Actively Controlled Bailer

This application is a Continuation of copending application Ser. No. 17/780,921, filed on May 27, 2022, which is the National Phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/NO2020/050293, filed on Nov. 27, 2020, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a) to Patent Application Nos. 1917501.7 and 2001171.4, filed in the United Kingdom on Nov. 29, 2019 and Jan. 28, 2020, respectively, all of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the present application.

The invention relates to wireline tools for use in a wellbore, and more specifically to wireline tools for transporting sealant or plugging material into a wellbore.

A hydrocarbon producing well has a limited life span. When the well becomes depleted due to the removal of hydrocarbons there will be a moment it will not be economical to continue operation of the well. The wellbore then needs to be abandoned in a safe way to mitigate the chance of remaining hydrocarbons leaking into the environment. A well may be abandoned permanently or temporarily. When abandoning a wellbore a plug needs to be placed to avoid leaks. The process is referred to as plug and abandonment, or P&A. A typical well includes a liner or casing which forms a barrier between the surrounding formation and the well. Methods for abandoning wells involve placing a plug across the entire cross section of the well. Any cables or tubulars inside the well are usually removed in the area of the plug such that there are no obstructions and the plug can extend continuously from one formation wall to the opposite formation wall. Alternatively, tubulars are left in place and a plug is placed across one or more annuli and tubulars provided within the well. The plug prevents hydrocarbons from leaking out of the well after abandonment. A typical plug is formed of cement or other sealant material, which may be pumped into the wellbore from the surface. When openings are created within a casing or tubular, then the cement or other sealant can travel through those openings into an annulus and back up to the surface. Once the cement is set both in the wellbore and the annulus, a plug is provided against the formation and the plug can be tested for integrity.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a container device for transporting and releasing a plugging material into a well, the container device comprising: a longitudinal chamber for containing the plugging material, the chamber comprising a tubular wall extending in a longitudinal direction and at least one opening for releasing the plugging material from the chamber; a lower seal extending across the opening and closing the chamber in a closed configuration; a pressure application mechanism provided at an upper portion of the container device for pressurising at least part of the device and expelling the plugging material; and a connector provided at an upper portion of the container device for attaching the container device to an elongate member for lowering into a wellbore.

The lower seal may comprise a plug which extends across the inner cross section of the tubular wall of the longitudinal chamber perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the chamber, and the lower seal may have a mobile sealing connection such that the lower seal can travel along the inner diameter of the tubular wall while maintaining a sealing connection to the tubular wall. The lower seal may be received within a landing profile provided at a lower end of the container. The lower seal may comprise a pressure sensitive activation mechanism such as a burst mechanism, or alternatively the lower seal may be burst by landing on a lancet provided on a plug set within the well.

The container device may further comprise an upper seal, and the upper seal, lower seal and part of the tubular wall of the longitudinal chamber may be arranged to enclose the sealing material in use. The upper seal may comprise a plug which extends across the inner cross section of the tubular wall of the longitudinal chamber perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the chamber, and wherein the upper seal has a mobile sealing connection such that the upper seal can travel along the tubular wall in longitudinal direction while maintaining a sealing connection to the tubular wall.

The pressure application mechanism may comprise a pump provided above the upper seal and the upper seal may be arranged to move away from the pump when the pressure above the upper seal increases above a threshold value.

Alternatively, the pressure application mechanism may comprise said upper seal, and further comprises a connection to the lower seal. The lower seal may be connected to a plug which can be set against the casing or tubular outside the container device. The connection may have a predetermined maximum extension such that the upper seal has a fixed distance to the plug and travels down the container device when the container device moves to the surface while the plug is set against the casing or tubular. A pressure equaliser can be provided in an upper part of the chamber above the upper seal.

The connection may further comprise a cable providing an electrical, mechanical or hydraulic connection to the bridge plug for activating the plug. The device may further comprise a pump and a hydraulic chamber provided in the plug for setting the plug.

A check valve may be provided below the lower seal for preventing inflow of fluids from outside the container device. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more flapper valves may be provided below the lower seal for preventing inflow of fluids from outside the container device.

A latch may be provided at a lower part of the container device for latching onto a landing structure. Packers or slips may be provided outside the chamber for connecting to an external tubular or casing.

The container device may comprise a hose. In an example, the hose may be provided within another tubular, defining an annulus between.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an assembly comprising a container device according to the first aspect, and further comprising a landing packer for receiving the container device. The landing packer may comprise a check valve and a sealing mechanism for sealing the landing packer against a casing or tubular. The latch may be arranged to engage with the landing packer.

