (46) for connecting the annular sealing sleeve (41) with the part expandable (3).
    [0009]
    9. Annular downhole barrier (1), according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it additionally comprises a sensor (47) to determine a pressure exerted by the annular sealing element (4) on the surface internal of the external structure.
    [0010]
    10. Annular downhole barrier (1), according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it additionally comprises: a first connecting part (32) that surrounds and is connected with a first end (22) of the tubular part (5), and a second connecting part (33) which surrounds and is connected with a second end (24) of the tubular part (5), wherein the expandable part (3) is connected with the the first connecting part (32) and the second connecting part (33), the expandable part (3), the first and second connecting parts (32, 33) and the tubular part (5) surrounding an inner space (6 ), and wherein the first connecting part (32) is slidably connected with the tubular part (5).
    [0011]
    11. Downhole system characterized in that it comprises a tubular well structure (23) and at least one annular downhole barrier (1) as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the tubular part (5) forms part of the tubular structure of the well (23).
    [0012]
    12. Downhole system according to claim 11, characterized in that a plurality of annular downhole barriers is positioned at a distance from each other along the tubular part (5).
    [0013]
    13. Method for providing sealing, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: inserting the annular downhole barrier (1) as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10 into a borehole, expanding the expandable part (3 ) when injecting pressurized fluid into an opening (51), compressing the spring element (43) when the outer surface (11) of the annular downhole barrier (1) engages the inner surface (21) of the outer structure (2) by additionally injecting pressurized fluid into the opening (51), minimizing the expandable part (3) when the pressurized fluid injection has ended due to the retraction of the expandable part (3), and decompressing the spring element (43) so that the pressure exerted by the annular sealing element (4) on the inner surface (21) of the outer frame (2) is maintained and a sealing effect of the annular downhole barrier (1) is also maintained.
    [0014]
    14. Method for providing sealing, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: inserting the annular downhole barrier (1), as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10 in a borehole, expanding the expandable part ( 3) injecting pressurized fluid into an opening (51), minimizing the expandable part (3) ending the injection of pressurized fluid due to the retraction of the expandable part (3), and expanding the expandable element (44) so that the pressure exerted by the element of annular sealing (4) on the inner surface (21) of the outer structure (2) is maintained and a sealing effect of the annular downhole barrier (1) is maintained.
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    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    CA2867517A1|2013-10-03|
    MX2014011142A|2014-12-10|
    WO2013144181A1|2013-10-03|
    EP2831367A1|2015-02-04|
    EP2644820A1|2013-10-02|
    CN104246116A|2014-12-24|
    MX348057B|2017-05-25|
    RU2014140984A|2016-05-27|
    MY167143A|2018-08-13|
    BR112014022825A2|2017-06-20|
    AU2013241855B2|2016-07-14|
    CA2867517C|2020-04-28|
    US20150068774A1|2015-03-12|
    US9963952B2|2018-05-08|
    CN104246116B|2017-03-15|
    DK2831367T3|2017-07-17|
    RU2636951C2|2017-11-29|
    EP2831367B1|2017-04-12|
    AU2013241855A1|2014-11-06|
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    法律状态:
    2018-12-04| B06F| Objections, documents and/or translations needed after an examination request according [chapter 6.6 patent gazette]|
    2019-02-05| B25A| Requested transfer of rights approved|Owner name: WELLTEC OILFIELD SOLUTIONS AG (CH) |
    2019-05-14| B25G| Requested change of headquarter approved|Owner name: WELLTEC OILFIELD SOLUTIONS AG (CH) |
    2020-01-21| B06U| Preliminary requirement: requests with searches performed by other patent offices: procedure suspended [chapter 6.21 patent gazette]|
    2021-05-18| B09A| Decision: intention to grant [chapter 9.1 patent gazette]|
    2021-07-27| B16A| Patent or certificate of addition of invention granted|Free format text: PRAZO DE VALIDADE: 20 (VINTE) ANOS CONTADOS A PARTIR DE 27/03/2013, OBSERVADAS AS CONDICOES LEGAIS. |
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    EP12162458.9A|EP2644820A1|2012-03-30|2012-03-30|An annular barrier with a seal|
    EP12162458.9|2012-03-30|
    PCT/EP2013/056468|WO2013144181A1|2012-03-30|2013-03-27|An annular barrier with a seal|
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