Conventional Gravel Pack System with Wet Mate Connection Below the Sand Control Packer

This disclosure relates generally to the field of drilling and completing a wellbore in a subsurface formation and more particularly to gravel pack completion of a wellbore.

In hydrocarbon recovery operations, a wellbore may be completed with a gravel pack assembly to mitigate solids from entering the wellbore with reservoir fluids. A sand face between the subsurface formation and the completion assembly may function as a filter for the reservoir fluids. In some implementations, lines may be positioned in the sand face to obtain measurements of the fluid and/or subsurface formation.

The description that follows includes example systems, methods, techniques, and program flows that embody aspects of the disclosure. However, it is understood that this disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. For instance, this disclosure refers to a configuration of components on a lower completion assembly. Aspects of this disclosure can also be applied to any other configuration of components on the lower completion assembly to allow for a wet mate connection of lines between lines in the wellbore and lines on an upper completion assembly. For clarity, some well-known instruction instances, protocols, structures, and operations have been omitted.

Example implementations relate to connecting wet mates at a depth in a wellbore deeper than a sand control packer of a gravel pack assembly. Obtaining measurements of a subsurface formation during operations may be an advantage over traditional wells. Real time measurements may be achievable via lines positioned in the wellbore. For example, measurements such as temperature, pressure, etc. may be obtained from a fiber optic cable positioned in the sand face of a wellbore completed with a gravel pack assembly. In conventional operations, positioning one or more lines in a wellbore with a gravel pack completion may be complex. For example, conventional operations may require multiple trips in the wellbore with equipment to position the lines, gravel pack assembly components, etc. Moreover, gravel packing operations may require alteration to accommodate for the line installation. Thus, conventional operations may result in increased installation costs and risk to damaging the equipment and/or wellbore. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more components may require reconfiguring to accommodate the lines, such as the sand control packer, thus resulting in more expensive gravel pack assembly components. In some implementations, the lines may be in the internal bore of a gravel pack assembly, reducing the effective diameter of the internal bore which may result in an increase in risk of damaging said lines and/or limiting tool size for future wellbore operations such as intervention tools to be ran in the wellbore later in the life of the well. In some implementations, a lower completion assembly with a wet mate housing (for connecting wet mates of lines) may be positioned below a gravel pack assembly (below the sand control packer) in a wellbore. Thus, gravel pack operations and/or equipment may not need to be altered.

In some implementations, a lower completion assembly may be positioned in a wellbore below a gravel pack assembly to allow for lines in the wellbore to be communicatively coupled to the surface when an upper completion assembly is positioned in the wellbore. The gravel pack assembly may be a traditional gravel pack assembly, i.e., is configured with a sand control packer, a closing sleeve (i.e., sand flow device), etc. A lower completion assembly may be coupled to the bottom of the gravel pack assembly such that the lower completion assembly is at a depth in the wellbore deeper than the gravel pack assembly. One or more lines may be positioned in the wellbore, such as within the sand face to obtain measurements from the sand face during wellbore operations. A line may be any type of line, cable, or conduit for communication or transmission. For example, the line may be a hydraulic line for carrying any type of fluid, fiber optic cable for fiber optic communication, etc. The line may include one or more fiber optic cables, electric lines, energy transfer lines, etc. or any combination thereof. In some implementations, the lines may be coupled to a wet mate connector within a wet mate housing on the lower completion assembly. In some implementations, an upper completion assembly may be positioned in the inner bore of the gravel pack assembly and lower completion assembly. The upper completion assembly may include one or more externally mounted lines (i.e., lines banded to the outer wall of the upper completion assembly), where the lines are coupled to a wet mate stinger on the upper completion assembly. The wet mate stinger may be configured with a wet mate connector. When the upper completion assembly is positioned in the gravel pack assembly and lower completion assembly, the wet mate stinger may be positioned in the wet mate housing such that a wet mate connection may be made between the lower lines in the wellbore and the upper lines on the upper completion assembly, thus allowing communication between the lower lines and the surface to obtain measurements from the sand face (or other location in the wellbore). The lines may be utilized to transmit power, data, or any other suitable energy transmission uphole and/or downhole.

