US2935130A - Method of and apparatus for opening plugged pipe in a well bore - Google Patents

Description

L. K. MOORE 2,935,130

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OPENING PLUGGED PIPE IN A WELL BORE May 3, 196.0

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 10, 1956 mmvron. aweavcz K. Maaes BY 0 ogo o o gag,

L. K. MOORE May 3, 1960 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OPENING FLUGGED PIPE IN A WELL BORE Filed April 10, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l, INVENTOR. weave: K. 4/0026 L. K. MOORE May 3, 1960 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OPENING PLUGGED PIPE IN A WELL BORE Filed April 10, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 M ma my mz a N 5 e w v. B

L. K. MOORE May 3, 1960 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OPENING FLUGGED PIPE IN A WE'LL BORE 5 H RM M MN 3% m m a 2 M w 9 a 4 0 0 6 6 p 5 0 0 g E/ 4 4 a M. x a l w. /M 1, iii 0 III 1 w m w M i \\\\\\\Q\\ d n F 2 u l :1 k

clean out the plug to regain circulation.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FGR OPENING PLUGGED- PEPE IN A WELL BORE Lawrence K. Moore, Natchez, Miss.

Application April 10, 1956, Serial No. 577,365

.. ll-Claims. (Cl. 166-44) This invention relatesv to apparatus suitable for use on 'a wire line' or cable for cleaning out material clogging the'bore of a continuous length of pipe or separated collars, tubing, jars, bumper subs and the like in a well, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for both cleaning out and carrying away cuttings and debris plugging such pipe or fish in an oil or gas well, or well being drilled for such a purpose.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 349,385, entitled Hydraulic Clean-Out Apparatus for Opening Plugged Well Pipe, filed April 17, 1953, and now abandoned.

The inside of a continuous length of pipe disposed in a well bore may become plugged with heavy or dehydrated mud or lost circulation material, and a fish left in a well may become additionally plugged with wall cuttings and debris which may fall into the top of the fish.

It is desirable to clean out the bore of a continuous length of plugged pipe or fish for any one. of a number Thus, forexample, it may be necessary to In addition, it may be necessary to remove such a. plug in order to run some form of wire line tool, suchas a free point inof reasons.

dicator, back-off tool, or gun perforator to a point in the pipe or fish below the plug. The running of any of the above-mentioned wire-line devices, after removal of the plug, will usually greatly facilitate recovery of the plugged pipe or fish from the well bore.

, Prior to my invention a conventional method for cleaning out a plugged string of drill. pipeor tubing, or for cleaning out afish, included the steps of lowering a continuous stringof smaller pipe into the plugged pipe. or tubing and washing out the plug by a circulation of fluid downwardly inside the smaller pipe. This method ob.- viously was very time-consuming and expensive for the reason that the smaller pipe must first be secured, transported to the location, and made up in individual joints. While all these preparations were made, the string of pipe to be washedv out could, in addition, stick higher in the hole.

Another method consists of running spudding tools on a wire line in an attempt to knock the bridge out of the pipe or fish. This, obviously, is not always effective if the plug extended over any long interval in the pipe, for

I the reason that there is no means of actually removing the plugging material. from the pipe. Still another method consists of the running of small-diameter hydrostatic bailers on a wire line and attempting to bail the material from the pipe. This method has, serious limitations in that the bailer can only bring outsmall amounts of; material on each. run, thus requiring many runs in the hole. In addition, the washing or loosening effect of thebailer is often not efiectivev in breaking up the material so that it can enter the bailer, and further, bailers of this type often, tend. to stick, thus further complicating the fishing job. Thus, prior to my invention, if any of U ited States Pa en lengths of pipe called a fish,such as drill pipe, drill ice the above-mentioned methods failed to unplug the pipe or fish, the only alternatives were to remove the pipe by making outside mechanical cuts when possible, which is a very expensive method, or abandoning that portion of the plugged pipe remaining in the hole.

It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the oil well drilling art that my hydraulic clean-out device, that can be run on a wire line or cable and thus wash out as much as 500 feet of plug on one run, would save considerable time and be much more etfective and advantageous than any of the conventional methods mentioned above. I p The present invention provides a method operable with a. wire line or cable for cleaning out the bore of a'plugged pipe or fish comprising the operational steps of; lowering means forming a nozzle into and completely below the upper end of the pipe, such as, for example, drill pipe or tubing disposed in a well bore above a plugged fish; and circulating a fluid downwardly inside the drill pipe or tubing and through the nozzle-forming means at ,a pressure to form a jet of fluid at the lower end of the nozzle-forming means, whereby material plugging the pipe or fish may be eroded or washed out of the bore of the pipe or fish by the force of the jet and carried away by fiow of the fluid through perforated holes, circulation ports, or a break in the pipe, and upwardly between the well bore and the unplugged pipe. It will be appreciated that a skirt, overshot or washover pipe may be appended to the unplugged pipe and positioned to surround the plugged pipe whereby fluid will circulate through the nozzle forming means into the fish, through said skirt, overshot or washover pipe and then upwardly in the well bore.

