Coring With Tubing Run Tools From a Producing Well

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to obtaining core samples from a subterranean formation through a producing well using coilable tubing or a snubbing unit to run the drilling and coring tools.

2. Background

Producing oil and gas from subterranean formations through wellbores sometimes requires inspection of formation conditions to analyze production characteristics and prescribe future production techniques. Analysis of formation characteristics or changes is usually dependent on the ability to take suitable core samples of the formation in the vicinity of the wellbore. Conventional coring operations require that the well be shut in while a drilling rig is brought in and operated to perform the coring operation. This process is time consuming and expensive and effectively requires shut-in of the well during all phases of the drilling and core sample acquisition process.

Moreover, limitations on minimum core diameter have, heretofore, precluded obtaining conventional core samples through small diameter tubing strings and other wellbore structures of a diameter less than conventional casing diameters thereby, again, requiring the use of a drilling rig to pull the tubing strings and provide a drillstring for obtaining a core sample of sufficient diameter to prevent invasion of the core center. Conventional sidewall coring techniques are limited to a few inches of depth of investigation of the formation from the wellbore and the cores are often too small in diameter and length to be useful.

An improved method for minimizing the invasion of fluids into a core is described in a U.S. patent application entitled: Method for Obtaining Cores From a Producing Well by Eric W. Skaalure, and improved apparatus for obtaining cores is described in a U.S. patent application entitled: Permanent Whipstock and Placement Method by David D. Hearn, et al, both assigned to the assignee of the present invention and both of even filing date with this application. The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of conventional coring while providing an improved and unique method for obtaining core samples from and through a production well.

The present invention provides an improved method of obtaining core samples from subterranean formations through a producing well. In accordance with an important aspect of the present invention core samples of certain portions of a subterranean formation may be obtained through a producing well by disposing the core barrel and drive motor therefor on the distal end of a tubing string which is insertable in the well without shutting in the well and without requiring the use of a conventional drilling rig for performing the core drilling and core sample-taking process.

The coring method is particularly advantageously carried out using coilable tubing for performing the drilling and core sample-taking process while producing wellbore fluids and coring fluids through a production tubing string in the wellbore which is operating under gas lift for reducing the bottom hole pressure by injection of gas into the tubing string to reduce the hydrostatic pressure in the tubing string fluid column. In this way, bottom hole pressure is reduced to below the formation ambient pressure and formation fluids are produced into the wellbore together with coring fluids.

The present invention also provides for an improved method of core sample acquisition utilizing coilable tubing which is insertable into a wellbore through a production tubing string and may be operated to provide a window at a selected orientation with respect to the wellbore axis and at a selected angle with respect to the wellbore axis so that continued drilling into the formation and acquisition of a core at a predetermined area in the formation may be obtained. The coring operation is carried out without the cost and time-consuming operations associated with coring using conventional drilling equipment. The wellbore may be maintained essentially in a production status and wellbore pressure is controlled at the wellhead by conventional wellhead equipment. Fluids can be used which minimize contamination of the core in the core acquisition process.

The present invention also provides an improved method of drilling into a formation zone of interest from an existing cased wellbore using coilable tubing-conveyed and -driven milling and drilling tools, respectively, and which are conveyable into the wellbore through a tubing string extending within the wellbore.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a whipstock is inserted into a wellbore through a production tubing string. The whipstock is of a configuration such as to provide for positioning of the whipstock after it exits from the lower end of the tubing string to provide proper orientation and guidance of the milling and drilling tools. In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention, the whipstock is permanently secured in its desired position by an inflatable packer or other device and by encasing the whipstock in a stabilizing material such as cement.

Those skilled in the art will recognize the above-described features and advantages of the present invention together with other superior aspects thereof upon reading the detailed description which follows in conjunction with the drawing.

