Rig-less Annulus Engagable System for Well Barrier Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for subterranean well abandonment are costly and inefficient, often requiring expensive drilling rigs and complex systems, especially for wells with limited space and resources, and struggle to access and isolate annuli effectively without removing installed conduits and associated debris.
Innovation Solution
A rig-less system using cable conveyable and operable annulus engagable members, fluid members, and apparatuses to form new passageways, place logging tools, and install well barrier elements, allowing for cap rock restoration and permanent isolation without removing conduits, using a circulatable fluid column and coiled strings to access and isolate annuli.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional drilling rigs and complex systems are used for well abandonment, then well isolation and abandonment can be achieved, but the cost and complexity of equipment and operations increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the need for complex drilling rigs by using a simplified system that deploys barrier elements through existing well conduits. The abandonment system is reduced to a deployable package that can be inserted through the wellhead and deployed at target depths, eliminating the need for heavy surface equipment while achieving reliable well isolation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable barrier elements and isolation packages that are deployed once and left in place to perform their isolation function. These single-use components eliminate the need for expensive, complex equipment that would need to be deployed, retrieved, and redeployed, significantly reducing overall system complexity and cost while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If conventional methods are used to access and isolate annuli, then effective well abandonment can be achieved, but the need to remove installed conduits and associated debris increases cost and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a nested deployment strategy where barrier elements and isolation packages are inserted through existing well conduits without removal. The system nests the abandonment tools within the existing well infrastructure, allowing deployment of isolation materials directly into annuli through the conduit system, thereby avoiding the complex and costly process of conduit removal and debris clearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the existing well conduits as intermediary pathways to deliver barrier elements and isolation materials to target annuli. Rather than requiring direct access through conduit removal, the system uses the conduits themselves as delivery channels, simplifying the abandonment operation while ensuring reliable annulus isolation through properly placed barrier elements.
3Reliability
If drilling rigs are used for well abandonment, then complete well isolation can be achieved, but the cost and time for deployment and operation increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs pre-assembled barrier elements and isolation packages that are prepared and deployed in a single operation. The barrier elements are pre-configured with appropriate materials and dimensions for their intended isolation function, allowing rapid deployment through the wellhead and quick placement at target depths, significantly reducing the time required compared to conventional drilling rig operations that require sequential setup and execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses disposable, single-deployment barrier elements that achieve complete well isolation in one operation. These elements are designed to be deployed rapidly through the wellhead and left in place to perform their isolation function, eliminating the need for time-consuming drilling rig setup, operation, and teardown while ensuring effective and permanent well abandonment.
Data Source
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AI summary
Method and system of providing or enabling cap rock restoration of at least a portion of a producible zone of a subterranean well by placing and supporting at least one cement equivalent well barrier member within an operable usable space, formed by at least one cable operable and rig-less string operable, annulus engagable member, comprising cable and rig-less string conveyable components that are conveyed through an innermost passageway and downward from a wellhead and using energy, conductible through said rig-less string or through movable fluid of a circulatable fluid column, to operate or access at least one annulus from said innermost passageway and displace at least one portion of a wall of at least one conduit about said innermost passageway, to provide at least one cement equivalent well barrier.