Swellable packer with fluid supply
AssigneeSwelltec Limited
InventorsBrian Nutley, Kim Nutley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A downhole apparatus, such as a wellbore packer, is provided with a swellable member and a fluid supply assembly. The fluid supply assembly is to receive fluid and expose the swellable member to the fluid to cause expansion of the swellable member, and comprises a support structure for supporting the swellable member on the body. In a preferred embodiment, the support structure defines a chamber and is configured to allow fluid to flow and access the swellable member. A method of use and method of sealing a wellbore is described.
Claims33
A downhole apparatus comprising:
- a body;
- a swellable member which expands upon contact with at least one predetermined fluid;
- and
- a fluid supply assembly, wherein the fluid supply assembly is configured to receive the predetermined fluid and expose the swellable member to the predetermined fluid, and comprises
- a support structure which allows fluid communication between the fluid supply assembly and the swellable member,
- wherein the support structure is disposed radially between the body and the swellable member to support the swellable member on the body.
A method of operating a swellable downhole apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing an apparatus, the apparatus comprising
- a body;
- a swellable member which expands upon contact with at least one predetermined fluid;
- a fluid supply assembly;
- and
- a support structure disposed radially between the body and the swellable member to support the swellable member on the body;
- supplying at least one predetermined fluid to the fluid supply assembly;
- and
- expanding the swellable member by exposing the swellable member to fluid from the fluid supply assembly via the support structure.
A method of sealing a wellbore of approximately known dimensions, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a downhole apparatus having a swellable member which expands upon contact with at least one predetermined fluid from a run-in condition to a sealing condition and a fluid supply assembly;
- running the apparatus to the downhole location;
- and
- exposing the swellable member to a supplied volume of the predetermined fluid from the fluid supply assembly via a support structure disposed radially between a body of the downhole apparatus and the swellable member to create a seal in the wellbore,
- wherein the supplied volume comprises an excess of fluid over a required volume for expanding the swellable member to the sealing condition.
A downhole apparatus comprising:
- a body;
- a swellable member which expands upon contact with at least one predetermined fluid;
- and
- a fluid supply assembly, wherein the fluid supply assembly is configured to receive the predetermined fluid and expose the swellable member to the predetermined fluid, and comprises
- a support structure which allows fluid communication between the fluid supply assembly and the swellable member,
- wherein the support structure is disposed between the body and the swellable member to support the swellable member on the body, and
- wherein the support structure comprises a plurality of discrete support members.
A downhole apparatus comprising:
- a body;
- a swellable member which expands upon contact with at least one predetermined fluid;
- and
- a fluid supply assembly, wherein the fluid supply assembly is configured to receive the predetermined fluid and expose the swellable member to the predetermined fluid, and comprises
- a support structure which allows fluid communication between the fluid supply assembly and the swellable member,
- wherein the support structure is disposed between the body and the swellable member to support the swellable member on the body, and
- wherein the support structure comprises a porous material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.