Patent Application
20180187505
A production tree 10-1 of the prior art illustrated in
The master gate valves 18 and 20 can be closed to seal off the wellbore. The flow line gate valve 24 and the kill line gate valve 26 are used to control the flow line and kill lines (not shown). The top connector 14 can be removed to provide access to the wellbore for various operations. For example, a coil tubing assembly (not shown) or a wireline lubricator and valve assembly (not shown) can be positioned on the studded cross 22 in place of the top connector 14. Such accessory assemblies can be used to inject chemicals, to carry downhole sensors and tools, or to perform a variety of other operations.
Another assembly illustrated in
Yet another assembly illustrated in
The integral body 40 houses a lower shut-off valve 42 and an upper shut-of valve 44 therein. For instance, the integral body 40 depicted in cross-section in
Similar to the tree 10-3 of
Each component of such trees 10 must be configured for the desired through-bore of the trees 10, and all of the flanged connections between components must be configured for the required pressure rating of the tree 10. This requires careful design of the tree and a necessary inventory of the components to build the tree 10 in the field. In general, what is needed in the art are production trees that are more versatile in both design and assembly.
A modular tree assembly for a wellhead has a housing and a plurality of modular cartridges. The housing connects with a studded or flanged connection to the wellhead, which can have a tubing adapter, tubing head, etc. The modular cartridges interchangeably stack in the housing's internal pocket. The modular cartridges form a through-bore of the assembly communicating with the wellhead and configure the assembly in an operational arrangement.
In general, the operational arrangement of the assembly can include one or more of: a lower master valve, an upper master valve, a swab valve, a cross tee, a capillary hanger, and a tubing hanger. The modular cartridges can include one or more of a spacer cartridge, a hanger cartridge, a valve cartridge, and a cross cartridge in a desired operational arrangement. The bores of the stacked cartridges form the through-bore of the assembly communicating the wellhead with external components, such as flow lines, capillary lines, etc. Internal features and components of the modular cartridges configure the assembly for operation as a production tree or for other wellhead operation.
The spacer cartridge can be used to space other cartridges in the internal pocket, and the hanger cartridge can be used to support capillary strings, velocity strings, and/or tubing strings in the wellhead. The valve cartridges have valve elements that can be opened and closed by bonnets that affix externally to the housing to open or close the through-bore of the assembly during an emergency, maintenance, or the like. The cross cartridge can have one or more cross passages to divert the assembly's through-bore to additional flow components, such as flow lines, wing valves, chokes, and the like.
The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potential embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure.
A. Modular Production Tree Assembly
Also internally, any desired arrangement of modular cartridges or cassettes (e.g., 120, 130, 140, . . . ) stack in the internal pocket 112 to make up the assembly's internal bore 102, cross tee flow paths, single tee flow paths, valves, hangers, and the like. In particular, one or more independent, interchangeable cartridges (e.g., 120, 130, 140, . . . ) dispose inside the internal pocket 112 of the housing 110. Which particular cartridges (e.g., 120, 130, 140, . . . ) and how those cartridges are arranged in the housing 110 can be configured to suit a particular implementation. Because the assembly 100 is internally configurable, it is more versatile than a conventional block tree, which is preconfigured in how it is arranged and what through-bore and flow paths it has.
Toward the top end 116, a top connector 106 affixes to the housing 110 to close the internal pocket 112. This top connector 106 can be used to seal the housing 110, to hold a gauge valve and pressure gauge (not shown), to receive components for capillary or coiled tubing (not shown), to hold a wireline lubricator and other components (not shown), or to meet any of the other various purposes for the tree assembly 100. The top end 116 can have a studded connection as shown or may have a flanged or other type of connection.
Although the top connector 106 is shown affixed to the top end 116, any suitable components for a tree assembly may connect to the top end 116. Moreover, another housing 110 for holding interchangeable, modular cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170, . . . ) can connect to the top end 116 to extend the tree assembly 100.