The elongate member for lowering the container device into a wellbore may be part of the assembly, the elongate member being one of: a wireline, coiled tubing and a drill pipe. The elongate member may further comprise a cable for providing communication and/or power to the container device. In an example, the elongate member may be configured to rotate around the longitudinal axis of the elongate member to induce circumferential flow in the plugging material within the container device.

The assembly may further comprise a wireline tractor provided beneath the lower seal.

The assembly may further comprise a first vibration assembly, comprising one or more vibration elements, and wherein these vibration elements are mechanically coupled to the container device. These vibration elements may be configured to generate an oscillating radial displacement of the plugging material within the container device. In an example, each vibration element may comprise an annulus circumferentially around the container device. In some examples, the vibration elements may be provided within the annulus defined between the hose and the tubular. The frequency and power of the vibration elements and rotation of the elongate member is configured to induce flow within the plugging material to remove entrapped air.

The assembly may further comprise a second vibration assembly, comprising one or more vibration elements. In some examples, the second vibration assembly and the first vibration assembly are the same. The vibration assembly is mechanically coupled to the tubular in which the container device is provided. In some examples, the second vibration assembly may be provided longitudinally proximal to a circumferential opening generated in the tubular, and wherein said vibration assembly abuts against the casing of the tubular. Each vibration element may comprise an annulus, wherein the annulus abuts the inside circumferential edge of the tubular. In some examples, the second vibration assembly may be deployed using an extendable member integrated on the container device, wherein the extendable member is configured to deploy the vibration elements to the tubular.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a method of plugging a well, the method comprising: lowering a container device into a wellbore; opening a lower seal in the container device; increasing pressure in a container of the container device containing plugging material; and expelling the plugging material from the container.

The method may further comprise setting the container device within the wellbore and expelling the plugging material into the annulus to a level higher than the lowest part of the container. The method may further comprise, prior to said lowering, hanging the container device off a support structure at the surface and filling the container device with the plugging material.

The method may further comprise assembling the container by connecting multiple sections of container, lowering the container partially into the wellbore and repeating said hanging and filling. The method may further comprise bursting a lower seal provided within the container.

Plugging operations are typically performed with drilling rigs, and the operations are both time consuming and costly. It is proposed that a wireline conveyed tool for spotting very large volumes (2001 or more) of sealant (e.g, cement) would provide many benefits over conventional processes. In such a deployment, there is no need for retrieval of tubing and/or casing, and so, the plugging operation can be performed with less equipment and fewer personnel, potentially operating as a standalone/offline/rigless operation.

The device disclosed herein provides a way of actively controlling the release of plugging material from a wireline bailer. The bailer is a wireline device, so a connector is provided at a top end of the device to be able to connect it to the wireline. The device does not need to be attached to a wireline but can also be attached to coiled tubing or a drill-pipe whereby a cable runs through (or outside) the tubing or drill-pipe for power supply and/or communication to the device. The release of the plugging material is controlled using pressure. The control can be carried out remotely from the surface using the wireline or other cable connection to the bailer. The pressure control enables a more accurate release of plugging material when compared to a system with a mechanical mechanism such as a valve which is simply opened without further control of the release after opening. The pressure control also enables the plugging material to be injected into the annulus upwards from the place of injection because an overpressure can be created with respect to the pressure of the surrounding fluids. Another possible application of the device can be the plugging of leaks in a plug which has already been created within the annulus. The pressure control can be used to squeeze a plugging material into the leak path to seal off the leak path.

The device comprises a generally longitudinal chamber which can contain the plugging material such as cement. The chamber has an opening at a lower end for releasing the plugging material and the opening is closed by a seal until release is required.

The primary example of a plugging material discussed herein is cement, but there are many other materials which can be used as plugging materials. Other examples are: grouts such as barite, calcium carbonate, clay mixtures, or other inert particular mixtures. Thermosetting, or thermoplastic polymers and composites such as resins, epoxy, polyester, polyethylene, polyamide, etc (a heat source may also need to be provided in some of these examples); elastomeric polymers such as rubber, neoprene, silicone rubber, etc; metals including alloys such as bismuth-based materials. The skilled person will be aware of the strict requirements which a plug, and therefore the plug material, needs to satisfy. Materials used in the pressure-controlled device discussed herein will need to be liquid when transported in the container and pushed out of the container.