In some implementations, the lower completion assembly may include one or more components to assist in making the wet mate connection. For example, the lower completion assembly may be configured with a latch receptacle, orienting helix housing, dampening module, wet mate housing, and fiber-feed through make-up sub (MUS). One or more lines may be positioned in the annulus (proximate the screens and the production interval in the wellbore, such as in the sand face) and may be run from the sand face, over the fluid loss device, through the MUS, and spliced into the wet mate connector half exiting from the wet mate housing into the annulus. Once the completion system (gravel pack system, lower completion system, screens, lines, etc.) is positioned in the wellbore (utilizing standard pick-up operations), the completion may be gravel packed.

In some implementations, in addition to the wet mate stinger the upper assembly may also include a dampening mandrel, an orienting keyed mandrel, a resettable locator, a swivel sub, and isolation seals to allow for the wet mate stinger to be properly aligned with the wet mate housing to make the wet mate connection.

By positioning the lower completion assembly below the gravel pack assembly, the number of trips to install the equipment (with lines), may be reduced. Moreover, having the wet mate connector below the traditional sand control packer may further reduce the complexity of landing a line compliant completion assembly and not alter the conventional methods of packing the system. Additionally, maintaining the larger inner bore in both the gravel pack assembly, lower completion assembly, and upper completion assembly, may allow for delivery of the largest allowable payload to surface and/or allow for intervention tools to be positioned in the inner bores later in the life of the well. Any other suitable components, functions, etc. may be integrated into the gravel pack assembly, lower completion assembly, and upper completion assembly.

is a diagrammatic illustration of an example well system, according to some implementations. In particular,is a schematic of a well systemthat includes a wellborein a subsurface formation. The wellboreincludes casingand number of perforations,being made in the casing. Each set of perforations,is located in a reservoirto allow reservoir fluids (i.e., oil, water, and gas) from the reservoirsto flow into the wellbore. In some implementations, the casingmay only cover a portion of the of the wellbore. For example, the shoe (end) of the casing may be positioned at approximately the top of the reservoir, resulting in an open hole below the casingshoe.

In some implementations, the wellboremay be completed with a gravel pack assembly. The gravel pack assemblymay include a sand control packer. The gravel pack assemblymay be configured with components to gravel pack the wellbore. For example, a closing sleeve may allow gravel to be injected into the annulus below the sand control packerto generate a sand facebetween the reservoirand screens. The sand face may filter out any solids produced from the reservoirto mitigate solids production into the wellbore. When fluid may be produced into the wellbore, the filtered production fluid may flow through the screens, up to the upper completion assembly(i.e., production string), through the wellheadand ultimately to production facilities for further processing.

In some implementations, a lower completion assemblymay be integrated into and positioned below the gravel pack assembly. The lower completion assemblymay include a wet mate housing. One or more fiber optic cables(or any other suitable line such as electric cables, lines, energy transfer lines, or any combination thereof) may be positioned in the sand faceto obtain measurement from the sand face. The fiber optic cablesmay be coupled with the wet mate housing of the lower completion assembly. The upper completion assemblymay also include one or more fiber optic cables. The upper completion assemblyis positioned in the inner bore of the gravel pack assemblyand lower completion assemblyto allow production to flow to the surface. Moreover, a wet connection may be made between the fiber optic cablesand the fiber optic cablessuch that measurements of the sand face may be obtained and communicated to the surface during operations (such as while fluid is being produced into the wellbore). The lower completion assemblymay be configured with one or more components (such as a latch receptacle, orienting helix housing, dampening module, etc.) that may interact with one or more components on the upper completion assembly(such as a swivel sub, oriented key mandrel, dampening mandrel, etc.) to align the fiber optic cablesand fiber optic cablesto establish a connection in the wet mate housing.

The fiber optic cablesmay be clamped to the outside of the screens(or any other equipment positioned below the lower complete assembly) during deployment and protected by centralizers and cross coupling clamps. Additionally, the fiber optic cablesmay be clamped to the outside of the upper completion assemblyduring deployment and protected by centralizers and cross coupling clamps. The fiber optic cables,may house one or more optical fibers, and the optical fibers may be single mode fibers, multi-mode fibers, or a combination of single mode and multi-mode optical fibers.

