Cnpc USA Corporation

China National Petroleum Corporation

Beijing Huamei Inc.

Jianpeng Yue

Peng Cheng

Yu Liu

Anthony Tran

Matthew Patsy

Perry Batson

Xu Wang

Min Mark Yuan

Marvin Allen Gregory

Damon Nettles

Jeff Maynard

Kwami Roberts

Lei Zhao

Kuo-Chiang Chen

Xiongwen Yang

Jayson Byrd

Jiaxiang (Jason) Ren

Jianhui Xu

Huailiang Liu

Hongtao Liu

Zhicheng Zhang

Laijun Luo

Xiangtong Yang

Liquan Ding

Xin Sun

Xinke Yang

Perry M Batson, Jr

Israel Torres

Richard Herrera

Shaogong Zhu

Meng Cai

Yongquan Xu

The patent application discloses a plug useable for isolating sections of a wellbore. The in-situ dissolvable plug comprises a cylindrical body having a backup piece at least at one end of the cylindrical body, a tube and a cylindrical body. The tube may extend through the cylindrical body and backup piece. The cylindrical body may be made of dissolvable material comprising an external surface, and an inner bore surface formed around the tube. The cylindrical body is soft, moldable, and expandable vertical to the tube to form an in-situ plug at downhole.

Formulation and setup method of in-situ dissolvable plug

The packer system includes a packer mandrel, an upper support or gage ring, a seal member, an upper slip device, an upper cone, a lower cone, a lower slip device, a setting sleeve, and a setting piston. The seal member has a run-in position and a set position. The set position seals against a borehole at a location in a borehole. The setting sleeve has a bypass position to transfer load of the setting piston away from the lower slip device and to the lower cone, the seal member, and the upper cone to set the seal member and upper slip device before the lower slip device. The setting sleeve has a released position to separate from the setting piston so that the load of the setting piston can finally be applied on the lower slip device for expansion of the lower slip device at the proper time and location.

Packer system with load bypass to prevent premature expansion

The frac plug device is a wedge type or ramp type frac plug that can seal at a setting position in a large diameter portion of the borehole. The thickness, taper angle, and dimensions of components for passing through the narrowest portion of the borehole during deployment no longer limit the radial expansion. The frac plug device includes a core cone, a segmented cone, a slip device, a segmented cap member, and a core cap member. A simplified setting action sets the high expansion of the slip device by the core cone and the segmented cone. The segmented cone and the segmented cap member increase expansion of the slip device, and the segmented cap member and the core cap member lock the slip device around the core cone in the final expansion configuration at the maximum radial expansion for large diameter portions of the borehole.

Frac plug device for high expansion at the setting position

A ramp type frac plug device of the present invention is a simplified, short and compact frac plug device to both maintain seal to the borehole wall and prevent premature release from the borehole. The frac plug device includes a cone, an anchor assembly, a cap member, a slip device, and a sealing member. In a set configuration, the frac plug device has both the friction fit engagement of the cone and the slip device and a single direction rachet locked engagement of an anchor ring with a threaded ring portion and an anchor mandrel with an exterior threaded mandrel portion of the anchor assembly. The ratchet lock engagement between the anchor ring and the anchor mandrel prevents backward movement of the cone away from the anchor mandrel so that the cap member engaged with the anchor mandrel locks the slip device in position on the cone.

Frac plug device with an anchor mandrel assembly for a locked set configuration

The retrievable packer system includes a packer mandrel, a lock ring, an upper cone, a lower cone, a slip device, a retrieval mandrel, and a slotted retrieval sleeve. The lock ring is attached to the packer mandrel, followed by the upper cone, the slip device, the lower cone, and the retrieval mandrel. The upper connection sleeve and the lower connection sleeve cover the packer mandrel so as to form a chamber in fluid connection with slip flow channels of the slip device. The packer system is run into the borehole with the slotted retrieval sleeve in the first position relative to the lower cone and the slip device in the run-in position. The packer system is set and can be locked at a location in the borehole. The slotted retrieval sleeve can push the upper cone to return the slip device to the run-in position for retrieval of the packer system.

Retrievable packer with slotted sleeve release

The apparatus prepares a downhole tool component, particularly a slip for a plug that seals zones in a wellbore. The apparatus includes a casing holder, a cone insert, and a cap. There is a bottom center connector to hold the cone insert within the casing holder. There are a plurality of spacing bolts, and a top center connector to hold the slip within the space between the cap, the cone insert, and the casing holder. The top center connector can adjust distance between the slip and the cone insert so that the coating on the ramp surface of the slip has a uniform thickness. The invention includes the method of using the apparatus to prepare the slip with coating of uniform thickness to removably engage another component of the apparatus.

Apparatus and method for preparing a downhole tool component

A support ring prevents an elastomer seal from extruding. The support ring is expanded and supports the expanded seal, preventing the elastomer seal failing due to extrusion.

