Chevron Research Company

Bechtel National, Inc.

Stanley O Hutchison

Glenn W Anderson

Gordon L Newby

Neal L Mitchell

Robert Wayne Dickinson

James E Hansen

Ben W Dickinson

Paul V Oldershaw

Glen W Anderson

A fully mobil and totally contained well servicing and drilling rig is disclosed having equipment on the rig for automatically handling well elements (pipe, tubing and rods) going into and coming out of a well. The rig provides well element storage racks, cranes for moving well elements onto and off the tracks, transfer means for moving well elements from horizontal to vertical position, well element conveying means for moving elements to and from the transfer means, an automatic manipulator for moving elements into alignment with the well being serviced, automatic hoisting means, means for connecting and disconnecting elements from the element string within the well, driving means for all of the equipment, and control means for sequencing and operating all of the means so that the entire well servicing or drilling can be accomplished without human handling of well elements in the vicinity of the well head and rig.

Well servicing rig

A system for the formation of a bore hole, particularly for use in enhancing the recovery of oil from an oil bearing underground formation using an assembly including a piston sliding in a guide tube. The forward end of the piston body terminates in a drillhead including multiple ports for passing drilling fluid into the formation. Pressurized fluid flowing through the piston body applies pressure against the drillhead to cause it to move into the formation at the same time as it is cutting a pathway for itself. In a preferred embodiment, the forward end of the guide tube includes a whipstock through which the piston body turns from a vertical to a horizontal direction into the formation to provide a radial for the injection of steam. A rigid metal piston body may be used which plastically deforms when passing through the whipstock and becomes rigid thereafter as it moves through the formation.

Hydraulic piston-effect method and apparatus for forming a bore hole

A method is disclosed for altering the permeability of a gravity override path through a subsurface earth formation resulting from hot fluid (steam) injection into the subsurface formation. The method includes adding selected sized particulate material to a foam and injecting the foam into the gravity override path to deposit the particulate material thus altering the permeability in the path. The method may include the use of a noncondensible gas in the foam as well as a variety of combinations of the hot fluid injection and foam plus particulate material injection to maximize the sweep efficiency of the hot fluid injection into the subsurface formation.

Foam and particulate material with steam for permeability alteration in

An insulated concentric tubing well element having an inner tubing and an outer tubing with a substantially solid insulating material in the annulus between the inner and outer tubing. A bonding material fills the voids in the annulus and the surface of the solid insulating material. The bonding material prevents movement within the annulus and seals the annulus. Calcium silicate is disclosed as a suitable material for the solid insulation and sodium silicate is disclosed as the bonding material. A method is disclosed for producing the complete well element.

Concentric tubing having bonded insulation within the annulus

A method and apparatus for placing a cement thermal packer is disclosed. The cementing collar of the present invention is assembled into a stream or hot fluid injection string and positioned along the well in the location where the packer is to be placed. Cement material for the packer is pumped down the injection string preceded by a separation plug and followed by a sealing plug. The separation plug seats in the cementing collar to cause the cement to be diverted to the annulus between the well casing and the injection string. The sealing plug seats in the collar while the placed cement sets to form the packer. The internals of the collar are sheared from the collar leaving a smooth injection string to the injection zone of the well.

Method and apparatus for placing a cement thermal packer

A wellhead assembly for wells having tubing carrying hot fluids into or out of the well. The tubing is subject to elongation due to thermal expansion from a fixed portion within the well. The present wellhead accommodates the thermal elongation and provides a noncontacting connection to the tubing from outside the wellhead. The wellhead may also be constructed to accommodate concentric tubing for hot fluids to or from separate portions of the well.

Dome-type packoff wellhead

A downhole concentric tubing string is disclosed for use in distributing steam, or other hot fluids, to separated subsurface formations along a well bore. The apparatus includes elements for deflecting the steam from one string into the annulus of a cased well for injection through openings into the formation, elements for conducting the steam in another of the concentric string to a second set of openings for injection into another portion of the formation, and elements for isolating and separating the two separate injection intervals.

Concentric steaming string downhole apparatus

A subsurface wellbore completion assembly for a cased well is disclosed. The assembly includes thermal cup packers which may be set at a subsurface location along the well above a hot fluid injection zone. The assembly is run into the well on a tubing string and, at the desired depth, the assembly is converted to operating condition where the packers and slips are set. The apparatus may be reassembled to running condition for withdrawal from the well or the packers may be drilled-over to permit washover in the well.

Frangible cup thermal packer assembly for cased wells

A subsurface well bore completion assembly without convention inflatable or cup packer elements. The completion is effected by cementing a member having an internal sealing surface in place within the well then running tubing string terminating with a sealing adapter having matching sealing face into the cemented member and sealing said well by pressing the surface and face together under the weight of the tubing string.

Packerless well completion assembly

Apparatus for jet-cleaning wells having different-diameter casing strings, which apparatus includes an elongated member for running into the well, and a movable member having a jet body for forming a jet connected to the elongated member, which movable member moves out against the casing string responsive to application of jetting liquid between the movable member and the elongated member.

Jet device for use in wells

A method for removing material from directional wells using centralized tubing to circulate foam in the well at a velocity in excess of 30 feet per minute.

Slant hole foam cleanout

A packer cup assembly useful on tubing at high temperatures and includes a special sealing element having a frangible back up portion to provide pack off in a well.

Packer cup assembly

A method of forming an impression sleeve on an impression packer for use in obtaining impressions in wells, the impression sleeve being formed of a mixture of partially cured synthetic nitrile rubber, natural rubber smoked sheet, silica powder and rubber processing oil.

Material for impression packer

Low heat conductive frangible centralizers are provided for use in a tubing string in a well and include a central tubular section connectable into the tubing string and having a plurality of radially extending polymerized furfuryl alcohol impregnated cordierite lugs in spaced apart position on the periphery of the tubular section with means to disconnectably connect such lugs on the tubular section.

Low heat conductive frangible centralizers

A steam injection system including a steam deflector connectable into a tubing string which steam deflector provides for selectively passing steam through the tubing string to the bottom thereof or diverting steam from inside the tubing string out into the wall liner-tubing annulus and in a direction concentric with and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tubing string and above the bottom end thereof utilizing a sliding-sleeve arrangement and packer cup means packing off the well liner-tubing annulus both above and below the steam deflector.

Growing community of inventors

Bakersfield, CA, United States of America

Stanley O Hutchison