Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

Silverwell Technology Ltd.

Hydril Company

Weatherford/lamb, Inc.

Future Pipe Industries, Inc.

Baker Hughes, a Ge Compnay, LLC

Joel David Shaw

Harris Allen Reynolds, Jr

Chris A Lundberg

Thomas J Walsh

David W Teale

Greg Marshall

Reece Eagles

Paul Robert Terry

Timothy Rather Tips

Ronald Earl Sweatman

Mitchell Carl Smithson

Peter John Watson

Mary L Laird

Pranay Asthana

Jason Pitcher

Ruchir Shirish Patwa

Michael Konopczynski

Norm Warpinski

Blake Thomas Hammond

Gerard Patterson

Mark S Machala

Mitchell C Smithson

Michael Robert Konopczynski

Paul R Terry

A well system having a wellbore that intersects a subterranean formation, a valve station in the wellbore, and a primary controller on surface that communicates with the valve station using wireless telemetry. The valve station includes a valve member that controls a flow of fluid in the wellbore, an actuator for operating the valve member, and a valve controller that provides command signals to the actuator for positioning the valve member. The primary controller sends command signals that are receivable when the telemetry is operational. The valve controller is programmed to control operation of the valve actuator and valve member when telemetry is suspended and so that the valve station operates autonomously when out of signal communication with the primary controller and until signal communication is reestablished.

Wireless gas lift

A bi-directional valve with valve elements having compliant features biasing them together to maintain a sealing interface that defines a fluid communication barrier within the valve. Parting the valve elements from one another removes the sealing interface to allow fluid communication across the valve elements. The valve includes a side port and a choke member that selectively blocks fluid flow through the valve when moved adjacent the side port and selectively opens the valve to fluid communication when moved away from the side port. The choke member remains adjacent the side port until the valve elements are spaced a distance apart greater than that at which valve erosion or fluid cavitation occurs.

Dual direction lift gas valve with cavitation prevention

An apparatus for producing fluid from a wellbore includes production tubing in the wellbore, an annulus around the tubing, and a chemical injection system for injecting chemical additive into the production tubing from the annulus. The chemical additive system includes an injection module with a valve that is selectively opened and closed by operating an actuator. When the valve is opened, the chemical additive is injected into the tubing in response to a pressure differential between the annulus and tubing. The injection module is surface-controlled and downhole conditions are monitored, so that a flow of chemical additive injection is initiated, adjusted, or suspended in real time.

Selectively injectable chemical additive

A bi-directional valve with valve elements having compliant features biasing them together to maintain a sealing interface that defines a fluid communication barrier within the valve. Parting the valve elements from one another removes the sealing interface allow fluid communication across the valve elements. The valve includes a side port and a choke member that selectively blocks fluid flow through the valve when moved adjacent the side port and selectively opens the valve to fluid communication when moved away from the side port. The choke member remains adjacent the side port until the valve elements are spaced a distance apart greater than that at which valve erosion or fluid cavitation occurs. Also included with the valve are systems for counterbalancing forces exerted onto the valve from differential pressures.

Hydraulic locking mechanism for downhole valve

A bi-directional valve with valve elements having compliant features biasing them together to maintain a sealing interface that defines a fluid communication barrier within the valve. Parting the valve elements from one another removes the sealing interface allow fluid communication across the valve elements. The valve includes a side port and a choke member that selectively blocks fluid flow through the valve when moved adjacent the side port and selectively opens the valve to fluid communication when moved away from the side port. The choke member remains adjacent the side port until the valve elements are spaced a distance apart greater than that at which valve erosion or fluid cavitation occurs.

An annulus safety valve assembly for controlling gas flow in a wellbore annulus that includes a passage, a check valve in the passage, and an actuator that is selectively changed between first and second states. The actuator is bi-stable, and requires no energy to remain in either state. When the actuator is put into one of the states, the check valve configuration is changed from one way flow to two way flow. Reconfiguring the check valve into the two way flow configuration vents lift gas from inside the annulus that is below the check valve.

Wellbore system having an annulus safety valve

Gas and liquid velocities of fluid in a lift gas assisted well system are estimated by adding liquid and gas tracers downhole and monitoring their travel time over a known distance. Based on estimated velocities, a slip factor is obtained that represents relative velocities of the gas and liquid in the fluid. A flow regime of the fluid is identified based on the slip factor. The flow regime is optionally altered by adjusting one or more operational parameters of the well.

