Otis Engineering Corporation

Ernest P Fisher, Jr

John H Yonker

William R Welch

William G Boyle

Carlos R Canalizo

David Bills

A molded resilient ring seal with support rings mold bonded or bonded and connected to both ends. The molded resilient material portion of the seal utilizes unique contouring to reduce internal resilient material stresses during use, enabling the seal to seal higher pressures at elevated temperatures for longer periods of time. A number of support ring configurations are also disclosed, which further enhance sealing ability of the resilient material.

Molded ring seal with end support rings

A gas lift valve device of the differentially operated type, having a straight, non-tortuous flow passage therethrough, with a hollow valve stem providing a portion of such passage, said device having a floating seat which automatically moves to valve engaging position to check backflow, the area of said seat being larger than the area of a piston on said stem and arranged so that the valve will close at a first predetermined differential pressure and will open at a second predetermined differential pressure which is lower than the first.

Differential gas lift valve

Seals

An improved shifting tool connectable in a well tool string and useful to engage and position a slidable sleeve in a sliding sleeve device in a well flow conductor. The selectively profiled shifting tool keys provide better fit with and more contact area between keys and slidable sleeves. When the engaged slidable sleeve cannot be moved up and the shifting tool is not automatically disengaged, emergency disengagement means may be utilized by applying upward force to the shifting tool sufficient to shear pins and cause all keys to be cammed inwardly at both ends to completely disengage for removal of the shifting tool from the sliding sleeve device.

Shifting tool

A side pocket mandrel designed primarily for controlling the flow of production fluid into a tubing string includes a sliding sleeve valve in the side wall receptacle for alternatively closing and opening the entry port into the receptacle. The sleeve valve is latched in its port-closing position, but is designed to enable removal from the receptacle bore for servicing; and a pulling tool is provided for removing the sleeve valve from the receptacle when desired. The sleeve is shifted to its port-opening position when a standing flow control valve is placed in the receptacle; and the standing valve has a large valve chamber and side entry and exit ports for the production fluid to provide for maximum flow. The standing valve provides a check valve into the producing zone, the valve closure member being a modified ball consisting of a cylindrical body with spherical ends and coacting with a spherical valve seat. During flow through the valve, the closure member is moved completely out of the flow path for maximum flow.

Well flow control apparatus

A single control line, surface controlled subsurface safety valve for controlling flow in a well, having a valve closure member responsive to the longitudinal movement of an operator tube disposed in the bore of the safety valve. The operator tube is moved to a position opening the valve closure member by action of a piston, housed in an annular pressure zone, which is responsive to control fluid pressure from the surface of the well. The operator tube is returned to a position closing the valve closure member by action of a resilient urging means housed in an annular chamber located above the annular pressure zone. There is no pressure differential between the bore of the safety valve and the annular chamber housing the resilient urging means.

Single line deep depth safety valve

A landing nipple having a port through the wall thereof which is controlled by a valve carried by a non-circular ring which ring may be moved toward circular position by introduction of a sleeve-like member into the bore through the ring to unseat the valve.

Landing nipple

A subsurface safety valve is combined with a locating means for locating the safety valve as it is pumped down into the well. A locking mandrel is provided that locks the safety valve in position after it has been located by a downward force being exerted on the locking means. When it is desired to remove the subsurface safety valve a pulling tool is run in and a downward force exerted to release the locking means permitting it thereafter to be retrieved from the well by reverse circulation.

Well tool

A locking mandrel including a pumpdown piston and flow control means in which a dog expander engages a shoulder in a landing nipple and is moved to dog expanded position to lock the locking mandrel in the landing nipple and in which the locking mandrel may be released from the landing nipple by moving the body thereof either upward or downward to shift the expander from under the dogs to permit them to retract and release the landing nipple.

Locking mandrel

A standing valve for controlling fluid flow through a well flow conductor. The standing valve allows formation fluids to enter the flow conductor downhole and to flow in one directin to the well surface. The standing valve functions as a check valve to prevent fluids injected into the flow conductor at the well surface from flowing out the other end of the well flow conductor. The standing valve is operated by changes in the velocity of fluids flowing through the valve. When the pressure of fluid injected into the flow conductor from the well surface exceeds a preselected value, an alternative flow path is opened within the standing valve to allow the injected fluid to flow in the other direction through the valve.

Velocity operated standing valve

A landing nipple, adaptable to be made up in a tubing string having a sliding sleeve disposed in its bore for selectively providing communication of balance and control pressure fluid to the nipple bore. When the sleeve is shifted to its first, upper position, balance fluid is conducted via the nipple to a tubing retrievable safety valve placed in the tubing string below the nipple. In the event the tubing retrievable safety valve is taken out of service, a secondary safety valve can be landed in the nipple, the sleeve shifted to its downward, second position, opening sleeve ports for conducting control and balance fluids to the landed, secondary safety valve. The nipple has a failed closed safety system provided by the novel arrangement of nipple entry ports for balance and control fluid, in that the control fluid entry port is in between two balance fluid ports and their seals, so that failure of the pressure seal exposed to tubing pressure causes tubing pressure to enter the balance pressure system closing the tubing retrievable or secondary safety valve, whichever is presently in service.

Disclosed is a surface controlled subsurface safety valve adapted to be landed in a dual line landing nipple. The safety valve is used to control well fluids conducted through the bore of a well tubing string. The valve has a control fluid pressure chamber and a balance pressure chamber along with a zone in the valve exposed to balance fluid pressure. The control fluid pressure chamber is interspersed between the balance fluid pressure chamber and the balance pressure zone, and has a system of seals associated therewith, that provide a fail-closed safety system. Tubing bore pressure, in the event of seal failure, enters the balance pressure chamber, causing the safety valve to close. This abstract of the disclosure is neither intended to define the scope of the invention which, of course, is measured by the claims nor is it intended to limit the invention in any way.

Growing community of inventors

Carrollton, TX, United States of America

Ernest P Fisher, Jr