Method of Milling a Mounting Location for an Adaptive Support and Setting the Adaptive Support in a Tubular Located in a Borehole

Abstract

A method of preparing a mounting location in a tubular disposed in a borehole features milling a support location and then releasing an adaptive support to position it in the mounting location directly or indirectly by releasing the adaptive support offset from the mounting location and then translating the adaptive support to the mounting location or directly into the support location without translating. A mill centralizing anchor compensates for internal out of roundness of the tubular. Uniformity of the wall thickness at the milling location is determined in conjunction with the centralizing feature to obtain a mounting location that extends circumferentially for as much as 360 degrees, without materially reducing the pressure integrity of the tubular being milled. The recess, groove or equivalent that is the mounting location can have planar or/and arcuate surfaces. The adaptive support can be released using stored potential energy in the adaptive support.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method of creating a support location for at least one tool in a tubular string disposed in a borehole, comprising:
 removing a part of an inside wall of the tubular string when the tubular string is in the borehole to create at least one support location;   positioning the at least one tool in said at least one support location;   performing a borehole operation with said at least one tool.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 directly positioning said at least one tool in said at least one support location.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 indirectly positioning said at least one tool in said at least one support location;   translating said at least one tool in the tubular string into said at least one support location.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , comprising:
 translating said at least one tool in the tubular string with applied pressure from an uphole location in the tubular string.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 releasing potential energy stored in said at least one tool for said positioning.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , comprising:
 forming said tool in the shape of a coiled spring.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 performing said removing and said positioning in a single trip.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 performing said removing with a mill.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising:
 centralizing said mill prior to said removing;   anchoring said mill prior to said removing.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 perforating the tubular string in the same trip as said removing and said positioning;   shaping said at least one tool in the form of a coiled spring;   obstructing a passage in the tubular string with at least one object delivered to said coiled spring;   pressure treating at least one formation surrounding the tubular string through perforations made by said perforating with pressure applied against said at least one object.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 creating at least one ledge surface by said removing that extends continuously for as much as 360 degrees.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , comprising:
 locating said at least one ledge surface in an end of a groove or recess having a height larger than said at least one tool.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , comprising:
 sensing in real time at a surface location at least one of the position of said mill with respect to an inside diameter of the tubular string at the milling location, the depth of a groove or recess made by said mill, the angular extent of said groove or recess made by said mill and the wall thickness of the tubular string in the groove or recess made by said mill.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 creating multiple said support locations in a single trip with said removing;   delivering a said tool in a plurality of said multiple support locations in said single trip.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , comprising:
 extending said ledge surface in at least one of a spiral manner, in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the tubular string and in a direction skewed with respect to a longitudinal axis of the tubular string.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , comprising:
 forming a spiral shape in a bottom wall of said groove or recess.