The pressure control mechanism can be implemented in different ways. A first example is a pressure pump provided at an upper end of the chamber. The pump can apply hydraulic pressure or gas pressure onto a liquid or gas provided above the plugging material. When pressure is increased, plugging material is expelled at a rate depending on the amount of pressure. The pressure can also be lowered to reduce or even stop release of plugging material. The pressure can be applied onto a liquid or gas provided within the chamber directly above the plugging material, provided the liquid or gas has a lower density than the plugging material because otherwise the liquid or gas would be expelled instead of the plugging material. Alternatively, the liquid or gas is separated from the plugging material by an upper seal such as a bung which can move through the chamber like a piston. An increased pressure above the piston will move the piston down and expel the plugging material. A source of gas such as a canister can be provided within the container, but in another example fluid from outside the container is pumped into the container by the pump.

A second example of a pressure control mechanism is an upper seal such as a bung or piston connected to an anchoring point outside the wireline device. The connection keeps the piston at a fixed position with respect to the anchoring point when the wireline device is lifted up, so the piston is therefore pulled down with respect to the wireline device and the plugging material is expelled.

The lower seal needs to open for the plugging material to be able to be expelled from the container. The lower seal may include a burst mechanism, which opens when a predetermined threshold pressure within the container above the lower seal is exceeded. The lower seal can also be moved over a threshold provided within the wall of the container without bursting. Alternatively, an external structure can be provided which pierces the lower seal. The external structure can be a penetrating mechanism such as a spike or other sharp object pointing up towards the lower seal. The external structure can be placed on a packer or bridge plug which is set within the wellbore. The lower seal may also be attached to a bridge plug which is set within the wellbore, such that when the container is raised, the lower seal is pulled out of the container.

A pressure release mechanism is provided at an upper part of the device. The pressure required to expel the plugging material needs to be higher than the surrounding well pressure and may be high enough to pose a safety risk when the device is recovered to the surface after use. The pressure release mechanism can be activated to equalise the pressure to atmospheric pressure at the surface.

At a lower end of the device, one or more one-way valves can be provided to prevent inflow of well fluids into the device.

The device is able to provide an overpressure with respect to the surrounding well in order to expel the plugging material. When the plugging material is expelled, the plugging material will move through the well along the path of least resistance, which includes the area around the device and upwards in the absence of other structures. The path of the plugging material can be controlled by setting additional structural components outside the device. In a first example, a seal such as an inflatable packer is provided within the space outside the container and around the container. This seal will close the space between the device and the surrounding tubular or casing. The seal will prevent the plugging material from moving upwards beyond the seal, but the plugging material can move downwards. In an alternative or additional example, a one-way valve is set within the wellbore below the device and the device directly engages with that one-way valve such that the plugging material only moves past the one-way valve in one direction.

In a further example, a packer is set within the wellbore below the device blocking downwards migration of plugging material and a seal is provided at the device to prevent upwards migration of plugging material. Openings are provided within the casing or tubular between the two seals and the plugging material will be expelled into the annulus when the device is activated. If a further seal is provided within the annulus below the openings, the plugging material will move upwards within the annulus. An advantage of that arrangement is that plugging material can be set within the annulus without plugging material being set within the wellbore at the same depth such that the plugging material within the annulus can be tested for integrity before the remaining space within the wellbore is also filled up with plugging material using the same device again.

The device may be built up of one or more different sections which are connected together to form the longitudinal chamber. One example of a method of assembling the device comprises: inserting a first tubular section into a well, attaching a second tubular section to the first tubular section while the top of the first section still emerges above the surface, then lowering the combined sections further down the well and attaching a third section to the second section, and so on. After a container has thus been assembled with a length to contain a required amount of plugging material, the lower seal can be inserted from the top and pushed down by filling up the chamber with plugging material. An advantage of first assembling and then driving down the lower seal by filling up with plugging material is that large buoyancy forces are avoided. The buoyancy is reduced because initially the chamber is effectively an open pipe which can fill with well fluids, rather than an empty container which displaces a large amount of well fluids.

The device may also be configured differently for the purpose of collecting well fluids inside the well and retrieving the collected fluids to the surface for further analysis. This step may be carried out before or after the process of releasing plugging material in the well. The device suitable for collecting fluids within a well comprises: a longitudinal chamber for receiving the well fluids, at least one opening for taking in fluids into the chamber; a one-way valve arranged within the opening; a pressure control mechanism for lowering the pressure within the chamber to a pressure below the pressure outside the chamber such that fluids are drawn into the chamber; and a connector provided at an upper portion of the container device for attaching the container device to an elongate member for lowering into a wellbore. The one-way valve can comprise one or more flapper valves and/or check valves. The device can be re-configured as follows: the same tubular sections as described previously can be used, a pressure pump can be provided within the tubular sections for drawing in fluids as opposed to expelling plugging material, and the one-way valves described above can be placed at a lower part of the tubular sections but with an orientation opposite to that described for expelling plugging material. When using the device for depositing plugging material, the one-way-valves only allow outflow from the container to avoid contamination of the plugging material. When using the device for collecting well fluids, the one-way valves are turned around and only allow inflow of fluid into the container. The check valves, for example a ball valve including a ball which is biased against a seat, can be selected such that the valve opens above a threshold pressure which overcomes the biasing force. After fluids have been collected, the device can be re-assembled for use as a plugging material bailer.

