Rotatable Whipstock for Multi-Borehole Drilling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current hydraulic drilling systems face challenges in efficiently drilling multiple boreholes in different orientations from a single axial location within an existing wellbore, particularly in vertical, horizontal, or deviated wells, due to issues like axial movement of the drill string caused by fluid pressure, bending, and friction, as well as the inability to penetrate well casing or liner in a single step, limited disclosure on borehole uses, and lack of variety in borehole placement strategies.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic drilling system comprising a work string with a whipstock, an activatable anchor, and a movement control device, allowing for radial repositioning of the whipstock and fluid passage through the drill tubing, which includes a positional measurement device for precise borehole location and orientation, enabling the drilling of multiple boreholes with varying trajectories and orientations without fully extracting the bottom hole assembly from the wellbore.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If hydraulic pressure is applied to the work string to drill boreholes, then drilling operations can be performed, but the work string lengthens due to piston force and shortens due to ballooning, causing axial movement of the whipstock
Solution Approach 1:
The system compensates for axial movement by dynamically adjusting the length of the extendable work string section. When hydraulic pressure causes the work string to lengthen or shorten, the extendable section extends or contracts to maintain constant whipstock position, thereby stabilizing the axial position despite pressure variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs a feedback mechanism where the axial movement of the work string is detected and compensated by extending or contracting the extendable work string section. This feedback loop maintains the whipstock at a stable axial position relative to the wellbore, preventing the harmful effects of axial movement.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the work string is rotated from surface using a rig to drill multiple boreholes in different orientations, then borehole placement flexibility is achieved, but the process becomes time consuming and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The whipstock is made rotatable at the downhole location, allowing it to be rotated to different orientations without requiring rotation of the entire work string from surface. This dynamic repositioning capability enables multiple boreholes in different orientations while significantly reducing the time and cost associated with surface rotation operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates the rotation function from the main work string by providing a rotatable whipstock section at the downhole location. This segmentation allows the whipstock to be independently rotated to different orientations while the work string remains stationary, enabling efficient multi-directional borehole placement.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional technology is used to penetrate well casing or liner and place boreholes, then the casing must be penetrated separately before borehole placement, but this prevents one-step process implementation
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines the casing penetration function and borehole drilling function into a single integrated process. The drill tubing with cutting nozzle penetrates the casing or liner while simultaneously creating the borehole opening, eliminating the need for separate penetration and drilling operations and achieving true one-step process implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill tubing assembly serves multiple functions: it acts as a conduit for drilling fluid, provides structural support, and incorporates a cutting nozzle for penetrating casing and forming boreholes. This multi-functionality enables the single-component system to perform both casing penetration and borehole placement operations.
4Measurement precision
If the drill tubing is advanced through the whipstock to drill boreholes, then precise borehole placement is achieved, but the drill tubing must be precisely controlled to prevent getting caught in the borehole
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs feedback control where the advancement of the drill tubing is monitored and controlled to prevent excessive movement that could cause the whipstock to become caught in the borehole. The movement control device adjusts drill tubing advancement based on feedback signals, maintaining safe operating parameters while achieving precise borehole placement.
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
The system enhances drilling efficiency by compensating for axial movement, allows for precise placement and orientation of boreholes, and enables penetration through well casing or liner, improving production and distribution of injection substances in complex well geometries.
Implementation Method 1
an activatable anchor for engaging the inner surface of the wellbore when activated to anchor the whipstock
Implementation Method 2
when hydraulic pressure is applied to the work string, the pressure can cause the work string to lengthen due to piston force
Implementation Method 3
a drill tubing extending inside the first work string and having an inner bore leading to an opening at a distal end of the drill tubing, and the drill tubing being extendable through the inner bore of the whipstock, such that with the opening is extendable through the whipstock exit, the advancement and retraction of the drill tubing relative to the whipstock being controlled by the movement control device
Data Source
AI summary
A hydraulic drilling system and method for drilling a borehole from a wellbore are disclosed. The system comprises a whipstock that is selectively rotatable about the central long axis of the work string, for repositioning the whipstock exit radially, without extracting the whipstock or the workstring from the wellbore. The system includes an extendable and contractible second work string for absorbing any axial forces on the work string. The system may also include a positional measurement device and the distal end of the drill tubing may be selectively steerable. The system may be used to drill a plurality of boreholes from the same wellbore. In one aspect of the method, an earth measurement device and/or an earth manipulation device is placed downhole.