US 9,284,819 B2Granted

Assembly and method for multi-zone fracture stimulation of a reservoir using autonomous tubular units

AssigneeExxonMobil Upstream Research Company

InventorsRandy C. Tolman, Pavlin B. Entchev, Renzo M. Angeles Boza, Dennis H. Petrie, Kevin H. Searles, Abdel Wadood M. El-Rabaa

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Abstract

Autonomous units and methods for downhole, multi-zone perforation and fracture stimulation for hydrocarbon production. The autonomous unit may be a perforating gun assembly, a bridge plug assembly, or fracturing plug assembly. The autonomous units are dimensioned and arranged to be deployed within a wellbore without an electric wireline. The autonomous units may be fabricated from a friable material so as to self-destruct upon receiving a signal. The autonomous units include a position locator for sensing the presence of objects along the wellbore and generating depth signals in response. The autonomous units also include an on-board controller for processing the depth signals and for activating an actuatable tool at a zone of interest.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A tool assembly for performing a tubular operation in a wellbore, comprising:

an actuatable tool;
a location device for sensing the location of the actuatable tool within a tubular body based on a physical signature provided along the tubular body;
diversion materials;
a friable container for holding the diversion materials, the container being part of the autonomous unit of the tool assembly and being designed to release the diversion materials in response to a command from the on-board controller proximate and in anticipation of the time of a perforating gun being fired;
and
an on-board controller configured to send an actuation signal to the tool when the location device has recognized the selected location of the tool based on the physical signature and tool velocity and to determine when to send the actuation signal to actuate the tool, wherein:
the actuatable tool, the location device, and the on-board controller are together dimensioned and arranged to be deployed in the tubular body as an autonomously actuatable unit;
and
the actuatable tool is designed to be autonomously actuated to perform the tubular operation in response to the actuation signal;
and
the actuatable tool assembly is friable such that when destructed it becomes small enough pieces to not impede ongoing operations.

8 more elements

An assembly for downhole fracture stimulation for hydrocarbon production, comprising:

a first perforating gun assembly for perforating a wellbore in anticipation of arrival at the first selected zone of interest, the first perforating gun assembly being substantially fabricated from a friable material, and the first perforating gun assembly comprising:
a perforating gun having an associated charge for perforating the wellbore at the first selected zone of interest, the perforating gun being designed to cause the first perforating gun assembly to self-destruct upon detonation of its associated charge;
a safety system for preventing premature detonation of the associated charge of the perforating gun;
wherein the first perforating gun assembly is dimensioned and arranged to be deployed within the wellbore as an autonomous unit;
a friable container for deployment of concentrated materials for diversion in anticipation of perforating a second selected zone
a second perforating gun assembly for perforating the wellbore at a second selected zone of interest, the second perforating gun assembly also being substantially fabricated from a friable material, and the second perforating gun assembly comprising:
a perforating gun having an associated charge for perforating the wellbore at the second selected zone of interest, the perforating gun being configured to cause the second perforating gun assembly to self-destruct upon detonation of its associated charge;
a second position locator for sensing the presence of the objects along the wellbore and generating depth signals in response thereto;
an on-board controller for processing depth signals and for activating the perforating gun in anticipation of the second selected zone of interest;
and
a safety system for preventing premature detonation of the associated charge of the perforating gun;
wherein the second perforating gun assembly is dimensioned and arranged to be deployed within the wellbore as an autonomous unit, but separate from the autonomous unit that defines the first perforating gun assembly and to be deployed in continuous flow without interruption as to ongoing operations.

9 more elements

A method of perforating a wellbore at multiple zones of interest in substantially continuous operations, comprising:

providing a first autonomous perforating gun assembly substantially fabricated from a friable material, the first perforating gun assembly being configured to detect and anticipate a first selected zone of interest along the wellbore;
deploying the first perforating gun assembly into the wellbore;
upon detecting that the first perforating gun assembly has reached the first selected zone of interest, firing shots along the first zone of interest to produce perforations;
providing a second perforating gun assembly substantially fabricated from a friable material, the second perforating gun assembly being configured to detect a second selected zone of interest along the wellbore;
deploying the second perforating gun assembly into the wellbore during the substantially continuous operations;
upon detecting that the second perforating gun assembly has reached the second selected zone of interest, releasing diversion materials from the second perforating gun assembly proximate and in anticipation of the time that the perforating gun of the second perforating gun assembly is fired to temporarily seal perforations created by the first perforating gun assembly, and
firing shots along the second zone of interest to produce perforations.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/697,769Filed 26 May 2011 · us provisional application
Priority: 26 May 2010
Published: US 2013/0062055 A114 Mar 2013
Granted: 15 Mar 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

E21B 43/1193
Details, e.g. for locating perforating place or direction: dropping perforation guns after gun actuation
E21B 23/00
Apparatus for displacing, setting, locking, releasing or removing tools, packers or the
E21B 33/134
Methods or devices for cementing, for plugging holes, crevices or the like: bridging plugs
E21B 43/116
Perforators; Permeators: gun or shaped-charge perforators