Wellbore sleeve injector and method of use

Abstract

Method, apparatus and a system is provided for injecting carrier sleeves into a wellbore. A selected carrier sleeve is aligned in an injector bore restricted therein from free fall and preventing a subsequent sleeve from indexing into the bore from a magazine of sleeves. The sleeve can be restricted from free fall from the bore using an annular restrictor. The selected sleeve is forcibly displaced from the injector bore into a staging bore, as part of an contiguous axial bore, that is isolated from the wellbore. The staging bore is fluidly isolated from the injector bore. The pressure in the staging bore is equalized with the wellbore and then opened to the wellbore for launching the sleeve. The staging bore can be isolated from the injection bore by valve or isolation mandrel sealably moveable within the axial bore.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sleeve injector for injecting carrier sleeves into an axial bore of a wellhead contiguous with a wellbore having sleeve-actuated devices therein, comprising:
 an injector head adapted to be supported by the wellhead, the injector head having an injector bore therethrough in fluid communication with the axial bore;   at least one sleeve magazine has an aperture in communication with the injector bore, each magazine storing at least one sleeve, each of the at least one sleeve magazine having an actuator operable for aligning a selected sleeve of the at least one sleeve with the injector bore; and   a fall restrictor for preventing premature free fall of a carrier sleeve aligned in the injector bore.   
     
     
         2 . The sleeve injector of  claim 1  further comprising a guide rod, the rod extending moveably through injector bore for forcibly launching the selected sleeve past the fall restrictor. 
     
     
         3 . The sleeve injector of  claim 2  wherein the guide rod extends into the injector bore for blocking subsequent sleeves from aligning with the injector bore. 
     
     
         4 . The sleeve injector of  claim 1  wherein the fall restrictor is an annular restrictor located in the injector bore downhole from a furthest downhole magazine of the at least one sleeve magazine for preventing free fall of the selected sleeve thereby. 
     
     
         5 . The sleeve injector of  claim 4  further comprising a guide rod, the rod extending moveably through the injector bore for forcibly launching the selected sleeve past the bore restrictor. 
     
     
         6 . The sleeve injector of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sleeve magazine is removeably connected to the sleeve injector. 
     
     
         7 . The sleeve injector of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sleeve magazine has at least one indicator for indicating successful alignment of the selected sleeve with the injector bore. 
     
     
         8 . A system for injecting carrier sleeves into a wellbore, comprising:
 a sleeve injector having an injector bore and configured to store at least one carrier sleeve in at least one magazine and operable to align a selected sleeve of the at least one carrier sleeve with the injector bore;   a staging block having a staging bore in communication with the injector bore and located intermediate the sleeve injector and wellbore for receiving the selected sleeve therein, the injector bore and staging bore forming an axial bore;   an upper isolation device for fluidly isolating the injector bore from the staging bore;   a lower isolation valve for fluidly isolating the staging bore from the wellbore;   a guide rod extending into an uphole end of the injector bore and operable to displace the selected sleeve from the injector bore; and   a first port in fluid communication with the staging bore for equalizing pressure between the staging bore and the wellbore.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising an equalization conduit about the lower isolation valve for fluid communication between the staging bore and the wellbore. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising a pump for selectably introducing fluid into the staging bore or removing fluid from the staging bore. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the upper isolation device is an upper isolation valve. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the upper isolation device is an upper isolation tool comprising a mandrel having at least one annular seal for sealing within the axial bore. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the upper isolation tool further comprises a guide rod extending movably through a bore of the mandrel and sealable therein. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the guide rod comprises an annular swab at a sleeve end of the guide rod for swabbing the axial bore. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising a fall restrictor located downhole from a furthest downhole magazine of the at least one sleeve magazine for preventing freefall of the selected sleeve thereby. 
     
     
         16 . A method for injecting carrier sleeves into a wellbore, comprising:
 aligning a selected sleeve with an injector bore of the injector assembly;   fluidly connecting the staging bore and the injector bore;   displacing the selected sleeve from the injector bore into the staging bore;   fluidly isolating the staging bore from the injector bore;   pressurizing the staging bore; and   fluidly connecting the staging bore to the wellbore to drop the selected sleeve into the wellbore.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the displacing the selected sleeve comprises mechanically engaging the selected sleeve to forcibly launch the selected carrier sleeve into a staging bore. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the mechanically engaging the selected sleeve to forcibly launch the selected carrier sleeve further comprises extending a guide rod into the injection bore for displacing the selected sleeve and blocking the injection bore to prevent the aligning of a subsequent carrier sleeve. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the fluidly isolating of the staging bore from the injector bore comprises sealing the axial bore between the staging bore and the injector bore with an upper isolation valve. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the fluidly isolating of the staging bore from the injector bore comprises inserting an isolation tool mandrel into the axial bore between the staging bore and the injector bore.