Society of Petroleum Engineers

SPE 27893 New Packer Design Offers Completion Flexibility in Thermal Completions, ESp, Downhole Monitoring Systems, and Annular Safety Systems: Case Histories
P.M. White, * Henry Restarick, * and J.R. Setterberg Jr., Halliburton Energy Services
SPE Members
Copyright 1994, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc. This paper was prepared for presentation at the Western Regional Meeting held in Long Beach, California, U.S.A., 23-25 March 1994. This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., Telex 163245 SPEUT.

ABSTRACT

The economic climate of the oil and gas industry has continued to decline over the last decade, increasing the need for operators to find newer operational strategies that will enhance efficiency, and subsequently, stimulate economic recovery. Production technology has responded to these needs by continually improving completion technology. This paper will present one of the new technological advances, a variable-bore packer, that supports current oil field needs by providing operators with a new concept in completion configuration flexibility. Several case histories will be included in the paper and will outline applications using the new packer. These case histories involve: An electric submersible pump completion in which one bore was provided for production and one for electric cable penetration. Running dual production strings in a steam injection, enhanced-oil-recovery well.

Use of packer as a single-bore production packer with three monitoring line ports for pressure and temperature surveys. Use of the packer as an annular safety valve packer in the North Sea.

The case history data will verify the operational simplicity, versatility, and reliability of the new packer and how its unique flexibility supports the current needs for greater operational efficiency.
INTRODUCTION

In addition to the global movement to enhance operational efficiency, another worldwide trend has Operators are been developing in the oilfield. focusing on efforts to decrease the number of operating wells while attempting to increase production capabilities of those in operation. Although comparatively new in design, the variablebore packer has been able to support both trends and has been successfully used in several new systems for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), downhole monitoring systems, and surface-controlled subsurface safety systems. The case histories presented will provide
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References and illustrations at end of paper.

New Packer Design Offers Completion Flexibility in Thermal Completions, ESP, Dowhnole Monitoring Systems, and Annular Safety Systems: Case Histories

SPE 27893

examples of production technology in which the variable bore packer-based designs have proven their capability to provide operational and environmental safety with cost-effective methods.

single bores, multiple bores, and feed-through ports are needed. Additional bores can be provided for gas venting, chemical injection, and monitoring lines. In the following case histories, examples of how the packer has been tailored for use in a variety of applications and the methods used for adaptation will be discussed. The results obtained will also be presented.

DESIGN PARAMETERS
Predetermined bore configurations of mandrel-type, conventional multi-bore packers limit the number of applications for which this type packer can be used. In contrast to the conventional multi-bore packer, the mandrel of a variable bore packer provides a solid area that is available for modification at any time, and this allows adaptation for other bores from the initial design (See Figure 1). Adaptation is simple and does not effect the need to modify the basic slip and element systems; therefore, these changes can be incorporated at any time up until, and even during, field usage. This capability reduces the need for costly functional development/testing exercises. In addition, since the variable bore packer incorporates all bores in one solid mandrel, and the setting mechanism is coaxial with the mandrel 00, more efficient transmission of axial setting forces to activate the slips and element are realized. The new packer design provides other advantages that can also enhance completion designs. Since it is shorter than multi-bore packers, it can be easily maneuvered around bends such as those found in horizontal wells (See Figure 2). Feed-through ports can be readily configured for each application to accommodate electric cables for electric submersible pump completions, small conduits for monitoring bottomhole pressure and temperature, chemical injection supply lines, and hydraulic control lines for surface-controlled subsurface safety valves. Designs requiring a large, single bore, such as 4-1/2-inch [11.34 cm] tubing in 7-inch [17.78 cm] casing, or dual, triple, or quad bores with or without control-line feed-through, can also be accommodated. The variable-bore packer is designed to work in low pressure, high hang weight applications in which large

