Well Intervention Tool With Gripper Arms for Annular Line Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing well intervention tools struggle to establish hydraulic integrity in wells with failed tubular strings due to the presence of lines, tubes, or conduits in the annular space, leading to costly and risky procedures, and conventional cable retrieval methods fail to efficiently remove unwound or frayed cables.
Innovation Solution
A well intervention tool with gripper arms and a cutting wheel that can retract and sever lines, tubes, or conduits through the severed tubular string without removal, using a differential mechanism to operate the gripper arms and a high-speed cutting wheel for efficient retrieval and cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional workover rig or coiled tubing procedures are used to remove upper tubing portion and seal casing, then hydraulic integrity can be established, but the procedure becomes expensive, time-consuming and exposes personnel to blowout risk
Solution Approach 1:
The intervention tool is conveyed through the severed tubular string (nested within the annular space) to access and sever the external line, eliminating the need for expensive workover rig procedures while maintaining hydraulic integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The external line (hydraulic line 16) is extracted from the annular space by being severed and removed, allowing subsequent installation of inflatable seal to establish hydraulic integrity without complex intervention procedures
2Reliability
If inflatable plug is used to seal through severed tubular string, then hydraulic integrity is established quickly, but the procedure becomes impossible when lines or tubes are present in the annular space
Solution Approach 1:
The intervention tool extracts the external line from the annular space by capturing it with gripper arms and severing it with a cutting wheel, removing the obstacle that prevents use of inflatable plugs
Solution Approach 2:
The intervention tool navigates through the annular space (nested between tubing and casing) to locate, capture, and sever the external line, enabling subsequent hydraulic sealing operations
3Ease of operation
If conventional cable fishing tools are used to retrieve unwound cable, then cable retrieval is attempted, but the procedure becomes difficult and failure-prone due to birdcage features and separated-strand faults
Solution Approach 1:
The gripper arms are made dynamically extendable to actively engage with the cable and pull it through the tool, providing positive mechanical retrieval that overcomes birdcage features and separated-strand faults that defeat conventional static fishing tools
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for locating and retrieving a line, tube or conduit ("line") disposed in a well includes moving an intervention tool into a part of the well wherein the line is accessible to the tool when the tool is conveyed into the well from within a first tubular string. A first gripper arm is rotated in a first direction around an inner circumference of the first tubular string by operating a first motor in the tool until the first gripper arm contacts the line. A second gripper arm is rotated in a second direction opposed to the first direction around the inner circumference until the second gripper arm contacts the line by operating the first motor in a same direction as for rotating the first gripper arm. The first gripper arm and the second gripped arm are retracted to move the line toward the intervention tool.