Downhole equipment, tools and assembly procedures for the drilling, tie-in and completion of vertical cased oil wells connected to liner-equipped multiple drainholes

Abstract

Single horizontal wells drilled through heterogeneous reservoirs are capable of greater oil productivity than vertical wells, often with lower produced GOR and WOR. Multiple drainholes tied-in to a vertical cased well are even more beneficial. Completion of such drainholes in many sandy reservoirs must use cemented liners. Well configurations comprising multiple drainholes liners, each of them tied-in to a vertical casing by pressure-tight connections require novel technologies making use of some novel downhole equipment, tools and procedures for drilling, tie-in and completion of such wells. These may be for newly-drilled wells or may be obtained by re-entry into an existing vertical cased well. Specific equipment, including novel casing joints, whipstocks, intermediate liners and tubing completion assembly components applicable to new wells are described herein. Equipment comprising novel casing inserts and patches applicable to re-entry wells, and the corresponding tubing completion assembly components for a variety of well exploitation modes are also described, together with the required tools and procedures. The liners of the drainholes are such that known well logging and cleaning tools may be used throughout the well's life. The various tubing completion assemblies can all be run-in and installed in a single trip. They allow either commingled flow from all drainholes or selective injection into some drainholes while others are under production. They are adapted to a variety of reservoir pressure conditions and of oil types, including heavy oil produced by sequential “huff and puff” steam injection.

I claim:  
     
       1. Apparatus for completing a multi-branch cased well for oil recovery by sequential cyclic steam injection methods and for petroleum production from non-uniformly-pressured heterogeneous reservoirs through medium curvature, liner-equipped, horizontal drainholes; 
       said apparatus includes downhole equipment, tools and devices for making casing/liner and liner tubing sealed connections and individual liner/drainhole flow connections, comprising:  
       a) a special steel casing joint equipped with a hard metal multi-channel whipstock permanently affixed to and sealed in said casing joint by means of an upper guide plate presenting at least two small feed-through vertical holes, one of which terminated at both ends by threaded connections, and two larger vertical holes, each leading to a slanted cylindrical curved channel partly filled with a cement plug and each said channel leading to an elliptical window machined in a direction slanted downwards at a pre-selected kick-off angle into the wall of said casing joint and plugged by a drillable plate conforming with the outer surface of said casing joint,  
       b) a retrievable wedge-type top whipstock tool whose base presents at least two alignment pins or prongs fitting into said guide plate small holes, in which they are held by releasable latches, said top whipstock's outer lateral surface presenting at least one latching recess for its removal using an overshot tool,  
       c) an overshot tool equipped with releasable hooks to pull out, re-orient and reset said top whipstock, in the same trip,  
       d) a steel liner inserted in a drainhole drilled through each said whipstock channel, said liner hung with devices resisting liner weight and thermal expansion forces applied to said liner from above as well as from below and said liner permanently sealed into said channel by a pressure-sealing device including a heat-resistant seal, in addition to thermal cement,  
       e) a tubing completion assembly conveying production fluids from a drainhole to the surface and steam from the surface to a drainhole; wherein said tubing completion assembly is terminated, at its lower end, by a heat-resistant, pressure-tight, multiple-breakable-sealed connecting device wherein two pairs of vertical tubular connector prongs, equipped with releasable high-temperature-sealing devices, respectively fit into the two larger holes and into the two smaller holes in the guide plate of said special casing joint, to respectively convey production fluids from a drainhole to said tubing assembly and steam from a known three-way valve to the other drainhole,  
       f) a hydraulically-operated slot-cutting tool for selectively perforating said drainhole liner to establish a flow connection between a surrounding oil reservoir and said liner in its uncemented lower part.  
     
