Downhole sub with hydraulically actuable sleeve valve
AssigneePackers Plus Energy Services Inc.
InventorsDaniel Jon Themig, Kevin O. Trahan, Christopher Denis Desranleau, Frank Delucia
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for opening a port through the wall of a ported sub including: providing a sub with a port through its tubular side wall; providing a hydraulically actuable valve to cover the port, the valve being actuable to move away from a position covering the port to thereby open the port; increasing pressure within the sub to create a pressure differential across the valve to move the valve toward the low pressure side, while the port remains closed by the valve; thereafter, reducing pressure within the sub to reduce the pressure differential; and driving the valve to move it away from a position covering the port.
Claims28
A method for fracturing a hydrocarbon-containing formation accessible through a non-vertical section of a wellbore, the method comprising:
- running a portion of a tubing string into the non-vertical section of the wellbore, the portion of the tubing string comprising:
- an opening at a distal end portion of the tubing string,
- a seat configured to receive a first fluid conveyed plugging device to prevent fluid flow through the opening thereby isolating an inner bore of the tubing string from the wellbore,
- a first port uphole from the seat and configured to pass fracturing fluid between the inner bore of the tubing string and the wellbore, and
- a first sliding sleeve configured to move by hydraulic pressure, without requiring engagement with any fluid conveyed plugging device, between (i) a first position in which the first sliding sleeve covers the first port and (ii) a second position in which the first sliding sleeve exposes the first port to the inner bore of the tubing string thereby permitting fracturing fluid to pass between the inner bore of the tubing string and the wellbore,
- wherein the portion of the tubing string is run into the non-vertical section of the wellbore while the inner bore of the tubing string is in fluid communication with the wellbore, and while the first sliding sleeve is in the first position;
- conveying the first fluid conveyed plugging device through the inner bore of the tubing string such that the first fluid conveyed plugging device lands in and seals against the seat thereby preventing fluid flow through the opening and isolating the inner bore of the tubing string from the wellbore;
- and
- moving, after isolating the inner bore of the tubing string, the first sliding sleeve from the first position to the second position to reestablish fluid communication between the inner bore of the tubing string and the wellbore.
A tubing string for hydraulic fracturing of a hydrocarbon containing formation accessible through a wellbore, comprising:
- an opening at a distal end portion of the tubing string;
- a seat configured to receive a first fluid conveyed plugging device to prevent fluid flow through the opening thereby isolating an inner bore of the tubing string from the wellbore;
- a first port uphole from the seat and configured to pass fracturing fluid between the inner bore of the tubing string and the wellbore;
- and
- a first sliding sleeve configured to move by hydraulic pressure, without requiring engagement with any fluid conveyed plugging device, between (i) a first position in which the first sliding sleeve covers the first port and (ii) a second position in which the first sliding sleeve exposes the first port to the inner bore of the tubing string thereby permitting fracturing fluid to pass between the inner bore of the tubing string and the wellbore.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.