Method and apparatus for drilling and re-entering multiple lateral branches in a well

• Main Authors: GOTLIB, MIKHAIL V, OHMER, HERVE, NITIS, SPYROS S
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 24.03.1999
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: EARTH DRILLING; EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS; MINING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR ASLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS

A method and apparatus for landing and orienting selected tools to selected depths within a well casing. The well casing is provided with a plurality of casing nipples located at selected depths with each of the landing and orienting joints defining a differing internal landing profile and having a mule shoe therein defining an upwardly facing point and an orientation slot and having helical guide ramp surfaces extending from the point to the orientation slot. A landing-orientation tool is adapted to be run into the casing and has an outer tubular body mandrel positioning a plurality of landing dogs for landing engagement with a matching landing profile of one of the casing nipples and positioning an orientation key for guided engagement with the helical guide ramp surfaces and for tool orienting engagement within the orientation slot. The landing-orientation tool has an inner tubular actuator mandrel being linearly positionable at a running position where the landing dogs and orientation key are radially yieldable to pass over internal obstructions in the casing string and a locking position where the landing dogs and orientation key are locked with respect to the matching landing profile of a landing and orienting joint. The tool being run will pass through non-matching landing and orienting joints and will land only when its landing dogs have a landing profile matching the profile of a landing and orienting joint.