System and method for wireline tool pump-down operations

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9657540-B2
Application number	US-201214413320-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2012
Priority date	Jul 16, 2012
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A system for pump down operations in a wellbore includes a tool string disposed in a wellbore, the tool string including a cable head having an upper end coupled to an electric wireline cable, a downhole tool coupled to the cable head, the downhole tool selected from the group consisting of perforating tools and downhole logging tools. In this embodiment, the system further includes a downhole tension sensor located proximal to the upper end of the cable head, the sensor adapted to obtain downhole wireline tension data and transmit the downhole wireline tension data via the electric wireline cable, a fluid pump with a fluid output operatively connected to the wellbore above the tool string, and a controller adapted to selectively adjust a pump fluid output rate of the fluid pump during pump down operations based on the downhole wireline tension data received from the downhole tension sensor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for pump down operations in a wellbore, comprising:
(a) a tool string disposed in the wellbore, said tool string comprising:
a cable head having an upper end coupled to an electric wireline cable;
a downhole tool coupled to the cable head, the downhole tool selected from a group consisting of perforating tools and downhole logging tools; and
a downhole tension sensor located in the tool string, said sensor adapted to obtain downhole wireline tension data and transmit the downhole wireline tension data via the electric wireline cable;

(b) a fluid pump with a fluid output operatively connected to the wellbore above the tool string; and
(c) a controller adapted to selectively adjust a pump fluid output rate of the fluid pump during pump down operations based on the downhole wireline tension data received from the downhole tension sensor.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a wireline speed sensor in communication with the controller, wherein the controller is adapted to selectively adjust the pump fluid output rate during pump down operations based on wireline speed data received from the wireline speed sensor.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the wireline speed sensor is an accelerometer located in the tool string and wherein the wireline speed sensor transmits downhole wireline speed data to at least one controller located at a surface.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the wireline speed sensor is located in the tool string and wherein the wireline speed sensor transmits a downhole wireline speed data to at least one controller located at a surface.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the wireline speed sensor comprises a casing collar locator disposed in the tool string and another controller operable to calculate the speed at which the casing collar locator is passing between known casing collars spaced apart at previously known distances between the known casing collars.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the controller is operable to compare the calculated speed as the casing collar locator passes additional known casing collars and determine when the calculated speed is increasing or decreasing.

7. A system for pump down operations in a wellbore, comprising:
(a) a tool string disposed in the wellbore, said tool string including:
a cable head having an upper end coupled to an electric wireline cable;
a downhole tool coupled to the cable head, the downhole tool selected from a group consisting of perforating tools and downhole logging tools; and
a downhole wireline speed sensor located in the tool string and in communication with a controller, wherein the controller is adapted to selectively adjust a pump fluid output rate during pump down operations based on downhole wireline speed data received from the downhole wireline speed sensor; and

(b) a fluid pump with a fluid output operatively connected to the wellbore above the tool string.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the downhole wireline speed sensor is an accelerometer located in the tool string and wherein the speed sensor is adapted to calculate the downhole wireline speed and transmit said downhole wireline speed to at least one controller.

9. The system of claim 8 further including a downhole tension sensor located in the tool string, said sensor adapted to obtain downhole wireline tension data and transmit the downhole wireline tension data to a controller located at a surface.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the controller is adapted to adjust the pump rate based on the downhole wireline speed unless the downhole wireline tension data reaches a predetermined wireline tension threshold, after which the controller is adapted to automatically reduce a speed of the wireline at the surface.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is adapted to selectively adjust the pump fluid output rate during pump down operations based on downhole wireline tension data received from the downhole tension sensor.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the controller is adapted to selectively adjust the wireline speed during pump down operations based on downhole wireline tension data received from the downhole tension sensor.

13. The system of claim 7 wherein the downhole wireline speed sensor comprises a casing collar locator disposed in the tool string and another controller operable to calculate the speed at which the casing collar locator is passing between known casing collars spaced apart at previously known distances between the known casing collars.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the controller is operable to compare the calculated speed as the casing collar locator passes additional known casing collars and determine when the calculated speed is increasing or decreasing.

15. The system of any of claim 14 wherein the controller is operable to send a signal to adjust either a wireline speed at a surface or the pump fluid output based on the downhole wireline speed.

16. The system of claim 7 wherein the controller comprises a wireline controller that is part of the tool string and a pump controller located at a surface.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the wireline controller is adapted to notify the pump controller that a monitored downhole wireline speed is less than a predetermined threshold and the pump controller is adapted to increase the pump fluid output rate in response to said notification.

18. The system of any of claim 16 wherein the wireline controller is adapted to notify the pump controller that a monitored wireline tension is more than a predetermined threshold and the pump controller is adapted to decrease the pump fluid output rate of in response to said notification.

19. A method for pumping a tool string connected to an electric wireline into a wellbore, comprising:
(a) inserting a logging tool string into a proximal upper end of the wellbore, said logging tool string comprising:
a cable head attached to an electric wireline cable,
a downhole tension sensor located in the tool string, said sensor adapted to obtain downhole wireline tension data and transmit the downhole wireline tension data via the electric wireline cable; and
a downhole wireline speed sensor located in the tool string;

(b) pumping a fluid into the wellbore above the tool string to assist, via fluid pressure on the tool string, movement of the tool string down the wellbore;
(c) spooling out the cable at a surface as the fluid is pumped behind the tool string and the tool string is moving down the wellbore;
(d) receiving by at least one controller downhole wireline tension data from the downhole tension sensor via the electric wireline cable; and
(e) receiving by the at least one controller downhole wireline speed data from the downhole wireline speed sensor via the electric wireline cable.

20. The method of claim 19 further including determining when the logging tool string speed is increasing or decreasing.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising receiving downhole sensor data and determining the wireline speed and the wireline tension from the sensor data.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising increasing a pump rate in response to a reduction in the determined wireline speed.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising changing the pump rate in accordance with a difference between the determined wireline speed and a predetermined threshold.

24. The method of claim 21 further comprising changing the w

Assignees

• Coles Randolph S
• Ashar Dipesh P
• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Coles Randolph S
• Ashar Dipesh P

Classifications

• E21B47/007

  Measuring stresses in a pipe string or casing (for locating blocked portions of pipes E21B47/09) · CPC title

• E21B45/00 Primary

  Measuring the drilling time or rate of penetration · CPC title

• E21B21/08 Primary

  Controlling or monitoring pressure or flow of drilling fluid, e.g. automatic filling of boreholes, automatic control of bottom pressure (valve arrangements therefor E21B21/10) · CPC title

• E21B47/0006

  Fixed Constructions · mapped topic

• E21B47/122

  Fixed Constructions · mapped topic