Vetco Gray Inc.

Abb Vetco Gray Incorporated

Vetco Offshore Industries, Inc.

Offshore Systems, Inc.

Jon E Hed

Stephen Paul Fenton

Lars-Petter Sollie

Francisco Dezen

Robert N Rogers

Charles Edward Jennings

Gawain Langford

Robert B Draper

Christian G Marius

Bruno T Schauerte

Lee A Gillette

Angus N Colyer

Jeffrey D Otten

A subsea wellhead assembly has a tubing hanger with a tubing annulus passage and a production passage. A metal-sealing shuttle valve is mounted in the tubing hanger for blocking upward flow through the tubing annulus passage. The shuttle valve has a retention mechanism that prevents the shuttle from moving to the open position when fluid pressure is applied from above. The running tool releases the retention mechanism after testing has been completed, causing the shuttle to close. The tree has an engaging member that can be stroked downward into the tubing hanger annulus passage to move the shuttle valve to the open position for communicating with the annulus.

Tubing annulus valve

A plug retrieval and installation tool is used with a subsea well having a production tree, a tubing hanger, a passage that extends vertically through the tubing hanger and the tree, and a plug located within a plug profile in the passage within the tubing hanger. The plug retrieval device has a housing and connector that is lowered on a lift line onto the upper end of the tree. An axially extendible stem in the housing is moved with hydraulic fluid controlled by an ROV into the production passage of the tubing hanger. An installation and retrieval member mounted to the stem engages the plug and pulls it upwardly in the passage while the stem is being moved upward, and pushes the plug downward to install the plug while the stem is being moved downward. The connector, drive mechanism and retrieval member are powered by an ROV.

Plug installation system for deep water subsea wells

In a subsea wellhead assembly, a tubing hanger in communication with the subsea well has a hanger port extending through its side. A diverter surrounds the tubing hanger and diverts well fluid transmitted from the hanger port around a portion of the tubing hanger. The diverter transmits the well fluid to the inner surface of a wellhead member. A production port extending through a side of the wellhead member transmits the well fluid from the tubing hanger and diverter to an exterior of the wellhead member.

Non-orienting tubing hanger system with a flow cage

An outer wellhead housing has an external locator member initially oriented in a desired direction. An inner wellhead housing lands in the outer wellhead housing. A BOP orientation spool with an external orientation member and an internal orientation member lands on the inner wellhead housing and orients via the external locator member. A tubing hanger with an orientation member and associated tubing hanger running tool with another orientation member lower through the BOP orientation spool and orient as they land in the inner wellhead housing. A production tree with an orientation member on a lower end lands on the inner wellhead housing. The orientation member of the production tree engages the orientation member of the tubing hanger to rotate the tree to a desired orientation.

Orientation system for a subsea well

A subsea wellhead assembly has a tree that connects internally to the bore of wellhead housing. The tree has a lower end that has a lock member that is moved radially outward into engagement with a profile in the bore of the wellhead housing. The tree is a monobore, having a production passage but no tubing annulus passage extending through it. The tubing hanger has a tubing annulus passage and a production passage. A valve is mounted in the tubing hanger for controlling flow through the tubing annulus passage.

Internal connection of tree to wellhead housing

A subsea connector is remotely actuated to connect a subsea flowline to a subsea connector hub. The connector has a frame with a tubular mandrel located within it. The mandrel connects to the flowline and has a forward end that engages the connector end. The mandrel moves axially relative to the frame between retracted and extended positions. A lock member on the forward end of the mandrel will engage the profile of the connector hub. An actuator mounted to the mandrel causes the lock member to move into engagement with the connector hub after the mandrel has been moved into engagement with the connector hub. A portable telescoping jack assembly has an ROV interface for receiving power from the ROV. The jack assembly fits within a first pocket in the frame to move the mandrel to the extended position. The jack assembly is retrievable from the first pocket and fits within a second pocket in the frame to move the actuator and the lock member into locking engagement with the profile.

ROV activated subsea connector

A subsea wellhead assembly has a tubing hanger with a tubing annulus passage and a production passage. A metal-sealing shuttle valve is mounted in the tubing hanger for blocking upward flow through the tubing annulus passage. The shuttle valve has a retention mechanism that prevents the shuttle from moving to the open position when fluid pressure is applied from above. The retention mechanism is released by the running tool after testing has been completed, causing the shuttle to close. The tree has an engaging member that can be stroked downward into the tubing hanger annulus passage to move the shuttle valve to the open position for communicating with the annulus.

A plug retrieval and installation tool is used with a subsea well having a production tree, a tubing hanger, a passage that extends vertically through the tubing hanger and the tree, and a plug located within a plug profile in the passage within the tubing hanger. The plug retrieval device has a housing and connector that is lowered on a lift line onto the upper end of the tree. An axially extensible stem in the housing is driven by drive mechanism into the production passage of the tubing hanger. A retrieval member mounted to the stem engages the plug and pulls it upwardly in the passage while the stem is being moved upward. The connector, drive mechanism and retrieval member are powered by an ROV.

Disclosed is a production tree (10) with a top block (mandrel) (12) of the tree provided with a cone-shaped male connector member (14) which also functions as a manifold, and called a cone seal manifold, by having a plurality of shuttle valves (66) which, in the production mode connect umbilical hydraulic control lines (44) to valve actuator control lines (42). In the workover mode, a running tool (132) having a mating bell-shaped female connector member (134) engages the cone seal manifold (14) and moves the shuttle valves (66) to disconnect the umbilical control lines (44) from the valve actuator control lines (42) and to open the valve actuator control lines (42) to rig hydraulic control lines in the running tool (132) through the mating cone seal surfaces (134,56). Normally closed passageways (112) in the cone (56) of the cone seal manifold (14) are opened by fluid pressure from the rig control lines.

Tree capless cone seal manifold

A system for connecting an exploratory well into a producing well by retrieving a permanent guide base (P) and replacing the same with a completion guide base (C) containing the necessary equipment for producing from the well. To do this, the permanent guide base comprises two parts; a gimbal part (32) and a platform part (34)--the platform part (34) can be detached from the low pressure wellhead housing (W) and retrieved leaving the wellhead housing (W) and the permanent guide base gimbal part (32) subsea. The wellhead housing (W), provided with a latching profile (154), though not used during exploratory drilling, is now used to latch the completion guide base (C) thereto for production from the well. The two parts of the retrievable permanent guide base are latched together by a latching mechanism (74) which is easily releasable to unlatch one part from the other, and both guide bases (P & C) are provided with wire line guide posts (82) which are easily detachable for replacement if necessary.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Jon E Hed