Selectively injectable tracer flowmeter

Liquid is unloaded from a well with a hybrid gas lift system that includes a lift gas source and valves for injecting lift gas into production tubing. The types of valves include pressure production operated ('PPO') valves and a surface operated valve. Pressure inside the production tubing is measured to monitor operation of the PPO valves, and identify if the PPO valves are experiencing and anomaly, such as multi-pointing or chattering. The surface operated valve is selectively actuated to correct anomalous operation of the PPO valves.

Hybrid gas lift system

A method and system of producing fluid from a well with a gas lift system that includes a virtual plunger made from a plunger forming material. The virtual plunger is formed downhole by injecting the plunger forming material directly into a column of liquid inside production tubing and from an annulus that circumscribes the production tubing. The flow of plunger forming material into the production tubing is controlled by an injection valve intersecting a sidewall of the production tubing. The plunger forming material is added to the annulus from the surface, and enough is added so its upper level is above the injection valve. Adding injection gas to the production tubing below the virtual plunger pushes the virtual plunger and column of liquid to surface. The plunger forming material has properties so that the virtual plunger remains cohesive while traveling uphole.

System and method of well operations using a virtual plunger

A lift gas injection system that is used for introducing lift gas into a stream of production fluid includes a lift gas injection valve. A pressure protection system guards the injection valve against external overpressure by blocking communication to inside the injection valve housing when ambient pressure exceeds a set pressure. Communication is blocked by moving a valve member so that it obstructs flow through an opening in the housing. The system includes pressure actuated valve which has a platen mounted to an end of a bellows, and a valve member coupled to the platen. Surface area is reduced on the bellows side of the platen that creates a force imbalance on the platen from applied ambient pressure. At the set pressure the force imbalance moves the platen, and which pushes the valve member against the opening. A compressible pressure compensator inside the injection valve protects against internal overpressure.

Pressure protection system for lift gas injection

A control system and method of controlling a control system includes a set of pressure-controlled devices having at least a first device and a second device movable between at least first and second positions, and a set of single line switches including at least a first switch and a second switch, each switch configured to move the pressure-controlled devices, respectively, between the first and second positions. The first device alternates between the first position and the second position with every position changing pressure pulse to the first switch, and the second device alternates between the first position and the second position with every two position changing pressure pulses to the first switch.

Control system including single line switches and method

A flow control device for use with a subterranean well, can include inner and outer flow trim sleeves. A radial spacing between the inner and outer flow trim sleeves increases in a direction of flow through the radial spacing. A method of regulating flow between an interior and an exterior of a tubular string in a well can include displacing at least one of inner and outer flow trim sleeves in a direction, a radial spacing between the inner and outer trim sleeves increasing in the direction. Another flow control device can include inner and outer flow trim sleeves, and a flow area through the radial spacing increases in a direction of flow through the radial spacing.

Interval control valve with varied radial spacings

The present invention relates to systems and methods of intelligently extracting heat from geothermal reservoirs. One geothermal well system includes at least one injection well extending to a subterranean formation and configured to inject a working fluid into the subterranean formation to generate a heated working fluid. At least one production well extends to the subterranean formation and produces the heated working fluid from the subterranean formation. A production zone defines a plurality of production sub-zones within the subterranean formation and provides fluid communication between the at least one injection well and the at least one production well. Each production sub-zone is selectively accessed in order to extract heated working fluid therefrom and thereby provide a steady supply of heated working fluid to the surface.

Enhanced geothermal systems and methods

A system for use with a well can include multiple hydraulic actuators in the well, each of the actuators being connected to a common hydraulic line, and multiple pressure control devices, each pressure control device preventing flow from the hydraulic line to a respective one of the actuators unless a pressure differential across the pressure control device exceeds a predetermined level. A method of controlling operation of multiple hydraulic actuators in a well can include applying pressure to at least one of the actuators, thereby increasing pressure in a common hydraulic line connected to each of the actuators, preventing communication of the increased pressure in the common hydraulic line to additional actuators, and permitting flow from the common hydraulic line to each of the actuators, in response to a pressure differential across the pressure control devices exceeding a predetermined level.

Operation of multiple interconnected hydraulic actuators in a subterranean well

A method of opening a conduit cemented in a subterranean well can include flowing a fluid through a passage in the well after the conduit is cemented in the well, and the conduit opening in response to the flow of the fluid through the passage. A well system can include a flow control device cemented in a wellbore, and a conduit positioned adjacent a passage of the flow control device, whereby the conduit opens in response to the passage being opened.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Joel David Shaw