CASE HISTORIES
1. Electric Submersible Pump Completion in Alaska

Electric submersible pump completions have traditionally required packers with at least two bores; one to accommodate production flow from the pump to the surface, and one to allow electrical cable passage to provide electrical power from the surface to the pump (See Figure 3).1 When requested, additional passageways for gas venting valves, injection strings, and hydraulic control lines could be provided - but often, these required expensive modifications to existing designs. The production tubing in traditional completions is normally maximized to allow full pump performance in production, while the bore for the cable is nominal in comparison. When the bores are radically unequal, the dual packer design can suffer in performance either because of bending effects from axial loads imposed on the mandrels by the hydraulic setting pistons as the packer is set, or because the hang weight limit may be dependent upon the strength of the weakest mandrel. Since the variable bore packer design incorporates all bores in one solid mandrel and because the setting mechanism is co-axial with the mandrel 00, no bending effects are generated when setting the packer; and because the upper wedge profile is machined directly into the mandrel, weight applied through the mandrel would be transmitted directly from the tubing to
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Pat M. White, Henry Restarick, and John R. Setterberg, Jr.

the casing through the packer slips with no intermediate weight-bearing components. For the application in this case history, the operator needed a design that: 1. Had the capability to sustain high hang weights, as the packer was to be placed high in the well and would have to sustain the combined weights of the production tubing and the production fluid being lifted to the surface by the pump. 2. The packer also had to be capable of sustaining any pressure from above that might result from tests that are periodically run as well as hydrostatic pressure from the completion fluid in the upper annulus. 3. This completion was to be run in 7-inch [17.78 cm] casing using 2-7/8-inch [7.32 cm] tubing (See Figure 4). After the well had been placed in service, the pump failed, and it was necessary to retrieve the completion for repair. An ice plug that had formed above the packer prevented retrieval; heated fluid was circulated down the tubing to melt the ice plug, and the completion was subsequently retrieved with no problem. The packer was then redressed in less than 2 hours, and the completion was rerun with no problem.
2. Dual Steam Injection Completions in California

inherent in its actual design. At first, unsuitable designs were eliminated, based on the results of actual usage. Later, service companies began to offer products that combined the latest thermal seal technology with simple, cost-effective mechanical designs that were specifically oriented toward the high-temperature enhanced-oil-recovery market. For the application in this case history, an operator in Kern County, California needed a dual thermal packer that could be manufactured quickly and would be suitable for the following conditions: 7-inch [17.78 cm] casing size 2-3/8-inch [6.02 cm] primary and secondary tubing size Approximate packer depth of 1,500 feet [457.2 m] 450F [232 C] injection temperature 150F [65.6 C] static bottomhole temperature 700 psi [340.9 kgs] injection pressure Simple, cost-effective design

The variable-bore packer design that was purposebuilt for this application is shown in Figure 5 and has been successfully used in 8 completions. The design provided the operator with a number of advantages that might be seen individually in other designs but have not often been combined into one package. Since the packer was to be hydraulically-set in this completion, seals that moved during setting were necessary, but the seals and setting ports were isolated below the packer elements on the secondary side in such a way that once the packer was set, failure of these seals could not cause a communication leak between the production strings or across the packer elements. The proprietary element sealing system and setting 0rings were high-temperature EPDM, while the seal units and thermal travel joint used premium EPDM packing.
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Over the years, many different packers have been used for steam injection service. In many cases, especially in the early days of steam injection, standard oil production packers were modified to accept the relatively high injection temperatures and large tubing movement resulting from thermal changes. The degree of success seemed to depend largely on the type of high-temperature seal material that was used in the packer element and the number of potential leak paths that were

New Packer Design Offers Completion Flexibility in Thermal Completions, ESP, Dowhnole Monitoring Systems, and Annular Safety Systems: Case Histories

SPE 27893

The completion schematic is illustrated in Figure 6. The lower packer is a permanent-type packer set on electric line above the lower injection zone and has provIsIOn for tubing movement compensation. Similarly, the upper dual packer allows for tubing movement on the secondary (short string) side through the use of a thermal travel joint above the packer on the short string side. Tubing movement above the packer on the primary (long string) side is taken through another thermal travel joint. To date, several dozen systems using this hydraulically-set dual packer configuration have been run with excellent results. The results have shown that this design is simple to run, set, and release, and in addition, is simple and economical to build and service. Experienced personnel were able to redress the packer in less than 30 minutes without special tools. Running and setting the packer was accomplished in the same manner as with any hydraulically-set packer that is run on tubing and set by applying tubing pressure against a wire line plug, a pumpout plug, or a ball seat.

three packers for 4-1/2-inch [11.34 cm] casing with full opening for a 2-3/8-inch [6.03 cm] production string. hydraulic setting of the packers to be run in tandem on tubing with provision for a straight pull shear release. packers capable of providing independent, pressure-tight passageways for 1/8-inch [.32 cm] capillary lines to allow continuous monitoring of the zone pressure below each packer. the unique dual-piston design of this packer provides capability for lower setting pressure.

