Tubing Mounted Zonal Equalisation Device

What is it ?

The Red Spider Technology Zonal Equalisation Device is a positive sealing communication tool that holds pressure from tubing to annulus and visa versa but can be opened when an excess of pressure is seen from annulus to tubing. This device would typically be run in horizontal well applications where the heal requires to be separated from the toe during initial clean up/ flowing operations. By isolating the heal, the toe can be flowed with out any commingling from the heal allowing this section to clean up. By “drawing down” the tubing pressure the differential is increased across the device (annulus to tubing) resulting in the sealing mechanism shearing out. As a consequence this results in the device moving into the permanently open position allowing the heal and the toe to commingle.

The device would typically be deployed as part of the liner, sand face completion or even in the open hole section.

When would I use it ?

The Tubing Mounted Zonal Equalisation Device can be used in a wide range of zonal isolation scenarios where there is the ability to draw down the tubing pressure as a mechanism to open the device:

• Horizontal wells - used in conjunction with a secondary sealing method to isolate the heal from the toe. This allows the toe to be flowed and cleaned up then by increasing the draw down on the tubing the device is opened allowing commingling from the heal
• Multilateral wells – used to isolate a lateral bore allowing secondary bores to be produced. The device would then be opened by drawing down the tubing pressure, hence allowing commingling
• Dual zone wells - Set across, say the upper zone, the device can allow the lower zone to be cleaned up without commingled flow from the upper zone. Again, the device is opened by drawing down the tubing pressure
• To prevent cross flow between a higher pressure lower zone and a lower pressure upper zone – the device would isolate the upper zone from the lower. Once the lower zone had sufficiently depleted or is physically drawn down, the device will open