The fiber optic cables,may be used for distributed sensing where acoustic, strain, and temperature data may be collected at or near the wellbores. The data may be collected at various positions distributed along the fiber optic cables,. For example, data may be collected every 1-3 ft along the full length of the fiber optic cables,. Fiber optic interrogation units may be located on the surfaceof the well system. The fiber optic interrogation units may be directly coupled to the fiber optic cables. Alternatively, the fiber optic interrogation units may be coupled to a fiber stretcher module, wherein the fiber stretcher module is coupled to the fiber optic cables. The fiber optic interrogation units may receive measurement values taken and/or transmitted along the length of the fiber optic cables,such as acoustic, temperature, strain, etc. The fiber optic interrogation units may be electrically connected to a digitizer to convert optically transmitted measurements into digitized measurements.

The fiber optic interrogation units may operate using various sensing principles including but not limited to amplitude-based sensing systems like Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS), Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), Distributed Vibration Sensing (DVS), and Distributed Strain Sensing (DSS). For example, the DTS system may be based on Raman and/or Brillouin scattering. A DAS system may be a phase sensing-based system based on interferometric sensing using homodyne or heterodyne techniques where the system may sense phase or intensity changes due to constructive or destructive interference. The DAS system may also be based on Rayleigh scattering and in particular coherent Rayleigh scattering. A DSS system may be a strain sensing system using dynamic strain measurements based on interferometric sensors or static strain sensing measurements using Brillouin scattering. DAS systems based on Rayleigh scattering may also be used to detect dynamic strain events. Temperature effects may in some cases be subtracted from both static and/or dynamic strain events, and temperature profiles may be measured using Raman based systems and/or Brillouin based systems capable of differentiating between strain and temperature, and/or any other optical and/or electronic temperature sensors, and/or any other optical and/or electronic temperature sensors, and/or estimated thermal events.

In some implementations, the fiber optic interrogation units may measure changes in optical fiber properties between two points in an optical fiber at any given point, and these two measurement points move along the optical sensing fiber as light travels along the optical fiber. Changes in optical properties may be induced by strain, vibration, acoustic signals and/or temperature as a result of the fluid flow. Phase and intensity based interferometric sensing systems are sensitive to temperature and mechanical, as well as acoustically induced, vibrations. DAS data can be converted from time series data to frequency domain data using Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) and other transforms, like wavelet transforms, also may be used to generate different representations of the data. Various frequency ranges can be used for different purposes and where low frequency signal changes may be attributed to formation strain changes or fluid movement and other frequency ranges may be indicative of fluid movement. Various techniques may be applied to generate indicators of events related to measure the flow of phases of fluid.

A computermay be communicatively coupled to the fiber optic interrogation units and other components in the well system. The computermay include a signal processor to perform various signal processing operations on signals captured by the fiber optic interrogation units and/or other components of the well system. The computermay have one or more processors and a memory device to analyze the measurements and graphically represent analysis results on a display device. In some implementations, the computermay be utilized to determine a connection of the fiber optic cables,is established via the wet mate housing in the lower completion assembly. An example of the computeris depicted in, and further described below.

are schematics depicting an example gravel pack assembly and an example lower completion assembly, according to some implementations. In particular,includes schematics of a gravel pack assemblyand a lower completion assembly, respectively (that may be representative of the gravel pack assemblyand lower completion assemblyof, respectively). In some implementations, the components depicted in the gravel pack assemblyand the lower completion assemblymay be positioned in a different order. In some implementations, one or more of the components described herein may be combined without departing from the original component functions.