FIG. 1A is a vertical section view, in somewhat schematic form, of a well structure of a type which is produced by gas lift or gas injection and showing a coilable tubing inserted, through the production tubing string;

FIG. 1B is a continuation of FIG. 1 from the line a--a showing a core acquisition in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section view showing the installation of a whipstock for orienting a casing milling tool;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the operation of reaming out cement to provide a pilot bore for the casing milling tool;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a coiled tubing conveyed milling tool milling a window in the well casing; and

FIG. 5 is a section view taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 2.

In the description which follows, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawing with the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not to scale and certain features are shown in schematic form or are exaggerated in scale in the interest of clarity and conciseness.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, there is illustrated in somewhat schematic form an oil production well, generally designated by the number 10, extending into an earth formation 11. The well 10 includes a conventional surface casing 12, an intermediate casing string 14 and a production liner or casing 16 extending into an oil-producing zone 18 of formation 11. A conventional wellhead 20 is connected to the casing strings 12 and 14 and is also suitably connected to a production fluid tubing string 22 extending within the casing 14 and partially within the casing 16. A suitable seal 24 is formed in the wellbore between the tubing 22 and casing 14 by a packer or the like and which delimits an annulus 26 between the casing 14 and the tubing string. The well 10 is adapted to produce fluids from the zone of interest 18 through suitable perforations 30 and/or 32 formed in the production casing 16 at desired intervals. Produced fluids can be assisted in their path to the surface, for transport through a production flow line 36, by gas which is injected into the space 26 and enters the production tubing string 22 through suitable gas lift valves indicated at 38, although other lifting methods including natural formation pressure may be used. The aforedescribed well structure is substantially conventional, known to those skilled in the art and is exemplary of a well which may be produced through natural formation pressures with or without the assistance of gas injection to reduce the pressure in the interior spaces 17, 19 of the casing 16.

The wellhead 20 is provided with a conventional crown valve 40 and a lubricator 42 mounted on the wellhead above the crown valve. The lubricator 42 includes a stuffing box 44 through which may be inserted or withdrawn a coilable metal tubing string 46 which, in FIGS. 1A and 1B is shown extending through the tubing string 22 into the casing 16 and diverted through a window 45 in the casing (FIG. 1B) as will be explained in further detail herein. The tubing string 46 is adapted to be inserted into and withdrawn from the well 10 by way of a conventional tubing injection unit 50 and the tubing string 46 may be coiled onto a storage reel 48 of a type described in further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,516 to Smith et al, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The lubricator 42 is of a conventional configuration which permits the connection of certain tools to the distal end of the tubing string 46 for insertion into and withdrawal from the wellbore space 19 by way of the production tubing string 22.

In accordance with the present invention, a method is provided for obtaining a core sample of the formation 18, which core sample is indicated by the numeral 54 in FIG. 1B. The core sample 54 is shown inserted in a core barrel 56 connected to a pressure-fluid-driven motor 58 which is connected to the distal end of the tubing string 46 as indicated. The core sample 54 is being extracted from the formation 18 without interrupting production from the well 10. In fact, the window 45 which has been cut into the formation 18 also provides an entry port into the interior space 19 of the casing 16 to allow formation fluids to enter the casing and to be produced up through the tubing string 22 in the same manner that fluids enter the tubing string from the perforations or ports 30 and/or 32. The motor 58 and the core barrel 56 may be of substantially conventional construction, only being of a diameter small enough to be inserted into the space 19 through the tubing string 22. The motor 58 is driven by pressure fluid to rotate the core barrel 56 to cut a core 54 using a core barrel cutting bit 59, which pressure fluid, such as water, slick water, brine or diesel fuel including additives, is supplied from a source, not shown, by way of a conduit 49 and the reel 48 to be pumped down through the tubing 46 for propelling the motor 58 and for serving as a cuttings evacuation fluid while forming the bore 60 in the formation 18. As shown in FIG. 1B the tubing string 46 has been diverted into the direction illustrated by a whipstock 62 which is positioned within the space 17, 19 in accordance with a method and apparatus in which will be described in further detail herein.

