Hydraulic well packer

Abstract

A hydraulic packing device for wellbores, known in the art as “packer”, which is a retrievable device and is used in downhole operations, that is also part of the tools used in wellbore operations, such as oil, water or gas wells, or wells of similar fluids is provided. More specifically, the main object of the invention is a double-latch packer with hydraulic fastening and packing pressure function, double retreat integrated assembly, with elements of rubber packing, which has the advantage of being able to work selectively on facilities with one packer or multiple packers, with the advantage of fastening or releasing the packer selectively in oil, water or gas wells, or wells of similar fluids.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention refers to a hydraulic packing device for wellbores, known in the art as “packer”, which is a retrievable device and is used in downhole operations, that is also part of the tools used in wellbore operations, such as oil, water or gas wells, or wells of similar fluids. More specifically, the main object of the invention is a double-latch packer with hydraulic fastening and packing pressure function, double retreat integrated assembly, with elements of rubber packing, which has the advantage of being able to work selectively on facilities with one packer or multiple packers, with the advantage of fastening or releasing the packer selectively in oil, water or gas wells, or wells of similar fluids.[0003]2. Description of the Prior Art[0004]Within the field of the prior art, several packers are known, which are currently used as retrievable packing tools in oil, water or gas wells, or wells of a simila...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]Therefore the object of the present invention is to provide a double grip packer with hydraulic fastening and packing pressure capable of solving the inconveniences mentioned earlier, being a packer that offers an original result, which includes a bigger fastening confidence, simplicity in the release operation, which is highly recommendable in the use of the selective installations of multiple packer, with the advantage of being able to fasten or release the packers selectively without letting the production or maneuver string suffer traction efforts or excessive rotation.

[0011]In comparison with the packers mentioned, the packer of the present invention presents several outstanding features that allow fulfilling the needs and coping with the deficiencies of the existing packers for this type of applications that the market offers. The present packer includes mainly the split mandrel, base of this invention, that has a mandrel or upper part, and a mandrel or lower part, connected through a threaded connection, an upper anchoring assembly that, once the packer is released, allows the upper mandrel of the packer to help its intermediate peripheral portion, a corrugated assembly that allows the lower mandrel and its intermediate peripheral portion to help each other, and from there downward to the rest of the installation, an anchoring assembly that, when releasing the packer, prevents it from being packed again. All this assembly, once the packer is released, manages to make this act as if it all was a rigid assembly and allows it to transmit stress, weight or torque, in an independent fashion downward, without consuming efforts to release another packer or other part of the installation, or to simply retrieve it and take it out of the well. It also has a hydraulic fastening pressure assembly, which activates a hydraulic chamber that starts its course cutting shear pins and comprising the package of elements or packing rubbers, which can be added or taken out depending on the state of the well or the work to be carried out; this compression of packing elements is sustained by safety assembly that prevents its unpacking once the hydraulic pressure has been released; at the same time, the packing package exerts a force on the upper cone that fastens the gripping means of both directions created by double latch clamps that can be set up as comprehensive or individual clamps, depending of the configuration of the wells and the forces to support; at the same time, these clamps can have treated latch teeth or hard metal inserts.

[0012]As described, one of the most important virtues of this packer model is that the release is achieved with less than one spin of the maneuver or production string, without transmitting torque at the lower part of the packer, when releasing the packer, due to the fact that the split mandrel is connected with a quick thread. Once this thread is disengaged, the upper mandrel is raised and the packing assembly contained is released; the string keeps being raised while the clamps are released. Then the upper mandrel is connected to the periphery of the packer, through the tower, and this periphery with the lower mandrel of the packer, through the spire. In this way, the packer is absolutely free in terms of the tightness of the packing elements, in the shape of rubbers, over the well casing, and in terms of the casing latch, allowing it to release another packer under itself or under part of the installation, as in this state it will transmit, stress, torque or weight as a solid whole.

Problems solved by technology

Some of those packers known by the art, so far have the great disadvantage that, when releasing the installation formed by more than one of these packers, they need expansion joints in order not to add individual release efforts; generally they are packers of stress release.

Other devices of this type use rotation releases, which, in the case of installations of more than one packer, make it impossible to rotate de string due to the simultaneous addition of all the release rotation assemblies of each of them, generating an excessive torque when doing it.

This kind of model presents the limitation of having to generate several spins to unpack the rubbers and finally disengage the clamps.

In wells with degrees of inclination or where, as part of the installation, there are intermediate injection devices, it is very difficult to generate the necessary spins in order to obtain the release of the tool, due to the generation of high torques in the maneuver string, which makes it impossible.

Moreover, it goes without saying that it would be even more difficult if the installation had more than one packer with this release assembly, because there would be an addition of the rotation efforts of each of the packers.

The production strings have a limitation in the corresponding traction that is solved with this type of installations.

Another limitation to bear in mind is that in some of these packer models, the mechanical works of the tubing between packers derived from the pressure changes might generate stress or cuts in the safety mechanisms, which causes an early release of the tools.

Images