Shunt tube system for gravel packing operations

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11377933-B2
Application number	US-201816497734-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 31, 2018
Priority date	Dec 31, 2018
Publication date	Jul 5, 2022
Grant date	Jul 5, 2022

Abstract

A shunt system for a wellbore includes a first set of tubes defining a first plurality of fluid paths and a second set of tubes defining a second plurality of fluid paths. The shunt system also includes a mixing chamber positioned between the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes to allow slurry from the first plurality of fluid paths to mix together prior to outputting the slurry to the second set of tubes. Further, the shunt system is positionable external to one or more sand screens.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A shunt system for a wellbore, the shunt system comprising:
a first set of tubes defining a first plurality of fluid paths;
a second set of tubes defining a second plurality of fluid paths, the second set of tubes comprising:
at least one transport tube to receive a mixed slurry from a mixing chamber; and
at least one packing tube directly coupled to the at least one transport tube to transport the mixed slurry from the at least one transport tube to an annulus between one or more sand screens and a wall of the wellbore; and

the mixing chamber positioned between the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes to allow slurry from the first plurality of fluid paths to mix together prior to outputting the slurry to the second set of tubes,
the shunt system being positionable external to the one or more sand screens.

2. The shunt system of claim 1 , wherein the mixing chamber comprises a first set of jumper tubes attached to the first set of tubes and a second set of jumper tubes attached to the second set of tubes.

3. The shunt system of claim 1 , wherein the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes comprise transport tubes being positionable to transport the slurry through the shunt system.

4. The shunt system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first set of transport tubes and a second set of transport tubes, wherein the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes are jumper tubes mate with the first set of transport tubes and the second set of transport tubes.

5. The shunt system of claim 1 , wherein the first set of tubes comprises:
at least two transport tubes being positionable to transport the slurry to the mixing chamber; and
at least two packing tubes being positionable to transport the slurry to an annulus between the one or more sand screens and a wall of the wellbore.

6. The shunt system of claim 5 , wherein the at least two packing tubes comprise a first cross-section with a first cross-sectional area, and the at least two transport tubes comprise a second cross-section with a second cross-sectional area that is larger than the first cross-sectional area.

7. The shunt system of claim 5 , wherein a first packing tube of the two packing tubes is fluidly coupled to a first transport tube of the two transport tubes, and a second packing tube of the two packing tubes is fluidly coupled to a second transport tube of the two transport tubes.

8. The shunt system of claim 1 , wherein the mixing chamber is positionable external to a joint between two sand screens of the one or more sand screens.

9. A mixing chamber for a shunt system for delivering slurry to sand screens, the mixing chamber comprising:
a first inlet port for a first tube defining a first inlet fluid path;
a second inlet port for a second tube defining a second inlet fluid path;
a first outlet port for a third tube defining a first outlet fluid path;
a second outlet port for a fourth tube defining a second outlet fluid path; and
a housing defining an area in which fluid from the first inlet fluid path and the second inlet fluid path is mixable prior to flowing through the first outlet port or the second outlet port to an annulus between one or more sand screens and a wall of a wellbore via one or more packing tubes directly couplable to a first transport tube or a second transport tube, the first transport tube couplable to the first outlet port for transporting the fluid from the housing to the one or more packing tubes, the second transport tube couplable to the second outlet port for transporting the fluid from the housing to the one or more packing tubes,
wherein the mixing chamber is positionable external to the one or more sand screens.

10. The mixing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the mixing chamber is positionable over a joint between two sand screens of the one or more sand screens.

11. The mixing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the first inlet port and the second inlet port are positionable to receive slurry from a third transport tube and a fourth transport tube, and the first outlet port and the second outlet port are positionable to transmit slurry to the first transport tube and the second transport tube.

12. The mixing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the first tube, the second tube, the third tube, and the fourth tube comprise telescoping jumper tubes that are positionable to extend between the housing and a set of transport tubes.

13. The mixing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the housing comprises an inner surface curvature and an outer surface curvature that are each positionable to maintain a constant shortest distance of an inner surface and an outer surface of the housing to the one or more sand screens.

14. The mixing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the first outlet port and the second outlet port are positioned in relation to the housing such that the first outlet port and the second outlet port receive substantially similar amounts of the slurry from the housing.

15. The mixing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the housing comprises blades or baffles positioned within the area to encourage mixing of the fluid from the first inlet fluid path and the second inlet fluid path.

16. A method comprising:
pumping slurry through separate tubes to a mixing chamber;
allowing the slurry from the separate tubes to mix in the mixing chamber that is external to one or more screens;
outputting mixed slurry to one or more output tubes through outlet ports of the mixing chamber;
receiving the mixed slurry from the mixing chamber by one or more transport tubes, that are coupled to mixing chamber, of the one or more output tubes; and
transporting the mixed slurry by one or more packing tubes of the one or more output tubes to an annulus between the one or more screens and a wall of a wellbore, the one or more packing tubes directly coupled to the one or more transport tubes for transporting the mixed slurry from the mixing chamber to the annulus.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
packing the annulus between the one or more screens and the wall of the wellbore with the mixed slurry.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the separate tubes comprise at least two jumper tubes coupled between the mixing chamber and at least two transport tubes of a shunt system.

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Coffin Maxime Philippe
• Penno Andrew David
• Bourgneuf Patrick Patchi

Classifications

• E21B43/045 Primary

  Crossover tools · CPC title

• E21B43/08

  Screens or liners {(expandable screens or liners E21B43/108)} · CPC title

• E21B43/04 Primary

  Gravelling of wells · CPC title