US 10,329,889 B2Granted

Fracking tool further having a dump port for sand flushing, and method of fracking a formation using such tool

AssigneePinnacle Oil Tools Inc.

InventorWilliam Jani

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Abstract

A tool for fracking a formation at spaced intervals, which has an actuatable “dump” port to flush an annular space surrounding the tool when in a wellbore to thereby flush sand and reduce tendency for “sanding-in” of the tool in the wellbore. An uphole and downhole packer is provided, intermediate of which is a frac port. The dump port is located uphole thereof. Locking jaw members and a ‘j’ slot subassembly downhole of both the dump port and frac port are together used to set and unset the tool in the wellbore. A slidable sleeve opens and closes the dump port, which sleeve may be actuated by movement of the tool in the wellbore or alternatively by an actuating tool inserted in the bore of the tool. A method of carrying out fracking of the formation and flushing of the tool after each fracking operation is further disclosed.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A downhole tool for injecting a fluid into a hydrocarbon formation at various spaced intervals along a wellbore and further having capability to flush an annular space between said tool and piping or the wellbore in which the tool is inserted after each interval of injection of said fluid into the hydrocarbon formation, comprising:

(i) an elongate substantially cylindrical member, having a hollow bore and an outer periphery, adapted for insertion in a wellbore;
(ii) an uphole cylindrical, hollow slidable sleeve within said bore;
(iii) a dump port, situated in said outer periphery, configured to direct a stream of fluid radially outwardly from said tool into said annular space, fluid communication of said dump port with said annular space allowed and prevented by slidable movement of said uphole slidable sleeve;
(iv) an uphole packer member, situated on a portion of said periphery downhole of said dump port;
(v) a downhole packer member, situated on a portion of said periphery downhole of said uphole packer member and spaced apart therefrom;
(vi) a frac port in said periphery of said cylindrical member, intermediate said uphole and said downhole packer members;
(vii) a slidably moveable guide member, having radially protruding slip members thereon, said slip members configured to frictionally engage said wellbore casing when said tool is inserted therein, said guide member situated on said tool downhole of said downhole packer member, said guide member further having radially expandable jaw members on an uphole side thereof;
and
(viii) a T slot subassembly within said tool, situated downhole of said downhole packer member, and having an associated cylindrical hollow mandrel with a slotted profile therein, said T slot subassembly, when downward force is applied to said tool and said guide member frictionally engages said wellbore casing, does not allow further relative downward movement of a lower portion of said downhole packer member relative to said guide member and thus does not allow said jaw members to become actuated, and said ‘j’ slot sub-assembly when an upward pulling force is applied to said tool and thereafter a downward force is re-applied to said tool, is then in a ‘set’ position where said lower portion of said downhole packer member is allowed further downward downhole movement to allow said lower portion of said downhole packer member to be forced against said jaw members so as to expand them radially outwardly to engage said wellbore casing;
and
wherein slight upward movement of the tool after said tool has been configured in said ‘set’ position within said wellbore causes said uphole slidable sleeve to uncover said dump port and allow a flushing fluid to be delivered via the bore of said tool to said annular space.

8 more elements

A method for fracturing a hydrocarbon formation which includes flushing an annular space between a fracking tool and a wellbore to prevent sanding-in of the tool prior to repositioning the tool from a first interval to a second, spaced interval along a wellbore, such method comprising the steps of:

(i) running said tool, which possesses a hollow bore in the region between a dump port and a frac port thereon, into said wellbore to a desired depth within said wellbore;
(ii) pulling upwardly on said tool to configure ‘j’ slot on said tool from a “running” position of step (i) to a “pulling” position and positioning an uphole packer member and a downhole packer member situated on said tool on mutually opposite sides of a region along said wellbore which is desired to be fracked;
(iii) pushing slightly down on an upper portion of said tool to cause said ‘j’ slot to allow movement of a portion of the tool wherein jaw members on said tool are forced against said wellbore and the downhole packer member on said tool is longitudinally compressed and caused to expand radially outwardly, so as to configure said tool in a “set” position;
(iv) injecting pressurized fracking fluid into said wellbore and into a bore of said tool and causing said pressurized fluid to pass via a frac port in said tool into fissures created in said formation extending radially outwardly from said wellbore;
(v) ceasing supply of said pressurized fracking fluid to said bore of the tool;
(vi) pulling upwardly on the tool so as to move the tool slightly upwardly so as to disengage the jaw members and re-configure the ‘j’ slot into said “pulling” configuration, and thereby simultaneously causing a slidable sleeve covering said dump port to move so as to uncover said dump port;
and
(vii) providing a flushing fluid not containing sand to the hollow bore of the tool and causing said flushing fluid to be expelled from the bore of the tool via the dump port and thereby flushing an annular space between the wellbore and the tool with said flushing fluid, and
(viii) thereafter pulling the tool further uphole for further subsequent injection of pressurized fluid containing sand into additional fissures created in the formation.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/456,428Filed 10 Mar 2017 · continuation in part
Priority: 3 Mar 2015
Published: US 2017/0183931 A129 Jun 2017
Granted: 25 Jun 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

E21B 34/14
In wells: operated by movement of tools, e.g. sleeve valves operated by pistons or wire line tools
E21B 23/006
Indexing systems for guiding relative movement between telescoping parts of downhole tools: "J-slot" systems, i.e. lug and slot indexing mechanisms
E21B 33/124
Packers; Plugs: units with longitudinally-spaced plugs for isolating the intermediate space
E21B 33/129
Packers; Plugs: with mechanical slips for hooking into the casing

Family

Application14/637,114Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 3 Mar 2015
US 2017/0183931 A1Pre-grant publication · published 29 Jun 2017
US 9,719,334 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2016/0258258 A1Published application
US 10,329,889 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.