Vetco Gray Inc.

Ge Oil Gas Pressure Control LP

David Daniel Comeaux

Mahesha Udipi

James J Howell

Robert Kevin Law

Anton J Dach, Jr

Richard Porteous

Keith McKinley Adams

Charles Edward Jennings

Travis Kyle McEvoy

Lloyd Ray Cheatham

Gangbing Song

Frank C Adamek

Eugene Allen Borak

Kwong-Onn Chan

Chau Hoang

Mark Anthony Viator

Ben Calvin Holgate

Dhaval Mistry

Johnny E Jurena

Noel A Monjure

Mariusz Karp

Edward York

David J Sedgwick

Theerapong Prachakvej

John Murphy

Erin E Zimmermann, Jr

Jiabiao Ruan

Jose R Menchaca, Jr

Systems, apparatus, and program code, and methods for monitoring the health and other conditions of the valve, are provided. An exemplary system for monitoring the condition of the gate valve includes a logic module configured to perform the operations of receiving sensor data providing an acoustic emission, vibration, and/or stream level signature and determining the level of lubricity, level of friction, level of surface degradation, and leakage rate at a gate-valve seat interface. An exemplary method for monitoring the condition of the gate valve includes receiving sensor data providing an acoustic emission, vibration, and/or stream level signature and determining the level of lubricity, level of friction, level of surface degradation, and leakage rate at a gate-valve seat interface.

Gate valve real time health monitoring system, apparatus, program code and related methods

A gate valve includes a body with a flow passage intersected by a gate cavity and a gate with an axis, the gate being axially movable in the gate cavity between a gate closed position and a gate open position. A lifting device is in engagement with a stem of the gate to move the gate to the gate open position. A port extends from a first external surface of the gate to a second external surface of the gate. A seal member is mechanically connected to the lifting device, the seal member being moveable in response to axial movement of the lifting device between a seal open position where fluids can flow through the port and a seal closed position where the seal member blocks fluids from flowing through the port.

Pressure equalizing valve

An apparatus for assisting an actuator to close a valve has a cylindrical booster housing with a central axis. The booster housing includes an upward facing piston cavity and a downward facing lower cavity with internal threads for selectively coupling with external threads of a piston head of a valve actuator. A bulkhead is formed between the piston cavity and the lower cavity. The bulkhead has an opening for selectively accepting an actuator stem of the valve actuator therethrough. A booster piston is located within the piston cavity. The booster piston has a piston mounting means located on its bottom side for selectively securing a top end of the actuator stem of the valve actuator to the booster piston. The booster piston is moveable upwards in an axial direction to move the valve from a lower open position to an upper closed position.

Power boost assist closed device for actuators

A casing annulus remediation hose assembly having a hose with an inlet in selective fluid communication with a fluid supply and an exit connected to a nozzle. On the nozzle is an insertion tip for facilitating insertion and retrieval of the hose assembly in and out of an annulus in a wellhead assembly. The insertion tip has an outer annular flexible housing that is coaxially attached to the nozzle and spherical weighted members arranged in series in the housing. A cable extends coaxially from a downstream end of the nozzle and through each weighted member.

System and method for remediating a wellbore annulus

A gate valve assembly having a body, a gate, a stem, and a backseat for sealing between the stem and the body. The backseat is an annular member with a complementary surface on its inside that fits over a spherically shaped section of the stem; thus allowing the backseat to rotate and pivot with respect to the stem. An outer surface of the backseat is beveled for sealingly engaging a stem passage formed through the body. A flex member is provided that is for sealing a surface adjacent the backseat. The flex member can form a seal between the backseat member and the stem or between an annular retainer and the backseat.

Self aligning spherical backseat assembly for a valve

A gate valve includes a floating gate valve seat that effects a seal between a gate of a gate valve and a gate valve body using a metal seal. The gate valve includes a floating gate valve seat interposed between a gate and a gate valve body. The gate valve seat has a spring member with a cylindrical portion secured to the gave valve seat. The spring member has a leg that exerts a spring force against the gate valve body to maintain a seal between the floating gate valve seat and the gate. A metal-to-metal seal seals between the cylindrical portion of the spring member and a cylindrical portion of the gate valve seat.

Replaceable floating gate valve seat seal

A remote operated vehicle (ROV) interface has a retrievable portion and a permanent portion. The permanent portion includes a housing that has a cavity that secures to a drive stem of the subsea well device. The housing has a pod cavity on an opposite end that receives a pod body, which is part of the retrievable portion. The pod body is secured by spring-biased retainer within the pod cavity. The pod body has a cylindrical receptacle that receives a drive pin, which forms another part of the retrievable portion. The drive pin and the cylindrical receptacle are engaged for rotation by a shear element. The pod body has an ROV retrieval profile that is accessible by an ROV. In the event the shear element shears due to excessive torque, an ROV retrieval tool engages the pod body and retrieves the pod body along with the drive pin.