The gravel pack assemblyincludes a sand control packer. The sand control packermay isolate the annulus of the gravel pack assemblyfrom the wellbore uphole from the sand control packer. The gravel pack assemblymay include an upper extensionto space out the components of the gravel pack assembly. For example, the upper extensionmay be of a certain length such that components such as the sand control packer may be positioned at a desired depth. The gravel pack assembly may include a closing sleeve. The closing sleevemay be configured with one or more ports to allow proppant to be discharged into the annulus (between the gravel pack assembly (and other assemblies downhole) and the wellbore wall) and be pumped downhole to gravel pack the wellbore. A seal boremay be coupled with the closing sleeveand configured to isolate the one or more ports on the closing sleeve when an upper completion assembly is positioned in the gravel pack assembly(further described below). Pup joints,,may be utilized to properly space out components on the gravel pack assembly(similar to the upper extension). In some implementations the gravel pack assemblymay include a positioning nipplethat may be utilized for other wellbore operations such as activating service tools on service tool operations. The gravel pack assemblymay include an indicator coupling. The indicator couplingmay be utilized to activate service tools, such as a swivel sub on the upper completion assembly (described below). The make up sub (MUS)may be integrated into the gravel pack assemblyto assist with assembly and other rig operations on the surface (such as making up/picking up the gravel pack assemblyon the rig floor). While the aspects of the gravel pack assemblyare described with reference to various components, it will be understood that these components are illustrative. In general, gravel pack assemblies as described herein may be implemented with any suitable components. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are possible.

The lower completion assemblymay be positioned below (i.e., at a deeper depth) and coupled with the gravel pack assemblyvia the MUS. The lower completion assemblymay include a latch receptacleconfigured to maintain the position of an upper completion assembly in the inner bore of the gravel pack assemblyand lower completion assemblywhen installed in the inner bores and the wet mates are connected (described below). The lower completion assemblymay include an orienting helixconfigured to orient the upper completion assembly when installed in the inner bore. The lower completion assemblymay include a dampening moduleconfigured to control the speed at which the upper completion string is moving downward when being installed in the inner bores to make the connection of the wet mates. The lower completion assemblymay include a wet mate housing. The wet mate housingmay be configured with a wet mate connector. One or more lines (such as a fiber optic cable) may be coupled with the wet mate connector and positioned downhole (such as in the sand face in the annular area). A wet mate connector on the upper completion assembly may connect with the wet mate connector in the wet mate housingto communicatively couple a line on the upper completion assembly with the line positioned downhole, allowing measurements obtained from the line downhole to be communicated to the surface. Pup joints,,may be utilized to properly space out components on the lower completion assembly, the gravel pack assembly, and/or any other components positioned downhole from the lower completion assembly.

Examples of installing an upper completion assembly (which may be representative of the upper completion assemblydescribed in) in the inner bore of the gravel pack assembly and the lower completion assembly (such as the gravel pack assemblyand the lower completion assemblyof) positioned in a wellbore are now described. The operations described herein may be performed when the gravel pack assembly and the lower completion assembly are already positioned in the wellbore, and the upper completion assembly is being positioned in the wellbore to connect wet mates as described above.

is a schematic depicting an upper completion assembly interacting with an indicator coupling, according to some implementations. In particular,includes a partial cross-section view of a swivel sub-indicator coupling interaction. The swivel sub-indicator coupling interactionincludes an indicator couplingthat may be representative of the indicator couplingdescribed in. An extension(or any other suitable component) may be positioned below the indicator coupling. An upper completion assemblymay pass through the inner bore of the gravel pack assembly when being positioned in the wellbore, thus passing through the indicator coupling. One or more lines may be externally mounted to the outside of the upper completion assembly. To prevent the lines from being damaged while the upper completion assemblyis traveling in the wellbore, a swivel submay be locked for rotational movement about its central axis. To connect the wet mates, the wet mates may need to be properly aligned. Thus, at least a portion of the upper completion assemblymay ultimately require the ability to rotate about its central axis to align the wet mate to the wet mate in the lower completion assembly.

In some implementations, the indicator couplingmay include a profilewhere the inner diameter of the indicator couplingis reduced (i.e., is less than the inner diameter of the rest of the indicator coupling). As the upper completion assemblypasses through the indicator coupling(i.e., as the upper completion assemblytravels downhole), the swivel submay contact the profile. When a weight is applied to the upper completion assembly, one or more pins (or any other suitable component, such as a ring) in the swivel sub may shear, allowing the components of the upper completion assemblybelow a portion of the swivel subto rotate about its central axis, and thus allowing a wet mate to be oriented for connection (as described below). In some implementations, the pins and/or weight applied to shear the pins may depend on a number of factors including other equipment in the wellbore, depth, pressure, etc. Any suitable means may be utilized to unlock at least a portion of the upper completion assemblyfor rotational movement.