In the example of
In the assemblies 100 of
In general, the assembly 100 can have any desired arrangement of valve cartridges, cross cartridges, hanger cartridges, and other cartridges as the implementation requires. Moreover, the assembly 100 can be used for surface or subsea applications and may meet the American Petroleum Institute Specification 6A, 17D, or other. Furthermore, the assembly 100 can be configured for normal production operations, water injections operations, thermal recovery operations, offshore operations, high pressure and anti-sulfide operations, and the like.
Externally, the assembly 100 has additional modular components. In particular, bonnets 160 affix to the housing 110 for operating the valves inside the valve cartridges 140 as described below. Additionally, alignment pins 104 dispose in side holes in the housing 110 to align the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170, . . . ) in the housing's pocket 112. Other flanges, lock down pins, capillary connections, and external components can also be used as needed.
The cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170, . . . ) can set in place in the housing 110 using one or more locks. For example, lock down pins (not shown) as known in the art can dispose in side holes in the housing 110 to lock one, more, or all of the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170, . . . ) in the housing's pocket 112. As shown and described later, however, each of the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) can have a lock or latch ring to lock down the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) in the pocket 112. Although it is preferred that each cartridge (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) has its own lock, this may not be strictly necessary in every implementation because upper cartridges with locks will tend to lock the lower cartridges in place in the housing 110.
Due to the requirements of such an assembly 100, the various components need to be rated for the same operating pressure, and those components communicating directly with the wellbore need to be sized for the particular tubing size. As expected, the assembly 100 composed of multiple components should be designed, arranged, and assembled to meet the required operating pressures and tubing size. The disclosed tree assembly 100 overcomes conventional difficulties encountered with prior art production trees. For example, the internal pocket 112 of the housing is given a predefined external size independent of the particular tubing size for the final assembly 100. In this way, the various cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) for use in the pocket 112 can have this predefined external size, which makes the disclosed assembly 100 versatile for various implementations.
In contrast to the similar external size, the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) themselves can be configured with the appropriate internal bores for the desired tubing size of the given implementation. Thus, each of the various modular cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) to be used with the assembly 100 can each have a preconfigured bore therein so that a particular set of the cartridges with desired bore diameters can be used in the housing 110 to create the desired diameter of the assembly's through-bore 102. Another set of the cartridges with a different bore diameter can then be used in the housing 110 instead to create a different diameter of the assembly's through-bore 102.
In general, the internal pocket 112 can be cylindrical and can have a predefined diameter regardless of the pressure rating of the assembly 100 or the eventual diameter of the through-bore 102 of the assembly 100 made up of the bores of the various stacked cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ). In this way, each of the various modular cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) to be used with the assembly 100 can each have the same outside dimension regardless of the housing 110 in which they are to be used.
Rather than being cylindrical, the internal pocket 112 can define other shapes, such as oval, polygon, or the like, limiting the orientations that the cartridges can dispose in the housing 110 and helping in their alignment. Additionally, the internal surface of the housing's pocket 112 and the external surfaces of the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) can use a slot and key arrangement for orienting and aligning the cartridges in the housing 110.
Similar to the same or comparable outer dimensions, the modular cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) may have the same or comparable heights as one another so that they stack in a uniform manner inside the internal pocket 112. For example, the valve cartridges 140 used in a given assembly may each have the same height and would likely be identical to one another. The spacer cartridge 120 may have a comparable height to any of the various hanger cartridges 170 that could be used in the lower end of the internal pocket 112. In this way, modifying the assembly 100 to remove the spacer cartridge 120 and replace it with a hanger cartridge 170 will not alter the stack height of the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) inside the housing 110, as depicted in the different arrangements of
The cross cartridge 130 can also have a same stack height as the other cartridges, such as the valve cartridges 140. Yet, depending on the bore dimension in the cartridges and the side of the cross passages 133 in the cross cartridge 130, the height of the cross cartridge 130 may need to be greater than that required for the other cartridges.
