US-12624606-B2 - High force stroker tool

Abstract

A high force stroker tool for integration within a wellbore string disposed along a wellbore defined within a subterranean reservoir is provided. The stroker tool includes a hydraulic anchor hydraulically operable to deploy slips securable to the wellbore and to define a mechanical brace, a shifting tool operatively coupled to the hydraulic anchor and comprising a mechanical anchor securable to a movable component, the shifting tool being mechanically operable to move the movable component; and an actuator coupled between the hydraulic anchor and the shifting tool, the actuator being hydraulically operable to brace against the mechanical brace and create a downhole mechanical force adapted to mechanically operate the shifting tool. A method of shifting downhole valve assemblies using the high force stroker tool is also provided.

Inventors

• Michael Werries
• Jonathan RAASCH
• Juan Montero
• Brock GILLIS

Assignees

• NCS MULTISTAGE INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20210916

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A bottomhole assembly for use in actuating a valve assembly disposed along a wellbore defined within a subterranean reservoir, comprising: an anchoring tool comprising: a tubular housing comprising a top sub, a bottom sub and an outer wall extending between the top and bottom subs, the outer wall being provided with one or more openings; a central mandrel secured between the top and bottom subs and positioned within the outer wall to define an annular region therebetween, the central mandrel defining a fluid passage therethrough and is adapted to establish fluid communication between the top and bottom subs; an anchor assembly, comprising: an anchor carrier slidably mounted within the annular region; and an anchor pivotally connected to the anchor carrier and being operable between a disconnected position where the anchor is at least partially within the annular region, and a connected position after pivoting outwardly through the opening of the outer wall to engage internal surfaces of a wellbore casing and secure the anchor assembly relative to the wellbore; and a piston assembly, comprising: a piston body slidably mounted within the annular region, the piston body defining a piston chamber in fluid communication with the fluid passage, the piston body being actuatable via fluid pressure to slide uphole within the annular region; and a piston head coupled to the piston body and being adapted to slide in an uphole direction upon actuation of the piston body to engage and operate the anchor from the disconnected position in the connected position, the anchoring tool being operable between an unset configuration in which the anchor is in the disconnected position, a pre-set configuration in which the anchor is in the connected position, and a set configuration in which the anchor is in the connected position and the bottom sub abuts the piston body such that the anchor assembly, the piston assembly and the housing define a mechanical brace for transmission of a downhole mechanical force to the valve assembly.
2. 2 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a downhole chamber is defined when the piston assembly is actuated uphole to engage the piston head with the anchor, the downhole chamber being in fluid communication with the fluid passage.
3. 3 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 2 , wherein the bottom sub is displaced into the downhole chamber to abut the piston body and define the mechanical brace.
4. 4 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the piston assembly is operable at an anchoring fluid pressure adapted to displace the piston body and piston head in the uphole direction to engage the anchor.
5. 5 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the piston body comprises at least one guiding stud, and wherein the central mandrel comprises at least one guiding channel, the guiding stud being adapted to engage the guiding channel to block rotational movement of the piston assembly about the central mandrel and axially guide the piston assembly along the central mandrel.
6. 6 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a shifting tool connectable to the valve assembly, and an actuator operatively coupled between the anchoring tool and the shifting tool, the actuator being adapted to cooperate with the mechanical brace to increase the downhole mechanical force to actuate the shifting tool to shift the valve assembly between various configurations.
7. 7 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the actuator is a linear actuator and comprises an inner portion coupled to the anchoring tool and adapted to cooperate with the mechanical brace, and an outer portion slidably mounted to the inner portion, wherein the actuator is operable to displace the outer portion to apply the downhole mechanical force on the shifting tool.
8. 8 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 7 , wherein the inner portion comprises an actuator sub coupled to the anchoring tool, and an actuator mandrel connected to and extending from the actuator sub, and wherein the outer portion comprises an actuator housing slidably mounted to the actuator mandrel and defining an actuator annular region therebetween.
