Method of treating and measuring various parameters in formations

#This invention relates, generally, to the treatment of oil and gas wells using coiled tubing having two or more strings of smaller tubing embedded therein to provide two or more flow paths, and specifically, to providing within a single tube at least two flow paths there through to allow gas and/or liquid to be pumped into or out of the oil and gas wells being treated.

#It is known in the art to provide work over operations using gaseous nitrogen to remove sand and/or water or other impediments to production. The prior art has not recognized that a single tractor trailer unit can be provided with all of the equipment and accessories for running a nitrogen service in combination with a coiled tubing unit to treat such wells. The prior art typically brings two tractor trailer assemblies to the well to be treated, one having a coiled tubing unit, and one having the nitrogen unit. Because of the duplicity of the tractor trailer units, this has caused a doubling of the transportation costs, a doubling of the personnel required to have the units arrive at the well, and a doubling of the number of personnel required to run this service.

#It is one of the primary objects of this present invention to provide a combined tractor trailer unit which utilizes a single tractor and a single trailer to provide a service for treating wells with a combined tractor trailer unit through which gaseous nitrogen can be pumped.

#FIG. 1 is an elevated, schematic view of a tractor unit which can be used in accordance with the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is an elevated, pictorial view of a trailer unit which can be used in accordance with the present invention with the tractor illustrated in FIG. 1;

#FIG. 3 illustrates, in block diagram, the various systems which are used in accordance with the present invention to treat a well with nitrogen;

#Referring now to FIG. 1, a tractor 10 having either a gasoline engine or a diesel engine is illustrated and which is used to pull the trailer 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 and which also uses its engine to drive all of the components which are illustrated in FIG. 1. and FIG. 2, on the tractor 10, and the trailer 20, respectively. The chassis 11 of the tractor 10 may be, for example, a Freightliner. The tractor 10 also has a hydraulic tank 12 and a tank hold-down unit 13 which secures the hydraulic tank to the chassis. A hydraulic pump 14 has a coupling and a drive mechanism connected to its one end. The coupling 16 is connected into a transfer case and drive shaft mechanism 17. A hydraulic pump 18 is one of many hydraulic pumps in the tractor assembly 10 and also includes various hydraulic pumps within the assembly 19. It should be appreciated that all of the mechanisms illustrated with the tractor 20 in FIG. 2 are driven by hydraulic pumps located on the tractor chassis 10. The assembly 15 is a hydraulic pump which includes a clutch pulley being driven by the engine located within the tractor 10. The tractor bed 21 has an assembly 22 which is used to connect the tractor to the trailer as illustrated in FIG. 2.

#Referring now to FIG. 2 in more detail, mounted on the trailer bed 30 which is connected to the tractor bed 21 by way of the mechanism 22, is a cryogenic nitrogen tank 32. As is well known in this art, liquid nitrogen has a greatly reduced volume compared to the volume of gaseous nitrogen. Nitrogen, when frozen to −320EF, is a liquid and accordingly, it is much preferred to transport the liquid nitrogen to the well site to provide additional volume of nitrogen gas which is to be pumped into the well. Also mounted on the tractor bed 30 is a control cabin 34 in which the electrical and hydraulic units 36 are controlled by a human operator. The nitrogen system 38 which is described in more detail hereinafter is also located on the tractor bed as is a heat exchanger 40 which is used to heat up the pumped liquid nitrogen to a temperature which causes the liquid to become gaseous, which can then be pumped into the well. The piping system 42 enables the gaseous nitrogen to be pumped into one end of the coiled tubing to allow the gaseous nitrogen to be pumped out of the other end of the coiled tubing.

#An injector unit 44, also described in more detail hereinafter, is situated on the tractor bed floor. A hydraulically driven crane 46 is also situated on the tractor bed floor for situating the coiled tubing injector 44 immediately above the well being treated. A hose reel 48 and a coiled tubing reel 50 are also situated on the tractor floor. A goose neck 52 is also situated on the tractor floor adjacent the coiled tubing injector system 44 for feeding the coiled tubing from the reel into the injector. A stripper 54 is located on the lower end of the coiled tubing injector system 44 for enabling the coiled tubing to be placed into the well being treated. A BOP unit 56 is also located on the tractor floor to be used in shutting in the well to be treated, if needed.