Hydrocarbon extraction service providers, including oil and gas companies, have determined that to more effectively produce hydrocarbons from wells, sections of a well may be isolated and the individual sections may be treated and produced separately. One method for isolating sections of a well includes a process referred to in the art as “plug and perf”, which refers to the process of isolating a section of a well with a “plug” and subsequently “perforating” a section of the well. This process allows individual sections of the well to be perforated or otherwise treated while keeping the other sections of the well independent. As such, when a first section of a well requires a treatment that is different than a second section of the well, each section of the well may be treated as required rather than providing the same treatment to an entire well.
There are various apparatuses and methods that are used to isolate sections of wells. Frac plugs and bridge plugs are two types of plugs that are used to isolate sections of wells. Currently frac and bridge plugs are inefficient to install and remove, increase the time and costs associated with using such plugs.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds