Interventek Subsea Engineering Limited

Enovate Systems Limited

Expro North Sea Limited

Gavin David Cowie

John David Sangster

Jeffrey Charles Edwards

A rotary actuator comprises a unitary housing having a cavity therein and defining a continuous internal sealing surface. A rotary piston is located within the cavity in sealing engagement with the sealing surface of the cavity such that the rotary piston divides the cavity into isolated first and second chambers, wherein the rotary piston is arranged to rotate about a rotation axis in accordance with a pressure differential applied between the first and second chambers.

Rotary actuator

A valve apparatus comprises a housing defining a flowpath extending between a valve inlet and a valve outlet and an access port formed in a wall of the housing separately from the valve inlet and the valve outlet to provide access to the flowpath at a location which is intermediate the valve inlet and valve outlet. A valve mechanism is mounted within the flowpath, wherein the valve mechanism in insertable through the access port.

Valve

A first cutter is provided on an edge region of a first surface of a gate valve member to be moveable across the flow path with the gate valve member along a first cutting plane. A first seal pocket is defined by a depression in the first surface of the gate valve, wherein a second peripheral seal surface is provided within the first seal pocket. The first valve seat and the gate valve member are axially moveable relative to each other to permit a portion of the first valve seat to become received into the first seal pocket of the gate valve member when said gate valve member is located within its second position to provide sealing engagement between the first and second peripheral seal surfaces.

Gate valve

A subsea test tree comprises a housing defining a flow path, a valve member mounted in the housing and an actuator coupled to the housing. A drive arrangement extends through a wall of the housing to operatively connect the actuator to the valve. The actuator is operable to operate the valve member to control fluid flow along the fluid pathway. Also disclosed are improvements to actuators.

Test tree and actuator

A rotary actuator comprises a rotatable vane assembly mounted within a housing to define first and second chambers, wherein the rotatable vane assembly is rotatable between first and second positions. A first fluid port is in communication with the first chamber to permit an actuation fluid to be delivered to/from the first chamber, and a second fluid port is in communication with the second fluid chamber to permit actuation fluid to be delivered to/from the second fluid chamber. A sealing arrangement is provided for sealing at least one of the first and second fluid ports when the vane assembly is located in one or both of its first and second positions.

A valve apparatus () comprises a housing () defining a flow path (), a valve seat () located within the housing () around a periphery of the flow path (), a carriage member () located within the housing (), a cutting arrangement () mounted on the carriage member (), and a valve member () mounted on the carriage member () via a connection assembly () which permits relative movement between the valve member () and the carriage member (). The carriage member () is moveable from a first position towards a second position to drive the cutting arrangement () across the flow path () and to move the valve member () into a position in which relative movement between the valve member () and the carriage member () permits the valve member () to sealingly engage and disengage the valve seat () to control flow along the flow path ().

Valve apparatus

A ball valve () for sealing a conduit () is described. The ball valve includes a housing having a throughbore and a valve seat. An apertured ball element () is mounted within the housing and is rotatable about an axis of rotation () between a throughbore open and a throughbore closed position. The apertured ball element () has a first portion () and a second portion () coupled together which are rotatable and moveable relative to each other. The first portion has a sealing surface for engaging with the valve seat. In use, in the throughbore closed position, the second portion is moveable relative to the first portion to axially displace the first portion from the axis of rotation towards the valve seat such that the sealing surface on the first portion of the apertured ball forms a seal with valve seat.

Axially energisable ball valve

A completion suspension valve system is described which allows a well to be suspended and desuspended remotely without a dual bore riser to the surface. This is achieved by incorporating a remotely actuatable valve into the production bore of a tubing hanger. The valve is hydraulically operable and may be controlled via the tubing hanger running tool or via the xmas tree. The valve can be closed and tested after the tubing hanger has been installed, thereby isolating the well. The dual bore riser and running tool are retrievable and the MODU type vessel is then free to continue drilling and completion operations elsewhere. The xmas tree can therefore be deployed from a workclass supply boat instead of a MODU type vessel.

Completion suspension valve system

A bearing mounted ball valve () comprises a housing () having a throughbore and a valve seat () and an apertured ball () mounted within the housing in continuous engagement with the valve seat. The apertured ball is rotatable by rotation means (), about an axis of rotation, between a throughbore open position and a throughbore closed position. The bearing mounted ball valve further comprises bearing means () coupled between the apertured ball and the housing for constraining the rotation of the apertured ball about the axis of rotation between the throughbore open and the throughbore closed position. In the throughbore closed position, the bearing means is adapted to release the apertured ball from the axis of rotation to permit the apertured ball to float into a sealing engagement with the valve seat.

Bearing mounted ball valve and method of use

A wellbore control device () for sealing a wellbore is described. The device has, in a preferred arrangement, two opposed cutting rams () which are coupled to respective linkage mechanisms (). The linkage mechanisms translate axial movement of a piston into radial movement to move the rams towards each other in the device throughbore. This results in an effective wellbore control device having a compact size and shape which can be encompassed within a wellbore.

Wellbore control device

A self-contained well intervention system which can be deployed from a lightweight vessel and coupled directly to a wellhead is described. The system includes valve means for providing a suitable well barrier and sealing the intervention system to allow an emergency disconnect. Within the intervention system, a tool magazine is provided which contains at least one deployable intervention tool. The intervention system also contains a tool selection and deployment means based on a winch located in close proximity to the magazine and which is operable from the surface for selecting a particular tool from the magazine and for deploying the selected tool through the intervention system and the wellhead into the well. The tool magazine has a plurality of magazine pockets each of which may have a deployable tool therein. The tool selection and deployment means can be used to select and to join the selected tools together within the intervention system to form an intervention tool string which can be run into the wellhead so that a plurality of different operations can be performed within the well during an intervention.

Autonomous well intervention system

A ball valve ( ) is described which has a ball valve retaining mechanism which, when subject to very slight movement, allows a ball element ( ) to be unloaded off a valve seat ( ) during rotation, but remain in contact with the valve seat ( ) so as to prevent debris ingress between the ball and the valve seat, and to instantaneously reload onto the valve seat upon the event of closure. This instantaneous and automatic redirection of the reaction load path at the occurrence of closure provides an effective seal against high pressure aggressive fluids to prevent fluid escaping beyond the valve components whilst, at the same time, allowing effective rotational movement of the valve to occur without providing rotational reliability. This solution allows conflicting load paths through the valve to be resolved, namely through the trunnion during rotation and through the valve seat during sealing.

Growing community of inventors

Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

Gavin David Cowie