illustrate four steps in a process of using a wireline container device in a specific embodiment. The device has a containerwith a longitudinal tubular shape. The container consists of multiple sections which are assembled to form a single container body. A wire(which may also be a coiled tubing or drill pipe) is connected to an attachmentat the top of the device. The wire supports the device and also includes communication means such as an electrical cable for enabling communication between the surface and the device, and for activating and controlling the device. A pumpis arranged near the top of the device to provide pressure within the container for expelling the plugging material. A lower plugis arranged within the container and can travel up or down the container while maintaining a sealing contact with the inner walls of the container. In, the lower plug is located at the top of the container before plugging material such as cement is injected into the container. When cement is injected, the lower plug will travel down the container until it is received by landing profilenear a lower end of the container. The casingis only illustrated for a small part, but the device will be received completely within the casing in use. The casingextends upwards and downwards from the small section which is illustrated. A bridge plugis set within the casing below the device. When plugging material is released from the device, the bridge plug will prevent the plugging material from dropping further down the well and thereby form a lower end of the plug. Although inthe bridge plug is illustrated as being close to the container, in practice the distance between those two parts will be large when the container is still near the surface before being filled with plugging material.

illustrates the container filled with plugging materialand lower plugmoved into the landing profileby the weight of the plugging material. The pressure pumpdoes not need to be employed at this stage to drive the lower plugdown to the landing profile. The container can be filled with the plugging material by extending a hose or other tubing into an opening (not illustrated) near the top of the device while the top of the device is still located near the surface. Once the container is filled with plugging material, the opening is closed and the device is lowered into the wellbore until it is close to bridge plug. The lower plug may be a type of plug called a ‘wiper plug’ because the sealing contact with the container walls cause the plug to wipe any matter away from the container walls. An advantage of this wiping action is that the plugging material is not contaminated in order to avoid compromising the integrity of the plug by contaminants.

illustrates the step where the lower plughas burst due to pressure applied by pressure pumpand some of the plugging materialhas been expelled. A pressure pulse or constant pressure may be used to activate the burst mechanism. The plugging material does not flow below the bridge plug. A pressure pulse can also be used as a signal to the lower plug which opens up after the signal has been detected with a detector at the lower plug.

illustrates a further step where more of the plugging materialhas been expelled. The container can be pulled back to the surface using wirelinewhen all plugging material has been expelled, or the container can be raised while the plugging material is being expelled. A pressure regulating valve is provided in a top part of the container (not illustrated) to be able to reduce the high pressure once the empty container is retrieved to the surface in order to avoid dangerous overpressure.

illustrate a different embodiment. Those parts which are the same as corresponding parts inhave been assigned the same reference numbers and are not discussed again. The difference is the burst mechanism. A sharp object illustrated as lanceis used to pierce the lower plugwhen the device with the plug approaches the bridge plug. The lanceis arranged on top of the bridge plug and points upwards. The pumpis still used for expelling the plugging material, and may also be used to force the lower plugagainst the lance to aid the piercing process.illustrates the moment the lance engages with the lower plug andillustrates the later stage after the lower plug has been pierced.

illustrate a different embodiment. Those parts which are the same as corresponding parts inhave been assigned the same reference numbers and are not discussed again.includes an upper plugin addition to the lower plug. The upper and lower plugs enclose the plugging material. The upper plug is driven down by the pressure applied by pumpandillustrate the upper plug expelling the plugging material. An advantage of the upper plug is that re-entry of the plugging material into the container is prevented, but the plug is not a necessary feature as discussed in relation towhich do not include the upper plug.

illustrate a combination of features of the embodiments illustrated in. The upper plug inis combined with the lanceof. The working principles are the same as discussed in relation to the earlier embodiments.