At the bottom end 114, the housing's bore opening 115 may or may not be sized for a particular tubing size. Also at the bottom end, the housing 110 can have a flanged connection 114a (see e.g., right-side of
For example, a specific implementation may require an operating pressure of 5-kpsi, 10-kpsi, 15-kpsi, or 20-kpsi and a bore diameter of anywhere from 2-in. to 7-in. Other implementations may require other operating pressures and bore diameters. To meet these requirements, a housing 110 can be selected with an appropriately sized bottom opening 115 suitable for the bore diameter and can be selected with a connection 114a or 114b rated for the designated operating pressure. The through-bore 102 can then be reconfigurable from one bore diameter to another by using different cartridges (120, 130, 140 . . . ) with selected bore diameters.
To complete the assembly 100, the arrangement of cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) with bores for the required bore size are selected and arranged for desired positioning in the housing 110. For example, the arrangement may use a spacer cartridge 120, two lower valve cartridges 140, a cross cartridge 130, and an upper valve cartridge 140 as in
Like the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ), the bonnets 160 can be universal and can be rated for a particular operating pressure. Therefore, a given bonnet 160 can be used on any housing 110 of any bore size, but the bonnet 160 may be rated for a particular operating pressure. Flanged connections rated for the particular operating pressure also affix to studded side outlets (103:
The housing 110, of course, has a selected arrangement of external openings for attachment of the bonnets 160, flow connections, alignment pins, capillaries, and the like. As noted above, for example, the cross cartridge 130 defines its central bore 132 and has one or more cross passages 133 that connect the bore 132 outside the cartridge 130. For example, opposing cross passages 133 may be provided as a cross tee to connect to opposing flow lines outside the housing 110. Other configurations can be used, such as one cross passage or more as may be needed. In any event, the housing 110 has studded openings 103 for affixing flow components to communicate with the cross passages 133 or for affixing sealed adapters to close off the openings 103. Also, as noted herein, the housing 110 has bonnet openings 117 for attachment of the bonnets 160 for the valve cartridges 140.
To accommodate a modular arrangement of cartridges, the housing 110 may have openings 103 and 117 that are not used for a flow component or a bonnet 160 in a given arrangement. In this case, the openings 103 and 117 can be closed by sealed adapters if the cross cartridge 130 lacks one of the cross passage 133, if one of the cross passages 133 is not to be used for flow, or if a valve cartridge 140 is not to be used at one of the bonnet openings 117.
For example, not all tree assemblies may use a swab valve above the cross cartridge 130 so that a valve cartridge 140 may not be used in the internal pocket 112 above the cross cartridge 130. Instead, a spacer cartridge 120 may be installed above the cross cartridge 130 instead of a valve cartridge 140 as shown. Since a valve cartridge 140 is not used, the bonnet opening 117 for this location on the housing 110 can be sealed with an appropriate adapter (not shown) that connects to the housing 110 at the opening 117 with a studded connection comparable to that used on the bonnets 160.
In another example, the housing 110 may have opposing flow openings 103, but the cross cartridge 130 may have only one cross passage 133 or only one of the cross passages 133 may be used for flow. In this case, the unused flow opening 103 for this location on the housing 110 can be sealed with an appropriate adapter (not shown) that connects to the housing 110 at the opening 103 with a studded connection. For example,
B. Valve Cartridge and Bonnet
As noted above, one particular type of cartridge or cassette for the assembly 100 is a valve cartridge 140. Turning then to
The valve cartridge 140 installs in the housing's pocket 112 and includes a central bore 142, which will make up part of the assembly's through-bore 102. To seal inside the pocket 112, the cartridge 140 has upper and lower seals 146 disposed around the outside of the cartridge 140 toward the cartridge's upper and lower ends. These seals 146 can be any suitable type of seal for sealing the cartridge 140 in the internal pocket 112 of the housing 110. For example, the seals 146 can be metallic, elastomeric, or plastic and can be machined or molded. Moreover, the seals 146 can be spring energized, plastic injected, plastic energized, or wound.
