Vetco, Inc.

Vetco Offshore, Inc.

Larry E Reimert

John K Rains

A connector assembly for connecting a production casing (38) to a subsea wellhead (10) from a tensioned leg platform. A funnel (46) external to the wellhead, guides and aligns the conductor during installation and places a limit on the angular deflection of the conductor relative to the wellhead. The conductor includes at its lower end a tieback joint (44) which is pulled down, aligned, and sealed against the casing hanger (24) with a floating bushing (64) which also preloads the seal (66). The flexibility of the tieback joint (44) in relation to the angular deflection permitted is such that the surfaces of the seal (66) will not move; and preferably the preload on the seal is not removed.

Production casing tieback connector assembly

A pack-off seal assembly 26 particularly suitable for use for purposes of effecting a seal between a wellhead housing 18 and a casing hanger 16. The subject pack-off seal assembly 26 is designed to be interposed between the cylindrical wall surface 18a of the wellhead housing 18 and that of a casing hanger 16 so as to be movable between a non-sealing position and a sealing position relative thereto in response to an actuating force of low torque magnitude being applied thereto. The pack-off sealing assembly 26 includes an upper metal seal 30 having downwardly extending lips 44, a lower metal seal 32 having upwardly extending lips 46, and a plurality of independent non-bonded elastomeric members 36, 38 of differing diameters suitably supported between the upper and lower metal seals 30, 32. In addition, the upper and lower metal seals 30, 32 are provided with first and second means, respectively, that are designed to be operative to insure the retrievability of the lower metal seal 32 from between the wellhead housing 18 and the casing hanger 16 should removal of the pack-off seal assembly 26 be necessitated. The latter first and second means are cooperatively associated one with another so as to be operable to establish a lost motion connection between the upper metal seal 30 and the lower metal seal 32 when the pack-off seal assembly 26 is moved in a first direction between the non-sealing and sealing positions thereof, and so as to be operable to establish a rigid connection between the upper metal seal 30 and the lower metal seal 32 when the pack-off seal assembly 26 is moved in a second direction between the non-sealing and sealing positions thereof.

Low torque pack-off seal assembly with retrievable lower section

A connector for securing adjacent pile sections, or other pipe sections, to each other, including a box disposed over a pin, with the end of the box engaging a companion pin shoulder, the pin and box being rigidly secured together by a plurality of lock dogs forced radially within companion grooves in the pin, the dogs and grooves having coengaging cam surfaces exerting an axial thrust between the box end and pin shoulder upon inward movement of the dogs, to provide a large bearing area and preload between the pin and box under substantial compression to prevent separation between the pin and box due to rebound during the pile driving operation.

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Thousand Oaks, CA, United States of America

Larry E Reimert