In my method, the nozzle-forming means may be easily lowered into the well by a conventional wire line or cable. It is well known by those skilled in the art as aforementioned that a wire line may be run into a well at an extremely faster rate than a continuous length, of small tubing or small drillpipe which must be lowered section by section. Hence, the present invention provides a more eificient and economical method of cleaning out material plugging the bore of a fish.

The word pipe as used above, and as usedhereinafter is meantto include not only the usual string of drill pipe, but also the usual string of production tubing.

This pipe is. an outerpipe, and in practicing my invention, I usually employ a smaller pipe or tubular meritber which is usually externally flush and which is hereinafter referred to as tubing for use inside of said outer pipe which I refer to as pipe. It will be appreciated, that the outer pipe, i.e. drill pipe or production tubing, may be provided with threads or a threaded sub to engage the fish. It will be appreciated still further that, said pipe may be provided with, other means of engaging the fish, such as an overshot equipped with slips.

According to a feature of the invention, a section of small-diameter tubing is lowered into a pipe in a well on a wire line or cable to a position substantially below the upper end of said pipe and near its lower end or near a, plug in thev pipe. The external surface of the tubing is sealed or partially sealed to the internal surface of the pipe at least at one point along the length of the tubing. The tubing is then brought into close relationship with debris plugging the pipe or fish. A fluid is thereafter circulated through the pipe and subsequently through the tubing and into contact with the debris plug ging the pipe or fish to erode and remove the same from the pipe or fish. In accordance with this feature. of the invention, the tubing is lowered and/or pumped farther into the pipe or fish as the plugging material is-eroded or washed out of it so that the jet may be positioned a most effective distance from the material plugging the pipe or fish.

According to a specific aspect of the invention the tubular member or nozzle to be loweredin a pipe is provided with apertures and means are provided to lower the tubing into the pipe. Collar means are also provided slidable on the tubing and resilient means are fixed to the tubing to urge the collar means upwardly along the tubing to cover the apertures. The sealing means are then fixed to the collar means, whereby the collar means -may be forced downwardly against the resilient means to open the apertures to relieve stress on the lowering means any time the fluid pressure in the pipe above the tubing section becomes excessive. V i The sealing means for use in pipe may comprise a tubing anchor including a length of tubing or hollow body portion having a first radial projection on its lower end. In this case a tubing is provided with a second iradial projection and'is disposed concentrically with and contiguous to the body portion of the tubing anchor whereby the radial projection of the tubing section may engage the first radial projection of the body portion to limit the downward movement of the tubing section along the body portion. The tubing section is then slidably mounted on the body portion to be always positioned a most effective distance from the material plugging the pipe or fish.

According to a still more specific feature of the invention, the sealing means includes-an annular resilient body as tubing, packing means slidable on the tubing to provide a fluid-tight seal between the said pipe and the tubing, check means on the tubing for limiting downward movement of the packing means thereon, and a shoulder on the pipe to limit downward movement of the packing means therein. In case the packing means should come off of the tubing, the shoulder on the pipe insures that the packing means will not fall into the bottom of the well where it might cause damage or where considerable trouble might be encountered in retrieving it.

According to a specific feature of the invention, a wire line or flexible cable is connected to the tubing so it may be easily lowered into and lifted out of the well.

An aspect of the invention involves the use of a cir- .culating head connected between the flexible cable and the tubing to provide communication from the pipe above the packing means through-the upper end of the tubing. In addition, an outwardly-extending shoulder may be provided at the upper endof the tubing to prevent it from falling through the packing means in the event that the flexible cable becomes severed accidentally.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the check means may comprise a member associated with the tubing to shear when sufiicient force is applied to the tubing, whereby the tubing may be removed from the pipe -if the packingmeans becomes stuck in the'pipe.

. It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an improved method of cleaning out a plugged pipe or fish inawell bore. v p

' It is a further object of the invention to provide means suitable for use on a wire line or cable for washing-out the bore of a plugged pipeor fish. i

It is another object of the invention to provide a device for preventing separate component parts of a clean-out tool from falling into a well.

1 A further object of the invention is to provide means 4 for preventing apparatus useful for cleaning out a plugged pipe or fish from becoming stuck in pipe in a well.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood when considered with the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings made a part of this specification, wherein several embodiments are illustrated by way of example. The device of the present invention is by no means limited to the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings since they are shown merely for purposes of description.

