Weatherford Technology Holdings, LLC

Zachary S Trine

Travis W Massey

Micheal Bock

Ryan Mogensen

Joshua V Symms

Eric R Evans

Nicholas W McFarlin

Craig A Wright

A cementing operation cements casing in a borehole. A bottom plug pumped down the casing ahead of cement lands at a float valve. Circulation of the cement is established through the bottom plug to a shoe track downhole from the float valve. A top plug pumped down the casing behind the cement lands on the bottom plug. An internal component of the float valve is released by building-up pressure in the casing behind the internal component up to a release threshold. The internal component can latch at the shoe. At least some of the cement in the shoe track is displaced from the casing's shoe to the borehole by pumping the plugs and the internal component to the shoe. With the cement displaced out of the shoe track, the time required to drill out the assembly can be greatly reduced.

Displaceable shoe track assembly

Method of cementing casing using shoe track having displaceable valve component

When cementing tubing in a borehole, a wet shoe track is created, and pressure testing of the tubing is performed. To do this, a wiper plug seats in a seat of an insert disposed in a first position in a flow bore of a tool. The insert is released and moved toward a second position in the flow bore in response to the first pressure applied against the seated wiper plug. A collar disposed on the wiper plug seats on a second seat disposed uphole of the first seat. The tubing is pressure tested by applying pressure down the tubing against the wiper plug with the collar seated in the second seat. Fluid communication is then established through the flow bore downhole of the wiper plug, the first seat, and the second seat by removing the collar from the wiper plug. This can create the wet shoe track.

Apparatus and method for pressure testing in wet shoe applications

A running tool sets and cements a liner in a borehole. While the tool's bypass section is closed, a plug deployed to the tool diverts hydraulic pressure to set a liner hanger in the borehole. The setting plug is unseated, and the bypass section is switched opened by deploying another plug to an opening seat and shifting a control sleeve open relative to a bypass port. While the tool's packoff remains sealed in the hanger, cement pumped out the bypass port is bullheaded into a lap of the liner and borehole. When cementing is complete, the bypass section is switched closed by deploying another plug to a closing seat and shifting the control sleeve closed relative to the bypass port. The bypass section is then placed in a flow-through condition where fluid communication is reestablished through the tool to the liner by allowing fluid to flow past the plugs in the tool.

Top-down cementing of liner assembly

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Houston, TX, United States of America

Zachary S Trine