Two-material P and A plug

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10316612-B2
Application number	US-201815948322-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 9, 2018
Priority date	Apr 12, 2017
Publication date	Jun 11, 2019
Grant date	Jun 11, 2019

Abstract

A plug for Plug and Abandonment (P&A) operations and methods of installation and use. The plug is a two-part plug of bismuth-based alloy and resin, allowing for sealing of an oil well using two different mechanisms with a shorter plug.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of plugging a well during plug and abandonment (P&A) operations, comprising:
a) deploying a first tool downhole to remove or open or perforate both an inner tubular and exterior casing at a section of well to be plugged;
b) deploying a second tool downhole having a sleeve for holding a heater, said heater and a eutectic alloy, wherein said eutectic alloy is stored (i) above a base on said second tool, or (ii) around an outside of said sleeve, or (iii) both above the base and around an outside of said sleeve;
c) heating said eutectic alloy with said heater to form a molten alloy;
d) allowing said molten alloy to expand and solidify to form a cast-in-place metal plug that fills at least part of said section of well to be plugged;
e) adding additional eutectic alloy to said well and repeating steps c-d until a predetermined height of said cast-in-place metal plug is formed;
f) removing said heater but not said sleeve;
g) deploying or pouring a resin downhole on top of said cast-in-place metal plug; and,
h) curing said resin to form a resin plug, wherein said cured resin adheres to said cast-in-place metal plug, further wherein the cured resin covers said cast-in-place metal plug and said sleeve of said second tool; and
i) wherein said cast-in-place metal plug and said resin plug together form a single two-material plug.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising evaluating a sealability of said single two-material plug.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first tool performs section milling to remove said inner tubular and said exterior casing.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first tool performs perforation and wash operations to perforate and wash said inner tubular and said exterior casing.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first tool opens and expands said inner tubular and exterior casing.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said eutectic alloy comprises bismuth.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said resin is a thermosetting resin, a vulcanizable rubber or combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said two-material plug is up to 15 meters in length.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said cast-in-place metal plug is up to 5 meters in length.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said cast-in-place metal plug is up to 2 meters in length.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said two-material plug is up to 5 meters in length.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said two-material plug has greater integrity than an equivalent total length of either said resin plug or said cast-in-place metal plug alone.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said method requires less time than a method with a two-material plug comprising resin and cement.

Assignees

• Conocophillips Co

Inventors

• Shafer Randall S

Classifications

• E21B33/13

  Methods or devices for cementing, for plugging holes, crevices or the like · CPC title

• E21B33/1208 Primary

  characterised by the construction of the sealing or packing means (E21B33/1277 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C09K8/44

  containing organic binders only · CPC title

• C09K8/42

  Compositions for cementing, e.g. for cementing casings into boreholes; Compositions for plugging, e.g. for killing wells (compositions for plastering C09K8/50) · CPC title

• C09K8/426

  for plugging · CPC title