Baker Hughes Corporation

Chevron U.s.a. Inc.

Superior Energy Services, LLC

Superior Engery Services, L.l.c.

John Barton Weirich

Elmer R Peterson

Joseph F Donovan

Ronald Gene Bland

John V Salerni

Francisco A Pineda

Edward C Spatz

Volker Krueger

John W Harrell

Dennis K Clapper

Michael A Jarrett

Antonio Lazo

Hatem N Nasr

William M Dye

Billy G Chesser

Geoffrey Robinson

James E Norfleet

Jeremy Alexander Davis

Valeri Papanyan

William W Smith, Jr

Downhole equipment in a well includes an acoustic feature that emits an acoustic signal providing an indication of the operation of the downhole equipment. The downhole equipment is placed, above, below, or around a tubing string, or elsewhere in the well. The downhole equipment can include a flow control valve, a housing assembly, a sand screen assembly, or a base pipe. The acoustic feature can be a protrusion and notch that engage and generate the acoustic signal. Alternatively, a moving component such as a turbine can be included in the downhole equipment and can generate the acoustic signal when the component moves. Alternatively, the acoustic feature can be any device that emits a unique acoustic signal.

Engineered acoustics for downhole equipment

A sand control screen assembly includes a base pipe having openings through its thickness, and a mesh layer having mesh material sections coupled to safe edges, or connectors, for connecting sections together. The safe edges include areas of thinning to provide flex joints that yield when exposed to high stresses. The mesh layer may be a drainage layer or a filter medium of the sand control screen assembly.

Sand control screen assemblies and associated methods of manufacturing

A system having a sealing assembly for a gravel port in a gravel pack apparatus. The sealing assembly includes a sealing element around an outer circumference of the gravel pack assembly above the gravel pack and below the gravel port. The sealing element is on the outside housing of the gravel pack apparatus or on a separate piece of equipment located above the gravel pack and below the gravel port, permitting a larger flow bore through the gravel pack apparatus. The sealing element may be selectively actuated after the gravel pack operation has concluded, thus maintaining the gravel pack in the desired location. The removal of a gravel pack tool may permit the sealing element to be actuated.

System and method for sealing gravel exit ports in gravel pack assemblies

An apparatus for allowing fluid flow inside at least one screen and outside a span of pipe disposed in a well bore includes at least one flow path for fluid entering at least one screen. The flow path extends from the screen(s) along the outside of the pipe at least one desired entry inlet into the pipe without at least substantial entry at any point therebetween.

Apparatus and methods for allowing fluid flow inside at least one screen and outside a pipe disposed in an well bore

Apparatus for allowing fluid flow inside at least one screen and outside a span of pipe disposed in a well bore includes at least one flow path for fluid entering at least one screen. The flow path extends from the screens) along the outside of the pipe to at least one desired entry inlet into the pipe.

Apparatus and methods for allowing fluid flow inside at least one screen and outside a pipe disposed in a well bore

A completion assembly has a packer for isolation and indicating shoulders incorporated into a sleeve mounted uphole of the packer. Locating the indicating shoulders above the packer allows them to be larger than placement below the packer where the assembly generally has to neck down to permit operations such as gravel packing. Placement above the packer makes the indicating shoulders less restrictive to subsequent production flow or for passage of tools further down the wellbore.

Large inside diameter completion with position indication

The present invention provides a drilling system for drilling oilfield boreholes or wellbores utilizing a drill string having a drilling assembly conveyed downhole by a tubing (usually a drill pipe or coiled tubing). The drilling assembly includes a bottom hole assembly (BHA) and a drill bit. The bottom hole assembly preferably contains commonly used measurement-while-drilling sensors. The drill string also contains a variety of sensors for determining downhole various properties of the drilling fluid. Sensors are provided to determine density, viscosity, flow rate, clarity, compressibility, pressure and temperature of the drilling fluid at one or more downhole locations. Chemical detection sensors for detecting the presence of gas (methane) and H,S are disposed in the drilling assembly. Sensors for determining fluid density, viscosity, pH, solid content, fluid clarity, fluid compressibility, and a spectroscopy sensor are also disposed in the BHA. Data from such sensors may is processed downhole and/or at the surface. Corrective actions are taken based upon the downhole measurements at the surface which may require altering the drilling fluid composition, altering the drilling fluid pump rate or shutting down the operation to clean wellbore. The drilling system contains one or more models, which may be stored in memory downhole or at the surface. These models are utilized by the downhole processor and the surface computer to determine desired fluid parameters for continued drilling. The drilling system is dynamic, in that the downhole fluid sensor data is utilized to update models and algorithms during drilling of the wellbore and the updated models are then utilized for continued drilling operations.

Drilling systems with sensors for determining properties of drilling fluid downhole

The present invention provides a method of preparing a fluid for use in drilling and completion operations comprising mixing a fluid comprising a salt of an alkaline earth metal with a nonionic colloid-forming material in an amount and under conditions sufficient to convert a majority of said nonionic colloid-forming material into water insoluble hydrated colloidal complexes comprising hydrated ions of said alkaline earth metal complexed with said nonionic colloid-forming material, said complexes being effective to improve a property of said fluid selected from the group consisting of rheology, fluid loss control, and a combination thereof.

Fluids for use in drilling and completion operations comprising water

A method and apparatus for effecting the completion of non-vertical, including horizontally disposed, portions of a deviated well bore traversing a production formation. To facilitate the insertion of a gravel packing tool string through the curved portion of the well bore, stabilizer elements are maintained in a radially retracted position and then operated to engage the well bore after the tool string is run-in. An anti-rotation tool may be incorporated for connecting the work string to the left hand threads conventionally provided on a conventional packer in order to permit rotation of the entire tool string to facilitate passage through the curved portion of the well bore. Two gravel packing modifications are disclosed, the one employing a single packer and a cross-over tool located at the top end of a plurality of serially connected screens. In the other modification, a plurality of gravel packing sections, including stabilizers, screens, a sleeve valve housing and a packer are serially connected together and run-in. A cross-over tool is then inserted by a separate tubular work string to be initially positioned adjacent the lowermost packer to accomplish the packing of the lowermost screens and then moved to the next packer to successively effect the gravel packing of all of the gravel packing sections.

Method for completing a non-vertical portion of a subterranean well bore

A method and apparatus for effecting the completion of non-vertical, including horizontally disposed, portions of a deviated well bore traversing a production formation. To facilitate the insertion of a gravel packing tool string through the curved portion of the well bore, stabilizer elements are maintained in a radially retracted position and then operated to engage the well bore after the tool string is run-in. An anti-rotation tool may be incorporated for connecting the work string to the left hand threads conventionally provided on a conventional packer in order to permit rotation of the entire tool string to facilitate passage through the curved portion of the well bore. Two gravel packing modifications are disclosed, the one employing a single packer and a cross-over tool located at the top end of a plurality of serially connected screens. In the order modification, a plurality of gravel packing sections, including stabilizers, screens, a sleeve valve housing and a packer are serially connected together and run-in. A cross-over tool is then inserted by a separate tubular work string to be initially positioned adjacent the lowermost packer to accomplish the packing of the lowermost screens and then moved to the next packer to successively effect the gravel packing of all of the gravel packing sections.

Growing community of inventors

Spring, TX, United States of America

John Barton Weirich