Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090192731 | System and Method for Monitoring a Health State of Hydrocarbon Production Equipment - A device for monitoring the health state of hydrocarbon production equipment is disclosed. The device has a plurality of targets, which are associated with the hydrocarbon production equipment. A record of the initial target positions and/or dimensions relative to the hydrocarbon production equipment is created. A sensor that is compatible with the targets is used to observe the targets and produce a sensor output. An analysis device uses the record of the initial positions, dimensions and the sensor output to determine one or more health state parameters, which may be used to determine the health state of the hydrocarbon production equipment. | 07-30-2009 |
20130014941 | Remotely Activated Downhole Apparatus and MethodsAANM Tips; Timothy RatherAACI MontgomeryAAST TXAACO USAAGP Tips; Timothy Rather Montgomery TX USAANM Longbottom; James R.AACI MagnoliaAAST TXAACO USAAGP Longbottom; James R. Magnolia TX USAANM Covington; Ricky LayneAACI DuncanAAST OKAACO USAAGP Covington; Ricky Layne Duncan OK USAANM Fripp; MichaelAACI CarrolltonAAST TXAACO USAAGP Fripp; Michael Carrollton TX USAANM Helms; LonnieAACI DuncanAAST OKAACO USAAGP Helms; Lonnie Duncan OK USAANM Acosta; FrankAACI DuncanAAST OKAACO USAAGP Acosta; Frank Duncan OK USAANM Budler; NicholasAACI MarlowAAST OKAACO USAAGP Budler; Nicholas Marlow OK USAANM Key; JohnAACI ComancheAAST OKAACO USAAGP Key; John Comanche OK US - An apparatus includes an impervious body, a sealing element; an energy source, and a trigger. The impervious body is configured to prevent passage of fluid therethrough. The sealing element is disposed about the impervious body. The energy source is operationally connected to the sealing element. The trigger is configured to transfer energy from the energy source to the sealing element. The trigger is activated, at least in part, by receiving a signal from a pump tool passing through an interior of the impervious body. | 01-17-2013 |
20130014959 | Remotely Activated Downhole Apparatus and MethodsAANM Tips; Timothy RatherAACI MontgomeryAAST TXAACO USAAGP Tips; Timothy Rather Montgomery TX USAANM Longbottom; James R.AACI MagnoliaAAST TXAACO USAAGP Longbottom; James R. Magnolia TX USAANM Covington; Ricky LayneAACI FriscoAAST TXAACO USAAGP Covington; Ricky Layne Frisco TX USAANM Fripp; MichaelAACI CarrolltonAAST TXAACO USAAGP Fripp; Michael Carrollton TX USAANM Helms; LonnieAACI DuncanAAST OKAACO USAAGP Helms; Lonnie Duncan OK USAANM Acosta; FrankAACI DuncanAAST OKAACO USAAGP Acosta; Frank Duncan OK USAANM Budler; NicholasAACI MarlowAAST OKAACO USAAGP Budler; Nicholas Marlow OK USAANM Key; JohnAACI ComancheAAST OKAACO USAAGP Key; John Comanche OK US - An apparatus includes an impervious body, a sealing element, an energy source, and a trigger. The impervious body is configured to prevent passage of fluid therethrough. The sealing element is disposed about the impervious body. The energy source is operationally connected to the sealing element. The trigger is configured to transfer energy from the energy source to the sealing element. The trigger is activated, at least in part, by receiving a signal transmitted through the impervious body. | 01-17-2013 |
20130192829 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EXPENDABLE TUBING-CONVEYED PERFORATING GUN - Methods and apparatus are presented for a “disappearing” perforator gun assembly. In a preferred method of perforating a well casing, inserted into the well casing is a tubing conveyed perforator having an outer tubular made from a metallic glass alloy having high strength and low impact resistance. An inner structure is positioned within the outer tubular and holds one or more explosive charges. Upon detonating the explosive charges, the outer tubular is fragmented. The inner structure is preferably also substantially destroyed upon detonation of the one or more explosive charges. For example, the inner structure can be made from a combustible material, corrodible, dissolvable, etc., material. A disintegration-enhancing material is optionally positioned between the outer tubular and the inner structure. Additional embodiments are presented having gun housings which dematerialize upon detonation of the charges. | 08-01-2013 |
20130220640 | Flow Control Devices on Expandable Tubing Run Through Production Tubing and Into Open Hole - Disclosed is a downhole completion assembly for sealing and supporting an open hole section of a wellbore and providing flow control through the downhole completion assembly. One downhole completion system includes a first sealing structure arranged within an open hole section of a wellbore and being movable between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, a second sealing structure arranged axially adjacent the first sealing structure and also being movable between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, and a flow control device arranged between the first and second sealing structures and configured to provide a flow path for fluids to communicate between a surrounding subterranean formation and an interior of the downhole completion system. | 08-29-2013 |
