Flow control valve for use in completion of a wellbore

Abstract

A flow control valve (FCV) tool for a wellbore lined with a tubing string including a plurality of ports is presented. The FCV tool includes a body with a lower housing and an upper housing, the upper housing adapted to enable establishing a fluid path between the annulus of the wellbore and the plurality of ports. The lower housing and the upper housing form a pocket therebetween. The FCV valve also includes a unidirectional flow control valve designed to be received in the pocket and adapted to switch between a closed position and an open position and between the open position and the closed position based on a pressure differential between the annulus pressure and the internal pressure of the tubing string. The FCV tool enables multiple completion operations during the closed or open position of the valve.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A flow control valve (FCV) tool for a wellbore lined with a tubing string including a plurality of ports, comprising:
 a body with a lower housing and an upper housing, the upper housing adapted to enable establishing a fluid path between the annulus of the wellbore and the plurality of ports;   a pocket formed between the lower housing and the upper housing; and   a unidirectional flow control valve designed to be received in the pocket and adapted to switch between a closed position and an open position and between the open position and the closed position based on a pressure differential between the annulus pressure and the internal pressure of the tubing string,   wherein multiple completion operations are enabled during the closed or open position of the valve.   
     
     
         2 . The FCV tool of  claim 1 , wherein in the closed position, the flow control valve seals the fluid path, to enable the multiple completion operations without the need for additional run-in-hole trips. 
     
     
         3 . The FCV tool of  claim 1 , wherein in the open position the flow control valve opens the fluid path to enable extraction of production fluids. 
     
     
         4 . The FCV tool of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple completion operations include setting one or more packers. 
     
     
         5 . The FCV tool of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple completion operations include setting one or more liner hangers. 
     
     
         6 . The FCV tool of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid path includes a plurality of housing ports provided in the upper housing for enabling fluid circulation between the annulus and the tubing string when the flow control valve is in the open position. 
     
     
         7 . The FCV tool of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of ports open simultaneously when the pressure in the tubing string is lowered below the pressure in the annulus by a first threshold differential pressure. 
     
     
         8 . The FCV tool of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of ports are maintained closed when the pressure in the ID of the tubing string is higher than the pressure in the annulus by a second threshold differential pressure, while the flow control valve is in the closed position. 
     
     
         9 . The FCV tool of  claim 1 , wherein the flow control valve comprises a first and a second end, wherein a rim provided at the second end enables attachment of the valve to the lower housing, when the valve is installed in the pocket. 
     
     
         10 . The FCV tool of  claim 10  wherein the first end is deflected by a higher annulus pressure higher than the internal pressure to open the fluid path. 
     
     
         11 . A method of completing a wellbore for fluid extraction, comprising
 running in a tubing string having a plurality of ports and a toe circulation sub, the tubing string being equipped with a flow control valve (FCV) tool,   maintaining the FCV tool in the closed position to block fluid from entering in the tubing string through the plurality of ports, while enabling fluid circulation in the tubing string through the toe circulation sub,   closing the toe circulation sub and performing multiple completion operations which require an internal pressure higher that the annulus pressure; and   decreasing the internal pressure to a first threshold differential, so as to open the FCV tool and allow fluid circulation from the annulus to the inner diameter of the tubing string.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising increasing the internal pressure over a first threshold differential to close the FCV tool and disallow fluid circulation from the annulus to the inner diameter of the tubing string. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the FCV tool has a temporary unidirectional flow control valve which degrades after a period of time. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising closing and opening the plurality of ports with a shift sleeve after the flow control valve degrades.