Fig. 1 is an elevation view of a well derrick and other apparatus generally required for performing the method of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a broken away sectional view of a tubing auchor shown employed with other apparatus of the invention to clean-out material plugging a fish in a well bore;

Figs. 3 and 4 are broken sectional views of alternative embodiments of the invention to be used with the apparatus shown in Fig. 2; I

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are broken away sectional views of three forms of another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of another clean-out apparatus constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 8 in its operative position to clean-out material plugging a fish; and

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of a sub connected between the lower end of a drill pipe and the upper end of a fish to provide circulation ports when it is desirable to screw the unplugged pipe into the fish.

In the drawings in Fig. 1 aderrick 10 is shown provided with acrown block 12 over which a wire line orcable 14 is disposed into a well, not shown. A table 18 is shown above the well which is operated by a mechanism 16 that also lowers and hoists thewire line 14 into and out of the well. Apump assembly 20 is also provided to circulate wash fluid down through the drill pipe and up between the well bore and the drill'pipe.

Atubing anchor 22, which may be employed with the method of the invention, as shown in Fig. 2 comprising a body portion or length oftubing 24 having a lower extremity orstinger 26. Thestinger 26 is provided with nozzle-forming means at the bottom thereof toerode'out material 28 plugging afish 30. Thefish 30 is disposed below a section ofdrill pipe 32 in awell bore 34. It is to be specially noted that thetubing anchor 22 may be lowered in on thewire line 14 and set in thepipe 32. Thetubing 24 is threaded into ahead 36 which is, in turn, threaded into a circulatinghead 38 havingapertures 40 to permit wash fluid pumped down thepipe 32 to enter thetubing 24 at its upper end. The wash fluid is then forced out of the lower end of thestinger 26 to cleanout thefish 30.

Thetubing anchor 22, as shown in Fig. 2, is not fixed in thepipe 32. However, this may be'accomplished easily in a well known'and conventional manner. Thetubing anchor 22, in addition to thehead 36, comprises a sealingpacker 42 disposed on the outside and at the lower end of thehead 36, anexpander sleeve 44 disposed on the outside of thetubing 24 and havingfingers 46 extending up into the space between thepacker 42 and thehead 36. Aslip assembly 48 there shown includes a cylinder portion 50 surrounding thetube 24 for supporting three sets ofslips 52 by means ofsuitable spring extensions 54. Drag springs 56 are also provided "on the cylinder 50 to set the tubing anchor in thepipe 32. Ascrew 58 is-disposed in the cylinder 50 to guide the cylinder 50 up and down along thetubing 24, thescrew 58 riding in aslot arrangement 60. Theslot arrangement 60 provides means to produce relative rotation for theslip assembly 48, vwhereby the expander sleeve I44 may-be driven into the space between the slips 52 'aessio urged upwardly to lodge thepacket 42 between thehead 36 and thepipe 32. Thetubing anchor 22 is lowered into thepipe 32 with thescrew 58 riding in aslot 62. Thetubing anchor 22 is removed from thepipe 32 by lifting the anchor means of thewire line 14 with thescrew 58 lodged at apoint 64 or at apoint 66 in theslot arrangement 60.

After the tubing anchor is lowered to an appropriate depth within thepipe 32 with thescrew 58 at the top of theslot 62, the wire line is lifted to send thescrew 58 down to thepoint 64. Thewire line 14 is then slackenedand'the screw 58 is permitted to ride up into the slot 63 so that theexpander sleeve 44 will be driven into the space between the slips '52. The slips will bite tive downward vertical movement of thefingers 46 along thetubing 24.

After thetubing anchor 22 is set in thepipe 32, according to the method of the invention, wash fluid is circulated down through thepipe 32, through theapertures 40 of the circulatinghead 38, through thetubing 24 and out the lower end of thestinger 26 to erode the material 28 out of thefish 30 and to carry it away up the well in the space between thepipe 32 and the well bore 34.

In the operation of the clean-out apparatus shown in Fig. 2 it often happens thatmaterial 28 adjacent the internal surface of thefish 30 becomes washed out before the material at the center of the fish is loosened. This often causes thematerial 28 in a solid form to be forced down to a greater depth into thefish 30. For this reason it is desirable to move thestinger 26 farther into thefish 30 to place it a most effective distance from the material 28 to continue the washing method. It is generally undesirable and too troublesome to move the tub ing anchor 2-2 step by step down the unplugged pipe so that thestinger 26 will be placed step by step farther into the fish 3% Alternative stinger assemblies are shown in Figs. 3 and 4 which may be employed to solve this problem.