20130220641 | Expandable Conical Tubing Run Through Production Tubing and Into Open Hole - Disclosed is a downhole completion assembly for sealing and supporting an open hole section of a wellbore. One downhole completion system includes a first sealing structure having opposing first and second ends and being arranged within an open hole section of a wellbore, the first sealing structure being movable between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, and a second sealing structure having opposing first and second ends and being arranged proximate the first sealing structure within the wellbore, the second sealing structure also being movable between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, wherein, when in their respective expanded configurations, the first and second sealing structures are frustoconical in shape and the first end of the second sealing structure is at least partially nested within the second end of the first sealing structure. | 08-29-2013 |
20130220642 | Expandable Tubing Run Through Production Tubing and Into Open Hole - Disclosed is a downhole completion assembly for sealing and supporting an open hole section of a wellbore. One downhole completion system includes a sealing structure movable between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, wherein, when in the contracted configuration, the sealing structure is able to axially traverse production tubing extended within a wellbore, a conveyance device coupled to the sealing structure and configured to transport the sealing structure through the production tubing and to an open hole section of the wellbore, and a deployment device operably connected to the sealing structure and configured to radially expand the sealing structure from the contracted configuration to the expanded configuration when the sealing structure is arranged in the open hole section. | 08-29-2013 |
20130220643 | Expandable Tubing Run Through Production Tubing and Into Open Hole - Disclosed is a downhole completion assembly for sealing and supporting an open hole section of a wellbore. The system may include a sealing structure movable between contracted and expanded configurations, a truss structure also movable between contracted and expanded configurations, wherein, when in their respective contracted configurations, the sealing and truss structures are each able to axially traverse production tubing extended within a wellbore, a conveyance device operably coupled to the sealing and truss structures and configured to transport the sealing and truss structures in their respective contracted configurations through the production tubing and to an open hole section of the wellbore, and a deployment device operably connected to the sealing and truss structures and configured to radially expand the sealing and truss structures from their respective contracted configurations to their respective expanded configurations. | 08-29-2013 |
20130220644 | Enhanced Expandable Tubing Run Through Production Tubing and Into Open Hole - Disclosed is a downhole completion assembly for sealing and supporting an open hole section of a wellbore and filtering fluids passing therethrough. One system includes a sealing structure arranged within the open hole section and being movable between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, the sealing structure having one or more perforations defined therein, and a filter device arranged about the sealing structure so as to radially overlap the one or more perforations, the filter device being configured to screen fluids passing through the one or more perforations. | 08-29-2013 |
20130222148 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOTELY CONTROLLING DOWNHOLE TOOLS USING UNTETHERED MOBILE DEVICES - Remote operation of downhole tools in a subterranean wellbore is performed by inserting untethered, mobile devices sequentially into the wellbore. The mobile devices can include motive means, power supply, communication and data storage means, etc. In one embodiment, the method comprises maneuvering a first mobile device into proximity with a downhole tool, the device powering the tool. The first device is then removed, such as by flowing up or dissolving. The now-powered tool is used to perform a test or other operation. A second mobile device is maneuvered into proximity with the downhole tool and data is transferred. The second device is retrieved with the data or, using on-board logic devices, provides “if-then” commands to the downhole tool. Alternately, a third mobile device can be used to power and transfer commands to the tool. The method can be used for various tasks, such as opening bypass ports on ICD valves. | 08-29-2013 |
20130327540 | METHODS OF REMOVING A WELLBORE ISOLATION DEVICE USING GALVANIC CORROSION - A wellbore isolation device comprises: at least a first material, wherein the first material: (A) is a metal or a metal alloy; and (B) is capable of at least partially dissolving when an electrically conductive path exists between the first material and a second material and at least a portion of the first and second materials are in contact with an electrolyte, wherein the second material: (i) is a metal or metal alloy; and (ii) has a greater anodic index than the first material. A method of removing the wellbore isolation device comprises: contacting or allowing the wellbore isolation device to come in contact with an electrolyte; and allowing at least a portion of the first material to dissolve. | 12-12-2013 |
20130328316 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO HARVEST FLUID ENERGY IN A WELLBORE USING PRELOADED MAGNETOSTRICTIVE ELEMENTS - A magnetostrictor assembly ( | 12-12-2013 |
