초록 ▼

A downhole tool for use in a well is configurable as a frac plug, a caged ball frac plug or a bridge plug. The tool has a mandrel with a threaded neck. The mandrel has an expandable sealing element disposed thereabout. An adapter, which may be selected from multiple configurations of adapters, is th

A downhole tool for use in a well is configurable as a frac plug, a caged ball frac plug or a bridge plug. The tool has a mandrel with a threaded neck. The mandrel has an expandable sealing element disposed thereabout. An adapter, which may be selected from multiple configurations of adapters, is threaded to the neck of the mandrel. The adapter may comprise a sleeve, or a cap with one open end and one closed end. The adapter has threads on an outer surface thereof to which a threaded setting mandrel may be attached. The setting mandrel when actuated will move the tool to a set position in the well and once the tool is moved to the set position the threads on the adapter will shear so that the setting mandrel may be retrieved. The tool will thus remain in the hole and will act as either a frac plug, a caged ball frac plug or a bridge plug depending upon the configuration of the selected adapter.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A reconfigurable downhole tool for use in a well comprising: a mandrel, the mandrel defining a threaded neck;an expandable sealing element disposed about the mandrel expandable from an unset to a set position in the well; andan adapter threadedly connected to the threaded neck of the mandrel, the

1. A reconfigurable downhole tool for use in a well comprising: a mandrel, the mandrel defining a threaded neck;an expandable sealing element disposed about the mandrel expandable from an unset to a set position in the well; andan adapter threadedly connected to the threaded neck of the mandrel, the adapter having threads on an outer surface thereof for connection to a setting tool, wherein the threads on the outer surface of the adapter will shear to release the setting tool after the sealing element is expanded to the set position in the well such that the sealing element remains in the set position after the shearing and where the adapter will not shear at an other location along the length of the adapter and wherein the adapter comprises a cap threaded onto the neck of the mandrel, the cap comprising a side wall and a top, the top having at least one port to allow fluid flow therethrough, wherein said side wall forms an open first end having threads for threading onto the neck of the mandrel and said top forms a closed second end which is closed so as to capture a plug within the side wall and between the mandrel and the top. 2. The tool of claim 1, wherein the plug is a ball trapped in and movable in a space between the top of the cap and an upper end of the mandrel. 3. The tool of claim 2, wherein fluid pressure applied in the well above the tool will move the ball into engagement with the upper end of the mandrel to prevent downward flow therethrough, and wherein upon the release of fluid pressure above the tool, the ball may be disengaged from the upper end of the mandrel to allow upward flow therethrough. 4. The tool of claim 1, wherein the plug is a bridge plug trapped by the mandrel and the top of the cap to prevent flow through the tool. 5. The tool of claim 4, wherein the plug is sealingly received in the mandrel. 6. The tool of claim 5, the mandrel having first and second diameters and having a transition surface therebetween, the plug being trapped by the transition surface and the top of the cap. 7. The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the threads on the outer surface of the adapter are designed to shear at the load required to move the downhole tool to the set position. 8. A downhole tool configurable for use as a caged ball frac plug standard frac or a bridge plug comprising: a mandrel defining a central flow passage therethrough and defining a seat at an upper end thereof, the mandrel comprising a neck portion, a shoulder positioned below the neck portion and extending radially outwardly from the neck portion, and a body portion positioned below and radially inward from the shoulder portion such that the body portion has an outer diameter less than the outer diameter of the shoulder portion;a sealing element disposed about the body portion of the mandrel movable in a well from an unset position to a set position in which the sealing element engages the well upon the application of a setting force applied by a setting mandrel; anda threaded adapter threadedly connected to the neck portion by a first thread and threadedly connected to the setting mandrel by a second thread, wherein the neck portion has a thread thereon for connecting to the threaded adapter, wherein the adapter comprises a cap threaded onto the neck portion of the mandrel, the cap comprising a side wall and a top, the top having at least one port to allow fluid flow therethrough, wherein said side wall forms an open first end having threads for threading onto the neck portion of the mandrel and said top forms a closed second end which is closed so as to be configured to capture a plug within the side wall and between the mandrel and the top such that the tool can be configured as a caged ball frac plug or as a caged ball frac plug or a bridge plug and wherein the second thread on the threaded adapter will shear and disconnect from the setting mandrel after the setting force is applied to the downhole tool to move the sealing element to the set position such that the sealing element remains in the set position after the shearing, and where the adapter will not shear at any other location along the length of the adapter. 