Astinger assembly 70 is shown in Fig. 3 comprising thetubing 24 with a radially and outwardly extending flange 72 at its lower end. Anozzle assembly 74 is then provided outside of thetubing 24 with a flange 76 extending radially inwardly to the external surface of thetubing 24. The flanges 72 and 76 thus cooperate to limit the downward vertical movement of thenozzle assembly 74.Material 28pluggingthe fish 30 is also shown in Fig. 3, the portion of the material adjacent the internal surface of the fish 34} being washed away. in the operation of thestinger assembly 78 wash fluid is forced down through thetubing 24 and out the lower end of thenozzle assembly 74. Force of the fluid against the upper surface of thematerial 28 prevents thenozzle assembly 74 from directly engaging that surface.Material 28 isthus eroded away by flow of the wash fluid through the lower end of thenozzle assembly 24 and carried away up thefish 38 between thenozzle assembly 74 and the fish 3d to the top of the fish where it is further carried away up the Well between the well bore 34 and thepipe 32 as indicated by thearrows 78 in Fig. 3 and the arrows 8G in Fig. 2.

Asimilar stinger assembly 82 is shown in Fig. 4 wherein thetubing 24 is provided with an inwardly extendingflange 84. Anozzle assembly 86, slidable within thetubing 24 is also provided including an outwardly and radially extendingflange 88 to engage theflange 84 and limit the downward vertical. movement of thenozzle assembly 86. Thematerial 28 is shown in the same manner in thefish 30 in Fig. 4 and is eroded away and carried away in the same manner as described with respect to the stinger assembly70 shown in Fig. 3.

In Fig. 5 an alternative embodiment of the invention is shown. As illustrated in Figs. 2, 3. and 4, apacker 42 may be fixed to thepipe 32 and a nozzle assembly or nozzle forming means 74 or 86 may be provided, such means being movable with respect to thepipe 32 or thefish 30. In accordance with the invention, novel apparatus is also employed wherein a packer is fixed to a. movable nozzle assembly. Such a device is shown in Fig. 5 comprising a length of tubing or spout-formingmeans 90 having a circulatinghead 92 for a top portion and astinger 94 forming its bottom portion. The nozzleforming means 90 is a length of tubing which may be conveniently lowered into thepipe 32 by means of thewire line 14. Thetubing 90 may be most conveniently lowered into the well by pumping wash fluid down into thepipe 32, the flow between thetubing 90 and thepipe 32 being restricted by acylindrical body 96 fixed to the tubing. 90 at a point along its length. Thebody 96 may be made of a rigid metallic material, or alternatively, of a resilient material. Its function is merely to divert most of the fluid in thepipe 32 thru it and preferably to prevent most of the fluid from flowing around it. After thetubing 90 is lowered into thepipe 32 with thestinger 94 projecting into thefish 30 to clean out thematerial 28, wash fluid may be circulated down thepipe 32 throughapertures 98 in thehead 92 through thetubing 90 and thestinger 94 to erode the material 28 out of thefish 30.

It is common to lower tools into pipes such as thepipe 32 on a wire line by two methods. Tools may be lowered into pipe and carried down simplyby virtue of their own weight or they may be pumped down. In the latter case, clearance between the tool and the pipe is restricted. If, for example, thetubing anchor 22 is pumped down, means may also be provided to close the upper end of thetubing 24. However, when wash fluid is introduced and forced into thepipe 32 the force on thetubing anchor 22 may be so great that thewire line 14 may be severed and thewhole tubing anchor 22 may fall into the well and cause considerable damage. In

addition, considerable amount of time, trouble and expense may be required to recover the tool.

In order to prevent thetubing 90 from being pumped off thewire line 14, preferably thebody 96 may have the shape as shown as a body 96' in Fig. 6. In this embodiment of the invention, thebody 96 has an annular shape with a V-shaped cross-section, the vertex of the V being in contact with the internal surface of thepipe 32. Excessive pressure above the body 96' may thus be relieved by bending movement of the outer edge of the body 96' as indicated by thearrows 99 in Fig. 6. Fluid pumped into thepipe 32 above the body 96' may then be permitted to flow not only through theapertures 98 and thetubing 90 but also between thebody 96 and thepipe 32. Such a device may, of course, be employed with thetubing anchor 22 as shown in Fig. 2. However, when employed with thetubing 90 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, thebody 96 serves a dual purpose. That is, it provides a seal fixed to thetubing 90 but slidable with respect to thepipe 32 to permit thetubing 90 to be pumped down thepipe 32 and to restrain flow of fluid between thetubing 90 and thepipe 32 whenmaterial 28 is being eroded out of thefish 30. However, if excessive pressure exists above the body 96', the body also relieves against excessive pressure created above it. Thus, it may prevent thetubing 90 from being pumped off thewire'line 14.

A similar safety device is shown in Fig. 7 wherein thetubing 90 is disposed in a length ofpipe 32. Thetubing 90 in this case is preferably provided with ashoulder 102 to support aspring 104 coiled around the exterior of thetubing 90 at a position just above theshoulder 102.

asssaso apertures 108 conforming to a plurality ofapertures 110 in thetubing 90. The body 96' is then fixed to the exterior and at the upper end of thecylinder 106 to perform the same function as illustrated in Fig. 6. Thebody 96 in Fig. may of course be substituted for thebody 96 as shown in Fig. 7.

