Expandable Liners Overlapped by Conventional Liners for Well Bore Diameter Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current well bore construction methods face challenges in reducing the diameter of well bores and marine risers while maintaining pressure integrity, leading to increased complexity and costs due to the use of expandable sleeve components, which often compromise on pressure integrity during expansion.
Innovation Solution
The use of expandable sleeve components as temporary supports during drilling, overlapped by non-expandable components to ensure full pressure integrity and reduce the well bore diameter without compromising on production tubing size, allowing for a smaller well head and marine riser.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If expandable sleeve components are used to reduce well bore diameter, then the well bore and marine riser diameters can be reduced, but pressure integrity is compromised during expansion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs expandable sleeve components that dynamically change diameter from a smaller inserted state to a larger expanded state. These sleeves are inserted at a reduced diameter to minimize well bore size and then expanded to provide full pressure integrity support, resolving the contradiction between small diameter and pressure integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The well bore lining is divided into multiple sleeve components (first sleeve, second sleeve, third sleeve) with different diameter characteristics. The first sleeve has a larger diameter for initial support, while subsequent sleeves have progressively smaller diameters, allowing the system to maintain pressure integrity while reducing overall well bore diameter through segmentation.
2Reliability
If conventional sleeve components are used to maintain pressure integrity, then pressure integrity is ensured, but the well bore diameter cannot be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses expandable sleeves that can be inserted at a smaller diameter and then expanded to provide the necessary pressure integrity support, allowing the well bore diameter to be reduced compared to using only conventional fixed-diameter sleeves.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested configuration where smaller diameter sleeve components are positioned within larger diameter sleeves. The first sleeve with larger diameter contains the second sleeve with smaller diameter, which in turn contains the third sleeve with the smallest diameter, allowing progressive diameter reduction while maintaining structural support.
3Productivity
If multiple sleeve components are fitted within the bore hole, then the well bore can be cased in stages, but the initial diameter of the well bore must be relatively large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses expandable sleeve components that can be inserted at reduced diameters and then expanded to provide the necessary support. This dynamic expansion capability allows multiple sleeves to be fitted within a smaller initial bore hole diameter compared to using only conventional fixed-diameter sleeves.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested arrangement of multiple sleeve components with progressively smaller diameters. The first sleeve contains the second sleeve, which contains the third sleeve, allowing multiple stages of casing to be fitted within a reduced initial bore hole diameter.
4Volume of moving object
If expandable sleeve components are used, then the well bore diameter can be reduced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the well bore lining into multiple discrete sleeve components with different diameter characteristics. Each sleeve is a separate unit that can be independently inserted and expanded, which simplifies the overall system by allowing modular assembly rather than requiring a single complex expandable structure.
Data Source
AI summary
Reducing the diameter of a well bore has many advantages. To achieve this a subsurface well bore is provided comprising one or more expandable sleeve components, preferably expandable liners, each expandable sleeve component being fully overlapped by one or more non expandable sleeve component, preferably conventional liners, such that the interior of the well bore is cased entirely by non expandable sleeve components. In addition the through holes for downhole lines can be provided within the well head rather than the tubing hanger. As the tubing hanger does not need to provide space for through holes and associated mounting couplings, its diameter can be reduced, thus reducing the internal diameter of the well bore by several inches.