Debris Removal Tool With Fluid Jet System for Well Bore Obstructions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing junk baskets used in oil and gas wells often encounter blockages of sand or debris that prevent fluid flow and tubing string advancement, requiring intermittent operations to dislodge obstructions.
Innovation Solution
A debris removal tool with a tubular design featuring a fluid jet system at the bottom end to break up obstructions, allowing continuous fluid flow and turbulence to dislodge debris while maintaining the functionality of a strainer basket for debris collection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a junk basket is used to remove debris from a well, then debris can be collected, but the tubing string may be blocked by sand or debris masses that prevent fluid flow and advancement
Solution Approach 1:
The tool is divided into separate functional segments: a strainer basket for debris collection and a separate jet nozzle system for breaking up obstructions. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, enabling the tool to both collect debris and clear blockages without interference between functions.
Solution Approach 2:
Fluid flow acts as an intermediary mechanism between the pump and the obstruction. The system circulates fluid through the tool, and the jet nozzles direct this fluid to create high-velocity streams that break up sand and debris masses, allowing the tubing string to advance continuously without direct mechanical contact with the obstruction.
2Productivity
If the tubing string is advanced to retrieve debris, then debris can be removed from the well, but fluid flow is interrupted when encountering sand or debris blockages
Solution Approach 1:
The jet nozzle system performs preliminary action by breaking up sand and debris masses before they can completely block the well bore. By continuously circulating fluid and directing high-velocity jets at potential obstructions, the system prevents complete blockages from forming, ensuring fluid flow remains uninterrupted during the debris retrieval operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous fluid circulation and jet activation throughout the advancement process. Rather than stopping to clear blockages, the tool continuously circulates fluid through the strainer basket and jet nozzles, maintaining constant motion and fluid flow while gradually breaking up obstructions in the path of the tubing string.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the end of the junk basket encounters a mass of sand or debris, then the well bore is occluded and fluid flow is prevented, but the tool cannot break up the obstruction
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses hydraulic principles by circulating fluid through the tool and utilizing the kinetic energy of the fluid flow to break up obstructions. The jet nozzles convert fluid pressure into high-velocity streams that impact and fragment sand and debris masses, providing a non-mechanical method to overcome well bore occlusion without requiring direct mechanical contact or excessive force.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables continuous fluid flow and efficient retrieval of debris by breaking up blockages, reducing interruptions during operations and ensuring uninterrupted well maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
provide a fluid jet and create fluid turbulence at the end of the tool string to break up and dislodge any such obstructions in the well
Implementation Method 2
allows continuous fluid flow through the tool to provide a fluid jet
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for retrieving debris from the well bore of an oil or gas well. The apparatus comprises a junk basket with a flow passage that allows fluid to be jetted out end of the tool while the tubing string is advanced to stir up the debris in the well fluids and facilitate capture of the debris in the strainer basket. Importantly, upon encountering a plug of sand or other debris in the well bore, fluid flow through the tool can be increased to work on the plug until it breaks apart. Advancement of the tubing string can be halted and resumed, as needed, in combination with control of the fluid flow through the tool until the junk basket is full or the targeted debris is collected, whereupon the junk basket is withdrawn. The junk basket may be deployed on coiled tubing or a string of drill pipe.