illustrate a further embodiment including a pressure application mechanism relying on a connection of an upper plug to a fixed anchoring point. The containerincludes the same wireline connectionand wirelineas illustrated previously. A lower plugis provided which not only acts as a plug, but also acts as a bridge plug after leaving the container. Landing profileis able to receive the lower plug, while allowing the part of the lower plug which acts as a bridge plug to emerge from the container, as illustrated in. When the device is lowered to the required position of the casing, the plug is inflated to form a sealing plug across the casing, as illustrated in. The sealing plug also forms an anchoring point for a wirewhich is connected to the upper plug. When the container is lifted to the surface, the position of the upper plug is fixed by the maximum extent of the wireand will therefore be kept in place with respect to the bridge plug while moving with respect to the container. The plugging material is expelled by the relative movement of the container and the upper plug. When the upper plug meets the landing profile, the upper plug will be retained by the landing profile and the wire snaps, as illustrated in. Alternatively, the upper plug is allowed to move past the landing profile and drop out of the container. The space above the upper plugcan be filled with a gas or with well fluids to replace the plugging material which is expelled.

illustrates the device in further detail, including additional valves at a lower end for preventing inflow of well fluids into the container. Details illustrated incan be included in the earlier embodiments. A wirelineand wireline connectorare provided, whereby the wireline connector may include a pressure pump and a pressure equaliser valve and means to fill spacebetween the connector and top plugwith a spacing material, for example a gas canister, or a valve to let in well fluids. The top plugcan move through the container under pressure like a piston as described before. The top plug acts as wiper plug and has a sealing connection with the inner walls to avoid contamination between the different materials in the device. The main bodyof the container is filled with plugging material. The container includes multiple sections which are joined together at joints, which are also used to hang the device off a base at the surface during assembly. The lower plugalso acts as a wiper to avoid contamination between fluids. The spacein the device below the lower plug is filled with a spacer fluid, similar to space. The spacefurther includes two flapper valves, although one or more than two flapper valves may also be used instead. The flapper valves are one-way valves which only allow outflow into the well, but do not allow inflow of fluids from the well into the device. A check valveis further provided below the flapper valves. The check valve is also a one-way valve, but only opens in the outflow direction at a predetermined overpressure. The check valve improves the control over the release of the plugging material. Latchesare provided at the lowermost part of the device which can be used to land the device on cooperating features on a landing packer. Side elementsprotrude sideways and can be slips or inflatable packer elements to engage with the casing and seal the space between the device and the casing. The elements, when activated, can be used to block the fluid path around the device back up the wellbore. As discussed in more detail in relation tobelow, this can be used to force the sealing material into the annulus.

further illustrates the containercomprising a plurality of individual sections joined together to form the required length. The joints are illustrated as thickened portions of the wall. The two flapper valves and the check valve discussed in connection with.

illustrates the container while extending through the wellhead and attached to the wellhead at connector. Above the connector, standard parts of the wellhead are illustrated: a C-plate, a quick test sub (QTS), and a wireline blowout preventer (WL BOP), while below the connector, a shear seal and Christmas tree are illustrated. The relevant valves in these standard parts are opened to allow the container to extend into the well. A mechanical bridge plug is set far below the wellhead and will provide the basis for a plug.

illustrates the container while being attached to the wellhead and while being filled with a plugging material. A hoseis used to fill up the container.

illustrate a process of setting a plug using the device described above. As described above in connection with, the plugging material can simply be released above a bridge plug to form a permanent barrier. However, the pressure control of the device enables other methods of setting a plug. Illustrated inis the deviceas described in connection with, but not all details of the device are illustrated infor clarity. The device includes a lower check valvewith latches extending downwards. A landing packeris set in the wellbore which is able to receive the latches. The landing packeralso includes a check valve. A lower packerhas been set to provide a lower barrier for the plugging material within the wellbore. Openingsare formed within the tubular, providing a fluid path into the annulusbetween the tubular and the casing. The annulusis filled with completion fluid in the arrangement illustrated in.

illustrates the next step of the device being engaged with the landing packer. The check valve on the device and the check valve on the landing packer are now arranged in series, while the latches prevent a fluid path back up the wellbore around the device.

illustrates the phase of the plugging material being pumped out of the device, and through openingsinto the annulus. Further openingsbetween the tubular and the wellbore are provided higher up the tubular for releasing the completion fluid into the wellbore when the completion fluid is displaced by the plugging material.

illustrates the step where all plugging material has been expelled from the device and the device is filled instead with displacement fluid. The plugging material is contained below the landing packer.

illustrates the next step where the device has been disengaged from the landing packer and removed from the wellbore. The plugging material may still be fluid before it is fully set, but the check-valve within the landing packer prevents the plugging material from flowing back up the wellbore. As illustrated in, the plugging material has been pushed up the annulus to a higher level than the check valve. This enables testing of the plugging material within the annulus after it has been set. If integrity of the plugged section of the annulus has been confirmed, the wellbore can further be filled up by dropping more plugging material into the wellbore using the device in the manner illustrated in.