9. 9 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the actuator comprises an actuator piston assembly provided in the actuator annular region and in fluid communication with the fluid passage, the actuator piston assembly being operable via fluid pressure at a shifting fluid pressure to displace the outer portion downhole.
10. 10 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 9 , wherein the shifting fluid pressure is between about 6,000 psi and 10,000 psi, and wherein the anchoring fluid pressure is less than the shifting fluid pressure.
11. 11 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 9 , wherein the actuator piston assembly is operable at a setting fluid pressure provided between the anchoring fluid pressure and the shifting fluid pressure and being adapted to apply hydraulic pressure on the housing of the anchoring tool to push the bottom sub against the piston body, thereby operating the anchoring tool from the pre-set configuration to the set configuration.
12. 12 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a flow limiter coupled between and in fluid communication with the anchoring tool and the actuator, the flow limiter being operable between an unrestricted configuration where fluid flowrate remains substantially the same through the flow limiter, and a flow-restricting configuration where fluid flowrate is reduced through the flow limiter.
13. 13 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 12 , wherein the flow limiter is hydraulically operable between the unrestricted and the flow-restricting configurations.
14. 14 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 12 , wherein the flow limiter comprises a limiter housing and a limiter mandrel extending through the limiter housing, and wherein the limiter housing is slidably mounted to the limiter mandrel.
15. 15 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 14 , wherein: the limiter housing defines a fluid chamber having inner walls spaced from the limiter mandrel, the flow limiter further comprises a limiter nozzle positioned along the limiter mandrel within the fluid chamber, the limiter nozzle being provided with a nozzle opening adapted to restrict fluid flow therethrough, the limiter mandrel comprises fluid channels extending through a thickness of the limiter mandrel for establishing fluid communication between the limiter mandrel and the fluid chamber, and the fluid channels comprise upstream fluid channels provided upstream of the limiter nozzle and downstream fluid channels provided downstream of the limiter nozzle.
16. 16 . The bottomhole assembly according to claim 15 , wherein: when in the unrestricted configuration, each one of the fluid channels is in fluid communication with the fluid chamber such that fluid flowing through the limiter mandrel is adapted to flow around the limiter nozzle via the fluid channels and fluid chamber, and when in the flow-restricting configuration, the limiter housing is adapted to slide relative to the limiter nozzle to occlude one of the downstream and upstream fluid channels, thereby restricting fluid flow through the nozzle opening of the limiter nozzle.
17. 17 . A method of shifting a valve sleeve of a valve assembly provided along a wellbore string disposed within a wellbore defined within a subterranean reservoir using a stroker tool, comprising: injecting fluid down the wellbore string to increase a fluid pressure within a hydraulic anchor of the stroker tool to an anchoring pressure adapted to have a piston assembly of the hydraulic anchor engage and secure an anchor assembly of the hydraulic anchor to a wellbore casing; increasing the fluid pressure to a setting pressure adapted to engage a housing of the hydraulic anchor with the piston assembly to set the hydraulic anchor, with the housing, the piston assembly and the anchor assembly defining a mechanical brace with the wellbore; and increasing the fluid pressure to a shifting pressure adapted to operate an actuator of a bottomhole assembly, the actuator being adapted to brace on the mechanical brace for creating a downhole mechanical force for actuating a shifting tool connected to the valve sleeve.
18. 18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the valve sleeve is secured along the wellbore via shear connectors, and wherein the downhole mechanical force is adapted to break the shear connectors.
19. 19 . A high force stroker tool for integration within a wellbore string disposed along a wellbore defined within a subterranean reservoir, comprising: a hydraulic anchor hydraulically operable to deploy slips securable to the wellbore and to define a mechanical brace; a shifting tool operatively coupled to the hydraulic anchor and comprising a mechanical anchor securable to a movable component, the shifting tool being mechanically operable to move the movable component; and an actuator coupled between the hydraulic anchor and the shifting tool, the actuator being hydraulically operable to brace against the mechanical brace and create a downhole mechanical force adapted to mechanically operate the shifting tool.