The upper completion assemblymay include a line housing. A portion of the line mounted to the upper completion assemblymay be coiled in the line housing to provide the lines below the swivel sub with excess line length to prevent the lines from being damaged if/when the upper completion assemblyrotates. The bottom componentmay be the bottom of a swivel sub assembly that may allow the swivel sub assembly to be connected to another component on the upper completion assembly, such as an extension. The top componentmay be the top of a swivel sub assembly that may allow the swivel sub assembly to be connected to another component on the upper completion assembly.

is a schematic depicting an example orienting helix, according to some implementations. In particular,includes a partial cross-section view of an orienting helixthat may be representative of the orienting helixdescribed in. The orienting helixmay include an orienting helix housingpositioned in a casing. Prior to positioning a gravel pack assembly and lower completion assembly in a wellbore, the lower completion assembly may be assembled such that straight slot of the helixwithin the orienting helix housingmay be azimuthally aligned with the wet mate housed in the wet mate housing (not pictured). The alignment may be achieved with one or more shims, angle correction finder, etc.

An upper completion assemblymay pass through the inner bore of the lower completion assembly when being positioned in the wellbore (i.e., traveling downhole), thus passing through the orienting helix housing. In some implementations, the upper completion assemblymay include an orienting keyed mandrel. An orienting keyon the orienting key mandrel may interact with the helixwhile passing through the helix housing. The movement of the orienting keythrough the helixmay induce rotation in the portion of the upper completion assembly that is free to rotate (as described in). Due to the alignment of the helix, the upper completion assembly may rotate to be aligned with the wet mate housing.

Thus, the wet mate connector on the upper completion assembly (not pictured) may be properly oriented for connection with the wet mate in the wet mate housing of the lower completion assembly when the upper completion assembly continues to travel downhole. In some implementations, the length of the straight slot of the helixmay be configured such that the orienting keymay be approximately positioned at the distal of the straight slot of the helix(most downhole end) when the wet mates are connected in the wet mate housing.

To help illustrate,is a schematic depicting an example wet mate housing, according to some implementations. In particular,includes a partial cross-section view of an aligned wet mate connection, where a wet mate housing(that may be representative of the wet mate housingdescribed in) and a wet mate stingerare approximately aligned prior to making a connection. A wet mate housingmay be configured with a wet mate connector. The wet mate connectormay be coupled with one or more lines positioned in the wellbore (e.g., the sand face), such as line. For example, a fiber optic cable may be spliced to the fiber pig tailof the wet mate connectorthat is exiting the wet mate housing. The wet mate connectordepicted inis a male wet mate connector. In some implementations the wet mate connectormay be a female wet mate connector.

A wet mate stingermay be positioned on the distal end of the upper completion assembly.depicts the wet mate stingeras entering the wet mate housing. The wet mate stingermay include a wet mate connectorconfigured to connect with the wet mate connector. The wet mate connectormay be coupled with one or more lines externally positioned on the upper completion assembly. As shown, the wet mate connectoris approximately aligned with the wet mate connectordue to the rotation of the upper completion assembly allowed by the swivel sub unlocked (as described in) and the alignment from the interaction between the oriented key mandrel and the helix housing (as described in). To further align the wet mate connector, the wet mate housingmay be configured with a slotthat may interact with a tabfor proper alignment as the upper completion assembly travels downhole to make the connection. In some implementations, the slotdiameter may be constant or tapered.

is a schematic of an example dampening module, according to some implementations. In particular,includes an engaged dampening modulewhere a dampening mandrelon an upper completion assembly may be engaged with a dampening module(that may be representative of the dampening moduledescribed in). The dampening moduleand dampening mandrelmay be utilized to generate a slow downhole movement of the upper completion assembly the remaining distance as the wet mate stinger enters the wet mate housing (as described in). The dampening moduleand dampening mandrelmay be spaced on the lower completion assembly and upper completion assembly, respectively, such that the dampening mandrelmay interact with the dampening moduleas the wet mate stinger is entering the wet mate housing to make connect wet mates.

