Shell Oil Comapny

Martin Donnelly

Wilhelmus Christianus Lohbeck

Cornelis Jan Kenter

Brent Reynolds Ross

Allan James Samuel

Paulus Hermanus Reijnen

Jacobus Hendrikus Emmen

Robert Nicholas Worrall

Wilhelmus Christianus Maria Lohbeck

Robert Bruce Stewart

Paul R Choate

A scrolled resilient sheet is installed against the inner surface of a fluid conduit using a carrier tool from which a resilient sheet having an average thickness more than 2 mm and an elastic or pseudoelastic recoverable strain of at least 0.6% is released so that the sheet expands with an expansion force which is sufficiently high to allow the sheet to press itself into place alongside the inner surface of the conduit and to remain in place after installation.

Installing a scrolled resilient sheet alongside the inner surface of a fluid conduit

An expandable well screen for preventing migration of sand or other solid particles into a hydrocarbon fluid production well comprises a number of filter sheets with circumferential slots, which sheets are secured in an iris-shaped configuration and co-axial to an expandable slotted carrier tube such that as result of expansion of the tube the amount of overlap between adjacent filter sheets is reduced. The circumferential slot pattern of the slots enables the filter sheets to slide easily relative to each other and to avoid buckling and/or tearing of the filter sheets during the expansion process.

Expandable well screen

A deformable well screen for preventing migration of solid particles into a hydrocarbon production well is disclosed, the screen including at least one substantially tubular filter layer of which the sieve opening size remains fairly constant during or after expansion and/or other deformation of the screen. Optionally the screen also includes a series of circumferentially scaled filter segments that are arranged around an expandable slotted tube, an expandable slotted tube of which the slots are filled with resin coated granules, an expandable slotted tube with micro-slots, an assembly of woven metal wire screens that are sintered together and/or a synthetic geotextile fabric.

Deformable well screen

A deformable well screen for preventing migration of solid particles into a hydrocarbon production well is disclosed, the screen including at least one substantially tubular filter layer of which the sieve opening size remains fairly constant during or after expansion and/or other formation of the screen. Optionally the screen also includes a series of circumferentially scaled filter segments that are arranged around an expandable slotted tube, an expandable slotted tube of which the slots are filled with resin coated granules, an expandable slotted tube with micro-slots, an assembly of woven metal wire screens that are sintered together and/or a synthetic geotextile fabric.

A method of creating a wellbore in an underground formation is provided. A borehole is drilled in the underground formation, whereafter a casing of a ductile material is lowered into the borehole. The casing is selected to have a smaller elastic radial deformation than the surrounding formation when the casing is radially expanded against the borehole wall by application of a radial force to the casing. Said radial force is applied to the casing so as to radially expand the casing against the borehole wall thereby inducing a plastic radial deformation of the casing and an elastic radial deformation of the surrounding underground formation, whereafter the radial force is removed from the casing.

Growing community of inventors

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Martin Donnelly