20. 20 . The high force stroker tool of claim 19 , further comprising a pressure switch operable to restrict a flowrate of fluid into the actuator.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. 371 and claims the benefit of PCT Application No. PCT/CA2021/051296 having an international filing date of Sep. 16, 2021 which designated the United States, and which PCT application claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/202,267 filed Jun. 3, 2021, the contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to technologies for subterranean operations and, more particularly, to bottomhole assemblies, systems and methods that can be used in wellbore sections within subterranean formations, for example to shift sleeves. BACKGROUND Downhole operations for shifting components along a wellbore often require specific tools, such as shifting tools, for the application of a force of the component in question. For example, valve assemblies provided with sliding valve sleeves are shifted open using a shifting tool secured thereto, and by pumping fluids down the wellbore. The hydraulic pressure applied on the shifting tool creates the required force for shifting the valve sleeve open. Known shifting tools require a section of the wellbore to be generally sealed, using packers for example, to increase the hydraulic pressure along that section. In such applications, the hydraulic pressure applied to the shifting tool is regulated by the geometry of the shifting tool and the amount of fluid being pumped downhole from the surface. Hydraulic pressure can be used for shifting valve sleeves installed via interference fit within their valve housing. However, some applications require greater forces which some conventional tools are not configured to generate repeatedly, reliably, or at all. High force applications can be challenging and there is a general need for improvements. SUMMARY According to an aspect, a bottomhole assembly for use in actuating a valve assembly disposed along a wellbore defined within a subterranean reservoir is provided. The bottomhole assembly includes an anchoring tool having a tubular housing comprising a top sub, a bottom sub and an outer wall extending between the top and bottom subs, the outer wall being provided with one or more openings. The anchoring tool also has a central mandrel connected between and securing the top and bottom subs to one another, the central mandrel being positioned within the outer wall to define an annular region therebetween. The central mandrel defines a fluid passage therethrough and is adapted to establish fluid communication between the top and bottom subs. The anchoring tool further includes an anchor assembly which has an anchor carrier slidably mounted within the annular region and an anchor pivotally connected to the anchor carrier. The anchor is operable between a disconnected position where the anchor is within the annular region, and a connected position after pivoting outwardly through the outer wall to engage internal surfaces of a casing and secure the anchor assembly relative to the wellbore. The anchoring tool also includes a piston assembly having a piston body slidably mounted within the annular region. The piston body defines a piston chamber in fluid communication with the fluid passage, the piston body being actuatable via fluid pressure to slide uphole within the annular region. The piston assembly includes a piston head coupled to the piston body and adapted to slide in an uphole direction upon actuation of the piston body to engage and operate the anchor from the disconnected position in the connected position. The bottomhole assembly also has an actuator having an inner portion coupled to the anchoring tool and comprising an actuator mandrel and an outer portion slidably mounted to the actuator mandrel and having an actuator piston assembly operable via fluid pressure to displace the outer portion downhole to generate a downhole mechanical force. The bottomhole assembly further includes a shifting tool having a shifting tool mandrel operatively connected to the actuator and a mechanical anchor connected to the shifting tool mandrel and operable to be secured to the valve assembly. The anchoring tool is operable between an unset configuration in which the anchor is in the disconnected position, a pre-set configuration in which the anchor is in the connected position, and a set configuration in which the anchor is in the connected position and the bottom sub abuts the piston body such that the anchor assembly, the piston assembly and the housing define a mechanical brace for transmission of the downhole mechanical force to the valve assembly via the shifting tool. According to another aspect, a bottomhole assembly for use in actuating a valve assembly disposed along a wellbore defined within a subterranean reservoir is provided. The bottomhole assembly includes an anchoring tool having a tubular housing comprising a top sub, a bottom sub and an oute