As previously mentioned, in order to provide the core 54, the diameter of the core barrel 56 and the motor 58 must be less than the inside diameter of the tubing string 22. By way of example, it is not uncommon to have production tubing strings in wells in the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field, Alaska, which have a minimum inside diameter of about 3.75 inches. This space limitation dictates that the diameter of the core 54 may be required to be less than 2.4 inches. Such small diameter cores, when obtained with conventional coring techniques will suffer invasion all the way to the center of the core from the so-called coring fluid, that is the fluid being used to power the motor 58 and the core barrel 56. Such an invasion can damage the core to the extent that it cannot be properly analyzed.

The aforementioned advantages of using a so-called snubbing unit or the tubing 46 and the tubing injection unit 50, in place of a conventional drilling rig for obtaining the core 54, are enhanced by the relatively short times required to "trip" in and out of the wellbore including the bore 60 in the process of core acquisition and retrieval. This process alone also reduces the exposure of the core to unwanted fluids and decreases core contamination caused by diffusion of the coring fluid into the core sample itself. The relatively short acquisition time provided by the injection and retrieval of the core barrel 56 utilizing the tubing 46 improves the possibility of virtually no invasion of the coring fluid toward the core center. Moreover, the process can be interrupted by working conditions or schedules and is more desirable for work crews to employ.

Along with the above-mentioned advantages the method of the present invention also permits production of wellbore fluids through the tubing string 22 during core acquisition. If the formation is producing fluids through the perforations 30 as well as the window 45, or plural windows if plural cores are taken from different directions within the formation 18, this production is not interrupted by the core acquisition process. In fact, the advantage of continued production also works synergistically with the core acquisition method of the present invention in that the cuttings generated during cutting the window 45 and the bore 60 are more effectively removed from the wellbore with assistance from production fluid since the coring fluid alone may not be circulated at a sufficient rate to remove all the cuttings as compared with coring fluid circulation rates utilized in conventional coring with a rotary type drilling rig.

Referring to FIG. 1B, as well as FIGS. 2 through 5, the whipstock 62 is set in place to provide for cutting the window 45 and giving direction to the eventual formation of the bore 60 in accordance with a unique method and apparatus. Prior to cutting the window 45 an inflatable packer 64 or other suitable device, not shown, is conveyed into the wellbore and set in the position shown within the casing 16 by traversing the packer through the tubing string 22 on the distal end of the tubing 46. The packer 64 may have an inflatable bladder and setting mechanism similar to the packer described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,446 to Howell et al and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Moreover, the tubing string 46 may be released from the packer 64, once it is set in the position shown, and from other devices described herein, by utilizing a coupling of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,229 to D. D. Hearn and also assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

The whipstock 62 includes a guide surface 68 formed thereon. The whipstock 62 also includes a shank portion 70 which is insertable within a mandrel 72 forming part of the packer 64. The orientation of the whipstock 62 is carried out utilizing conventional orientation methods. For example, the mandrel 72 may be provided with a suitable keyway 77, FIG. 5, formed therein. Upon setting the packer 64 in the casing 16, a survey instrument would be lowered into the wellbore to determine the orientation of the keyway 77 with respect to a reference point and the longitudinal central axis 79. The whipstock shank 70 could then be formed to have a key portion 80, FIG. 5, positioned with respect to the guide surface 68 such that upon insertion of the whipstock 62 into the mandrel 72, the key 80 would orient the surface 68 in the preferred direction with respect to the axis 79.

Upon setting the whipstock 62 in position as shown in FIG. 2 a quantity of cement 82 is injected into the casing by conventional methods including pumping cement through the tubing 46 to encase the whipstock 62 as shown. Once the cement 82 has set, a pilot bore 84 may be formed in the cement as indicated in FIG. 3, said bore including a funnel-shaped entry portion 86. The bore 84 and the funnel-shaped entry portion 86 may be formed using a cutting tool 88 having a pilot bit portion 90 and retractable cutting blades 92 formed thereon. The cutting tool 88 may be of a type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,793 to C. D. Hailey which describes a tool which may be conveyed on the end of a tubing string, such as the tubing string 46, and rotatably driven by a downhole motor similar to the motor 58 to form the pilot bore 84 and the entry portion 86. The pilot bore portion 84 is preferably formed substantially coaxial with the axis 79.

