Formation tester tool

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11346162-B2
Application number	US-201616075453-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 7, 2016
Priority date	Jun 7, 2016
Publication date	May 31, 2022
Grant date	May 31, 2022

Abstract

A formation tester tool assembly includes a seal member mounted on rigid stabilizer that contacts a borehole wall separately from the seal member, so that seal exposure to a stabilization load that presses the tool against the borehole wall is limited or reduced by contact engagement of the stabilizer with the borehole wall. The stabilizer is provided by a hydraulically actuated probe piston reciprocally movable relative to a tool body on which it is mounted. The seal member is in some embodiments movable relative to the probe piston, for example being configured for hydraulic actuation to sealingly engage the borehole wall while the tool body is stabilized by action of the probe piston.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A tool assembly comprising:
a tool body defining a tool axis, the tool body configured to be receivable in a borehole defined by a borehole wall;
a stabilizer mounted on the tool body, the stabilizer displaceable in a direction transverse to the tool axis;
an actuating mechanism coupled to the stabilizer and configured to move the stabilizer between: a retracted position in which the stabilizer is spaced from the borehole wall, and
a deployed position in which a contact surface of the stabilizer engages the borehole wall at a first location;
a seal mounted on the stabilizer and configured to sealingly engage the borehole wall at a second location in response to the stabilizer engaging the borehole wall, to define a sealed isolation zone isolated from borehole fluids; wherein the second location is spaced from the first location; and
a testing mechanism within the tool body and configured for testing one or more formation properties in the isolation zone.

2. The tool assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a seal actuating mechanism configured to press the seal radially against the borehole wall when the stabilizer is in the deployed position, the seal actuating mechanism acting between the stabilizer and the seal.

3. The tool assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
the stabilizer comprises a probe piston that is reciprocally moveable in a generally radial direction relative to the tool body, the probe piston having a hollow interior providing fluid communication between the formation and measurement instrumentation when the probe piston is in the deployed position; and
wherein the actuating mechanism includes a hydraulic system to move the probe piston into the deployed position.

4. The tool assembly of claim 1 , wherein the seal is movable on the stabilizer in the deployed position, between:
a disengaged position; and
an engaged position in which the seal sealingly engages the borehole wall.

5. The tool assembly of claim 4 , wherein an end face of the stabilizer defines the contact surface.

6. The tool assembly of claim 5 , wherein the contact surface of the stabilizer has an arcuate form oriented to generally correspond to the borehole wall.

7. The tool assembly of claim 6 , wherein the seal is substantially annular and in the disengaged position defines a radial sealing surface having an arcuate form oriented to generally correspond to curvature of the borehole wall.

8. The tool assembly of claim 4 , further comprising a seal actuating mechanism to move the seal relative to the stabilizer from the disengaged position to the engaged position, and to bias the seal against the borehole wall while the seal is in the engaged position.

9. The tool assembly of claim 8 , wherein the seal is carried by a seal piston movably mounted on the stabilizer, and wherein the seal actuating mechanism includes a hydraulic system to move the seal piston relative to the stabilizer towards the borehole wall.

10. The tool assembly of claim 9 , wherein the seal piston is annular and is received in a complementary annular piston chamber in a radial end face of the stabilizer.

11. The tool assembly of claim 10 , wherein the piston chamber contains hydraulic fluid.

12. The tool assembly of claim 10 , wherein the contact surface of the stabilizer is defined by a pair of annular surfaces forming part of the radial end face of the stabilizer and flanking the piston chamber.

13. The tool assembly of claim 9 , wherein the seal actuating mechanism includes a return mechanism to retract the seal piston from the engaged position responsive to a hydraulic actuating pressure of the seal displacement mechanism falling below a threshold.

14. The tool assembly of claim 9 , wherein the seal in the disengaged position is wholly retracted within the stabilizer, so that the contact surface of the stabilizer is located radially beyond the seal.

15. The tool assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a seal actuating mechanism to move the seal relative to the stabilizer from a disengaged position to an engaged position in which the seal sealingly engages the borehole wall.

16. A method comprising:
locating a formation tester tool having tool body in a borehole defined by a borehole wall;
moving a stabilizer mounted on the tool body for transverse movement between a retracted position and a deployed position in which a contact surface of the stabilizer forcibly engages the borehole wall, to stabilize the tool body within the borehole;
in response to a contact surface of the stabilizer forcibly engaging the borehole wall, causing an active seal carried by the stabilizer to sealingly engage the borehole wall at a sealing surface spaced from the contact surface of the stabilizer, thereby to define a sealed isolation zone isolated from borehole fluids; and
testing one or more formation properties by exposing a testing mechanism forming part of the tool to the isolation zone.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the contact surface of the stabilizer has an arcuate form to generally correspond to the borehole wall, such that engagement of the stabilizer with the borehole wall in the deployed position results in substantially all of the contact surface contacting the borehole wall.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the active seal is generally annular, and wherein the causing the active seal to sealingly engage the borehole wall comprises hydraulically actuating movement of the active seal via a generally annular piston chamber defined by the stabilizer and in which the active seal is movably located.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein causing the active seal to engage the borehole wall comprises moving the active seal radially from a disengaged position in which the active seal is clear of the borehole wall into sealing engagement with the borehole wall.

20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising moving, by a seal actuating mechanism, the active seal relative to the stabilizer between a disengaged position and an engaged position in which the active seal sealingly engages the borehole wall.

21. A system comprising:
a well tool assembly receivable within a borehole defined by a borehole wall; and
a formation tester tool incorporated in the well tool assembly, the formation tester tool comprising:
a tool body defining a tool axis;
a stabilizer mounted on the tool body, the stabilizer displaceable transversely to the tool axis;
an actuating mechanism coupled to the stabilizer and configured to move the stabilizer between a retracted position in which the stabilizer is spaced from the borehole wall, and a deployed position in which the stabilizer engages the borehole wall at a first location;
a seal mounted on the stabilizer and configured to sealingly engage the borehole wall at a second location in response to the stabilizer engaging the borehole wall at the first location, to define a sealed isolation zone isolated from borehole fluids, wherein the second location is spaced from the first location; and
a testing mechanism configured for testing one or more formation properties in the isolation zone.

22. The system of claim 21 , wherein the well tool assembly is coupled in a drill string.

23. The system of claim 21 , further comprising a seal actuating mechanism to move the seal relative to the stabilizer from a disengaged position to an engaged position in which the seal sealingly engages the borehole wall.

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Sui Ping
• Liu Nanjun
• Gupta Varun
• Kuo Yu-Hsing Charles

Classifications

• E21B49/10 Primary

  using side-wall fluid samplers or testers · CPC title

• E21B17/1014 Primary

  Flexible or expansible centering means, e.g. with pistons pressing against the wall of the well (E21B17/1042 takes precedence) · CPC title