The body 96' in Fig. 7 provides the same functions, i.e. to seal thetubing 90 to thepipe 32 and to provide a safety valve for fluid flow between thepipe 32 and the body 96'. In addition, should the pressure above the body 96' become extremely excessive, force on the body 96' will. drive thecylinder 106 down thetubing 90 to compress thespring 104. Thespring 104 may be compressed to such an extent that theapertures 108 in thecylinder 106 coincide with theapertures 110 in the tubing In this case fluid flow is not only permitted between thebody 96 and thepipe 32 but also completely through thetubing 90 to its lower extremity and out theapertures 110 and down thepipe 32 between thetubing 90 and thepipe 32. In this manner a double safety feature is provided to prevent excessive pressure above the body 96' from severing thetubing 90 from thewire line 14. As stated previously, thebody 96 need not necessarily be used with thecylinder 106, thebody 96 also being adapted for that use. In this case the only relief given is by the movement of thecylinder 106 to place theapertures 108 over theapertures 110 to provide communication from inside thetubing 90 to the space outside thetubing 90 between thepipe 32 and thetubing 90 below the body 96'.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 8 comprising a circulatinghead 112 connected from thewire line 14 to a length oftubing 114. Agland 116 is then slidably mounted on thetubing 114 with its downward relative vertical movement limited by a pair of check means or shear pins 113. Thegland 116 is provided with a packingnut 120 to loosen or tighten the packing therein as the case may require. The lower end of the circulatinghead 112 is provided with ashoulder 122 to rest on thepacking nut 120 to prevent thetubing 114 from being lost in the well in the event that thewire line 14 becomes accidentally severed. The packingnut 120, which is connected to thegland 116, is limited in movement down thepipe 32 by ashoulder 124 thereon having aseat 126 at the bottom thereof to engage the lower end of thegland 116. Thegland 116 may be provided with a resilient O-ring 128 as shown.

It is apparent that theshoulder 124 serves a dual function. It provides means to fix the position ofgland 116 inpipe 32 and also prevents the gland from falling deep into the well if it should accidentally come loose from thetubing 114.

The shear pins 118 also serve a dual purpose. In the first place they simply limit the downward movement of thegland 116 on thetubing 114. In addition, if thegland 116 should happen to become stuck within theshoulder 124, an upwardly directed force may be applied to thewire line 14 to pull thetubing 114 through thegland 116 and out of the well. The inside diameter of thegland 116 is such that a string shot for unscrewing the pipe may be lowered into thefish 30 after thematerial 28 has been cleaned out as shown in Fig. 9. Thetubing 114 and thegland 116 are shown in Fig. 9 in their operative positions to clean the material 28 out of thefish 30. An overshot 200 withslips 201 are provided at the lower end ofpipe 32 to engagefish 30.

As shown in Fig. 9 apacking material 130 is forced into the space between acylinder 132 forming the gland body and the packingnut 120. If thematerial 28 should happen to slide down the inside of thefish 30, it will be desirable to lower thetubing 114 farther into the fish. For this reason, thetubing 114 is made slidable through thegland 116. In order to overcome excessive friction in thegland 116, however, a valve (not shown) operable to slacking of thewire line 14 may ,be provided within the circulatinghead 112 to close the upper end of the tubing 1'14 and thereby permit the tubing 1 14 to be pumped through thegland 116.

It may be desirable to screw into plugged pipe with unplugged pipe. However, in this case it is necessary to provide communication from a point inside the plugged pipe above the plugging material to a point outside the unplugged pipe. For this reason, asub 134, shown in Fig. 10, withapertures 136 may be threaded onto the lower end of theunplugged pipe 32 and into pluggedpipe 202, theapertures 136 in thesub 134 providing outlets for wash fluid emanating from the lower end of thestinger 138 eroding thematerial 28 out of thepipe 202. The material is then carried away through the apertures .136 up the well bore betweenwell'bore 34 and thepipe 32. It will be appreciated that thesub 134 should be provided with a seat such as theseat 126 if the tool of Fig. 8 is employed therewith.

It is to be understood that the term nozzle-forming means as referred to herein is not to be limited in definition to means forming a frusto-conical internal surface converging toward an orifice, but that it means a tube like member to produce a jet of fluid having a crosssectional area substantially smaller than the unplugged pipe into'which the nozzle-forming means is lowered. In this definition, a jet of fluid is intended to mean that preferably most of the fluid flowing in the pipe also flows inside the nozzle forming means and not around it between it and the pipe.