Remote operated vehicle interface with overtorque protection

A system and method for accessing an annulus within a wellhead assembly while the annulus is pressurized. The system includes a tubular body with an attached valve assembly and adapter. The adapter to the wellhead assembly with a sealed annular fitting. The body houses a selectively extendable plunger assembly rotatable by an attached motor. A bit or milling device is provided on the end of the plunger assembly, so that selectively extending the plunger assembly through the valve assembly and adapter contacts the bit against the wellhead assembly. An opening is formed through the wellhead assembly with the rotating bit allowing access to the annulus.

Tool and method for providing access to a wellhead annulus

A torque limiter for use in an actuating drive stem of a subsea wellhead having a collar with an axial bore and a slot through its side. The slot includes a projection directed towards a lower end of the collar and has an edge oriented oblique to the collar axis. A driven shaft inserts in the bore, and a pin mounted in the driven shaft engages the slot. A spring assembly coupled to the driven shaft pushes the collar to retain the pin in the end of the projection. A driveshaft with a drive pin inserts into the bore on an upper side of the collar. The upper end of the collar includes a shoulder that contacts the drive pin when the collar rotates. The spring compresses when excessive torque is in the driven shaft moving the pin up the projection and disengaging the drive pin and shoulder.

Torque tripping mechanism for a valve

An adapter for connecting a casing annulus remediation system to a well having a wellhead with standard lateral ports. The adapter has a body with first and second ends. The first end of the adapter body has a substantially planar surface adapted to cover the lateral ports and be in abutting contact with the wellhead when the two are connected to one another. The second end of the adapter body has a planar surface positioned at an angle greater than 0 degrees and up to 90 degrees to the planar surface of the first end. The second end of the adapter is adapted to be connected to a casing annulus remediation system.

Varying access points for tubing and casing monitoring and casing annulus remediation systems

A split gate is movably mounted within a valve body along a valve axis between valve seats. The split gate has gates, each extending between one of the valve seats and the other gate. In an open position, gate holes register with a fluid aperture and the valve seats to permit fluid flow. In the closed position, the holes do not register with the fluid aperture to prevent fluid flow. The split gate valve also has a gate guide located in the body for moving the gates with respect to the valve seats along the fluid axis. The gate guide forces the pair of gates apart along the fluid axis and into contact with the valve seats in both the open and closed positions. The gates have axial play along the fluid axis when the split gate is between the open and closed positions.

System, method and apparatus for split gate valve with mechanically isolated seal surfaces

A drive assembly for inserting hose within a wellhead housing that intermittently reciprocates the hose feed into the housing. The intermittent reciprocating action feeds the hose past obstacles in the wellhead housing, such as within annuluses between tubulars. The drive assembly includes rollers that frictionally contact the hose and when rotated drive the hose forward. The rollers are rotated by a drive sprocket that is rotated by a hand crank. An offset cam assembly between the hand crank and the drive sprocket adds an orbital/reciprocating motion to the drive assembly.

Device to insert a flexible member into pressurized wellhead housing

A method of cleaning debris from a string of production tubing in a well enables removal without pulling the string of rods that extend through the tubing. A rotary pump is suspended to a lower end of the tubing for pumping well fluid through the tubing to a wellhead at the surface. A motor assembly at the surface rotates the rods to drive the pump. A closure member is placed on a lower end of an elastomeric hose that will open when a selected level of internal fluid pressure is applied. The operator applies internal pressure to the hose at a pressure less than the selected level to increase rigidity of the hose. The operator inserts the hose through a port in a sidewall of the wellhead, the hose deflecting downward and into the tubing. At a desired point, the operator increases the internal pressure in the hose to open the closure member, then discharges a cleansing fluid into the tubing, which flows back up the tubing along with debris.

Remedial system to flush contaminants from tubing string

A gate valve has seat rings pressed into counterbores to form seals. Each counterbore is located at an intersection of a flow passage with a central cavity of a body of the gate valve. The counterbore has a cylindrical constant diameter sidewall. The seat ring has an outer end that forms a pilot section and is of smaller outer diameter than the inner diameter of the counterbore. The seat ring also has an outer portion that is of equal or larger diameter than the inner portion, defining an interference section. The interference section creates an interference fit with the counterbore, forming a seal.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

David Daniel Comeaux