The dampening mandrelmay be configured with a colletconfigured to contact a profileon the dampening module. A pre-determined weight may be applied to the dampening mandrel(via the upper completion assembly). The weight applied to the dampening mandrelmay meter a fluid (such as a hydraulic fluid) from a chamberto a chamber, via one or more restrictor valves, allowing a slow, controlled rate in which the upper completion assembly travels downhole to ensure the wet mate connectors on the wet mate stinger and wet mate housing do not contact each other at such a force resulting in damage to one or more components in the system. As the fluid is transferring from the chamberto the chamber, the dampening mandrel, and thus the upper completion assembly, may continue to travel downhole in a controlled manner until a profilecomes into contact with a profile. The distance between the profiles,may dictate the distance the upper completion assembly may travel downhole after the dampening mandrelcomes into contact with the dampening module. The distance between the profiles,may be the remaining distance required be the wet mate connector on the wet mate stinger to make the connection to the wet mate connector on the wet mate housing. A pistonin the dampening modulemay assist in controlling the connection.

Factors such as weight applied to the dampening mandrel(i.e., weight slacked off on the upper completion), the fluid properties, the restrictor valves, etc. may control the downward movement of the upper completion assembly. For example, the travel time to close the void between the profiles,may decrease if more weight is applied to the upper completion assembly. In some implementations, if the wet mate connectors need to be separated (i.e., the upper completion assembly needs to be disconnected from the wet mate housing, via the wet mate connectors), a spring component(or any other bias component) may be utilized to reset the dampening moduleif necessary.

is a schematic of an example wet mate housing with connected wet mates, according to some implementations. In particular,includes a connected wet matesin a wet mate housing(that may be representative of the wet mate housingdescribed in). A male wet matepositioned on the wet mate housingof a lower completion assembly is connected with a female wet matepositioned on a wet mate stinger (that may be representative of the wet mate stingerdescribed in) of an upper completion assembly. In some implementations, a female wet mate may be positioned on the wet mate housingand a male wet mate may be positioned on the wet mate stinger. The male wet matemay be coupled with a lineexternally positioned in the wellbore (such as in the sand face). The female wet matemay be coupled with a line (not pictured) externally mounted to the upper completion assembly. In some implementations, the male wet mateand the female wet matemay include one or more connections of the lines. With the connection made, measurements obtained by the linemay be communicated to the surface, via the line externally mounted on the upper completion assembly. The connection may be made when the dampening module (as described in) is fully stroked. In some implementations, the wet mate stingermay include one or more compensation springs to allow for additional travel of the dampening module which may be required to place a positive force down on the wet mates to maintain the connection. Any suitable bias component may be utilized to maintain the connection.

In some implementations, the wet mate stinger and/or the wet mate housing may each include more than one wet mate. Thus, more than one connection may be made. In some implementations, the wet mate may comprise dry mate features. For instance, one or more of the mates may be connected at the surface as a dry mate. In some implementations, a mate may be made-up on the surface (in a dry environment), and later disconnected and/or reconnected in a wet environment. In some implementations, there may be singular, or separate, mates; one for fiber-only transmission and one for electrical-only transmission. In some implementations, there may be a dual-purpose mates; one mate that connects fiber optic line(s) and at approximately the same time connect one or more electrical conductors together. The fiber optic connection and the electrical connection may happen at the same time, or they may connect serially. In some implementations, there may be non-physical couplers. For example, an electrical inductive coupling may be utilized in which two electrical conductors do not have to come in physical contact with the other. In some implementations, there may be non-physical fiber optic couplers. For example, a fiber optic coupling may be utilized in which two fiber optic lines do not have to come in physical contact with the other. The optical energy is transmitted through an optical media that is located between the two fiber optic lines.

is a schematic of an example latch receptacle securing an upper completion assembly, according to some implementations. In particular,includes an anchored upper completion assembly, where an upper completion assemblyis secured in a lower completion assembly, via a latch receptacle(that may be representative of latch receptacledescribed in). When the connection of wet mates is confirmed (i.e., proper signals from the lower lines in the sand face are being received at the surface), weight may be applied to the upper completion assemblyto anchor the upper completion assemblyin position in the wellbore. The anchoring may take place when the dampening module is fully stroked and the anchoring components on the upper completion assembly bear the weight.

