Mechanical diverter

Abstract

An apparatus for performing a wellbore operation includes a retrievable tubular defining an axial flowbore and having at least one opening providing fluid communication between the flowbore and a formation, and a degradable diverter disposed at least partially in an annulus between a wellbore and the retrievable tubular, and adjacent to the at least one opening. The degradable diverter comprises a material that structurally degrades over an engineered time interval in response to an applied stimulus. The degradable diverter also directs a stimulation fluid exiting through the at least one opening towards the formation. The degradable diverter is connected to the retrievable tubular, a stimulation fluid is pumped through the flowbore. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the general subject matter of the technical disclosure.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for performing a wellbore operation, comprising:
 a retrievable tubular defining an axial flowbore and having at least one opening providing fluid communication between the flowbore and a formation; and   a degradable diverter disposed at least partially in an annulus between a wellbore and the retrievable tubular, and adjacent to the at least one opening,   
       wherein the degradable diverter comprises a material that structurally degrades over an engineered time interval in response to an applied stimulus,
 wherein the degradable diverter directs a stimulation fluid exiting through the at least one opening towards the formation. 
 
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the degradable diverter comprises at least one of: (i) ceramics, (ii) phenolics, (iii) metals, (iv) polyvinyl alcohols, (v) polyacrylamide, (vi) polyacrylic acids, (vii) rare earth elements, (viii) glasses, and (ix) carbon. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the degradable diverter has an axial cross section of at least one of: (i) a polygon, (ii) a concave shape, (iii) a convex shape, and (iv) defined at least partially by an arc. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the degradable diverter has an engineered gap with a surface surrounding the degradable diverter. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the degradable diverter comprises a swab cup. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the degradable diverter has an adjustable outer diameter, the outer diameter expanding from a first diameter during run-in to a second larger diameter during operation. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the degradable diverter comprises at least two mates, each mate having an inclined surface, wherein sliding engagement of the inclined surfaces expands the outer diameter of the degradable diverter. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the degradable diverter expands to the second diameter when actuated by at least one of: (i) hydraulic actuator, (ii) mechanical actuator, (iii) hydrostatic pressure, (iv) electrical trigger (v) electromagnetic signal, and (vi) acoustic signal. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the degradable diverter comprises a first and a second diverter element, the at least one opening being positioned between the first and the second diverter element. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one opening includes a plurality of axially spaced apart openings, and further comprising a plurality of degradable diverters disposed along the retrievable tubular, wherein each degradable diverter diverts the stimulation fluid from an adjacent axially spaced apart opening to the formation. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein at least two of the degradable diverters have at least one of: (i) a different axial cross section; and (ii) a different chemical composition. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein at least two of the degradable diverters are configured to degrade in response to different applied stimuli. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the applied stimulus is one of: (i) temperature change (ii) the stimulation fluid, (iii) a wellbore fluid, and (iv) some other activation fluid applied for this purpose. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the retrievable tubular is a part of a hydraulic fracture completion system. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the material is a non-elastic material. 
     
     
         16 . A method for performing a wellbore operation, comprising:
 connecting a degradable diverter to a retrievable tubular defining an axial flowbore and having at least one opening providing fluid communication between the flowbore and a formation,   
       wherein the degradable diverter is disposed at least partially in an annulus between a wellbore and the retrievable tubular, and adjacent to the at least one opening,
 pumping a stimulation fluid through the flowbore; 
 allowing the stimulation fluid to exit through the at least one opening; 
 directing the stimulation fluid towards the formation using the degradable diverter; and 
 structurally degrading the degradable diverter over an engineered time interval using an applied stimulus. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising connecting a plurality of degradable diverters to the retrievable tubular and degrading at least two of the plurality of the degradable diverters at different times. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the at least two of the plurality of the degradable diverters are degraded using different fluid compositions. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising retrieving the retrievable tubular. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the retrievable tubular is part of a hydraulic fracture completion system.