Repairing a cased wellbore

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11846151-B2
Application number	US-202117196776-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 9, 2021
Priority date	Mar 9, 2021
Publication date	Dec 19, 2023
Grant date	Dec 19, 2023

Abstract

A repairing assembly includes a housing, a packer, and a thermal spray assembly. The housing is attached to a wellbore string disposed within a wellbore with casing. The packer is coupled to the housing. The packer is set on a wall of the wellbore to bound a repair zone defined between the packer and an end of the housing opposite the packer. The housing or the packer includes a fluid channel in fluid communication with the wellbore string or an annulus of the wellbore. The thermal spray assembly is coupled to the housing and sprays a damaged section of the casing with a thermal spray to repair the damaged section. The housing flows an inert gas received from the wellbore string or the annulus of the wellbore and through the fluid channel into the repair zone until an oxygen in the repair zone is substantially removed from the repair zone.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A repairing assembly comprising:
a housing configured to be attached to a wellbore string configured to be disposed within a wellbore comprising a casing, the housing comprising a fluid channel in fluid communication with the wellbore string or an annulus of the wellbore;
a first packer coupled to the housing, the first packer configured to be set on a wall of the wellbore;
a second packer disposed downhole of the first packer and configured to be set on a wall of the casing to bound, with the first packer set on the wall of the casing, a repair zone defined between the first packer and the second packer, the first packer comprising a fluid outlet configured to flow the oxygen out of the repair zone as an inert gas is flown into the repair zone through the fluid channel, substantially removing the oxygen from the repair zone; and
a thermal spray assembly coupled to the housing and residing between the first packer and the second packer, the thermal spray assembly configured to spray, with a thermal spray, a damaged section of the casing in the repair zone absent oxygen to repair the damaged section.

2. The repairing assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor coupled to the housing and communicatively coupled to a processor configured to receive location information from the sensor, the processor configured to determine, based on the location information, a location of the damaged section of the casing.

3. The repairing assembly of claim 2 , further comprising a controller coupled to the thermal spray assembly, the processor configured to transmit thermal spray instructions to the controller and the controller configured to actuate, based on the instructions, the thermal spray assembly.

4. The repairing assembly of claim 2 , wherein the controller is operationally coupled to a fluid pump in fluid communication with the fluid channel of the housing, the controller configured to actuate, based on pump instructions received from the processor, the fluid pump and flow the inert gas into the fluid channel thereby setting the first packer and substantially removing the oxygen from the repair zone.

5. The repairing assembly of claim 4 , wherein the thermal spray assembly comprises an energy source and a powder source disposed at or near a fluid outlet of the fluid channel, the controller configured to actuate the fluid pump, thereby flowing the inert gas with the thermal spray during thermal spraying of the thermal spray assembly.

6. The repairing assembly of claim 5 , wherein the thermal spray assembly is configured to deliver the energy source and a powder source simultaneously.

7. The repairing assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a second packer disposed downhole of the first packer, the repair zone defined between the first packer and the second packer, the fluid channel residing at the housing, the fluid channel arranged to direct the inert gas to an internal surface of the first packer, an internal surface of the second packer, and to the repair zone, the repairing assembly further compressing a first valve disposed at the internal surface of the first packer, a second valve disposed at the internal surface of the second packer, and a third valve disposed at a fluid outlet of the fluid channel, wherein the first, second, and third valves are operationally coupled to the controller and the controller configured to control the valves, thereby regulating a flow of inert gas along the fluid channel and selectively setting the first packer, the second packer, and injecting fluid into the repair zone.

8. The repairing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second packer is configured to be pushed, by a fluid injected into the repair zone through the first packer, downhole away from the first packer, expanding the repair zone.

9. The repairing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the thermal spray assembly is configured to move, with the first packer and second packer set, with respect to the first packer and second packer.

10. The repairing assembly of claim 9 , wherein the thermal spray assembly is configured to rotate without unsetting the first packer and second packer.

11. The repairing assembly of claim 9 , wherein the thermal spray assembly is configured to cover a length of the casing that is 12 inches or less, and 120° or less of the casing.

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Zhan Guodong
• Xu Jianhui
• Al-Johar Abdulwahab
• Li Bodong
• Moellendick Timothy E

Classifications

• E21B29/02 Primary

  by explosives or by thermal or chemical means {(freeing stuck objects by explosives E21B31/002)} · CPC title

• E21B21/14

  using liquids and gases, e.g. foams · CPC title

• E21B33/124

  Units with longitudinally-spaced plugs for isolating the intermediate space · CPC title

• E21B29/10 Primary

  Reconditioning of well casings, e.g. straightening · CPC title

• C23C4/12

  characterised by the method of spraying · CPC title