Intervention Tool for Multilateral Wellbore Fracturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multistage stimulation treatments in multilateral wells face challenges in efficiently accessing and effectively treating multiple lateral wellbores due to limitations in pressure isolation and tool deployment.
Innovation Solution
The development of an intervention tool with a radial outer housing, an expansion member, and a sliding sleeve that moves between radially retracted and expanded positions, enabled by a collection of slots or catches, allows for selective deflection and locking within wellbores, facilitated by a downhole deflector assembly that directs the tool into lateral wellbores for fracturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single wellbore is used for multistage stimulation, then the treatment sequence can be controlled, but access to multiple lateral wellbores becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The wellbore system is segmented into multiple lateral wellbores (first lateral wellbore, second lateral wellbore, etc.) that branch from a common main wellbore. Each lateral can be independently accessed and treated, allowing the intervention tool to service multiple laterals sequentially or simultaneously, thereby improving overall treatment efficiency while maintaining control over treatment sequences.
Solution Approach 2:
The intervention tool is designed with universal functionality to operate in multiple lateral wellbores. It incorporates pressure isolation capabilities, expansion members for different wellbore configurations, and deflection mechanisms that enable it to access and treat various laterals from a single deployment point, making it adaptable to complex multilateral well systems.
2Manufacturing precision
If pressure isolation is implemented to treat specific areas, then selective treatment is achieved, but tool deployment complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The intervention tool employs a nested structure with an outer housing containing an inner housing, which in turn contains the expansion member. This nested configuration allows multiple functional components to be integrated within a compact form factor, reducing overall tool complexity while maintaining selective pressure isolation capabilities through the nested packer system.
Solution Approach 2:
The intervention tool incorporates dynamic elements including an expansion member that can transition between retracted and expanded states, and a sliding sleeve that moves between positions. These dynamic features enable the tool to adapt to different wellbore configurations and maintain pressure isolation without requiring complex deployment procedures, as the expansion and movement are driven by internal pressure differentials.
3Adaptability or versatility
If an expansion member is used to deflect the tool into lateral wellbores, then selective lateral access is improved, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The expansion member operates through periodic cycles of expansion and contraction. It expands to deflect the intervention tool into the lateral wellbore, then contracts to allow the tool to be withdrawn or repositioned. This periodic action enables repeated access to the same or different laterals without requiring structural modifications, maintaining device simplicity while improving lateral access capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The expansion member acts as an intermediary element between the intervention tool and the lateral wellbore. By expanding, it creates a mechanical interface that guides and deflects the tool into the lateral wellbore opening. This intermediary mechanism simplifies the overall device structure compared to direct mechanical deflection systems, as the expansion member naturally follows the wellbore geometry while providing the necessary deflection force.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein is an intervention tool and a method for fracturing multiple lateral wellbores in a well system. The intervention tool, in one aspect, includes a radial outer housing, the radial outer housing forming an interior bore configured to flow fluid, and an expansion member coupled proximate an outer surface of the radial outer housing. The intervention tool according to this aspect further includes a sliding sleeve positioned along an interior surface of the radial outer housing and engageable with the expansion member, the sleeve including a collection of slots or catches configured to move the expansion member between a radially retracted position when the sliding sleeve is in a first linear position and a radially expanded position when the sliding sleeve is in a second linear position.