Fluid pressure-activated valve assembly with flow restriction and systems and methods for in situ operations

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12410679-B2
Application number	US-202118249101-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 13, 2021
Priority date	Oct 16, 2020
Publication date	Sep 9, 2025
Grant date	Sep 9, 2025

Abstract

A well completion system for producing fluids from a wellbore provided in a subterranean reservoir is provided. The well completion system includes tubing segments connectable to one another along the wellbore. The tubing segments include injection segments provided along the wellbore in spaced-apart relation to each other, each injection segment has an injection valve toollessly operable between a closed configuration preventing fluid flow into the reservoir, and an open configuration allowing fluid flow into the reservoir. The tubing segments also include production segments provided along the wellbore in a staggered relation with respect to the injection segments and configured to allow fluids received from the reservoir to be produced from the reservoir. The tubing segments each are configured to include injection fluid passages and production fluid passages isolated from one another along the wellbore to enable synchronously injecting and producing fluids to and from the reservoir at respective fractured locations.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A well completion system for producing fluids from a reservoir via a wellbore provided in the reservoir, comprising:
a tubing string extending along the wellbore and comprising:
an injection segment comprising:
an injection valve including an injection valve housing defining an injection fluid passage allowing injection fluid to flow through the housing, and an injection port for establishing fluid communication with the surrounding reservoir to enable injection of injection fluid within the reservoir, the injection valve comprising:
a flow restriction component configured to restrict fluid flow between the injection fluid passage and the injection port; and
a breakable barrier installed within the injection port, the breakable barrier being fluid-activated to operate the injection valve between a closed configuration where the breakable barrier occludes the injection port for preventing fluid flow into the reservoir, and an open configuration where the breakable barrier is at least partially removed from within the injection port for allowing fluid flow into the reservoir;

a production segment comprising:
a tubular housing defining a production fluid passage therethrough allowing production fluid to flow through the housing, and having a production port for establishing fluid communication between the production fluid passage and the surrounding reservoir to enable flow of production fluid from the reservoir into the production fluid passage, the tubular housing further including injection fluid passageways allowing injection fluid to flow through the production segment;

one or more injection conduits coupled to the injection and production segments, and being adapted to allow injection fluid to flow along the wellbore through at least one injection or production segment, each injection conduit being in fluid communication with the injection fluid passage;
one or more production conduits coupled to the injection and production segments, and being adapted to allow production fluid to flow along the wellbore through at least one injection or production segment, each production conduit being in fluid communication with the production fluid passage; and
a connection segment comprising:
an injection coupling adapted to connect the injection conduit to one of another injection conduit and the injection valve housing; and
a production coupling engaged with the injection coupling and configured to connect the production conduit to one of another production conduit and the tubular housing of the production segment, the production coupling comprising a conduit stabilizer configured to position the production coupling relative to the injection coupling in order to position the production conduit relative to the injection conduit.

2. The well completion system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more production conduits extend within the one or more injection conduits to define an annulus therebetween, and wherein the injection fluid flows along the wellbore in the annulus.

3. The well completion system of claim 2 , wherein the one or more production conduits are concentric relative to the one or more injection conduits.

4. The well completion system according to claim 2 , wherein the injection coupling comprises an injection coupling tubular housing defining a fluid passage to allow a flow of injection fluid therethrough, and a connection site at each end of the injection coupling tubular housing for connection with the one or more injection conduits, the injection valve housing or a combination thereof.

5. The well completion system according to claim 4 , wherein the production coupling comprises a production coupling tubular housing defining a fluid passage to allow a flow of production fluid therethrough, and a connection site at each end of the production coupling tubular housing for connection with the one or more production conduits, the production segment or a combination thereof.

6. The well completion system according to claim 5 , wherein the production coupling tubular housing is concentrically positioned within the injection coupling tubular housing, and wherein the conduit stabilizer comprises protrusions extending from the production coupling tubular housing towards an inner surface of the injection coupling housing.

7. The well completion system according to claim 6 , wherein the protrusions are spaced apart about the production coupling housing and are adapted to engage an inner surface of the injection coupling housing, and wherein the protrusions are adapted to define an opening between each pair of adjacent protrusions to enable injection fluid to flow therethrough.

8. The well completion system according to claim 2 , wherein the tubular housing of the production segment comprises a plurality of production ports spaced about and extending radially from the production fluid passage.

9. The well completion system according to claim 8 , wherein the injection fluid passageways extend axially through the tubular housing of the production segment between the production ports.

10. The well completion system according to claim 9 , wherein the injection fluid passageways are in fluid communication with the annulus, and wherein the annulus is sealed from the production fluid passage.

11. The well completion system according to claim 1 , further comprising an isolation segment having a longitudinal conduit adapted to be connected to at least one of the injection valve housing, the production segment housing, one of the one or more injection conduits and one of the one ore more production conduits, the isolation segment further comprising an annular sealing element extending radially and outwardly from the longitudinal conduit, the annular sealing element being operable to be in sealing engagement with an inner surface of the wellbore.

12. The well completion system according to claim 11 , wherein the injection segment, the production segment and the isolation segment each include a downhole end shaped and sized to be inserted in and connected to an uphole end of another one of the injection segment, the production segment or the isolation segment positioned downhole thereto along the tubing string.

13. The well completion system according to claim 1 , wherein the injection valve is fluid pressure-activated between the closed and open configurations.

14. The well completion system according to claim 1 , wherein the injection valve comprises a valve sleeve securely connected to an inner surface of the valve housing, and wherein the restriction component comprises a fluid channel defined between an outer surface of the valve sleeve and the inner surface of the valve housing, the fluid channel being configured to restrict fluid flow between the injection fluid passage and the injection port.

15. The well completion system according to claim 1 , wherein two or more of the injection segment, the production segment and the connection segment are adapted to be connected together at surface to form tubing subassemblies, and wherein the tubing subassemblies are adapted to be connected to one another in an end-to-end manner and run downhole.

16. A method for recovering fluids via a well provided in a subterranean reservoir using the well completion system as defined in claim 1 , the method comprising:
injecting an injection fluid down the tubing string and through a plurality of the injection segments into the reservoir to displace fluids from a first region of the reservoir to a second region of the reservoir; and
producing a production fluid from the second region of the reservoir

Assignees

• Ncs Multistage Inc

Inventors

• Werries Michael
• Powell Jesse
• Redecopp Ryan
• Montero Juan

Classifications

• E21B43/26

  by forming crevices or fractures · CPC title

• E21B43/16

  Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons · CPC title

• E21B33/12

  Packers; Plugs (used for cementing E21B33/134, E21B33/16) · CPC title

• E21B43/162

  Injecting fluid from longitudinally spaced locations in injection well · CPC title

• E21B34/10

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