It is thus apparent that the method of the invention may be employed with the use of conventional or novel nozzle-forming means to clean plugging material from a continuous length of pipe, e.g. see Fig. 10, or from a fish disposed in a well bore below pipe such as drill pipe. The method requires the use of only a wire line and thus may be performed quickly and inexpensively. The embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 5 also illustrates how simple a form the novel apparatus of the invention may take. The alternative embodiments illustrated in Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 also show how a number of novel structures may also be employed in addition with the clean-out apparatus to prevent such clean-out apparatus from falling into a well, e.g. by being pumped off of a wire line. The embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and 9, in addition,-is provided with the shear pins 118 to permit subsequent recovery operations even though thegland 116 should become stuck in thepipe 32. Theapertures 136 ofsub 134 in Fig. 10, of course, need not be machined therein, but may be provided by shooting a gun perforator. It is, of course, obvious that many other changes and modifications of the invention may also be made without departing from the true scope as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Hydraulic apparatus for opening a plugged fish to be removed from a well hole comprising a pipe adapted to be extended into said hole, to a location adjacent the fish to be removed; a fishing tool attached to the lower end of said pipe, said tool including a cylindrical body of the same diameter as the pipe and a skirt depending from the lower end of said body and formed to an inner and outer diameter greater than the inner and outer diameters, respectively, of the body, said skirt being adapted to receive the upper end of the fish to be removed; an elongated tubing extending longitudinally and centrally of said pipe, said tubing having its outer surface spaced inwardly a substantial extent from the inner surface of the pipe and body of the fishing tool, said tubing being formed open at its lower end for exerting fluid pressure therethrough against debris accumulating within said fish, the tubing being shiftable in the direction of its length within the pipe and fishing tool body and when so shifted extending a distance sufficient to bring the lower end of thetubing to a level lower than the fishreceiving end of the skirt; and means providing a seal interposed between the outer surface of the tubing and the inner surface of said pipe, to prevent a backward flow of flu'idpressure within the pipe exteriorly of the tubing, beyond the location of the seal.

2. Hydraulic apparatus for opening a plugged fish to be removed from a well hole comprising a pipe adapted to be extended into said hole, to a location adjacent the fish to be removed; a fishing tool adapted to be attached to the lower end of said pipe, said tool including a cylindrical body of the same diameter as the pipe and a skirt depending from the lower end of said body and formed to an inner and outer diameter greater than the inner and outer diameters, respectively, of the body, said skirt being adapted to receive the upper end of the fish to be removed; an elongated tubing extending longitudinally and centrally of said pipe, said tubing having its outer surface spaced inwardly a substantial extent from the inner surfacev of the pipe and body of the fishing tool, said tubing being formed open at its lower end for exerting fluid pressure therethrough against debris accumulating within said fish, the tubing being shiftable in the a direction of its length within the pipe and fishing tool body and when so shifted extending a distance sufficient to bring the lower end of the tubing to a level lower than the fish-receiving end of the skirt; and means providing a seal interposed between the outer surface of the tubing axial bore and engaging said tubing to prevent leakage,

between the tubing and gland.

3. Hydraulic apparatus for opening a plugged fish to be removed from a well hole comprising a pipe adapted to be extended into said hole, to a location adjacent the fish to be removed; a fishing tool adapted to be attached to the lower end of said pipe, said tool including a cylindrical body of the same diameter as the pipe and a skirt depending from the lower end of said body and formed to an inner and outer diameter greater than the inner and outer diameters, respectively, of the body, said skirt being adapted to receive the upper end of the fish to be removed; an elongated tubing extending longitudinally and centrally of said pipe, said tubing having its outer surface spaced inwardly a substantial extent from the inner surface of the pipe and body of the fishing tool, said tubing being formed open at its lower end for exerting fluid pressure therethrough against debris accumulating within said fish, the tubing being shiftable in the direction of its length within the pipe and fishing tool body and when so shifted extending a distance suflicient to bring the lower end of the tubing to a level lower than the fishreceiving end of the skirt; and means providing a seal interposed between the outer surface of the tubing and the inner surface of said pipe, to prevent a backward flow of fluid pressure within.the pipe exteriorly of the;tubing, beyond the location of the seal, said fishing tool including circumferentially spaced slips afiixed to the inner surface of said skirt inwardly from the fish-receiving end of. the skirt, said slips projecting radially and inwardly of fish and skirt through which fluid forced through the tub- 10 ing, and debris forced out of the fish by said fluid, may pass to a location exteriorly of the drill pipe for flow out of the well hole.