9. The downhole tool of claim 8, wherein the plug is a frac ball movably entrapped between the closed end of the adapter and the first end of the mandrel. 10. The downhole tool of claim 8, wherein the plug is a bridge plug sealingly engaging the flow passage defined by the mandrel and held in place by the closed second end of the adapter. 11. The downhole tool of claim 8, wherein the second thread on the threaded adapter is designed to shear and disconnect from the setting mandrel at the load required to move the downhole tool to the set position. 12. A tool for use in a well comprising: a mandrel configured to accept multiple shaped adapters comprising: a neck portion having an external thread thereon for connection to one of the adapters;a shoulder positioned below the neck portion and extending axially and radially outwardly from the neck portion; anda mandrel body positioned below the shoulder and extending axially and radially inwardly from the shoulder such that the mandrel body has an outer diameter less than the outer diameter of the shoulder portion, the neck portion configured to connect to multiple adapters so that an assembly of an adapter and the mandrel can comprise a caged ball frac plug or a bridge plug;an adapter having a thread by which the adapter is threadedly connected to the neck portion wherein the adapter comprises a cap threaded onto the neck portion of the mandrel, the cap comprising a side wall and a top, the top having at least one port to allow fluid flow therethrough, wherein said side wall forms an open first end having threads for threading onto the neck portion of the mandrel and said top forms a closed second end which is closed so as to capture a plug within the side wall and between the mandrel and the top; andan expandable sealing element disposed about the mandrel and movable from an unset to a set position in the well by a setting mandrel, the adapter having outer threads thereon for connecting to the setting mandrel, wherein the outer threads on the adapter will shear to release the setting mandrel after the sealing element is moved to the set position such that the sealing element remains in the set position after the shearing and wherein the adapter will not shear at any other location along the length of the adapter. 13. The tool of claim 12, wherein the plug is a ball trapped in and movable in a space defined by the adapter and an upper end of the mandrel. 14. The tool of claim 12, wherein the plug is a bridge plug positioned in the mandrel and extending therefrom, wherein the top of the adapter holds the plug in place in the mandrel. 15. The downhole tool of claim 12, wherein the outer threads on the adapter are designed to shear to release the setting mandrel at the load required to move the downhole tool to the set position. 16. A method for setting a downhole tool in a well comprising: (a) selecting an adapter to attach a mandrel of the downhole tool to a setting tool wherein the adapter is selected from adapters designed to configure the downhole tool as a caged ball frac plug and a bridge plug and wherein said adapter has a thread designed to connect it to the setting tool;(b) connecting the adapter to the mandrel in order to configure the downhole tool as a caged ball standard frac plug, a caged ball frac plug or a bridge plug wherein the adapter comprises a cap threaded onto the neck of the mandrel, the cap comprising a side wall and a top, the top having at least one port to allow fluid flow therethrough, wherein said side wall forms an open first end having threads for threading onto the neck of the mandrel and said top forms a closed second end which is closed so as to be configured to capture a plug within the side wall and between the mandrel and the top and wherein the adapter is connected to the mandrel such that the downhole tool is reconfigurable as a caged ball ball frac plug or a bridge plug by removing the adaptor and connecting a different adaptor thereto;(c) connecting the adapter to the setting tool;(d) lowering the downhole tool in the well;(e) actuating the setting tool so that a sealing element disposed about the mandrel is expanded to set the downhole tool;(f) after the downhole tool is set, shearing the threads on the adapter to release the setting tool while keeping the downhole tool set; and(g) removing the setting tool from the well. 17. The downhole tool of claim 16, wherein the thread on the adapter is designed to shear and disconnect from the setting tool at the load required to move the downhole tool to the set position.