Bidirectional downhole isolation valve

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10954749-B2
Application number	US-201816150549-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 3, 2018
Priority date	Jun 26, 2013
Publication date	Mar 23, 2021
Grant date	Mar 23, 2021

Abstract

A method of drilling a wellbore includes deploying a drill string into the wellbore through a casing string disposed in the wellbore casing string having an isolation valve. The method also includes drilling the wellbore into a formation by injecting drilling fluid through the drill string and rotating a drill bit of the drill sting and retrieving the drill string from the wellbore until the drill bit is above one or more valve members of the isolation valve. The method further includes closing the valve members, thereby bidirectionally isolating the formation from an upper portion of the wellbore.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of drilling a wellbore, comprising:
deploying a drill string into the wellbore through a casing string disposed in the wellbore, the casing string having an isolation valve;
drilling the wellbore into a formation by injecting drilling fluid through the drill string and rotating a drill bit of the drill sting;
retrieving the drill string from the wellbore until the drill bit is above a plurality of valve members of the isolation valve, wherein the plurality of valve members includes an upper valve member and a lower valve member; and
closing the valve members, wherein the upper valve member is compressed against an upper seat of the isolation valve in response to fluid pressure in an upper portion of the wellbore being greater than fluid pressure in a lower portion of the wellbore, and the lower valve member is pressed against a lower seat of the isolation valve in response to the fluid pressure in the wellbore lower portion being greater than the fluid pressure in the wellbore upper portion, thereby bidirectionally isolating the formation from an upper portion of the wellbore.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the upper and lower valve members are an upper flapper and a lower flapper, respectively.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the lower flapper is closed before the upper flapper is closed.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein a closing chamber is formed in the isolation valve during closing of at least one of the flappers to facilitate closing of the at least one flapper.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein:
the lower flapper is closed by supplying hydraulic fluid to a closer line connected to the isolation valve and relieving an opener line connected to the isolation valve, and
the upper flapper is closed by supplying the hydraulic fluid to the closer line and relieving the opener line.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein:
the casing string further has a downhole hydraulic power unit (DHPU) in fluid communication with the closer line,
the drill string further has a shifting tool, and
the hydraulic fluid is supplied to the closer line by driving the DHPU with the shifting tool.

7. A method of drilling a wellbore, comprising:
deploying a drill string into the wellbore through a casing string disposed in the wellbore, the casing string having an isolation valve;
drilling the wellbore into a formation by injecting drilling fluid through the drill string and rotating a drill bit of the drill sting;
retrieving the drill string from the wellbore until the drill bit is above a first valve member and a second valve member of the isolation valve;
closing the first valve member using a first piston to isolate fluid pressure from a first direction;
closing the second valve member using a second piston to isolate fluid pressure from a second direction opposite the first direction, thereby bidirectionally isolating the formation from an upper portion of the wellbore.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first valve member is closed using a closer line.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the closer line are in fluid communication with the first piston and the second piston.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein closing the first valve member comprising supplying fluid from the closer line to the first piston while restricting fluid flow to the second piston.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first valve member is closed before the second valve member.

12. A method of drilling a wellbore, comprising:
deploying a drill string into the wellbore through a casing string disposed in the wellbore, the casing string having an isolation valve;
drilling the wellbore into a formation by injecting drilling fluid through the drill string and rotating a drill bit of the drill sting;

retrieving the drill string from the wellbore until the drill bit is above one or more valve members of the isolation valve, wherein at least one of the one or more valve members includes a plurality of wedges pivotable between an open position and a closed position and wherein the plurality of wedges are circumferentially spaced inside the casing string; and
closing the one or more valve members by using a piston to pivot more than two adjacent wedges of the plurality of wedges into engagement with each other, wherein the more than two wedges together form a disk that bidirectionally isolates the formation from an upper portion of the wellbore.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein:
the plurality of wedges are closed by supplying hydraulic fluid to a closer line connected to the isolation valve and relieving an opener line connected to the isolation valve,
the casing string further has a downhole hydraulic power unit (DHPU) in fluid communication with the closer line,
the drill string further has a shifting tool, and
the hydraulic fluid is supplied to the closer line by driving the DHPU with the shifting tool.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein closing the one or more valve members comprises simultaneously pivoting the plurality of wedges to the closed position.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising a sealing member disposed between the two adjacent wedges.

Assignees

• Weatherford Tech Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Noske Joe

Classifications

• E21B34/14 Primary

  operated by movement of tools, e.g. sleeve valves operated by pistons or wire line tools {(E21B34/066 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• E21B2200/05

  Flapper valves · CPC title

• F16K3/03

  with a closure member in the form of an iris-diaphragm · CPC title

• E21B34/10

  operated by control fluid supplied from outside the borehole · CPC title

• E21B21/10

  Valve arrangements in drilling-fluid circulation systems · CPC title