4. Hydraulic apparatus for opening a plugged pipe comprising an unplugged pipe adapted to be extended into a well hole to a location adjacent the plugged pipe;

means on said unplugged pipe adapted to engage said plugged pipe; an elongated tubing extending longitudinally and centrally of said unplugged pipe, said tubing having its outer surface spaced inwardly a substantial extent from the inner surface of the unplugged pipe, said tubing being formed open at its lower end for exerting fluid pressure therethrough against debris accumulating within said plugged pipe, the tubing being shiftable in the direction of its length within the unplugged pipe and when so shifted extending a distance suflicient to bring the lower end of the tubing to a level lower than the lower end of said unplugged pipe; and means providing a seal interposed between the outer surface of the tubing and the inner surface of said unplugged pipe, to prevent a backward flow of fluid pressure within the unplugged pipe exteriorly of the tubing, beyond the location of the seal, said means comprising an internal, annular shoulder formed upon the inner surface of the unplugged pipe, and a packing gland having an axial bore in which said tubing is slidable, said gland being bodily slidable upon the tube and being proportioned to engage against said shoulder,' the gland having packing means forming a part at least of the wall of said axial bore and engaging said tubing to prevent leakage between the tubing and gland.

5. In a well bore having a length of unplugged pipe disposed therein and having a length of up-ended debris plugged pipe disposed in the well below the unplugged length of pipe, the method of circulating fluid to erode and carry said debris from said plugged pipe to the surface through a space exterior of said unplugged pipe, said method comprising the steps of; providing an opening above the debris to the well bore for exit fluid passage; lowering a length of tubing of smaller external diameter than said pipes by means of a wire line into the unplugged pipe and into a position in said pipe so that a portion of said tubing extends from the unplugged pipe into a position in said plugged pipe adjacent the debris; directing a circulating fluid downwardly into said unplugged pipe and into and through said tubing, increasing the velocity of fluid flow in said tubing by positioning means between said tubing and unplugged pipe for diverting fluid in the unplugged pipe into the said tubing; eroding debris out of said plugged pipe by means of the resulting high velocity fluid; circulating said eroded debris and fluid out of said plugged pipe into a space between said plugged pipev and said tubing; further circulating said debris and fluid upwardly and through the said opening provided for fluid exit passage and to the surface of the well bore through the annulus space formed by said unplugged pipe and said well bore; and successively lowering said tubing into the debris plugged pipe so as to maintain the lower portion thereof adjacent to the upper surface of the remaining debris in the plugged pipe and thereby eroding and removing remaining debris from the said plugged pipe.

6. A hydraulic apparatus for opening a debris plugged pipe in a well bore comprising an unplugged pipe adapted to be extended into a well bore to a location adjacent to the plugged pipe; a circulating sub having apertures for fluid passage in the wall thereof connected to said unplugged pipe, said sub having means adapted to engage said plugged pipe; an elongated tubing of smaller diameter than said pipes and movable by means of a wire line in said pipes and extending longitudinally within said unplugged pipe; said tubing being shiftable in the direction of its length within the unplugged pipe and when so shifted extending a distance sufiicient to bring the lower end of the said tubing to a level lower than the lower end of said unplugged pipe and into successively lower positions in the plugged pipe to erode debris therefrom; and

means positioned between said unplugged pipe and said tubing for diverting fluid from within said unplugged pipe under pressure into an upper region of said tubing and out of the lower region thereof at increased velocity.

7. In a well bore having a plugged pipe disposed therein, hydraulic apparatus for cleaning out material plugging the pipe, the said apparatus comprising: unplugged pipe means disposed in the well above said plugged pipe; spout-forming means adapted to be raised and lowered on a wire line in said unplugged pipe means so that a portion of said spout means may be extended from said unplugged pipe means into successive portions of the said plugged pipe; and a fluid-restricting device comprising an annular resilient body having a substantially V-shaped cross-section, said body being fixed to said spout-forming means 'with the vertex of the V disposed in engagement with the inner surface of said unplugged pipe means adapted to divert circulating fluid from the unplugged pipe means into said spout-forming means to cause said circulating fluid to flow through said spout-forming means at increased velocity, the upper end of said spout-forming means at all times adapted to extend above said restricting device while its lower end is positioned substantially below the lower end of said unplugged pipe means and into successively lower portions of the plugged pipe, whereby fluid may be circulated downwardly through said unplugged pipe means and through said spout-forming means at increased velocity to form a stream that will erode debris out of successively lower portions of the plugged pipe and carry said debris to the surface of the well bore through an annulus between the unplugged pipe and the well bore.

