Apparatus for providing a temporary degradable barrier in a flow pathway
AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated
InventorsBennett M. Richard, Paul McElfresh, Chad Williams
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A flow conduit may have at least one orifice is in the vicinity of a flow source. The source is at least partially covered (and flow blocked by) an optional temporary coating or barrier. The flow pathway between the orifice and the source is temporarily blocked with a degradable material or barrier. The material disintegrates (e.g. under the influence of time or temperature) to optionally produce a product that removes the temporary coating in the area adjacent the barrier. The method is useful in one non-limiting context of recovering hydrocarbons where the flow conduit is the casing or liner of the well and the flow source is a subterranean reservoir where the temporary coating is a filter cake.
Claims20
An apparatus having a temporarily blocked a flow pathway comprising:
- a flow conduit with a wall having at least one opening in the wall thereof;
- and
- a degradable barrier at least partially blocking the opening, where the degradable barrier is selected from the group consisting of polycaprolactams, polyglycolic acid, polyvinyl alcohols, polyethylene homopolymers, materials comprising solid acid particles, and combinations thereof, and where the degradable barrier degrades into at least one product selected from the group consisting of acids, bases, alcohols, carbon dioxide and combinations thereof.
A downhole filtration tool comprising:
- orifices in a flow pathway;
- and
- a degradable barrier in the orifices, where the degradable barrier is selected from the group consisting of polycaprolactams, polyglycolic acid, polyvinyl alcohols, polyethylene homopolymers, materials comprising solid acid particles, and combinations thereof, and where the degradable barrier degrades into at least one product selected from the group consisting of acids, bases, alcohols, carbon dioxide and combinations thereof, where the product can remove a temporary coating.
A sand control screen comprising:
- orifices in a flow pathway;
- and
- a degradable barrier in the orifices, where the degradable barrier is selected from the group consisting of polycaprolactams, polyglycolic acid, polyvinyl alcohols, polyethylene homopolymers, materials comprising solid acid particles, and combinations thereof, and where the degradable barrier degrades into at least one product selected from the group consisting of acids, bases, alcohols, carbon dioxide and combinations thereof, where the product can remove a temporary coating.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.