     
       2. Apparatus for completing a multi-branch cased well for oil recovery by sequential cyclic steam injection methods and for petroleum production from non-uniformly-pressured heterogeneous reservoirs through medium curvature, liner equipped, horizontal drainholes; 
       said apparatus includes downhole equipment, tools and devices for making casing/liner and liner/tubing sealed connections and individual liner/drainhole flow connections, comprising:  
       a) a special steel cylindrical casing joint presenting an elliptical side window machined at a prescribed small downwards kick-off angle and covered by a drillable metal plate shaped to conform with the outer surface of said casing joint which is also equipped with a drillable orientation device comprising a vertical key or groove,  
       b) a drillable support and packer affixed in said casing joint by slips below said window,  
       c) a retrievable single-channel whipstock tool set within said packer in accordance with a matching orientation device;  
       said whipstock presents at least one guiding groove on its slanted surface and at least one latching recess on its cylindrical surface,  
       d) a short intermediate steel liner of a diameter slightly smaller than said window's short axis, allowing its insertion into a kicked-off hole, through the window and wherein the upper end of said intermediate liner is equipped with a pressure-sealing gasketed drillable collar shaped to conform both with the inner surface of the casing joint along the edge of the window and with said guiding groove in the whipstock, so that said gasketed end, when pressed against the the inner surface of the casing joint, provides a permanent high-temperature seal in addition to thermal cement around said intermediate liner,  
       e) an overshot tool, equipped internally with at least one spring-loaded hook to latch into the whipstock's latching recess or key and pull it out; said tool also presents at its lower end some milling cutters, for surfacing the liner's drillable collar and for drilling-out the packer slips and support, and said tool includes a latching device, for pulling-out the drilled-out packer,  
       f) a selectively perforated drainhole steel liner inserted in a drainhole drilled through such intermediate liner, hung from above as well as from below and cemented in the lower part of said intermediate liner, and having the annular space between intermediate liner and drainhole liner sealed with an inflatable packer,  
       g) a tubing completion assembly conveying production fluids from a drainhole to the surface and steam from the surface to a drainhole, wherein said tubing completion is terminated at its lower end by a heat-resistant, pressure-tight, multiple-breakable-sealed connecting device wherein several articulated connector steel tubes are each inserted into the upper part of the intermediate liner of a drainhole, and the annular space between the inner surface of said intermediate liner and said connector tube is sealed by an inflatable thermal packer,  
       h) a hydraulically-operated slot-cutting tool for selectively perforating the uncemented lower part of each drainhole liner.  
     
     
       3. Apparatus for completing a multi-branch cased well for oil recovery by sequential cyclic steam injection methods and for petroleum production from non-uniformly-pressured heterogeneous reservoirs through medium curvature, liner-equipped, horizontal drainholes; 
       said apparatus includes downhole equipment, tool and devices for making multiple casing/liner and liner/tubing sealed connections and individual liner/drainhole flow connections, comprising:  
       a) at least one special casing joint in the casing string of a vertical hole, opposite a reamed interval straddling the kick-off points of one or more drainholes, said joint presenting one or more elliptical windows oriented downwards and facing pre-selected kick-off directions at various depths,  
       b) a telescopic steel liner stub closed at its lower end by a drillable metal plate plugging each window, and machined at both ends to conform respectively with the outer surface of the casing window for the lower end and with the inner surface of the casing window for the upper end,  
       c) two drillable metal guide cages supporting said stub, inclined at the kick-off angle, with one of the two guide cages affixed inside the casing joint by drillable fasteners while the other, freely inserted into the stub, is mobile and can slide within said fixed guide over an interval equal to a fraction of the stub length,  
       d) a drillable gasketed collar affixed to the stub's upper end to prevent said telescopic stub's upper end from popping out through the window into the reamed cavity when the stub is extended by increasing the hydraulic pressure in the casing with respect to that of the annulus during cementation of the casing string and of each extended stub, with a cement slurry displaced behind the casing and wherein said gasketed collar presents at least one guiding key or groove sliding along a bar of the fixed guide cage, to prevent any rotation of the stub around its axis,  
       e) a steel liner inserted in a drainhole drilled through such a liner stub, permanently hung by a dual hanger's opposing slips into said stub and sealed with a high-temperature pressure-sealing device, in addition to thermal cement,  
       f) a tubing completion assembly, conveying production fluids from a drainhole to the surface and steam from the surface to a drainhole, having at its lower end a heat-resistant, pressure-tight, multiple-breakable-sealed connecting device wherein telescopic connector steel tubes inclined at the kick-off angle are facing each window, with the tube's lower end equipped with a high-temperature sealing device insertable into the upper part of the window's stub and set when said connector tube is in its extended position, whereas the upper end of said tube is equipped with a movable sliding seal remaining within a cylindrical cavity of said tubing completion assembly,  
       g) a hydraulically-operated slot-cutting tool for selectively perforating the uncemented lower part of each drainhole liner.  
     
