Magnetic sensor assembly for actuating a wellbore valve

Abstract

A sensor assembly for actuating a valve comprising: a magnet; and a sensor for the magnet, wherein a tool that is positioned adjacent to the magnet alters the magnetic field of the magnet, wherein the sensor detects the alteration of the magnetic field, and when the sensor detects the alteration, then the sensor actuates a valve to open or close. A method of actuating a valve in a wellbore comprising: positioning the sensor assembly within the wellbore; and running the tool into the wellbore. A system for actuating a valve, the system comprising: a wellbore; the valve; a tool positioned within the casing; and the sensor assembly, wherein the sensor assembly detects the presence or absence of the tool at the location of the magnet, and wherein the sensor assembly actuates the valve to open or close based on the location of the tool.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for actuating a valve, the system comprising:
 a wellbore;   the valve located within a casing of the wellbore;   a tool positioned at or near the bottom of a tubing string within the casing; and   a sensor assembly comprising a magnet and a sensor for the magnet, wherein the sensor assembly detects the presence or absence of the tool at the location of the magnet, and wherein the sensor assembly actuates the valve to open or close based on the location of the tool.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the tool is a drilling tool, completion tool, or testing tool. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the valve is a flapper valve, a ball valve, or a sliding sleeve. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein when the valve is in a closed position, fluids are prevented from flowing in any direction past the valve through the casing, and when the valve is in an open position, fluid flow past the valve can occur. 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor assembly detects the presence of the tool at the location of the magnet due to an alteration of the magnetic field caused by the tool. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 5 , wherein the alteration of the magnetic field is caused by: at least a portion of the tool having a larger outer diameter than the outer diameter of the tubing string or the tubing string and the rest of the tool; at least a portion of the tool having a different type of metal or metal alloy than the tubing string or the tubing string and the rest of the tool; at least a portion of the tool having a higher concentration of a certain type of metal or metal alloy than the tubing string or the tubing string and the rest of the tool; and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 6 , wherein when the tool is positioned adjacent to the magnet, then the tool alters the magnetic field of the magnet. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 6 , wherein the sensor is selected from a Hall effect sensor, magneto-diode, magneto-transistor, anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) magnetometer, giant magnetoresistance (GMR) magnetometer, magnetic tunnel junction magnetometer, magneto-optical sensor, Lorentz force-based micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor, electron tunneling-based MEMS sensor, MEMS compass, optically pumped magnetic field sensor, fluxgate magnetometer, search coil magnetic field sensor, or superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID) magnetometer. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 6 , wherein the magnet or the magnet and the sensor are partially surrounded by a shield, wherein the shield at least partially prevents or minimizes interferences with the magnetic field from the casing or other metallic wellbore equipment other than the tool. 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor assembly further comprises a transmitter to transmit information from the sensor to the valve about the location of the tool to cause the valve to open or close. 
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is programmed to actuate the valve based on a specific sequence of detecting the presence and absence of the tool more than one time. 
     
     
         12 . A method of actuating a valve in a wellbore comprising:
 positioning a sensor assembly within the wellbore, the sensor assembly comprising a magnet and a sensor for the magnet; and   running a tool into the wellbore, wherein the sensor assembly detects the presence of the tool when the tool is located adjacent to the magnet, wherein when the sensor assembly detects the presence of the tool one or more times, then the sensor assembly actuates the valve to open, and wherein the valve is located within a casing of the wellbore.   
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein when the valve is in a closed position, fluids are prevented from flowing in any direction past the valve through the casing, and when the valve is in an open position, fluid flow past the valve can occur. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the sensor assembly detects the presence of the tool at the location of the magnet due to an alteration of the magnetic field caused by the tool. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the alteration of the magnetic field is caused by: at least a portion of the tool having a larger outer diameter than the outer diameter of the tubing string or the tubing string and the rest of the tool; at least a portion of the tool having a different type of metal or metal alloy than the tubing string or the tubing string and the rest of the tool; at least a portion of the tool having a higher concentration of a certain type of metal or metal alloy than the tubing string or the tubing string and the rest of the tool; and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein when the tool is positioned adjacent to the magnet, then the tool alters the magnetic field of the magnet. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the sensor is selected from a Hall effect sensor, magneto-diode, magneto-transistor, anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) magnetometer, giant magnetoresistance (GMR) magnetometer, magnetic tunnel junction magnetometer, magneto-optical sensor, Lorentz force-based micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor, electron tunneling-based MEMS sensor, MEMS compass, optically pumped magnetic field sensor, fluxgate magnetometer, search coil magnetic field sensor, or superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID) magnetometer. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the sensor assembly further comprises a transmitter to transmit information from the sensor to the valve about the location of the tool to cause the valve to open or close. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the sensor is programmed to actuate the valve based on a specific sequence of detecting the presence and absence of the tool more than one time. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein after the valve is actuated to open, the tubing string and the tool can be run further into the wellbore to perform the operation. 
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 20 , wherein the tubing string and tool can be retrieved from the wellbore before or after the operation is performed. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 21 , wherein when the tubing string and tool are retrieved from the wellbore, the sensor assembly detects the presence of the tool a second time. 
     
     
         23 . The method according to  claim 23 , wherein the sensor assembly is programmed to actuate the valve to close when the presence of the tool is detected the second time. 
     
     
         24 . A sensor assembly for actuating a valve comprising:
 a magnet; and   a sensor for the magnet, wherein a tool that is positioned adjacent to the magnet alters the magnetic field of the magnet, wherein the sensor detects the alteration of the magnetic field, and when the sensor detects the alteration, then the sensor actuates a valve to open or close.