Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

Baker Hughes Corporation

Brad Richard Pickle

Ross Glen Dusterhoft

Luke William Holderman

Jean-Marc Lopez

Frank David Kalb

Michael Linley Fripp

Martin Paul Coronado

Leo Guadalupe Collins

Steven Rowell Hayter

Antonio Lazo

Adam Evan Beck

Bharat Bajirao Pawar

Michael Wade Meaders

Charles David McFate

Matthew Lawrence Apiecionek

A sub-surface safety valve having a positional flapper, a valve seat, and a remotely actionable opening prong. The opening prong comprising at least one of a debris wiper, filter, and at least one flow hole. The wiper, filter, and at least one flow hole function according to either position or movement of the flapper and opening prong and prevent debris buildup around the valve seat. The wiper is an extendible material in communication with the valve seat and a surface of the opening prong and it extends radially in response to closing the valve. The extension of the wiper in response to closing the flapper cause the wiper to scrape the surface of the valve seat. The filter can comprise a screen integrated with or attached to the opening prong. The flow holes can be in the form of angled flow holes or elongated slots.

Sub-surface safety valve assembly

A flow tube is axially moveable within an actuator body between a first axial position and a second axial position for actuating a downhole tool, such as for closing a subsurface safety valve. The flow tube includes an interior flow bore for conveying fluids from the tubing string through the actuator body. An external flow tube profile defined on the flow tube includes an upper shoulder for engagement with a wiper in the first axial position, a lower shoulder for engagement with the wiper in the second axial position, and a clearance path between the upper and lower shoulders for allowing viscous flow past the wiper when the flow tube is moved between the first and second axial positions.

Downhole tool actuator with viscous fluid clearance paths

A flow control system for a well includes a primary safety valve and a secondary safety valve disposable within a valve body of the primary safety valve. The secondary safety valve may include a control line port for receiving control fluid pressure from the same control line as the primary safety valve. A choke in fluid communication with the control line port delays a closing of the secondary safety valve relative to a closing of the primary safety valve in response to a decrease in the control fluid pressure.

Well flow control using delayed secondary safety valve

A method of hydraulically actuating downhole equipment includes supplying pressure P(z) to a downhole network comprising tools T(n), tool T(x), control lines C(z), and control lines Y(z), wherein n and z are integers, and x=n+1, wherein a pressure P(z) is applied to tool T(n) using at least one control line C(z) in hydraulic communication with tool T(n); applying pressure P(z) to a hydraulically movable portion of tool T(n), wherein pressure P(z) to tool T(n) is not high enough to independently activate tool T(x); and applying each pressure P(z) to a hydraulically movable portion of tool T(x), wherein tool T(x) is only activated when all of pressures P(z) are simultaneously applied to the hydraulically movable portion of tool T(x), and wherein tool T(x) is only activated when each pressure P(z) is at least at a preset value PV(z).

Activating a downhole tool with simultaneous pressure from multiple control lines

Techniques for sealing an annulus between a well tool and a tubular include moving the well tool through a wellbore in a run-in position, the well tool including a seal and a sleeve carried on the mandrel, and covering, in the run-in position, an exterior surface of the seal opposite an interior surface of the seal that faces the mandrel; landing the well tool in a tubular that includes a shoulder on an inner surface of the tubular and a seal bore on the inner surface of the tubular, the sleeve adjacent the shoulder upon landing the well tool; and receiving a force that moves a portion of the well tool further downhole to expose at least a part of the seal to the inner surface of the tubular to create a seal between an exterior surface of the well tool and the inner surface of the tubular.

Sealing a downhole tool

A downhole flow control system utilizes a tubing pressure operated valve to selectively open and close fluid flow across the system. The tubing pressure operated valve includes a piston responsive to tubing pressure, and a valve element responsive to piston movement. The valve element can be moved rotationally, longitudinally, or both, in response to the piston movement. The valve is movable between a closed and at least one open position. The piston and valve elements can be releasably attachable, such as by a one-way ratchet. The valve element can be a rotating valve operable by a J-slot mechanism to rotate to multiple positions in response to movement of the piston element.

Tubing pressure operated downhole fluid flow control system

A flow control assembly can be mechanically adjusted, rotationally or translationally, inside a tubing downhole between multiple positions by an intervening tool from the surface to change resistivity to flow through the flow control assembly. The positions among which the flow control assembly can be adjusted can include a closed position, a fully open position, and positions at which fluid experiences various resistances prior to flowing to an inner area of the tubing.

Mechanically adjustable flow control assembly

A housing can be mounted adjacent an isolation valve and after a fixed number of on and off pressure cycles allow a spring to push an actuator to operate the valve to an open position. The actuator, can be reset with a tool run into the module to move the actuator back against a power spring and hold that spring force until the pressure cycling begins again. The preferred application is for a formation isolation ball valve but other valves, such as sliding sleeves, or other types of downhole tools can be actuated with the module that permits a retrofit of a hydraulic operation to a heretofore purely mechanically actuated tool. The actuation force to initially open is boosted by a secondary potential energy source that is unlocked to give an initial boost force to the indexing spring that is part of a j-slot actuation mechanism.

Barrier valve hydraulic operator with compound valve opening force feature

A series of screens with restrictors to equalize flow through base pipe perforations downstream or upstream of each restrictor features a valve member in the openings so that the screens are closed to flow for run in. Pressure can be developed within the base pipe for operation of downhole equipment below the screens such as a mud motor or in the screen liner such as a packer with no need for an internal string or wash pipe. The openings can be opened selectively when the associated equipment connected to the base pipes has been operated. The valve member can be actuated to open in a variety of ways such as applied pressure, temperature or a change in well fluid condition.

Growing community of inventors

Frisco, TX, United States of America

Brad Richard Pickle