     
       4. The apparatus for completing a multi-branch cased well of claims  1 ,  2  or  3  wherein the hydraulically-operated slot-cutting tool comprises: 
       a) a cylindrical tool body inserted into said drainhole liner wherein a plurality of cutting wheels, each one mounted on a perpendicular axis to that of said body, at the end of an hydraulically-operated articulated arm, are periodically pressed into the inner surface of said liner wall, which they penetrate, by large forces applied only when the arms are extended by the displacement of a spring-loaded hydraulic piston sliding in a pressurized liquid-filled cylinder,  
       b) a source of periodic hydraulic fluid pressure at the surface,  
       c) a coiled tubing of smaller diameter than that of said drainhole liner, connecting said cylindrical body to said pressure source and providing a mechanical link to the surface, to insert and pull-out the tool body through the liner, thus causing each cutting wheel to cut a slot into the liner wall, substantially parallel to the axis of said liner, while the arms are kept in their extended position, but leaving the liner wall intact when the arms are brought into their retracted position along the tool body.  
     
     
       5. The apparatus for completing a multi-branch cased well of  claim 3 , wherein the tubing completion assembly comprises a multiple-breakable-sealed connecting device presenting at least two slightly inclined fixed branches, each one terminated by a connector tube assembly equipped at its end-with a known sealing device, taken from a list comprising: thermal packings, O rings and metal/metal seals, to provide a breakable pressure-seal against the inner surfaces of said casing/liners's connecting device; 
       said connector tube assembly comprises:  
       a) a cylindrical body with its upper end connected to a tubing and forming with said tubing an angle equal to that formed by the casing/liner connecting device and the casing, and said upper end equipped with anchoring means to fasten it to the inner surface of the casing,  
       b) a connector steel tube sliding through said cylindrical body under the surface-controlled pressure of a hydraulic fluid which also compresses a spring against an arrestor ring, to provide a spring-loaded, high-temperature end seal of said connector tube when in its extended position,  
       c) a wireline-releasable mechanical latch maintaining said spring under compression after the hydraulic pressure has been released.  
       d) means for latching a suitable retrieval wireline tool to the tail end of said connector tube to retract it and to latch it into said body in its retracted position, in the event that the whole tubing completion assembly has to be pulled out for inspection or repairs,  
       e) a packing-type, high-temperature lateral seal in the annulus between said cylindrical body and the tube within said connector tube assembly, providing a breakable pressure-sealed flow connection between said liner and said tubing.  
       f) a packing-type, heat-resistant seal around said connector tube, above said end seal, providing an additional pressure-seal against the inner surface of the casing/liner connecting device in which the connector tube is inserted.  
     
     
       6. The apparatus for completing a multi-branch cased well according to claims  1 ,  2  or  3  further comprising a downhole pump and means for preventing pump cavitation and gas lock in the tubing completion assemblies, when they convey gassy or boiling production fluids to the surface; 
       said means comprising:  
       1) a vertical sump, closed at its top by a conventional multi-string tubings/casing packer and connected to said multiple drainholes, and wherein the absolute flowing pressure of said produced fluids, at the point of highest elevation in the flow path from the drainholes to said sump, may drop below the bubble point absolute pressure of said fluids, a situation resulting in gases being evolved or coming out of solution to form a gas pocket which interrupts the flow of liquids from said drainholes into the sump pump,  
       2) a wireline-retrievable gas-purging device suitable for latching into the short string of the multi-string packer located at the top of the sump, wherein said device is taken from a downhole equipment list comprising:  
       a) a normally closed subsurface valve whose opening is controlled by a fluid level sensor at the top of said oil sump to periodically purge into the compartment above said packer any gas phase accumulating above a predetermined fluid level depth,  
       b) a wireline-retrievable plug in said packer, comprising a permselective membrane permeable to diffusing gas but impervious to liquid flow, for continuously purging of said gas phase, under a gas pressure gradient,  
       c) a venturi in the pump-discharged liquid production stream flowing through a string adjacent to said plug in said multi-string packer, at its exit into an enlarged flow cross section above said packer, which is equipped with a gas flow connection between the side of said venturi and the upper face of said membrane, to create said gas pressure gradient.  
     