Upon formation of the pilot bore 84, the tool 88 is withdrawn from the wellbore through the tubing string 22 and replaced by a milling motor 94 having a rotary milling tool 96 connected thereto. The motor 94 and milling tool 96 are lowered into the wellbore through the tubing string 22 centered in the wellbore by engagement with the cement plug 82 through the pilot bore 84 and then pressure fluid is supplied to the motor 94 to commence milling out a portion of the cement plug and the side wall of the casing 16 to form the window 45 as shown in FIG. 4.

The milling operation is continued until the milling tool 96 has formed the window 45 whereupon the tubing string 46 is again withdrawn through the tubing string 22 until the motor 94 and cutter 96 are in the lubricator 42. The motor 94 may then be disconnected from the tubing string 46 and replaced by the motor 58 and the core barrel 56. The motor 58 and core barrel 56 are then run into the well through the tubing string 22 and core drilling is commenced to form the bore 60 and to obtain one or more cores 54.

During the operation to acquire one or more cores 54, gas is injected into the space 26 and through the gas lift valves 38 into the production tubing string 22 to convey fluids up through the tubing string 22 and to the conduit 36 through the wellhead 20 to reduce the pressure in the bore 60 and the wellbore space 19 to a value below the nominal pressure in the formation 18. Accordingly, formation fluids are produced into the wellbore and coring fluid will not flow into the formation from the wellbore. Coring fluids will also not enter the core 54 since pressure in the core will be greater than in the bore 60 and the wellbore space 19. Accordingly, continued production of fluids from the well by, for example, utilizing gas injection to lift fluid through the tubing string 22, or, if well conditions permit, increasing flow through conduit 36 will provide a core 54 with relatively low invasion of fluids into the core proper and essentially no fluid invasion to the core center. The well 10 may, of course, be allowed to continue production after withdrawal of the core barrel 56 with the tubing 46. After one or more cores are obtained the new perforations or windows, such as the window 45 and the bore 60 formed by the coring process, may continue to serve for production of fluids from the formation 18 without shutting in the well. Since the bore 60 will not be invaded by the usual drilling fluids, which may tend to reduce production of fluids through deposition of mud cake or filtrate, overall well productivity may increase. Alternatively, the window 45 may be suitably sealed off with conventional equipment.

Thanks to the methods and equipment described herein, a unique method of obtaining core samples from production wells may be carried out using coilable tubing or other relatively small diameter strings insertable through the well production tubing string without shutting the well in and without requiring the use of conventional drilling rigs. By orienting the whipstock 62 in a desired direction, the bore 60 can be directed into a preferred zone of formation 18. Moreover, higher quality cores may be obtained by eliminating conventional weighted drilling fluids and by reducing the wellbore pressure during the core acquisition process. The equipment described herein, such as the tubing injection apparatus 50, the lubricator 42, the wellhead 20, the gas lift injection valves 38, the seal 24, the motors 58 and 94, the core barrel 56 and the packer 64 is available from commercial sources or may be provided using knowledge available to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The unique method of the present invention may also be utilized to test new formation zones of interest in older production wells or in exploration wells, especially where new log interpretations suggest recompleting a well in a different interval to produce out cf new horizons. In some instances, the method of the present invention may be utilized to improve production rather than undertake hydraulic fracturing or acidizing to bypass a badly damaged zone. With the ability to recover whole cores at a reasonable expense, it could become feasible to test alternative log interpretations in historically difficult areas, including low resistivity formations, thin bedded formations and naturally fractured reservoirs. Of course, one attractive feature is that if tests indicate high enough fluid flow rates, commercial production would immediately begin with no further completion.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail herein, those skilled in the art will recognize that various substitutions and modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.