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US 10,883,810 B2Granted
Subterranean well torpedo system
AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company
InventorsBrett Bouldin, Robert Turner, Ahmed Bukhamseen, Andrey Bakulin, Michael Jervis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided in some embodiments is a well torpedo system that includes a torpedo adapted to be advanced in a wellbore of a subterranean well. The torpedo including an integrated spool adapted to hold a fiber-optic (FO) umbilical including a FO line adapted to couple to a surface component, and an engine adapted to combust solid propellant to generate thrust to propel advancement of the torpedo in the wellbore.
Claims21
A well torpedo system comprising:
- a torpedo configured to be advanced in a wellbore of a subterranean well, the torpedo comprising:
- an integrated spool configured to hold a fiber-optic (FO) umbilical comprising a FO line configured to couple to a surface component;
- and
- a jet-pump engine configured to combust solid propellant to generate thrust to propel advancement of the torpedo in the wellbore, the jet-pump engine comprising:
- an igniter configured to ignite the solid propellant to generate gas;
- a mixing chamber;
- a well fluid inlet that is configured to route well fluid from the wellbore into the mixing chamber, wherein the mixing chamber is configured to provide for mixing of the gas with the well fluid to generate a mixture of the gas and the well fluid;
- and
- an exhaust port configured to expel the mixture of the gas and the well fluid to generate the thrust to propel advancement of the torpedo in the wellbore.
6 more elements
A well torpedo system comprising:
- a torpedo configured to be advanced in a wellbore of a subterranean well, the torpedo comprising:
- an integrated spool configured to hold a fiber-optic (FO) umbilical comprising a FO line configured to couple to a surface component;
- and
- an engine configured to combust solid propellant to generate thrust to propel advancement of the torpedo in the wellbore, the engine comprising:
- an igniter configured to ignite the solid propellant to generate gas;
- a mixing chamber;
- a well fluid inlet that is configured to route well fluid from the wellbore into the mixing chamber, wherein the mixing chamber is configured to provide for mixing of the gas with the well fluid to generate a mixture of the gas and the well fluid;
- and
- an exhaust port configured to expel the mixture of the gas and the well fluid to generate the thrust to propel advancement of the torpedo in the wellbore.
6 more elements
A well torpedo system comprising:
- a torpedo configured to be advanced in a wellbore of a subterranean well, the torpedo comprising:
- an integrated spool configured to hold a fiber-optic (FO) umbilical comprising a FO line configured to couple to a surface component;
- and
- an engine configured to combust solid propellant to generate thrust to propel advancement of the torpedo in the wellbore,
- wherein the torpedo further comprises a reverse thrust system configured to generate reverse thrust to slow or stop forward advancement of the torpedo within the wellbore,
- wherein the reverse thrust system comprises a reverse thrust passage configured to direct at least a portion of exhaust gas generated by the engine in a forward direction to generate reverse thrust, and
- wherein the reverse thrust passage extends through a nose of the torpedo.
4 more elements
A well torpedo system comprising:
- a torpedo configured to be advanced in a wellbore of a subterranean well, the torpedo comprising:
- an integrated spool configured to hold a fiber-optic (FO) umbilical comprising a FO line configured to couple to a surface component;
- and
- an engine configured to combust solid propellant to generate thrust to propel advancement of the torpedo in the wellbore,
- a torpedo tree cap comprising:
- a torpedo chamber configured to house the torpedo;
- a torpedo retainer configured to be moved into a closed position to retain the torpedo within the torpedo chamber and to be moved into an open position to release the torpedo from the torpedo chamber,
- the torpedo configured to be positioned within the torpedo chamber with the torpedo retainer in the closed position to retain the torpedo in the torpedo chamber,
- the torpedo tree cap configured to be assembled to a wellhead of the hydrocarbon well, and
- the torpedo retainer configured to be opened with the torpedo tree cap assembled to the wellhead to release the torpedo from the torpedo chamber such that the torpedo falls into a gravity-driven advancement within the first portion of the wellbore of the subterranean well,
- wherein the engine is configured to be activated, in response to a determination that the torpedo has reached the trigger point within the wellbore, to ignite the solid propellant to generate the thrust to propel advancement of the torpedo in a second portion of the wellbore.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.