Dissolvable Plug Inflow Control Device for Well Completion
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Solution Overview
Problem
During oil or gas well completion, the existing inflow control devices (ICDs) often require a wash pipe assembly to prevent fluid flow, which is inconvenient and time-consuming, as they cannot maintain a minimum pressure within the fluid passageway without allowing unwanted liquids to enter the tubular.
Innovation Solution
A lower completion assembly with a dissolvable plug that, in its first configuration, isolates the fluid exit from the interior passageway to maintain pressure and prevent fluid flow, and in its second configuration, allows fluid communication by dissolving the plug, reducing the need for a wash pipe and enabling efficient pressurization and fluid circulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wash pipe assembly is used to prevent fluid flow through the ICD, then fluid flow is blocked, but the operation becomes time-consuming and requires additional equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the flow control function from the complex wash pipe assembly and implements it through a simple dissolvable plug within the ICD itself. The plug can be dissolved by injection of a dissolving agent, eliminating the need for wash pipe assemblies and reducing completion operation time while maintaining reliable fluid flow control.
Solution Approach 2:
The dissolvable plug acts as an intermediary substance that temporarily blocks fluid flow during completion operations. By introducing a dissolving agent, the plug is removed without requiring mechanical intervention or additional equipment, thus saving time and simplifying the completion process.
2Productivity
If the ICD allows fluid flow during completion operations, then fluid circulation is enabled, but minimum pressure cannot be maintained within the passageway
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the pressure maintenance function from the flow path by placing a dissolvable plug directly within the ICD passageway. This isolated blocking mechanism allows the rest of the system to circulate fluids freely while the plug maintains pressure at the specific location, solving the contradiction between fluid circulation and pressure maintenance.
3Reliability
If a dissolvable plug is used to isolate the fluid exit, then pressure can be maintained and fluid flow prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a dissolvable plug made from materials that can be easily dissolved by injection of a dissolving agent. This disposable component provides temporary pressure maintenance and flow control during completion operations, then disappears automatically when no longer needed, avoiding the complexity of mechanical retrieval systems or additional control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical-chemical parameters of the plug material to make it dissolvable under specific conditions. By selecting materials that respond to injected dissolving agents, the system achieves reliable pressure maintenance during operations, then automatically restores fluid flow without mechanical intervention, simplifying the overall device structure.
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
This solution eliminates the need for a wash pipe, saving time and expense by allowing pressurization and fluid circulation while maintaining pressure within the passageway, facilitating operations like packer setting and fracturing without fluid flow through the ICD.
Implementation Method 1
the dissolvable plug does not extend across the fluid exit and the fluid exit is in fluid communication with the interior passageway
Data Source
AI summary
A lower completion assembly includes a tubular comprising an interior passageway defined by an internal surface of the pipe and a port extending between external and internal surfaces of the tubular. The port is defined by a first surface that extends between the internal and external surfaces. The assembly also includes an inflow control device that is coupled to the external surface of the pipe and that comprises a fluid exit that is adjacent the port. The assembly has a first configuration and a second configuration. When in the first configuration a dissolvable plug extends across the fluid exit to fluidically isolate the fluid exit from the interior passageway and a gap is defined adjacent the first surface. When in the second configuration, the dissolvable plug does not extend across the fluid exit and the fluid exit is in fluid communication with the interior passageway.