A method for completing and increasing the production rate from a cased well which may produce solids through perforations during production is provided. A gravel pack screen is placed in the well along with equipment in the tubing string to control flow from inside to outside the tubing below a production packer. The rig used to place the equipment may then be released from the well. The well is then hydraulically fractured. If the well is producing from a high permeability zone, the hydraulic fracture is preferably formed with the tip screen-out technique. The method can also be used in a well already containing production tubing without moving a rig on the well to remove the tubing from the well and can be used in a well not yet perforated by adding tubing-conveyed perforating apparatus below the screen.
A process and assembly for completing and providing sand control in a subterranean well and/or fracturing and preventing proppant flowback in a subterranean formation in a single trip. One or more perforating gun assemblies are juxtaposed and secured to one or more screen assemblies. Once positioned in a well adjacent a subterranean formation of interest, the explosive charges in each perforating gun assembly are detonated so as to penetrate the well and formation thereby initiating fracturing. The penetrations and the annulus defined between the well and screen assembly are then packed with gravel. Well fluid may be pressurized to in excess of the formation pressure prior to detonation of the explosive charges so as to enhance formation fracturing.
A wellbore (10) in an earth formation (12) having a casing (14) and a plurality of pay or production zones (32, 34, 36) provided in the formation. A coiled tubing string (18) from a reel (20) is injected by an injector (24) into the wellbore (10) for first perforating casing section (38) at each pay zone (32, 34, 36) in a single pass of the coiled tubing (18) as shown in FIG. 1. Next, the coiled tubing (18) is utilized for hydraulic fracturing each of the pay zones (32, 34, 36) individually from the lowermost pay zone (32) to the uppermost pay zone (36) in a single pass of the coiled tubing (18). Each pay zone (32, 34, 36) is isolated for the hydraulic fracturing. An upper packer (44 or 54) is provided above each of the pay zones for isolation and a lower packer (56) or sand plug (50) is utilized for isolating the lower or outermost end of each pay zone (32, 34, 36). Swab cups (58, 54A, 56A, 54B, 56B) are also utilized for isolation of pay zones.
After installing an inventive tool attached to production tubing in a well, the well can be gravel packed without the use of a well intervention unit. The tool isolates a productive interval and diverts tubing-conveyed sand slurry towards an annular location by means of a port and an openable passageway restrictor. The entraining fluid component of the diverted sand slurry in the annular location is allowed to re-enter the production tubing through a first screen while the separated sand drops to the annular location to be packed in an axial direction. Rupture of a plug then allows the separated sand to be packed in an axial direction.
In stimulation treatments to increase the production of hydrocarbons from subterranean formations, especially in treatments including hydraulic fracturing followed by gravel packing, desirable short wide fractures are created and filled with proppant by deliberately including in the first fluid/proppant slurry pumped a sufficiently high concentration of a bridging-promoting material, such as fibers, that reduces the mobility of the slurry when it dewaters so that screenout at or near the tip occurs.
A bottom hole assembly for use with fracturing or fracing a wellbore using coiled tubing is described having a first packing element and a second packing on a mandrel. The bottom hole assembly may be run into the wellbore such that the packing elements straddle the zone to be fraced. Also described is a timing mechanism to prevent the closing of dump ports before the bottom hole assembly may be flushed of the sand. A release tool is described that allows an operator to apply force to the coiled tubing to dislodge a bottom hole assembly without completely releasing the bottom hole assembly. Also disclosed is a collar locator capable of being utilized in a fracing process. Methods of using the above described components are also disclosed.