To anchor the upper completion assembly, a pin on the resettable locatormay shear, allowing the weight to push the resettable locatordownhole to contact the mandrel. The mandrelmay then travel downhole, interacting with the latch. The mandrelmay travel into a position to support the latchunder the latch receptacle, thus anchoring the upper completion assemblyin position via the latchand the latch receptacle. A body lock ringmay maintain a continuous load path through the resettable locatorwhen tension is applied from surface pulling throughinto the latchand latch receptacleinterface.

In some implementations, if the upper completion assemblyneeds to be retrieved from the wellbore, the upper completion assemblymay be pulled uphole (i.e., travels uphole). The upward force may shear a pin (or other suitable component, such as a ring) between the upper completion assemblyand the mandrel, resulting in the mandrelto travel freely along the upper completion assembly. Accordingly, the latchmay become free from the latch receptacle, allowing the upper completion assemblyto move uphole.

In some implementations, one or more of the upper completion assembly, lower completion assembly, and gravel pack assembly may include one or more energy transformers. In some implementations, a transformer may be a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core, which induces a varying electromotive force (EMF) across any other coils wound around the same core. Electrical energy can be transferred between separate coils without a metallic (conductive) connection between the two circuits.

In some implementations, any one or more of the aforementioned assemblies may include one or more power conversion devices. For example, the power conversion may be the process of converting electric energy from one form to another. A power converter may convert alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC) and vice versa and/or change the voltage or frequency of the current. The power converter may be as simple as a transformer or it may be a far more complex system, such as a resonant converter. The term may also refer to a class of electrical machinery that may be used to convert one frequency of alternating current into another. Power conversion systems may often incorporate redundancy and voltage regulation. Another power converter may be an electrical motor or actuator that converts electrical power into rotational mechanical power (i.e., electrical motor or servo device) or linear mechanical power (i.e., linear actuator). Another power converter may be an electrical to light converter to create a light source downhole. The light source may be incandescent, LED, laser, etc. The light may be a continuous wave, intermittent wave, a light of a single frequency or of more than one frequency, digital, etc. Another power converter may sense light and convert it into one or more electrical signals. The electrical signals may be amplified, filtered, shifted, digitized, or have other modifications/changes to improve the transmission of data and power through the system.

Examples operations are now described.

is a flowchart depicting example operations for making a wet mate connection, according to some implementations.depicts a flowchartof operations to position a wet mate housing below a sand control packer of a gravel pack assembly, and connect wet mates via the wet mate housing to allow measurements obtained from one or more lines positioned in the wellbore to be communicated to the surface. The operations of flowchartare described in reference to the components of the gravel pack assembly, lower completion assembly, and upper completion assembly described in, respectively. Additionally, the operations of the flowchartare described in reference to the processor of the computerof. Operations of the flowchartbegin at block.

At block, a gravel pack assembly and a lower completion assembly may be positioned in a wellbore. The gravel pack assembly may be similar to the gravel pack assemblydescribed in. For example, the gravel pack assembly may include a sand control packer, a closing sleeve, an indicator coupling, etc. Likewise, the lower completion assembly may be similar to the lower completion assemblydescribed in. For example, the lower completion assembly may include a latch receptacle, an orienting helix, a dampening module, a wet mate housing, etc. The lower completion assembly may be coupled to the gravel pack assembly via one or more components such as a make up sub (MUS). In some implementations, the lower completion assembly may be positioned at a depth deeper than the gravel pack assembly. Accordingly, the wet mate housing may be positioned below the sand control packer.