     
       7. A method for drilling and completing a multi-branch cased well for oil recovery by sequential cyclic steam injection methods and for petroleum production from non-uniformly pressured heterogeneous reservoirs through medium-curvature, liner-equipped, horizontal drainholes, wherein casing/liner connections are permanently-sealed, wherein liner/tubing are connected by breakable-seals, and comprises the following steps: 
       a) drilling a pair of short deviated boreholes through the bottom of said vertical well casing,  
       b) inserting in said pair of drainholes two short intermediate steel liners using a work string ended with an inverted Y nipple joint, two articulated nipple joints, each one equipped with a rubber cementing seal cup, and holding said intermediate liner with a releasable latch,  
       c) stab-in cementing of said two short intermediate liners using said work string as cementing string, with sufficient overlap of a special high-temperature resin cement in the casing to provide a permanent gas-tight thermal tie-in of the casing with each intermediate liner,  
       d) drilling successively each drainhole through each intermediate liner,  
       e) running a coiled-tubing steel liner through each said intermediate liner into said drilled drainhole, affixing it to the intermediate liner with a dual hanger's opposing slips and with a high-temperature pressure-sealing device prior to cementing its upper end to the intermediate liner's lower end, with a known thermal cement,  
       f) connecting the upper part of each intermediate liner to the lower end of a tubing assembly equipped with a heat-resistant pressure-tight, multiple-breakable-sealed connecting device,  
       g) selectively perforating the uncemented lower part of said coiled tubing liner “in situ” using a hydraulically-operated slot-cutting tool at the end of a smaller-diameter coiled-tubing run-in from the surface and inserted through said tubing assembly and intermediate liner into said drainhole liner.  
     
     
       8. A method of sealing the intersection between a primary borehole and a branch borehole, comprising the steps of: 
       
         installing a casing in said primary borehole, said casing having an opening therethrough at the intersection of said primary borehole and a branch borehole to be formed;  
       
       
         installing a liner at the intersection of said primary borehole and branch borehole wherein a first portion of said liner resides in said primary borehole and thereby blocks said primary borehole and wherein a second portion of said liner extends through said opening and into said branch borehole;  
       
       
         removing at least a section of said first portion of said liner to reopen said blocked primary borehole.  
       
     
     
       9. The methods of  claim 8  further comprising the steps of drilling said branch borehole through said opening.  
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9  further comprising the step of removing the entire first portion of said liner in the primary borehole to reopen the primary borehole to its full bore at the intersection.  
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10  further comprising the step of providing a full bore opening in said liner at said intersection.  
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11  wherein said opening in said liner is of sufficient diameter to allow the passage of well tools, for subsequent well maintenance and repair.  
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 8  further comprising the step of injecting steam into at least one of said primary and branch boreholes and producing oil from one or both of said boreholes.  
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13  further comprising the step of pumping oil from at least one of said boreholes to the surface.  
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 13  wherein steam is injected into one of said boreholes while oil is produced in the other.  
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of delivering a cementitious slurry at the intersection and about said liner.  
     
     
       17. A method of sealing the intersection between a primary borehole having casing and a branch borehole, comprising the steps of: 
       
         forming an opening in said casing at the site of the intersection between said primary borehole and a branch borehole to be formed, said opening being formed in said casing either prior to or subsequent to installation of said casing in said primary borehole;  
       
       
         drilling said branch borehole;  
       
       
         installing a tubular member through said opening at the intersection of said primary and branch boreholes, wherein a first portion of said tubular member resides in said cased primary borehole and wherein a second portion of said tubular member resides in said branch borehole; and  
       
       
         removing at least a section of said first portion of said tubular member.  
       
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17  wherein said tubular member is a liner.  
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18  including: 
       
         redrilling the primary borehole to reopen the primary borehole.  
       