8. In a well bore having a plugged pipe disposed therein, hydraulic apparatus for cleaning out material plugging the pipe, the said apparatus comprising: unplugged pipe means disposed in the well above said plugged pipe; spoutforming means including a body portion having a first radial projection on its lower end and another length of tubing extending to the lower end thereof and disposed concentrically with and contiguous to said body portion, said other length of tubing being slidable with respect to said body portion and having an opposite and second radial projection thereon to engage said first radial portion to limit the downward movement of said other length of tubing along said body portion; said spout-forming means adapted to be raised and lowered on a wire line in said unplugged pipe means so that a portion of said spout means may be extended from said unplugged pipe means into successive portions of the said plugged pipe; and a fluid-restricting device comprising a tubing anchor adapted to divert circulating fluid from the unplugged pipe means into said spout-forming means to cause said circulating fluid to flow through said spout-forming means at increased velocity, the upper end of said spout-forming means at all times adapted to extend above said restricting device while its lower end is positioned substantially below the lower end of said unplugged pipe means and into successively lower portions of the plugged pipe, whereby fluid may be circulated downwardly through said unplugged pipe means and through said spout-forming means at increased velocity to form a stream that will erode debris out of successively lower portions of the plugged pipe and carry said debris to the surface of the well bore through an annulus between the unplugged pipe and the well bore.

9. In a well bore having a plugged pipe disposed therein, hydraulic apparatus for cleaning out material plugging the pipe, the said apparatus comprising: unplugged pipe means disposed in the well above said plugged pipe; spoutforming means adapted to be raised and lowered on a wire line in said unplugged pipe means so that a portion of said spout means may be extended from said unplugged pipe means into successive portions of the said plugged pipe, said spout-forming means being provided with apertures; a fluid-restricting device adapted to divert circulatring fluid from the unplugged pipe means into said spoutforming means to cause said circulating fluid to flow through said spout-forming means at increased velocity, the upper end of said spout-forming means at all times adapted to extend above said restricting device while its lower end is positioned substantially below the lower end of said unplugged pipe means and into successively lower portions of the plugged pipe, whereby fluid may be circulated downwardly through said unplugged pipe means and through said spout-forming means at increased velocity to form a stream that will erode debris out of successively lower portions of the plugged pipe and carry said debris to the surface of the well bore through an annulus between the unplugged pipe and the well bore; collar means slidable on said spout-forming means; and resilient means to urge said collar means upwardly along said spout-forming means to cover said apertures, said fluid restricting device being fixed to said collar means, whereby said collar means may be forced downwardly against said resilient means to open said apertures to relieve stress on said lowering means when the fluid pressure on said'fluid-restricting device becomes excessive.

10. An apparatus for eroding and removing debris from a length of an up-ended debris plugged first pipe in a well bore by means of a circulating fluid which erodes and carries the said debris from the said first pipe to the surface through a space exterior of the said apparatus, comprising: a second pipe of smaller diameter than the well bore and extending downwardly from an upper portion of the well bore adjacent to the upper end of said first pipe, a circulating sub attached to said second pipe and forming a fluid opening between said first and second pipes, a length of third pipe attached to a wire line extending from above the well bore and being movable by means of said line, said third pipe being of smaller diameter than said first and second pipes and positioned in said second pipe for longitudinal movement therein, so that a substantial portion of the length of said third pipe may be extended from the second pipe into successively lower positions in said first pipe, and means for diverting circulating fluid from said second pipe under pressure into an upper region of said third pipe and out of a lower region thereof at increased velocity into said first pipe, whereby fluid may be circulated downward through said second pipe and through said third pipe at increased velocity into successively lower positions in said first pipe to erode debris therefrom and carry said debris from said first pipe up to the surface through a passage formed between said small diameter third pipe and said first pipe and then through an opening between said first and second pipes and thence to the surface of the bore hole through an annulus between the second pipe and the well bore.

11. Hydraulic apparatus for opening a debris plugged pipe comprising an unplugged pipe adapted tobe extended into a well hole, to a location adjacent to the plugged pipe; means on said unplugged pipe adapted to engage said plugged pipe; an elongated tubing extending longitudinally and centrally of said unplugged pipe, said tubing having its outer surface spaced inwardly a substantial extent from the inner surface of the unplugged pipe, said tubing being formed open at its lower end for exerting fluid flow therethrough against debris accumulating within said plugged pipe, the tubing being shiftable in the direction of its length within the unplugged pipe by means of a wire line and when so shifted extending a distance suflicient to bring the lower end of the tubing to a level lower than the lower end; of said unplugged pipe and into successive lower positions in said plugged pipe; and means providing a seal interposed between the outer surface of the tubing and the inner surface of said unplugged pipe, to divert circulating fluid flowing downwardly in said unplugged pipe into said tubing and thereby increasing the velocity of flow of said circulating fluid to' provide a high velocity stream of said fluid suitable for eroding debris out of a length of the plugged pipe and carrying said debris to the surface of the References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES j PATENTS Scheurer Dec. 20, 1921 Ligon Ian. 12, 1926 14 Otis July 20, .1937 Pieper Nov. 7, 1939 Burt Apr. 9, 1940 Mallory Oct. 15, 1940 Osborn Feb. 24, 1942 Stewart et al.- July 29, 1953 Huber June 12, 1956 House et a1. Apr. 8, 1958

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