INWARDLY SWELLING SEAL

摘要

A gravel pack apparatus and method that allows a gravel slurry to placed in a wellbore from a toe of a wellbore towards the heel to reduce the pressure acting upon the heel of the wellbore during the gravel placement operation. The apparatus has an inwardly swelling seal for sealing against a washpipe of the packer apparatus during gravel packing operations and for completely isolating the tubular below the packer after gravel packing operations. By reducing the pressure acting upon the heel gravel slurry may be placed in longer sections of the wellbore in a single operation.