Selectively angled perforating
AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated
InventorsWilliam D. Myers, Jr., Randy L. Evans
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of perforating a wellbore by forming a perforation that is aligned with a reservoir characteristic, such as direction of maximum stress, lines of constant formation properties, and the formation dip. The wellbore can be perforated using a perforating system employing a shaped charge, a mechanical device, or a high pressure fluid. The perforating system can be aligned by asymmetric weights, a motor, or manipulation from the wellbore surface.
Claims8
A method of perforating a wellbore that intersects a formation having adjacent first and second subterranean layers and a boundary separating the first and second layers, the method comprising:
- identifying the boundary;
- providing a perforating gun having a shaped charge selectively adjustable to be oriented at oblique angles with respect to an axis of the perforating gun;
- orienting the shaped charge in a direction that avoids the boundary by holding opposing ends of the shaped charge and moving one of the ends to orient the shaped charge at a desired attitude relative to the axis of the gun body;
- and
- directing a perforating jet from the shaped charge into the first layer along a path that avoids the boundary.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.