High efficiency radiation-induced triggering for set-on-command compositions and methods of use

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9546533-B2
Application number	US-201314139112-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 23, 2013
Priority date	Jan 29, 2013
Publication date	Jan 17, 2017
Grant date	Jan 17, 2017

Abstract

Systems and methods that utilize bremsstrahlung radiation may be used to facilitate the setting of a settable composition. For example, a method may include providing a settable composition in a portion of a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation, a portion of the subterranean formation, or both; conveying an electron accelerator tool along the wellbore proximal to the settable composition; producing an electron beam in the electron accelerator tool with a trajectory that impinges a converter material, thereby converting the electron beam to bremsstrahlung photons; and irradiating the settable composition with the bremsstrahlung photons.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
providing a settable composition in a portion of a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation, a portion of the subterranean formation, or both;
conveying an electron accelerator tool along the wellbore proximal to the settable composition;
producing an electron beam in the electron accelerator tool with a trajectory that impinges a converter material, thereby converting the electron beam to bremsstrahlung photons,
wherein the converter material comprises at least one of: tungsten, rhenium, osmium, platinum, thorium, uranium, neptunium, lead, mercury, thallium, gold, iridium, iron, aluminum, tin, and any combination thereof; and

irradiating the settable composition with the bremsstrahlung photons.

2. The method of claim 1 that further comprises:
manipulating the trajectory of the electron beam with a rastoring device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electron beam is continuous.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electron beam is pulsed.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electron beam comprises electrons having an energy of about 0.5 MeV to about 50 MeV.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electron beam has an average current of about 10 microamps to about 10 milliamps.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the converter material is a target contained within the electron accelerator tool.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the converter material is a portion of a housing of the electron accelerator tool.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the converter material has a thickness of about 1 mm to about 1 cm.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the converter material is a portion of a casing disposed in the wellbore, and wherein the settable composition is disposed within an annulus of the casing and the wellbore.

11. A method comprising:
providing a settable hydraulic cement composition in a portion of a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation, a portion of the subterranean formation, or both;
conveying an electron accelerator tool along the wellbore proximal to the settable hydraulic cement composition;
producing a pulsed electron beam in the electron accelerator tool with a trajectory that impinges a converter material, thereby converting the pulsed electron beam to bremsstrahlung photons, wherein the pulsed electron beam has an average current of about 10 microamps to about 10 milliamps; and
irradiating the settable hydraulic cement composition with the bremsstrahlung photons.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pulsed electron beam comprises electrons having an energy of about 0.5 MeV to about 50 MeV.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pulsed electron beam has an average current of about 10 microamps to about 10 milliamps.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the converter material comprises at least one of: tungsten, tantalum, rhenium, osmium, platinum, thorium, uranium, neptunium, lead, mercury, thallium, gold, iridium, iron, aluminum, tin, and any combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the converter material is a target contained within the electron accelerator tool.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the converter material is a portion of a housing of the electron accelerator tool.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the converter material has a thickness of about 1 mm to about 1 cm.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the converter material is a portion of a casing disposed in the wellbore, and wherein the settable composition is disposed within an annulus of the casing and the wellbore.

19. A method comprising:
providing a settable composition in a portion of a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation, a portion of the subterranean formation, or both;
conveying an electron accelerator tool along the wellbore proximal to the settable composition;
producing an electron beam in the electron accelerator tool with a trajectory that impinges a converter material that is a portion of a housing of the electron accelerator tool, thereby converting the electron beam to bremsstrahlung photons, wherein the electron beam has an average current of about 10 microamps to about 10 milliamps; and
wherein the converter material comprises at least one of: tungsten, rhenium, osmium, platinum, thorium, uranium, neptunium, lead, mercury, thallium, gold, iridium, iron, aluminum, tin, and any combination thereof; and

irradiating the settable composition with the bremsstrahlung photons.

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Baldasaro Nicholas
• Gupta Vijay
• Lewis Samuel J

Classifications

• E21B33/14 Primary

  for cementing casings into boreholes · CPC title

• C09K8/50

  Compositions for plastering borehole walls, i.e. compositions for temporary consolidation of borehole walls (compositions for consolidating loose sand or the like around wells C09K8/56) · CPC title

• C04B2103/0036

  Type H · CPC title

• C04B40/0222

  Irradiation, i.e. gamma -, X -, UV rays · CPC title

• C04B28/02

  containing hydraulic cements other than calcium sulfates · CPC title