20130333890 | METHODS OF REMOVING A WELLBORE ISOLATION DEVICE USING A EUTECTIC COMPOSITION - A wellbore isolation device comprises: a first composition, wherein the first composition comprises: (A) a first substance; and (B) a second substance, wherein the first composition has a solid-liquid phase transformation temperature less than the solid-liquid phase transformation temperatures of at least the first substance or the second substance at a specific pressure. A method of removing a wellbore isolation device comprises: increasing the temperature surrounding the wellbore isolation device; and allowing at least a portion of the first composition to undergo a phase transformation from a solid to a liquid. A method of inhibiting or preventing fluid flow in a wellbore comprises: decreasing the temperature of at least a portion of the wellbore; positioning the wellbore isolation device in the at least a portion of the wellbore; and increasing the temperature of the at least a portion of the wellbore. | 12-19-2013 |
20140027108 | Expandable Screen Using Magnetic Shape Memory Alloy Material - A well screen assembly for use in a wellbore comprises a base pipe comprising one or more fluid passageways, and a shape-memory alloy disposed about the base pipe. The one or more fluid passageways are configured to provide fluid communication between an exterior of the base pipe and a central flowbore, and the shape-memory alloy is configured to transition between an expanded state and a compressed state in response to a trigger. | 01-30-2014 |
20140034384 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EXPENDABLE TUBING-CONVEYED PERFORATING GUN - Methods and apparatus are presented for a “disappearing” perforator gun assembly. In a preferred method of perforating a well casing, inserted into the well casing is a tubing conveyed perforator having an outer tubular made from a metallic glass alloy having high strength and low impact resistance. An inner structure is positioned within the outer tubular and holds one or more explosive charges. Upon detonating the explosive charges, the outer tubular is fragmented. The inner structure is preferably also substantially destroyed upon detonation of the one or more explosive charges. For example, the inner structure can be made from a combustible material, corrodible, dissolvable, etc., material. A disintegration-enhancing material is optionally positioned between the outer tubular and the inner structure. Additional embodiments are presented having gun housings which dematerialize upon detonation of the charges. | 02-06-2014 |
20140076540 | Expandable Screen by Spring Force - A sand control screen assembly selectively positionable within a wellbore. The sand control screen assembly comprises a pipe having an internal flow path, an external fluid collection subassembly in fluid communication with the internal flow path, a filter medium disposed in a fluid path between the exterior of the sand control screen assembly and the internal flow path, a biasing mechanism, configured to bias the fluid collection subassembly towards a wall of the wellbore, disposed between the fluid collection subassembly and the pipe, and a retaining mechanism configured to release the biasing mechanism in response to a trigger. | 03-20-2014 |
20140083720 | Expandable Screen by Spring Force - A sand control screen assembly selectively positionable within a wellbore. The sand control screen assembly comprises a pipe having an internal flow path, an external fluid collection subassembly in fluid communication with the internal flow path, a filter medium disposed in a fluid path between the exterior of the sand control screen assembly and the internal flow path, a biasing mechanism, configured to bias the fluid collection subassembly towards a wall of the wellbore, disposed between the fluid collection subassembly and the pipe, and a retaining mechanism configured to release the biasing mechanism in response to a trigger. | 03-27-2014 |
20140083764 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EXPENDABLE TUBING-CONVEYED PERFORATING GUN - Methods and apparatus are presented for a “disappearing” perforator gun assembly. In a preferred method of perforating a well casing, inserted into the well casing is a tubing conveyed perforator having an outer tubular made from a metallic glass alloy having high strength and low impact resistance. An inner structure is positioned within the outer tubular and holds one or more explosive charges. Upon detonating the explosive charges, the outer tubular is fragmented. The inner structure is preferably also substantially destroyed upon detonation of the one or more explosive charges. For example, the inner structure can be made from a combustible material, corrodible, dissolvable, etc., material. A disintegration-enhancing material is optionally positioned between the outer tubular and the inner structure. Additional embodiments are presented having gun housings which dematerialize upon detonation of the charges. | 03-27-2014 |
20140090857 | FLOW CONTROL DEVICES ON EXPANDABLE TUBING RUN THROUGH PRODUCTION TUBING AND INTO OPEN HOLE - Disclosed is a downhole completion assembly for sealing and supporting an open hole section of a wellbore and providing flow control through the downhole completion assembly. One downhole completion system includes a first sealing structure arranged within an open hole section of a wellbore and being movable between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, a second sealing structure arranged axially adjacent the first sealing structure and also being movable between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, and a flow control device arranged between the first and second sealing structures and configured to provide a flow path for fluids to communicate between a surrounding subterranean formation and an interior of the downhole completion system. | 04-03-2014 |