3. Independent Zone Pressure Monitoring in Canada

The operator in this application needed a completion design that would allow continuous monitoring of the pressure conditions in each of three zones at points across the entire field as each one was produced (See Figure 7).2 It was felt that this could be accomplished by strategically deploying packers into monitoring wells across the field. Most hydraulically-set packers do not readily accept the addition of monitoring or Injection lines because the wall-thickness relationships of the mandrels and setting pistons are usually predetermined. For this reason, the specific design criteria had to be consistent with the following:
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The variable-bore packer design was created to allow change in bore configuration simply by a change in the main mandrel, which is short and can be machined from solid rod. In this case, it was only necessary to offset the main bore slightly, and drill the capillary line passageways through the resulting "thick" portion of the mandrel. Pressure tight passage was accomplished through the use of ordinary metal-to-metal connectors threaded into tapered pipe thread connections, machined in the mandrel. The packers were built identically with three capillary line passages in addition to the main production bore. Any line passages that were not used on the lower and middle packer were simply plugged with pipe plugs (See Figure 8). As an example of the ease of retrieval and simplicity of redress in this situation, the operator found it necessary to pull the completion after the packers were set because of a problem in one of the capillary lines. All three packers released perfectly, and the completion was pulled as a unit. After a short time to redress the three packers, the completion was successfully rerun with new capillary lines and brought into operation.

SPE 27893

Pat M. White, Henry Restarick, and John R. Setterberg, Jr.

It is not known how many other designs were considered by the operator for this project, but it would be difficult to envision any other existing equipment that could have been adapted for this purpose in such a cost effective or technically acceptable manner.
4. Annular Safety Systems in the North Sea

setting piston for setting the annular valve packer. For retrieving the annular valve packer, release is accomplished by straight pull force. The shear release value can be predetermined in 5,000-lb. increments. Normal release value is 60,000 lbs. The annular valve packer design described above provides a reliable annular flow device that is simple to manufacture and cost effective. FUTURE TRENDS High pressure (10,000 psi [68.9 MPa]) versions of this packer as well as variations for hydraulic setting and releasing on coiled tubing have also been designed. Systems presently under development include completions in horizontal wells, run with coiled tubing, in which the short length and light weight of the variable-bore packer facilitate the running, setting and retrieving of the completion. Future systems will undoubtedly require even more versatility in completion equipment with flexibility to incorporate any number of feed-through access ports through downhole packer assemblies to accommodate a multitude of production and downhole monitoring options. The feed-through ports will be designed to allow electric cables or penetrator assemblies to be run below a packer for ESP completions, small monitoring lines that can pass through various numbers of tandem-mounted packers to transmit bottomhole pressure and temperature information, and small tubing strings that can be run to the packer for chemical injection or hydraulic control of surfacecontrolled subsurface safety system valves or annular safety valves. The combinations of these new systems and techniques will involve new downhole tools, which will allow a variety of tubing configurations to be designed without the delays of long manufacturing lead times for designing, building, and testing of the enhanced designs.

In recent years, various hanger packer designs have been developed for use in annular safety valve (ASV) systems specifically for North Sea gas lift completions. 3 For ASV applications in which retrieval of the upper tubing string independent of the lower tubing string is not required, an annular valve packer based on the variable-bore packer design has been developed (See Figure 9). By making the annular flow control valve an integral component of the variable-bore packer, the annular safety system design can be simplified, resulting in a cost reduction when compared to conventional ASV systems with separate valves designed for upper string retrievability. The variable-bore packer component design eliminates the need for elastomer seals and pressure containing thread joints between the annular valve closure and the packer/casing sealing element package. Also, nonelastomer seals can be used in the annular valve operating piston and in the packer setting piston. The annular valve packer currently in use in the North Sea is for 7-inch [17.78 cm] casing and 31/2-inch [8.89 cml tubing (See Figure 10). The surface-controlled annular valve closure is operated by hydraulic control line and provides 2.6-inch2 [17.77 cm 2] annular flow area. The annular valve packer contains a selectively-set type shifting sleeve, which allows the lower production packer to be set and tested prior to setting the annular valve packer. A shifting tool is run on slickline to shift the sleeve, allowing surface-applied tubing pressure into the hydraulic