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 17  including the step of: 
       
         positioning a diverter at the entrance to said branch borehole; and  
       
       
         diverting said second portion of said tubular member into said branch borehole using said diverter.  
       
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 19 , including the step of: 
       
         providing said diverter with a removable portion; and removing said portion during reopening of the primary borehole.  
       
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 21  including: 
       
         milling said section and said removable portion of said diverter to effect their removal.  
       
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 21  wherein: 
       
         said removable portion of said diverter comprises a whipstock.  
       
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 20  wherein: 
       
         said diverter comprises a whipstock packer assembly.  
       
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 20  including the step of: 
       
         removing said diverter from said primary borehole.  
       
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 17  further comprising the step of: 
       
         delivering a cementitious slurry at the intersection and about said tubular member.  
       
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 26  wherein the step of drilling said branch borehole comprises drilling said branch borehole through said opening.  
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 26  wherein the step of removing comprises removing the entire first portion of said tubular member in the primary borehole to reopen the primary borehole to its full bore at the intersection.  
     
     
       29. The method of  claim 18  including the steps of: 
       
         effecting communication from the interior of said liner to the surface of said primary wellbore, said communication being effected using at least one connector extending within said casing.  
       
     
     
       30. The method of  claim 17  wherein: 
       
         the steps are repeated for at least one second branch borehole.  
       
     
     
       31. The method of  claim 20  including: 
       
         repositioning said diverter for selective reentry into a different branch borehole.  
       
     
     
       32. A well having a primary borehole intersecting with a branch borehole, the intersection being sealed in accordance with the method of  claim 17 .  
     
     
       33. The method of  claim 28 , further comprising the steps of positioning a diverter at the entrance to said branch; and diverting said second portion of said tubular member into said branch borehole using said diverter.  
     
     
       34. The method of  claim 17  wherein after said section of said tubular member is removed, the primary borehole is of sufficient diameter to allow the passage of well tools, for subsequent well maintenance and repair.  
     
     
       35. The method of  claim 27  further comprising the step of injecting steam into at least one of said primary and branch boreholes and producing oil from one or both of said boreholes.  
     
     
       36. The method of  claim 35  further comprising the step of pumping oil from at least one of said boreholes to the surface.  
     
     
       37. The method of  claim 35  wherein steam is injected into one of said boreholes while oil is produced in the other.  
     
     
       38. A method of sealing the intersection between a primary borehole having a casing and a branch borehole, comprising the steps of: 
       
         forming an opening in said casing at the site of the intersection between said primary borehole and a branch borehole to be formed, said opening being formed in said casing either prior to or subsequent to installation of said casing in said primary borehole;  
       
       
         subsequently drilling said branch borehole;  
       
       
         subsequently installing a tubular member through said opening at the intersection of said primary and branch boreholes, wherein a first portion of said tubular member resides in said primary borehole having casing and wherein a second portion of said tubular member resides in said branch borehole; and  
       
       
         subsequently removing at least a section of said first portion of said tubular member.  
       
     
     
       39. The method of  claim 38  further comprising the step of installing a diverter proximate the intersection and using the diverter as a guide during the drilling and the installation steps.  
     
     
       40. The method of  claim 38  further comprising the step of delivering a cementitious slurry at the intersection and about said tubular member, after installing the tubular member.  
     
     
       41. The method of  claim 39  wherein said diverter includes a whipstock and further comprising the step of removing said whipstock during said reopening step.  
     
     
       42. The method of  claim 40  wherein the step of removing comprises removing the entire first portion of said tubular member in the opening borehole to reopen the primary borehole to its full bore at the intersection.  
     
     
       43. The method of  claim 38  wherein after said section of said tubular member is removed, the primary borehole has sufficient diameter to allow the passage of well tools, for subsequent well maintenance and repair.  
     
     
       44. The method of  claim 38  further comprising the step of injecting steam into at least one of said primary and branch boreholes and producing oil from one or both of said boreholes.  
     
     
       45. The method of  claim 44  further comprising the step of pumping oil from at least one of said boreholes to the surface.  
     
     
       46. The method of  claim 44  wherein steam is injected into one of said boreholes while oil is produced in the other.