Cameron Iron Works USA, Inc.

Cameron Iron Works, Inc.

Cooper Industries, Inc.

Ingram Cactus Company

Jerry D Smith

Edward J Szymczak

Delbert E Vanderford

William M Taylor

Thomas G Cassity

Brian Saunders

Michael P Hartmann

Larry M Hoes

Timothy C Davies

Philip F Huang

Peer H Tiemer

Edward J Szymozak

A metal-to-metal sealing method and apparatus for use on oil and/or gas wells, utilizes an upper seal member and a lower seal member, wherein the energizing of the seal members is staged to cause the lower seal member to become sealingly engaged. before the upper seal member becomes sealingly engaged. The seal members may have two seals of different construction; one seal is an interference type seal, and the other seal is a wedge type seal.

Sealing method and apparatus for wellheads

An improved wellhead annulus seal installation tool and preload retention apparatus is disclosed particularly adapted for metal-to-metal seals. The seal installation tool includes a telescoping mandrel with a torsion spring attached and a torque sleeve rotatably mounted thereon with a pair of antirotation pins for limiting the rotation of the torque sleeve, a resilient seal for sealing the lower portion of the tool inside the hanger and torque pins for transmitting the torque and axial movement of the tool to the preload retention apparatus. The preload retention apparatus includes an upper body with an annulus packoff seal which may be resilient or metal-to-metal and a driving ring threaded thereon. An expansible lock ring in carried on the driving ring with an expander ring thereabove which coacts with the seal installation tool to thereby lock the annulus packoff seal inside the wellhead.

Hydraulic/torsion packoff installation tool

An improved wellhead structure having a housing with an internal landing seat to receive the landing shoulder on a hanger having a bore with a counterbore below the bore and a shoulder between, a hanger mandrel positioned within the counterbore and having an external flange having a diameter less than the diameter of the counterbore, a first bushing positioned above the mandrel flange and in engagement with said shoulder within the hanger counterbore, a second bushing positioned within the counterbore below said mandrel flange, and a support sleeve positioned within said hanger in supporting relationship to said second bushing, said bushings being of an electrical insulating material and sized to retain said mandrel in spaced relationship with respect to said hanger to prevent electrical connection therebetween. This structure also is used for supporting and sealing a tubing string or a section of a tubing string in a well while electrically insulating the section from the remainder of the string.

Insulating support for tubing string

The improved wellhead structure of the present invention includes a casing or tubing string which is sealed to the housing without the aid of elastomeric seals and an internal bushing to assist in providing the tight gripping and sealing engagement between the string and the housing. The structure provides a substantial inner diameter which is unrestricted unless landing shoulder is included in the structure. Also, the internal bushing used with the cold forging of the string into the housing recess improves the gripping and sealing engagement therebetween. In one form the bushing includes a series of external projections which alternate with the gripping and sealing projections within the housing recess and in another form includes a resilient annulus between the interior of the bushing and the string to ensure the uniform application of pressure against the interior of the string. In still another form an internal landing shoulder is cold forged into tight engagement with the interior of the housing which allows full bore operations to be carried through the housing until the landing shoulder is to be installed. Also provided is a wellhead structure with a tieback structure in which the upper end of the casing is cold forged into the interior of a hanger while the casing is supported on slips.

Wellhead structure

An improved wellhead slip and seal assembly including a slip assembly with slips supported in a slip bowl and with the seal assembly positioned above and interconnected to the slip assembly. The seal assembly includes a segmented retainer ring which is at least partially radially compressible and having inner and outer recesses in which resilient sealing rings are positioned and the retainer ring has an outer diameter at such recesses which is larger than the inner diameter of the housing in which it is to be positioned and includes an external tapered surface from said outer diameter to a smaller outer diameter therebelow which is smaller than the inner diameter of the housing so that the retainer ring is moved radially inwardly as it is moved into position within said wellhead housing. Means interconnects the slip bowl and the segmented retainer ring to assist in retaining the seal ring in its desired position until the assembly has been landed within the wellhead housing. The usual camming and limited relative axial movement connection is provided between the slips and the slip bowl and the slips include teeth on their internal surface which are suitable for the support of a string within the slip and sealing assembly.

Wellhead slip and seal assembly

An improved wellhead valve includes a tubular body with a central passage therethrough and with a downwardly facing valve seat surrounding a portion of said passage, a cylindrical sealing surface above said valve seat, internal threads above said sealing surface and external threads, a valve member positioned within said passage below said valve seat and biased toward engagement with said valve seat, a plug having external threads for engagement with the internal threads of said body and having a sealing means for sealing against said cylindrical sealing surface and a projection extending downwardly from said sealing means, said plug when positioned within said central passage with its sealing means engaging said sealing surface closing flow through said body and said plug being movable downwardly so that its sealing means is below said sealing surface and its projection engages said valve member to move it out of engagement with the valve seat so that flow through said central passage is open and further rotation of said plug provides retrieval of the valve body from within the wellhead housing.

Wellhead valve

An improved annular seal and hanger which are to be installed in a wellhead housing. The annular seal assembly includes seal ring having a central body with upper outer rim, upper inner rim, lower outer rim and lower inner rim extending from said central body, an upper wedge ring, a lower wedge ring and means connecting said rings to allow setting movement thereof, means releasably securing said assembled rings to the hanger for running into the wellhead housing, each of said rims including an outer sealing lip, the outer sealing lips having a free diameter less than the diameter of the lower wedge ring so that the sealing lips are protected during running of the hanger into the wellhead housing and means for moving said wedge rings into the space between the rims of said seal ring for urging the sealing lips into sealing engagement with the interior sealing surface of said housing.

Wellhead annular seal

A wellhead assembly with an increased through bore for passing slightly oversized drill bits therethrough with a substantially reduced landing shoulder, and an improved landing assembly which transfers a portion of the stresses through the energizing ring and support ring into the wellhead body along the straight bore above said landing shoulder.

Wellhead assembly

There is disclosed well apparatus which comprises a well conduit having a bore therethrough and a well tool having means thereon for releasably locking it within and sealing it with respect to the bore of the well conduit when lowered therein.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Jerry D Smith