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New Packer Design Offers Completion Flexibility in Thermal Completions, ESP, Dowhnole Monitoring Systems, and Annular Safety Systems: Case Histories

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CONCLUSIONS
The enhanced flexibility that the variable-bore packer has the capability to provide to completion system technology will help the operator to comply with the economic constraints that the climate of today's oil and gas industry has imposed by providing:

presented at the 25th Annual OTC in Houston, Texas, 3-6 May 1993. 3. Robison, C. E., Parker, C.: "Annular Safety Valve System Design" paper presented at the Subsea '91 International Conference, London, 4-5 December 1991.

System Simplicity Operational Reliability Versatility Cost Efficiency Easy Redress

These factors will support current trends for economic recovery that stress maximization of production from a reduced quantity of wells as well as enhanced efficiency of both equipment and operational technology.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to express their appreciation to Ray Chavers, Mike Bullock, Nevin Dahl, and Mike Adams of Halliburton Energy Services for their valuable contributions to this paper. The authors also wish to thank the management of Halliburton Energy Services for their permission and support in publishing this paper.

REFERENCES
1. Robison, C.E. and Cox, D.C.: "Alternate Methods for Installing ESP's," OTC Paper 7035 presented at the 24th Annual OTC in Houston, Texas, 4-7 May 1992.

2. Robison, C.E., Mashaw, H.R., and Welch, W.R.: "Zone Isolation of Horizontal Wells by CoiledTubing-Actuated Tools," OTC Paper 7354
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Standard Multi Bore Packer

Difficult to add bores after design or manufacture

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,

ELASTOMERIC ELEMENT

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SOLID MANDREL

MANDRELS

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SI-DIRECTIONAL SLIPS

ELASTOMERIC ELEMENTS

Variable Bore Packer

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-

ELASTOMERIC /ELEMENT

SOLID MANDREL AREA OF AVAILABILITY

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RELEASE PINS SETTING PISTON

Opportunity to add bores after design, manufacture, or

production

Figure 1 Variable Bore Packer (Bores Not Shown)

ELECTRIC CABLE

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CABLE PENETRATOR

in

f-=

ELECTRIC SUBMERSIBLE PUMP PACKER

1 J
31-inches 78.74-cm
VARIABLE BORE PACKER

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VARIABLE BORE PACKER

73-inches 185.4-cm

ELECTRIC CABLE

ELECTRIC SUBMERSIBLE PUMP

STANDARD DUAL PACKER

Figure 2 Relative Size of Variable Bore Packer and Standard Dual Packer for 7-inch (17.7S-cm) Casing

Figure 3 Electric Submersible Pump Packer

Figure 4 Electric Submersible Pump (ESP) Completion

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PRODUCTION TUBING

THERMAL TRAVEL JOINT THERMAL TRAVEL JOINT

THERMAL ELEMENTS

---SETTING PORTS

DUAL THERMAL PACKER

---- - SECONDARY ( SHORT STRING)

DUAL SETTING PISTONS

PRIMARY ( LONG STRING)

THERMAL SEAL ASSEMBLY

---1-----

SECONDARY ( SHORT STRING)

THERMAL SUMP PACKER

PRIMARY ( LONG STRING)

- - - CAPILLARY TUBE

Figure 5 Dual Thermal Packer

Figure 6 Dual Thermal Completion

Figure 7 Zone Monitoring Packer

CONTROL LINE

ASV TRAVEL JOINT WITH DUAL CONTROL LINE PASSAGE ZONE MONITORING PACKER
ANNULAR VALVE

TOP ZONE MONITOR SLIDING SLEEVE

TUBING RETRIEVABLE SAFETY VALVE

-ZONE MONITORING PACKER SECOND ZONE MONITOR SLIDING SLEEVE

ANNULAR VALVE PACKER

CAPILLARY TUBE (TYP.)

SIDE POCKET MANDREL

SELECTIVE SHIFTING SLEEVE

SIDE POCKET MANDREL

ZONE MONITORING PACKER THIRD ZONE MONITOR SLIDING SLEEVE ",""-----SUMP PACKER

FigureB Zone Monitoring Completion

Figure 9 Annular Valve Packer

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Figure 10 Annular Valve Completion for Gas Lift Installation