United States Filter Corporation

Mobil Oil Corporation

Uop Lcc

Weatherford Technology Holdings, LLC

George A Gillespie

Stephen A Uban

David Wade Bryant

Steven J Tupy

Christophe Malbrel

Phong Vu

David Bruxelle

Michael William Neal

Well screen assembly for use in horizontal wells and other situations where tensile, torsion and bending forces can damage well screens which are welded to their end supports provides a floating mounting which eliminates welding of the screen segments. A pair of complementary inner and outer slip rings are provided at one end of the well screen assembly with the inner ring being in sealed relationship with a screen segment and the outer ring being integrally affixed to an outer protective cover member and an axial support member such as a pipe base member or a tubular end fitting. The inner ring is free to slide and rotate relative to the outer ring.

Well screen with floating mounting

Well casing assembly for use in oil and gas wells, and especially deviated or horizontal wells, has an inner pipe member with threaded ends which permit a number of casing assemblies to be joined in a string. The inner pipe has a series of perforations along a segment of its length which are covered by an elongated screen member which prevents the passage of sand particles. A concentric outer protective cover member is devoid of perforations in regions which are radially opposite the inner screen to prevent damage to the screen. One or more perforated segments of the outer member are axially spaced from the screen member so that inward flow from a formation will have its energy and velocity reduced before it reaches the screen, thereby minimizing erosion of the screen surface. If desired, perforated flow control devices such as annular rings can be located between the inner pipe and outer member at the ends of the screen segment to allow a more uniform flow to the screen, and thus further reduce erosion.

Well casing assembly with erosion protection for inner screen

An alternate-path, well screen made-up of joints and having a sleeve positioned between the ends of adjacent joints which acts as a manifold for fluidly-connecting the alternate-paths on one joint with the alternate-paths on an adjacent joint.

Alternate-path well screen having protected shunt connection

Screen for use in collecting and/or distributing process flow streams has profiled surface wires welded to channel-shaped support members and is preferably made by helically wrapping and welding a profiled surface wire around the elongated channel members which are rotated about the screen axis to produce a cylindrical slotted screen which is then cut along a line parallel to its axis, flattened, and either used flat or rerolled and welded at right angles to its original direction so that the channels form hoop-like supports. The channels are preferably apertured to such an extent that the total open area for an inlet stream flow on the channel side of the screen is less than the open area of the slots on the wire side of the screen. Also, it should be noted that the outer edge of each leg portion of each of the channel members is positioned so close to the outer edge of a leg portion of an adjacent channel member that substantially all of the process stream will flow through the aperatures. Thus, the pressure drop through the screen is controlled by the apertures in the channels with the result that the screen surface can be provided with slot widths of optimum size relative to the particle size of material to be contacted thereby.

Screen for collection and distribution of process streams

Growing community of inventors

Coon Rapids, MN, United States of America

George A Gillespie