Weatherford/lamb, Inc.

Other

Paul J Johantges

Thurman B Carter

Charles W Pleasants

William A Blizzard, Jr

David Michael Haugen

Guy LaMont McClung, Iii

Frederick Thomas Tilton

John Douglas Roberts

Mark W Schnitker

Douglas Glenn Durst

Steve R Delgado

Robert Eugene Robertson

Dale E Langford

Joseph D Mills

Wellbore apparatus has been invented that includes a whipstock with a top and a bottom, the whipstock disposed in a wellbore extending down from an earth surface into the earth, the wellbore having an inner surface, a mill guide with a body having an upper end, a lower end, and a channel therethrough from the upper end to the lower end, and a portion of the lower end of the mill guide disposed between and held between the inner surface of the wellbore and an outer surface of the top of the whipstock. A method for stabilizing a mill guide in a wellbore extending from an earth surface into the earth has been invented, the wellbore having an inner surface, the method including setting a whipstock at a location in the wellbore, the whipstock having a top and a bottom, moving a mill guide down into the wellbore to contact the whipstock, the mill guide having a body with an upper end, a lower end, and a channel therethrough from the upper end to the lower end, and positioning the mill guide so that a portion of the lower end of the mill guide is stabilizinglyconnected to and/or received and held between the inner surface of the wellbore and an outer surface of the top of the whipstock. A method has been invented for milling within a whipstock set in a wellbore extending from an earth surface down into the earth, the whipstock having a body with a top and a bottom, the method including introducing a mill guide into the wellbore above the whipstock, moving the mill guide into stabilizing contact with the whipstock, the mill guide having a top and a bottom and a channel therethrough from top to bottom, guiding a mill with the mill guide to mill down into the whipstock and through at least a longitudinal portion thereof, the mill having at least a portion thereof in contact with the mill guide while milling the at least a longitudinal portion of the whipstock.

Whipstock mill

Wellbore operations (e.g. for milling and/or drilling) are disclosed which require a reduced number of tool trips into a wellbore to create a cut-out pocket, opening, or window in a tubular such as casing in the wellbore; and, in some aspects, to continue into a formation adjacent a main wellbore forming a lateral wellbore in communication with the main wellbore. Preferably one trip is required to complete a window or a window and the lateral wellbore. In one aspect a full gauge tool body is used so that the completed lateral wellbore is of a substantially uniform diameter along its entire length, which, in one aspect is suitable for the passage therethrough of full gauge tools, pipe, devices, and apparatuses. In one aspect a cutting system has cutting apparatus initially covered with a wearable away material which is worn away by contacting a tubular to be milled, exposing the cutting apparatus for milling and/or for drilling formation adjacent the wellbore. In certain aspects the lateral wellbore is: about one foot long; two feet long or less; five feet long or less; between five feet and fifty feet long; one hundred feet long or less; between about one hundred and about two hundred feet long; or two hundred or more feet long. In one aspect mill-drill tools are disclosed that both mill tubulars and drill formation.

Wellbore milling and drilling

The present invention discloses, in certain preferred aspects, a whipstock with a body with a top, a bottom, and a cavity in the body, a sacrificial element secured to the top of the body, the sacrificial element having at least one surface for abutment by a first mill moving down adjacent the whipstock to guide the first mill while the first mill mills a tubular in which the whipstock is positioned and the sacrificial element for inhibiting the mill from contacting the body, the first mill having a curved outer shape and a nose projecting downwardly therefrom, the nose having a nose shape, the cavity defined by sides of the body and having filler material therein, the sides of the body presenting a face for abutment by a second mill while the second mill moves down adjacent the whipstock to mill a window in the tubular, the face for guiding the second mill and inhibiting the second mill from contacting the body other than the sides thereof defining the cavity, the sacrificial element having a groove therein with a groove shape corresponding to the nose shape of the nose of the first mill, the sacrificial element made of readily millable material, the at least one surface of the sacrificial element for abutment by the first mill, the at least one surface including a curved surface having a curved shape corresponding to a curved outer shape of the first mill to enhance guiding contact between the first mill and the curved surface.

Multi-face whipstock with sacrificial face element

Growing community of inventors

Deer Park, TX, United States of America

Paul J Johantges