Universal drilling and completion system
Methods and apparatus are described to drill and complete wellbores. Such wellbores include extended reach horizontal wellbores, for example in shales, deep subsea extended reach wellbores, and multilateral wellbores. Specifically, the invention provides simple threaded subassemblies that are added to existing threaded tubular drilling and completion equipment which are used to dramatically increase the lateral reach using that existing on-site equipment. These subassemblies extract power from downward flowing clean mud, or other fluids, in an annulus to provide additional force or torque on tubular elements within the wellbore, while maintaining circulation, to extend the lateral reach of the drilling equipment and completion equipment. These added elements include combinations of The Leaky Seal™, a Cross-Over, The Force Sub™ and The Torque Sub™. The use of such additional simple elements allow lighter drilling equipment to be used to reach a given lateral distance, therefore reducing drilling costs.
1. A method to rotary drill a wellbore, comprising:
providing a wellbore with a casing, the casing having an interior surface;
providing a rotating tubular element at least a portion of which is disposed within the casing of the wellbore, the rotating tubular element having a distal end;
providing a drill bit at the distal end of the rotating tubular element;
providing a first annular hydraulic seal having an inner surface rigidly mounted on the exterior of the rotating tubular element and an outer surface which makes a rotating and sliding hydraulic seal with the interior of the casing, the seal having a passageway located between the inner and outer surfaces; and
supplying clean mud to the drill bit, wherein the mud passes through the passageway in the hydraulic seal prior to arriving at the drill bit, wherein the passageway causes a pressure drop in the mud at the location of the passageway.
2. The method in claim 1 , wherein said rotating tubular is a portion of a rotating drill string attached to a rotating drill bit.
3. The method in claim 1 , wherein the step of supplying clean mud to the drill bit includes controlling a mud pump with a computer using a closed-loop feedback control system.
4. The method in claim 3 , wherein the closed-loop feedback control system is used to control the pressure at the rock face within an acceptable pressure range.
5. The method in claim 4 , wherein a constant pressure is maintained at the rock face during drilling operations.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the passageway is a cylindrical opening.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a second passageway located between the inner and outer surfaces.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
providing a second annular hydraulic seal having an inner surface rigidly mounted on the exterior of the rotating tubular element and an outer surface which makes a rotating and sliding hydraulic seal with the interior of the casing, the seal having a passageway located between the inner and outer surfaces, and wherein the second passageway is in series with the first passageway; and
supplying clean mud to the drill bit, wherein the mud passes through the second passageway in the hydraulic seal prior to arriving at the drill bit, wherein the passageway causes a pressure drop in the mud at the location of the second passageway.
9. A method to rotary drill a wellbore, comprising:
providing a wellbore with a casing, the casing having an interior surface;
providing a rotating tubular element at least a portion of which is disposed within the casing of the wellbore, the rotating tubular element having a distal end;
providing a drill bit at the distal end of the rotating tubular element;
providing a first annular hydraulic seal having an inner surface rigidly mounted on the exterior of the rotating tubular element, and a first passageway through the seal, the first passageway located radially exterior of the rigidly mounted inner surface; and
supplying clean mud to the drill bit, wherein the mud passes through the first passageway in the first hydraulic seal prior to arriving at the drill bit, wherein the first passageway causes a pressure drop in the mud at the location of the first passageway.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of providing the first hydraulic seal further comprises providing the seal with an outer surface that makes a rotating and sliding seal with the interior of the casing; and wherein the first passageway is located between the inner and outer surfaces of the first hydraulic seal.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein said rotating tubular is a portion of a rotating drill string attached to a rotating drill bit.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of supplying clean mud to the drill bit includes controlling a mud pump with a computer using a closed-loop feedback control system.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the closed-loop feedback control system is used to control the pressure at the rock face within an acceptable pressure range.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein a constant pressure is maintained at the rock face during drilling operations.
15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first passageway is a cylindrical opening.
16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of providing the first hydraulic seal further comprises providing the first seal with an outer surface which makes a rotating and sliding hydraulic seal with the interior of the casing; and wherein the first passageway is located between the inner and outer surfaces of the first seal.
17. The method of claim 9 , further comprising
providing a second hydraulic seal having an inner surface rigidly mounted on the exterior of the rotating tubular element and an outer surface which makes a rotating and sliding hydraulic seal with the interior of the casing, the second seal having a second passageway located between the inner and outer surfaces of the second seal, and wherein the second passageway is in series with the first passageway; and
supplying clean mud to the drill bit, wherein the mud passes through the second passageway in the second seal prior to arriving at the drill bit, wherein the second passageway causes a pressure drop in the mud at the location of the second passageway.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
providing a third hydraulic seal having an inner surface rigidly mounted on the exterior of the rotating tubular element and an outer surface which makes a rotating and sliding hydraulic seal with the interior of the casing, the third seal having a third passageway located between the inner and outer surfaces of the third seal, and wherein the third passageway is in series with the first and second passageways; and
supplying clean mud to the drill bit, wherein the mud passes through the third passageway in the third seal prior to arriving at the drill bit, wherein the third passageway causes a pressure drop in the mud at the location of the third passageway.
19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising a fourth passageway located between the inner and outer surfaces of the first seal.