Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

Timothy Edward Harms

William Mark Richards

William David Henderson

Ralph Harvey Echols

Philip D Nguyen

Jimmie Dean Weaver, Jr

Syed Hamid

Johnny A Barton

Andy Cheng Chang

Perry C Shy

Robert W Crow

Charles Timothy Smith

John R Hardin

Gregory B Chitwood

Robert Travis Murphy

Alex Procyk

Jackie M LaFontaine

R Ashley Donaldson

Rex D Presley

David W Fish

Adnan Zaman

Ralph Harold Jones

Stephen Lee Crow

A plugging system for plugging a cased well in a single trip downhole. The plugging system may include a tool string positionable within the cased well and including a bore and a downhole tool coupled to the tool string. The downhole tool may include a first perforating gun, an upper resettable packer, a lower resettable packer, and a flow-through assembly. The first perforating gun may be operable to perforate the casing of the cased well. When the downhole tool is positioned in the cased well, the upper resettable packer may be uphole of the first perforating gun. When the downhole tool is positioned in the cased well, the lower resettable packer may be downhole of the first perforating gun. The flow-through assembly may be positioned between the upper resettable packer and the lower resettable packer and operable to flow fluids into a bore of the cased well.

Systems and methods for plugging a well

A system for an adjustably flexible downhole tool includes first and second connector ends each configured to connect to adjacent downhole tools and a shaft extending between the first and second connector ends. The shaft is configured to bend in response to passing through curved portions of a wellbore. The adjustably flexible downhole tool also includes an outer sleeve disposed around at least a portion of the shaft and extending from the first connector end in a direction toward the second connector end and at least one adjustable member configured to move axially, with respect to the shaft, from a first position to a second position to increase bending stiffness and/or torsional stiffness of the adjustably flexible downhole tool. The at least one adjustable member at least partially restrains bending of the shaft in the second position.

Adjustable flex system for directional drilling

A downhole sealing tool may include a sealing element disposed on a mandrel for lowering into a well. The sealing element may be captured at the ends between the mandrel and a shroud and may span a gland opening between upper and lower shroud portions. Props between the mandrel and the shroud are axially moveable to engage the sealing element and urge the sealing element radially outwardly into a controlled volume defined at the gland opening between the mandrel and a portion of the well to be sealed. A higher squeeze ratio is achievable, allowing for a thinner element and tool profile with greater flowability.

Well sealing tool with controlled-volume gland opening

A travel joint comprises an outer housing, an inner mandrel, a first release device positioned between the outer housing and the inner mandrel, and a second release device positioned between the outer housing and the inner mandrel. The first release device is configured to actuate from the locked position to the unlocked position in response to a fluid pressure supplied to the first release device. The second release device is configured to selectively prevent and allow relative axial movement between the outer housing and the inner mandrel in response to an axial force applied to at least one of the outer housing or the inner mandrel, and the first release device is configured to prevent the application of the axial force to actuate the second release device in the locked position and allow the axial force to actuate the second release device in the unlocked position.

Travel joint release devices and methods

Certain aspects are directed to a testable isolation packer that sets and provides the ability to test upper and lower packer elements. In one aspect, the testable isolation packer includes at least two packer elements, a packer element setting system, a bypass system, and a testing subassembly. The testing subassembly generally includes a moveable element with an outer port and a sealing element, an inner mandrel with an inner port, and a shear mechanism to cause travel of the moveable element close the bypass system and to open the testing subassembly.

Testable isolation packer

A travel joint comprises an outer housing, an inner mandrel slidingly disposed within the outer housing, and a release device positioned between the outer housing and the inner mandrel. The release device is configured to selectively prevent and allow relative axial movement between the outer housing and the inner mandrel in response to a fluid pressure supplied to the release device from a flowbore of the outer housing or a flowbore of the inner mandrel.