For additional sealing, the top surface of the cartridge 140 can also have a gasket 147 that engages against the bottom surface of the cartridge (e.g., cross cartridge 130) disposed above the valve cartridge 140. Similar to the seals 146, this gasket 147 can be any suitable type of gasket for sealing interfacing surfaces of the stacked cartridges. For example, the gasket 147 can be metallic, elastomeric, or plastic and can be machined or molded. The gasket 147 can be spring energized, plastic injected, plastic energized, or wound.
To align the valve cartridge 140 in the pocket 112 so that it aligns properly with the housing's external opening 117, the lower edge of the valve cartridge 140 defines an alignment slot 144 that fits on an alignment pin 104 disposed in the housing 110. This can ensure that the cartridge 140 is properly oriented in the pocket 112 with the components of the cartridge 140 aligned with other components of the assembly 100 as discussed herein. As an alternative to an alignment pin 104, the top of the cartridge on which the valve cartridge 140 is stacked may have an alignment tab or other feature engaging the bottom of the valve cartridge 140 or an alignment slot 114 to align the two cartridges to one another, provided that one of the cartridges aligns properly in the housing 110.
The upper and lower ends of the cartridge's bore 142 can have internal bore seals 105 to seal with the bores of the adjacent cartridges. These bore seals 105 can be any suitable type of seal for sealing the interface between bores of the stacked cartridges and completing the assembly's through-bore 102. For example, the seals 105 can be metallic, elastomeric, or plastic and can be machined or molded. The seals 105 can be spring energized, plastic injected, plastic energized, or wound.
To lock the cartridge 140 down inside the pocket 112, a lock in the form of a latch ring 148 is disposed around the upper edge of the cartridge 140. Intrinsically biased or biased by spring elements (not shown), the latch ring 148 extends beyond the outer edge of the cartridge 140 to engage in a lock groove 118 defined inside the housing's pocket 112. When the cartridge 140 is inserted into the pocket 112, however, the latch ring 148 is biased inward and allows the cartridge 140 to be lowered into the pocket 112. Once in position in the pocket 112 at the appropriate stack height, the latch ring 148 engages in the lock groove 118 to hold the valve cartridge 140 in place.
When the valve cartridge 140 aligns and locks in place in the housing's pocket 112, the components of the cartridge 140 align with the external opening 117 on the housing 110 so that the valve mechanism of the valve cartridge 140 can be operated. In particular, a cross passage 145 passes through the side of the cartridge 140 and passes orthogonal to the cartridge's bore 142. With the valve cartridge 140 disposed in the pocket 112, the cross passage 145 communicates with the external opening 117 on the housing 110.
The cross passage 145 holds a valve element 150 to open and close fluid communication through the cartridge's bore 142. The cross-passage 145 can be cylindrical, and the valve element 150 for its part can also be cylindrical, although the passage 145 and element 150 can have other shapes, such as spherical or conical shapes, allowing the element 150 to insert in the side of the cartridge 140 to open or close the bore 142 by its rotation. The valve element 150 defines a cross bore 152 sized for the central bore 142 of the cartridge 140. When the valve element 150 is rotated in one orientation, the two bores 142 and 152 align so fluid can pass through the internal through-bore 102 of the assembly 100. When the valve element 150 is turned 90-degrees, the element's cross bore 152 is orthogonal to the cartridge's bore 142 so that flow cannot pass through the assembly's internal through-bore 102.
The valve element 150 can have a tight tolerance to the cross passage 145 in the valve cartridge 140. For example, a tolerance of about ±0.003-in. may be used, although other tolerances may be used depending on the implementation. To maintain a seal, the valve cartridge 140 has saddle seals 143 to seal the cartridge's bore 142 at its interfaces with the valve element 150. For assembly, the valve cartridge 140 is preconfigured with the valve element 150 and saddle seals 143 disposed therein, and the valve cartridge 140 can be installed in the housing 110 as preconfigured.
