Patent 7562709 was granted and assigned to Schlumberger on July, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A gravel pack apparatus for use in a wellbore includes a screen assembly to filter particulates, at least one shunt conduit to carry gravel slurry, and a swellable element around a portion of the at least one shunt conduit. The swellable element swells in response to an input stimulus and expands radially outwardly to seal against the wellbore.