Y-Tool and bypass system

The Y-tool and bypass system and the Auto Y-tool™ subsurface automatic diverter system provide access to the reservoir below the electric submersible pump (ESP), enabling stimulation, logging, and other interventions with wireline or coiled tubing (CT) without the need to retrieve the completion. They also provide methods to configure more than one ESP in a well to accomplish production goals.

Installed on the production tubing, the Y-tool furnishes two separate conduits. One conduit is concentric with the production tubing and enables access to the reservoir below the ESP. The second conduit is offset and used to support the ESP system.

For specialized ESP completion designs, the Y-tool reduces cost by eliminating the need to pull the completion string when remedial borehole intervention is required. The tool provides access to the well below the ESP enabling logging and other intervention operations.

In multiple ESP completion designs, the proprietary Auto Y-Tool subsurface automatic diverter system prevents fluid recirculation. When an ESP is not running, the diverter opens automatically, permitting access below the pump. A subsurface automatic flow check system allows unassisted flow to bypass an ESP that is not running. A stationary pump impedes natural flow and can restrict flow as it moves through the pump stages. This choking effect will raise bottomhole pressure, effectively reducing production. The automatic flow check system creates an unrestricted bypass path for production flow.

The Auto Y-Tool subsurface automatic diverter system consists of a spring-loaded diverter valve that seals off the bypass tubing whenever the pump is running. The system saves time in wireline and CT operations, typically reducing the number of runs by two for any given well intervention.

The system automatically closes from the flow produced from the downhole pump. However, the diverter can be locked in the open position to enable logging while the pump is running.

Switching between an upper and lower ESP does not require an intervention. Simply stopping one ESP and starting the other causes the diverter to switch positions, allowing production from the selected ESP while eliminating fluid recirculation.