In some implementations, one or more lines (such as fiber optic cables) may be positioned in the wellbore, external to the lower completion assembly, screens, etc., and coupled with a wet mate connector on the wet mate housing. For example, a fiber optic cable may be coupled with the wet mate housing and positioned in the sand face to obtain measurements during production operations.

At block, an upper completion assembly may be positioned in the gravel pack assembly and the lower completion assembly. Th upper completion assembly may travel through and ultimately be positioned in the inner bores of the gravel pack assembly and the lower completion assembly. In some implementations, one or more lines may be externally mounted to the outside of the upper completion assembly. The upper completion assembly may include a wet mate stinger on its distal end downhole. The lines may be coupled with a wet mate on the wet mate stinger and configured to connect with the wet mate on the wet mate housing of the lower completion assembly. The upper completion assembly may include other components, such as a swivel sub, orienting key, dampening mandrel, etc. that may be configured to interact with components on the gravel pack assembly and/or lower completion assembly to connect the wet mates. In some implementations, the wellbore may be cleaned (i.e., debris circulated out, flushed, etc.) prior to installation of the upper completion assembly.

At block, the swivel sub on the upper completion assembly may be activated. For example, the swivel sub may be activated by interacting with the indicator coupling, as described in.

At block, the upper completion assembly may be oriented via an orienting helix. For example, an orienting key on the upper completion assembly may interact with slots on an orienting helix to rotate at least a portion of the upper completion assembly and properly align the wet mate on the wet mate stinger with the wet mate on the wet mate housing of the lower completion assembly, as described in.

At block, a dampening module may be engaged via the dampening mandrel on the upper completion assembly. For example, the dampening module may reduce the speed at which the upper completion assembly is moving downhole to prevent the wet mate connectors from being damaged, as described in.

At block, a wet mate on the upper completion assembly may connect with a wet mate on the lower completion assembly. When connected, the lines positioned in the wellbore may be communicatively coupled with the lines positioned on the upper completion, thus allowing the measurements obtained from the lower lines to be communicated to the surface for analysis, as described in.

At block, a processor of the computermay determine if a proper connection of wet mates is made. Signals may be obtained, via the lines, at the surface to determine if the connection was properly made. For example, it may be determined that a proper connection was established if signals from the lines positioned in the sand face are being communicated to the computer. Alternatively, if no signals are being communicated from the lower lines, a proper connection may not have been made. In some implementations, the connection quality may be manually determined. For example, an operator may obtain and analyze the signals to determine if a proper connection was made. Any suitable technique for determining the wet mate connection may be utilized. If a proper connection is made, operations may proceed to block. Otherwise, operations proceed to block.

At block, the upper completion assembly may be anchored into position. For example, the upper completion assembly may be anchored into its final position in the wellbore by latching into the latching receptacle, as described in. When latched, the wet mates may also be locked into the final position. Once in position, fluids produced from the reservoir may flow up through the lower completion assembly, into the upper completion assembly, and ultimately to the surface. Proper space out of components on the upper completion assembly, lower completion assembly, and gravel pack assembly (such as pup joints,,,,,, upper extension, etc.) may also position one or more isolation seal of the upper completion assembly in the sand control packer and seal bore. Thus, the shifting sleeve may be isolated, e.g., the annulus of the wellbore may be isolated from the inner bore of the upper completion assembly where fluid may flow from the reservoir to the surface. In some implementations, with the isolation seals in the bore of the sand control packer, the long space-out travel joint (LSOTJ), i.e., the latching receptacle, may be activated with pressure to complete the upper completion installation.

At block, the upper completion assembly may be picked up. When the upper completion assembly is picked up, the wet mates may be disconnected. When the upper completion assembly is picked up, weight may be taken off the dampening module, a check valve may engage to reset the dampening module ensuring a controlled connection when weight is reapplied to the dampening module. Operations may then return to blockto attempt to reconnect the wet mates. In some implementations, the upper completion assembly may be removed from the wellbore. For example, one or more components may be damaged on the upper completion assembly, lower completion assembly, gravel pack assembly, etc. such that the wet mates cannot be reconnected. Thus, the upper completion assembly may be removed from the wellbore and operations may not return to block.