An assembly and method of latching an upper completion mandrel to a lower completion receptacle that is located downhole to prevent or limit movement between the mandrel and the receptacle. The method includes lowering the mandrel having a latch assembly carried by the mandrel to a first position relative to the receptacle, raising the mandrel to position the latch assembly in a second position relative to the receptacle, and lowering the mandrel to position the latch assembly in a third position relative to the receptacle to limit upward and downward movement of the mandrel relative to the receptacle.

Downhole latch assembly

A setting tool comprises a centralizer section, a latching section configured to selectively engage the packer, and a setting section configured to provide a setting force to the packer through the setting sleeve. The centralizer section is configured to centralize a setting sleeve within a packer, and the centralizer section is configured to control the rate at which the setting sleeve engages the packer.

Packer setting tool

A well system includes a drop plug element and an internal plug seat in an internal flow path of a well tubing. At least one of the plug seat or the drop plug element includes a polymer that is deformable, having a first stiffness when subjected to a first strain rate, to allow the drop plug element to pass through the plug seat. The polymer resists deformation, having a second, higher stiffness when subjected to a second, higher strain rate, to resist allowing the plug element to pass through the plug seat and to seal the plug element and plug seat.

Deformable plug and seal well system

A method of releasing a well packer can include applying a predetermined tension in a tubular string connected to the packer, and then reducing the tension, thereby retracting inward at least one slip of the packer. A well packer can include a generally tubular mandrel, at least one slip configured for gripping a well surface, the slip being extendable outward by engagement with a support surface, and a gripping device which permits displacement of the mandrel relative to the support surface in one direction, and which prevents displacement of the mandrel relative to the support surface in an opposite direction. A method of manufacturing a gripping device can include deforming a sleeve, thereby changing a diameter of the sleeve, aligning teeth on the sleeve across at least one slot in the sleeve, and heat treating the sleeve while the sleeve remains deformed and the teeth remain aligned.

Apparatus and methods for retrieving a well packer

A setting tool comprises a slow stroke mandrel configured for engagement with an inner mandrel of a packer; a latching member configured to provide a releasable engagement between the setting tool mandrel and the inner mandrel of the packer; a centralizing member, wherein the centralizing member is slidingly disposed about the setting tool mandrel; a collet coupled to the centralizing member, wherein the collet is configured to engage the slow stroke mandrel; a driving member comprising a piston, wherein the piston is coupled to the centralizing member; a setting sleeve coupled to the centralizing member, wherein the setting sleeve is configured to engage a packer setting sleeve shoulder of the packer. The engagement between the collet and the slow stroke mandrel is configured to control the stroke speed of the setting sleeve when the piston is selectively energized.

A travel joint () for space out operations in a wellbore. The travel joint () includes a generally tubular mandrel assembly () and a generally tubular housing assembly () slidably disposed about the mandrel assembly (). The mandrel assembly () included an infinite slot () and at least one axial slot (). A lock assembly () is positioned between the mandrel assembly () and the housing assembly (). The lock assembly () is operable to selectively prevent and allow relative axial movement between the mandrel assembly () and the housing assembly (). A floating lug ring () is positioned between the mandrel assembly () and the housing assembly (). The floating lug ring () includes at least one lug () and is operable to rotate relative to the mandrel assembly () and the housing assembly () when the lug () travels in the infinite slot ().

Travel joint having an infinite slot mechanism for space out operations in a wellbore

An expandable sand control screen () that is positionable within a wellbore comprises a fluid permeable generally tubular member () that is expanded downhole. A filtering assembly is disposed exteriorly of the generally tubular member (). The filtering assembly includes a filter medium () that prevents the flow of particulate material of a predetermined size therethrough but allows the flow of production fluids therethrough. The filtering assembly also includes a compliable member () that has a thickness that is radially variable downhole. During or after expansion of the expandable sand control screen (), the radial variability of the thickness of the compliable member () allows the expandable sand control screen () to comply with any irregularities in the wellbore profile, thereby preventing any void regions between the expandable sand control screen () and the wellbore.

Growing community of inventors

The Colony, TX, United States of America

Timothy Edward Harms