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US 10,378,310 B2Granted
Drilling flow control tool
AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorErik P. Eriksen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Drilling flow control tools may include a tool body having a central bore and bypass ports that allow flow of fluid to an outer surface of the tool body. The drilling flow control tool may also include a control sleeve within the central bore. The control sleeve may restrict fluid flow through the bypass ports when in an inactive state and allow the fluid flow through the bypass ports when in an active state. The drilling flow control tool may further include a release subassembly movably coupled to the tool body. Packer cups coupled to the tool body can act as packoff devices that control passage of fluid along the outer diameter of the tool body. Using the packer cups and control sleeve, fluid flow may be circulated within an inner annulus of a wellbore, an outer annulus of a wellbore, or both.
Claims19
A flow control tool, comprising:
- a tool body having a central bore extending therethrough and at least one bypass port configured to allow a fluid flow to pass radially out of the tool body from the central bore;
- a control sleeve at least partially within the central bore, the control sleeve being configured to restrict the fluid flow from passing through the at least one bypass port when the control sleeve is in an inactive state and to allow the fluid flow to pass through the at least one bypass port when the control sleeve is in an active state;
- and
- a release subassembly movably coupled to the tool body and including an outer sleeve coupled to at least one packoff device, the outer sleeve and at least one packoff device configured to move axially relative to the tool body to transition the release subassembly between an open state and a closed state, the outer sleeve and the at least one packoff device configured to control passage of fluid along an outer surface of the tool body such that:
- in the open state, fluid flow in at least one flow passage extending along the outer surface of the tool body and inside the at least one packoff device is permitted;
- and
- in the closed state, fluid flow in the at least one flow passage extending along the outer surface of the tool body and inside the at least one packoff device is restricted.
4 more elements
A casing-while-drilling system, comprising:
- a liner;
- a bottomhole assembly below the liner, the bottomhole assembly including a drill bit and an underreamer;
- and
- a drilling flow control tool coupled to the liner and including:
- a tool body with a central bore and at least one bypass port configured to allow a fluid flow to pass radially from the central bore to an outer diameter of the tool body;
- a control sleeve within the central bore, the control sleeve being configured to restrict the fluid flow from passing through the at least one bypass port when in an inactive state and to allow the fluid flow to pass through the at least one bypass port when in an active state;
- and
- a release subassembly including an outer sleeve and at least one packer cup movably coupled to the tool body, the release subassembly being configured to move between an open state and a closed state, the outer sleeve and the at least one packer cup configured to control passage of fluid along the outer diameter of the tool body, the at outer sleeve and the least one packer cup being further configured to allow fluid flow through at least one flow passage at the outer diameter of the tool body when the release assembly is in the open state, and to restrict fluid flow through the at least one flow passage when the release assembly is in the closed state.
5 more elements
A method, comprising:
- tripping a drill string into a wellbore, the drill string including a flow control tool within a liner, the flow control tool including:
- a tool body having a central bore, at least one bypass port configured to allow fluid flow to pass radially outwardly from the central bore to an outer diameter of the tool body, and at least one flow passage extending axially along the outer diameter of the tool body;
- a control sleeve coupled to the tool body, the control sleeve being in an inactive state and configured to restrict fluid flow through the at least one bypass port;
- and
- a release subassembly movably coupled to the tool body and positioned in an open state in which at least one packoff device of the release subassembly allows fluid flow through the at least one flow passage;
- transitioning the control sleeve from the inactive state to the active state and thereby allowing the fluid flow through the at least one bypass port;
- circulating the fluid flow in an inner annulus between an inner diameter of the liner and the outer diameter of the tool body when the control sleeve is in the active state and the release subassembly is in the open state;
- rotating the tool body, wherein rotating the tool body causes the at least one packoff device to be repositioned and transition the release subassembly from the open state to a closed state restricting the fluid flow through the at least one flow passage;
- and
- circulating the fluid flow in an outer annulus between an outer diameter of the liner and an inner diameter of the wellbore when the control sleeve is in the active state and the release subassembly is in the closed state.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.