Mechanical support ring for elastomer seal

The retrievable packer system includes a packer mandrel, a lock ring, an upper cone, a lower cone, a slip device, a retrieval mandrel, and a plurality of push rods. The lock ring is attached to the packer mandrel, followed by the upper cone, the slip device, the lower cone, and the retrieval mandrel. The lower cone has lower cone rod channels, and the push rods anchored on the retrieval mandrel slide through respective channels toward the upper cone. The packer system is run into the borehole with each rod in the first position relative to a tip end of the lower cone and the slip device in the run-in position. The packer system is set and can be locked at a location in the borehole. Each push rod can push the upper cone to return the slip device to the run-in position for retrieval of the packer system.

Retrievable packer with push rod release

The frac plug system includes a setting mandrel, a sleeve member, a sealing member, a cone assembly, and a slip device. The setting mandrel includes a plurality of fluid bypass slots. The sleeve member includes a sleeve body with an abutment end. The setting mandrel has a first configuration without fluid flow through the frac plug system, and a second configuration with fluid flow through the frac plug system. The methods of the present invention include running the frac plug system in the first configuration and the sealing member in an extended position for a first setting stage, moving the setting mandrel to the second configuration with the sealing member in an expanded position, and then returning the setting mandrel to the first configuration for a second setting state. If the placement is wrong, the method includes removing the frac plug system in the first setting stage.

Frac plug system with a setting mandrel and fluid bypass slots

A packer module with selective control and fluid bypass can be interactive with other packer modules in a system for isolating and evaluating. The packer module includes a motor section, a conversion section, a control section, a sealing member, and an isolated flow path section. The control section includes a ramp sleeve cooperative with the sealing member to set a retracted configuration, an initial sealed configuration, and an isolated sealed configuration of the sealing member. The isolated flow path section includes an isolated flow path channel. The isolated flow path channel can only be opened with the sealing member in the isolated sealed configuration so that a zone formed by the packer module can be isolated and evaluated. Measuring and detecting instruments along the different flow paths through packer module evaluate the fluid properties of the bypass fluids and isolated fluids through the different flow paths.

Interactive packer module and system for isolating and evaluating zones in a wellbore

A plug assembly includes a cone assembly, a sealing ring, a slip device of a plurality of blades, a plurality of spaces defined by adjacent blades, a plurality of support lugs, and a setting ring. The setting ring moves from a first setting distance relative to the cone assembly to a second setting distance closer to the cone assembly to radially expand the sealing ring, slip device, and spaces to install the plug assembly at the downhole location. The support lugs are aligned with the spaces to prevent extrusion of the sealing ring into the spaces and radially expand when the blades and spaces radially expand. The support lugs can be separate from each other, overlap, or interlock. The method of installation includes radially expanding the sealing ring, when the sealing ring is separated from the spaces formed by the blades of the slip device.

Plug assembly

A short millable plug includes a mandrel, an upper backup ring and a lower backup ring, a cone, a slip that can be expand and engage a casing, a plurality of sealing elements that creates a seal between the mandrel and the casing, a centralizer that can radially expand to force against the casing wall, a mill-out anti-rotation feature at the middle of the mandrel which is exposed once the plug is set. The centralizer can keep the plug in the center of the casing and each individual slip segments of the slip has the same distance to the casing wall during setting and operation. The mill-out anti-rotation feature can reduce relative rotation between the plug and the casing while reduces the length of the plug.

Short millable plug for hydraulic fracturing operations

A millable bridge plug system includes a mandrel having an upper portion and a lower portion with an interlock, a shearing member attached at the upper portion, a sealing member, ring members, cone assemblies, slip devices, and an interlocking drill member at a lower portion of the mandrel. The interlock of the mandrel and the interlocking drill member are modular so that one bridge plug interchangeably connects to another bridge plug. The interlocks are compatible with interlocking drill members of other bridge plugs and vice versa. The interlocking drill member has rotatable cutting blades to drill through sand and other debris between the interlocking drill member and the next bridge plug to be removed. A milling unit can drive rotation of the interlocking drill member to reach the next bridge plug for removal, until the interlocking drill member engages the adjacent interlock of the next bridge plug to be removed.

Millable bridge plug system

The system and method for setting a completion tool within a wellbore includes assembling a mandrel, inner sleeve, piston, outer sleeve, and dog member. In a first locked position, the dog member abuts against the indentation of the mandrel and the locking surface of the piston. The dog member is friction fit between the piston and mandrel so that movement of the completion tool corresponds to movement of the mandrel. The mechanical link, such as shear pins, of the completion tool is protected by the dog member holding steady on the mandrel. When the completion tool reaches the desired location, a pressure pulse opens a chamber between the sleeves to transition to a second released position. The dog member releases from the mandrel to be housed in the chamber, when movement of the mandrel sets the completion tool by the mechanical link, such as shear pins.

Growing community of inventors

Sugar Land, TX, United States of America

Jianpeng Yue