20140202689 | Systems and Methods for Remote Actuation of a Downhole Tool - Disclosed are systems and methods for remote actuation of a downhole tool. One system includes a work string providing a flow path therein, a downhole tool coupled to the work string, at least one actuation device operatively coupled to the downhole tool and configured to act on the downhole tool such that the downhole tool performs a predetermined action, and an optical computing device communicably coupled to the at least one actuation device and configured to detect a characteristic of a substance in the flow path and trigger actuation of the at least actuation device when the characteristic is detected. | 07-24-2014 |
20140218207 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOTELY CONTROLLING DOWNHOLE TOOLS USING UNTETHERED MOBILE DEVICES - Remote operation of downhole tools in a subterranean wellbore is performed by inserting untethered, mobile devices sequentially into the wellbore. The mobile devices can include motive means, power supply, communication and data storage means, etc. In one embodiment, the method comprises maneuvering a first mobile device into proximity with a downhole tool, the device powering the tool. The first device is then removed, such as by flowing up or dissolving. The now-powered tool is used to perform a test or other operation. A second mobile device is maneuvered into proximity with the downhole tool and data is transferred. The second device is retrieved with the data or, using on-board logic devices, provides “if-then” commands to the downhole tool. Alternately, a third mobile device can be used to power and transfer commands to the tool. The method can be used for various tasks, such as opening bypass ports on ICD valves. | 08-07-2014 |
20140238666 | Method and Apparatus for Magnetic Pulse Signature Actuation - A wellbore servicing tool comprising a housing comprising one or more ports and generally defining a flow passage, an actuator disposed within the housing, a magnetic signature system (MSS) comprising a magnetic sensor in signal communication with an electronic circuit disposed within the housing and coupled to the actuator, and a sleeve slidably positioned within the housing and transitional from a first position to a second position, wherein, the sleeve is allowed to transition from the first position to the second position upon actuation of the actuator, and wherein the actuator is actuated upon recognition of a predetermined quantity of predetermined magnetic pulse signatures via the MSS. | 08-28-2014 |
20140318769 | Systems and Methods for Surface Detection of Wellbore Projectiles - Disclosed are systems and methods for positively identifying wellbore projectiles introduced downhole. One well system includes at least one wellbore projectile configured to be introduced into a flow path associated with a work string arranged within a wellbore and extending from a wellhead installation, at least one optical computing device in optical communication with the flow path and having at least one integrated computational element configured to detect a characteristic of the at least one wellbore projectile and generate a resulting output signal indicative of the characteristic of the at least one wellbore projectile, and a computational system configured to receive the resulting output signal and associate the resulting output signal with a size or configuration of the at least one wellbore projectile. | 10-30-2014 |
20140367165 | THERMAL COMPONENT TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD - A downhole tool includes a temperature sensitive component. The temperature of the temperature sensitive component is at least partially controlled by a temperature management system thermally coupled to the temperature sensitive component. A metal hydride may be selectively thermally coupled to a cold plate that is thermally coupled to the temperature sensitive component. | 12-18-2014 |
20140367166 | THERMAL COMPONENT TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD - A downhole tool includes a temperature sensitive component. The temperature of the temperature sensitive component is at least partially controlled by a temperature management system thermally coupled to the temperature sensitive component. The temperature management system may include a cold plate thermally coupled to the temperature sensitive component, a hot plate thermally coupled to the cold plate, and a thermo-electrical converter system thermally coupled to the hot plate and to the body of the downhole tool, wherein the thermo-electrical converter system comprises two membrane electrode assemblies. | 12-18-2014 |
20140367167 | THERMAL COMPONENT TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD - A downhole tool includes a temperature sensitive component. The temperature of the temperature sensitive component is at least partially controlled by a temperature management system thermally coupled to the temperature sensitive component. The temperature management system may include a cooling mixture chamber thermally coupled to the temperature sensitive component, wherein first and second components of a cooling mixture cause an endothermic reaction when mixed together within the cooling mixture chamber. | 12-18-2014 |