Reusable Perforation Gun Control for Multi-Stage Fracturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional perforation guns used in downhole environments are consumable items, requiring multiple trips into and out of the wellbore for each fracturing stage, leading to time-consuming and expensive operations due to the need for multiple guns and loss of electrical and command access after firing.
Innovation Solution
A semi-automatic perforation system with a reusable housing, projectile fire control circuitry, and reloadable chambers that allow multiple uses, maintaining power and command access throughout the process, enabling selective firing of projectiles without the need for cartridge ejection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional perforation guns are used, then the formation can be fractured, but multiple trips into and out of the wellbore are required for each fracturing stage
Solution Approach 1:
The perforation gun is designed to perform multiple fracturing stages sequentially without being retrieved between stages. The gun remains in the wellbore, firing projectiles at different locations along the wellbore to create multiple perforation clusters, thereby eliminating the need for multiple trips and significantly reducing operation time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous fracturing operations by maintaining the perforation gun in the wellbore throughout multiple stages. The gun can fire projectiles continuously at different depths and angles, allowing uninterrupted creation of perforation clusters across multiple fracturing stages without retrieval or re-deployment.
2Ease of operation
If conventional perforation guns are used, then the formation can be fractured, but electrical and command access are lost after firing
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a nested architecture where a reusable control housing containing electrical and command systems is placed inside the perforation gun. This nested control system remains protected and functional throughout multiple firing stages, maintaining electrical connectivity and command access without being exposed to the harsh wellbore environment that would otherwise cause signal loss.
Solution Approach 2:
A tether or wireline system acts as an intermediary between the surface control system and the downhole perforation gun. This intermediary maintains continuous electrical and command access throughout multiple firing stages, allowing real-time control and monitoring without the signal loss that occurs in conventional single-use guns after firing.
3Productivity
If multiple perforation guns are used per frac, then all fracturing stages can be covered, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single perforation gun is designed to perform the function of multiple guns by firing projectiles at different locations, depths, and angles. The gun can create multiple perforation clusters across numerous fracturing stages, eliminating the need to deploy multiple separate guns and thereby reducing the quantity of consumable equipment required.
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates the consumable component (projectiles) from the reusable component (perforation gun and control system). After firing, only the depleted projectiles are discarded while the expensive gun and control system are recovered and reused for subsequent stages, significantly reducing the overall quantity of equipment that needs to be replaced.
4Productivity
If conventional perforation guns are used, then the formation can be fractured, but debris accumulates in the wellbore
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the spent projectile casings and debris from the wellbore by designing projectiles that eject their depleted casings back up the wellbore after firing. This extraction of harmful debris prevents accumulation that would otherwise interfere with subsequent fracturing stages and maintain wellbore cleanliness throughout the operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the potentially harmful debris problem into a benefit by using the ejection of spent casings to clear the wellbore. The mechanical action of ejecting debris serves to maintain wellbore cleanliness, and the controlled deployment and retrieval of projectile casings actually improves fracturing efficiency by preventing interference with subsequent operations.
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
Facilitates faster and less expensive fracturing operations by reducing the number of trips required and minimizing debris accumulation, while maintaining power and command access, thus optimizing the perforation process.
Implementation Method 1
A perforation, or 'perf,' gun may fracture the formation using shape charges.
Data Source
AI summary
In one example, a method includes running a downhole system, that includes a reusable plug and a perforation system, into a wellbore, positioning, and setting in the wellbore, the reusable plug at a stage of the wellbore such that the reusable plug is located uphole of the perforation system, with the perforation system, perforating a casing at the stage of the wellbore, unsetting the reusable plug, and flushing proppant around and past the reusable plug.