Hydril Company

Hydril LLC

Hunting Energy Services, Inc.

Ptc Liberty Tubulars LLC

Robert S Sivley, Iv

Harris Allen Reynolds, Jr

Gary Wayne Ward

David Llewellyn Mallis

Doug R Enderle

Mark C Moyer

John F Greenip

Michael E Mock

A modified API buttress threaded casing connection is disclosed for use in drilling oil and gas wells in lieu of using conventional drill pipe. The coupling threads only are modified to include a reduced thread height thread form to relieve thread stresses at axial ends of the coupling. The reduced thread height thread form may be mated with standard single tapered API buttress thread forms formed on the pin ends. The axial length of the coupling may be generally shortened to permit abutment of the mating pins at the center of the coupling.

Box connection for a pin with relieved thread region

A modified casing coupling houses a pressure relief valve body having a through bore with opposing end openings. The through bore communicates with the interior of the modified casing coupling at one end opening thereof and with an area surrounding the modified casing coupling at an opposite end opening. The through bore includes a ball seat adjacent one end opening thereof which receives a sealing ball. The ball is urged in the direction of the ball seat by a tensioning element. The ball is exposed to annular pressure trapped between successive lengths of well casing located in the well borehole. The amount of tension exerted on the ball by the tensioning element is selected to allow the ball to move off the ball seat to release trapped annular pressure between the selected casing strings once a certain annulus pressure is reached.

Annular pressure relief system

An expandable tubular connection includes a pin member and a box member. The pin member includes a pin thread formed on a small step and a large step and a first seal surface formed between the small step and the large step. The box member includes a box thread formed on a small step and a large step and a second seal surface formed between the small step and the large step. The pin thread and the box thread are wedge threads. Upon a selected make-up of the pin member with the box member a selected gap exists between the first seal surface and the second seal surface. The gap is selected such that, when plastically radially expanded by a selected amount, a seal is formed between at least a portion of the first seal surface and the second seal surface.

Mid-seal for expandable connections

A tubular connection includes a pin member and box member. The pin member includes a pin thread formed on a small step and a large step and a first seal surface formed between the small step and the large step. The box member includes a box thread formed on a small step and a large step and a second seal surface formed between the small step and the large step. The pin thread and the box thread are wedge threads. The small step and the large step of both the pin member and the box member are formed on a single taper. Upon a selected make-up of the pin member with the box member, a seal is formed between at least a portion of the first seal surface and the second seal surface.

Single taper wedge thread connection with mid-seal

Threaded connections including a pin member and a box member and are mismatched. The pin member and the box member have wedge threads formed thereon with a gap formed between pin and box load flanks and/or pin and box stab flanks of the threaded connection. The mismatch may comprise different flank angles and/or different flank profiles between corresponding flanks.

Mismatched flanks for a wedge thread

A tubular connection and methods of manufacturing a box member. The tubular connection includes a box member that includes an internal thread and a pin member that includes an external thread. The external thread is adapted to threadedly engage the internal thread. A substantially helical groove is formed on an outer surface of the box member. The method of manufacturing the box member includes selecting an outer diameter for a box member that causes the tool joint to have a greater than a selected bending strength ratio. A helical groove is formed on the outer diameter of the box member such that the helical groove reduces the bending strength ratio to be about the selected bending strength ratio. An internal thread is formed on an internal surface of the box member. Another method of manufacturing the box member includes forming an internal thread on an internal surface of a cylinder and forming a substantially helical groove on an outer surface of the cylinder. The substantially helical groove is positioned substantially in-lead with the internal thread.

Helical groove for a tubular connection

A method for making-up a wedge thread connection comprising a pin member and a box member includes applying a pipe dope to at least one of the pin member and the box member, wherein the pin member and the box member comprise corresponding wedge threads, reducing the viscosity of the pipe dope at least temporarily, and rotating the pin member relative to the box member to make-up the wedge thread connection, wherein the rotation occurs while the viscosity of the pipe dope is at least temporarily reduced. A collar to be used with a tong assembly in making-up a threaded connection between a pin member and a box member includes at least one power unit configured to temporarily reduce the viscosity of pipe dope applied to at least one of the pin member and the box member, and an inner surface having a selected diameter to correspond to an outer diameter of at least one of the pin member and the box member.

Dope relief method for wedge thread connections

A tubular connection is provided with a first thread on a first step having an initial makeup location and a second thread on a second step, the second thread being a wedge thread and having a selected clearance on stab and load flanks at the initial makeup location of the first thread.

Floating wedge thread for tubular connection

A threaded connection includes a first tubular, a second tubular, and a coupling. The first and second tubulars include external threads, a pin nose, a pin nose surface, a pin shoulder surface, and a pin seal surface located between the pin nose and pin shoulder surfaces. The coupling includes two internal threads corresponding to the external threads of the first and second tubulars and an inner seal support. Upon selected make-up, the pin noses overlap and contact occurs between the pin nose seal surfaces and the inner seal support is in an overlapping axial position with respect to the pin noses such that a diametrical gap exists therebetween.

Coupled connection with an externally supported pin nose seal

A threaded connection for a conduit includes a pin member and a box member. The pin member includes a pin thread having a pin thread crest, a pin thread root, a pin load flank oriented at a pin load flank angle, and a pin stab flank oriented at a pin stab flank angle. The box member includes a box thread having a box thread crest, a box thread root, a box load flank oriented at a box load flank angle, and a box stab flank oriented at a box stab flank angle. At least one of the pin load flank angle, the pin stab flank angle, the box load flank angle, and the box stab flank angle varies over at least part of the threaded connection.

Threaded connection with variable flank angles

A threaded connection includes a male member having threads thereon defining a load flank lead and a stab flank lead. The threaded connection also includes a female member having threads thereon adapted to mate with threads on the male member, wherein the threads on the female end define a load flank lead and a stab flank lead, wherein at least one of the load flank lead and the stab flank lead on at least one of the female member and the male member change at a predetermined rate beginning at a selected distance from either one or both ends of the threads, wherein the stab flank lead and the load flank lead are different from each other over at least part of the thread length.

Threaded connection especially for radically plastically expandable conduit

A tool for radially expanding casing having a tool body that includes a proximal end, a distal end, and an outer surface. The tool includes at least one hydraulic channel disposed axially. The at least one hydraulic channel transmits hydraulic pressure from behind the expansion tool forward in the direction of travel of the expansion tool.

Expansion pig

Tubular connections and methods of designing tubular connections having selected root/crest clearance when the box member and pin member are made-up. When the tubular connection is radially expanded, a thread seal is formed over at least part of the tubular connection.

Expandable threaded connection

A threaded connection for a conduit is disclosed. The connection includes a male member having threads on it defining a load flank lead, a stab flank lead and a nominal lead. A female member has threads thereon adapted to mate with the threads on the male member. The threads on the female member define a load flank lead, a stab flank lead and a nominal lead. At least one of the load flank lead and the stab flank lead, on at least one of the female member and the male member, is changed at a predetermined rate beginning at a selected distance from an end of the threads. The load lead and the stab lead are different from each other over at least part of the thread length.

Growing community of inventors

Kingwood, TX, United States of America

Robert S Sivley, Iv