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US 9,752,386 B2Granted
Steerable drilling system
AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorGeoffrey C. Downton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A steerable system comprises a fluid powered motor 10 having a rotor 16 and a stator 18, and a bias arrangement having a plurality of bias pads 34 connected to the stator 18 so as to be rotatable therewith, the bias pads 34 being moveable to allow the application of a side load to the steerable system.
Claims22
A steerable drilling system, comprising:
- a fluid powered motor having a rotor and a stator within a housing, the stator being coupled into a drillstring so as to be rotatable therewith, and a bias arrangement having at least three angularly spaced bias pads connected to the stator so as to be rotatable therewith, the bias pads being selectively moveable, while the drillstring is rotating, by a pressure differential between a higher pressure of drilling fluid upstream of the fluid powered motor and a lower pressure of drilling fluid in a wellbore annulus outside of the fluid powered motor, the bias pads being selectively exposed to the higher pressure via passages within an interior of the housing, the passages being located through at least a portion of the stator and extending from upstream of the rotor and past the rotor to a downstream side of the rotor, the bias pads being selectively movable to radially extended positions, while the stator is rotated in a borehole, to steer the steerable drilling system so as to form the borehole with a desired curved form via application of side loads to the steerable drilling system.
A system, comprising:
- a steerable drilling system having:
- a fluid powered motor disposed along a drillstring and rotatable with the drillstring, the fluid powered motor having a stator and a rotor;
- a bias arrangement having at least three angularly spaced bias pads mounted in a housing rotatable with the stator, the at least three angularly spaced bias pads being selectively moveable by a pressure differential between drilling fluid upstream of the fluid powered motor and drilling fluid in a wellbore annulus outside of the fluid powered motor, the bias pads being selectively movable while the drillstring is rotating to steer the steerable drilling system so as to form a borehole of a desired curved form via application of side loads to the steerable drilling system, the pressure of drilling fluid upstream of the fluid powered motor being applied to the bias pads through an interior of the fluid powered motor via at least one interior passage extending past the rotor of the fluid powered motor;
- and
- a control unit to control extension of individual bias pads of the at least three angularly spaced bias pads as the at least three angularly spaced bias pads are rotated with the stator and the housing.
2 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a steerable drilling system having:
- a fluid powered motor;
- and
- a bias arrangement having at least three angularly spaced bias pads selectively moveable by a pressure differential between a higher pressure of drilling fluid upstream of the fluid powered motor and a lower pressure of drilling fluid in a wellbore annulus outside of the fluid powered motor, the bias pads being selectively exposed to the higher pressure via passages extending past the fluid powered motor, the bias pads being selectively movable while the steerable drilling system is rotated to steer the steerable drilling system so as to form a borehole of a desired curved form, the bias arrangement further comprising an electromagnetic control unit located upstream of the fluid powered motor, the electromagnetic control unit being configured to control actuation of the bias pads while the bias pads are rotated with the steerable drilling system.
1 more element
A system, comprising:
- a steerable drilling system having:
- a fluid powered motor having a rotor disposed in a longitudinally extending passage through a stator;
- and
- a bias arrangement having three angularly spaced bias pads mounted for rotation with the stator, the three angularly spaced bias pads being moveable by a pressure differential between fluid upstream of the fluid powered motor and fluid in a wellbore annulus outside of the fluid powered motor, the bias arrangement further comprising a control unit located upstream of the fluid powered motor and a valve arrangement located upstream of the fluid powered motor, the control unit working in cooperation with the valve arrangement to selectively control flow of the fluid to individual bias pads of the three bias pads while the steerable drilling system and the three angularly spaced bias pads are rotated to selectively steer the steerable drilling system so as to form a borehole of a desired curved form, the three bias pads being selectively exposed to a higher pressure of the fluid upstream of the fluid powered motor via passages extending through the fluid powered motor and past the rotor separately from the longitudinally extending passage.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.