Briefly,
Moreover, the seal 143 can be spring energized, plastic injected, plastic energized, or wound. For example, an internal groove 147 can be defined around the inside edge of the seal 143 and can hold a spring element (not shown), such as a V-spring composed of an Elgiloy° alloy or the like. ELGILOY is a registered trademark of Elgin National Watch Company. Alternatively, the spring element (not shown) can be encapsulated in the material of the seal 143.
Returning to
Briefly,
As shown in the end view of
Returning to
With the bonnet 160 affixed to the housing 110 and engaged with the valve element 150, the sealed space contained between the bonnet 160 and the valve cartridge 140 can be filled with light oil for lubrication. For example, a needle port 167 on the bonnet's body 162 can be used for filling the space with oil and for testing for pressure leaks. When the bonnet 160 is installed on the housing 110 during assembly, the light oil is held sealed inside the space.
Because the valve element 150 only needs to rotate 90 degrees to fully open and close the valve, less drag or friction is expected from the rotating valve element 150 than found in a conventional gate valve that requires a gate to slide past high-strength seal rings inside the gate valve. Together, the light oil and the tight tolerance between the valve element 150 and the cartridge's cross passage 145 form a laminar bearing between the valve element 150 within the cross passage 145. Thus, during operation, this laminar bearing can facilitate turning of the valve element 150 within the cross passage 145.
In this and other embodiments of the valve cartridge 140, the valve element 150 is a rotatable element disposed in the cross passage 145 to open and close fluid communication through the cartridge's bore 142. Although this may be preferred in some implementations, other valve mechanisms can be used inside the cartridge 140. For example, the cartridge 140 can use a slab gate valve, a split gate valve, a globe valve, a ball valve, a choke valve, or other type of mechanism to open and close fluid communication through the cartridge's bore 142.
As shown in
As before, the bonnet 160 can have a stem 166 with a socket 168 that connects to a rotating rod 258 of the gate mechanism 250. Rotation of the stem 168 with the handle 165 or automated actuator turns the corresponding rod 258 of the gate mechanism 250. In turn, the gate mechanism 250 slides in and out of alignment with cartridge's bore 142 to open or close fluid flow therethrough. Other details of the cartridge valve 140 and bonnet 160 can be similar to those discussed previously.
C. Exemplary Dimensions and Ratings
As noted above, the tree assembly 100 can be versatile and modular, allowing operators to configure and assemble the tree assembly 100 that fits the needs of a desired implementation. Exemplary dimensions and pressure ratings are given in
The above dimensions and ratings are meant only to be illustrative. Based on previous discussions, it will be appreciated that any other suitable dimensions and ratings may be used.
D. Further Details of Various Cartridges
As noted above, various types of cartridges can be used in the assembly. Further details of some of the various cartridges are shown in
1. Valve Cartridge
The latch ring 148 can be comprised of several independent or interconnected segments or dogs 149 as shown. More or less of these segments 149 may be used, and the latch ring 148 need not necessarily extend around the entire perimeter of the cartridge's upper edge as shown. Instead, a few (e.g., two, three, or four) segments 149 of the latch ring 148 may be positioned around the cartridge's upper edge.
In any event as noted above, the lock in the form of the latch ring 148, segments 149, or the like in general uses an upward-facing shoulder that is biased to an extended position to engage a downward-facing shoulder of an internal groove (118) in the housing's pocket 112. Moreover, as noted above, other mechanisms such as external lock screws (not shown) can be used to hold the cartridge 140 in the housing (110) so that the external surface of the cartridge 140 may have conventional features for lock screws rather than the latch ring 148 shown. The external lock screws can engage side pockets, shoulders, or ledges (not shown) in the cartridge's outer surface or upper edge to hold it in place.
As described elsewhere, the valve element 150 disposes in the cross passage 145, and the spring lock 154 holds the valve element 150 in place. The drive head 158 on the valve element 150 does not extend outside the outer profile of the valve cartridge 140 so as not to interfere with its insertion and removal of the valve cartridge 140 from the housing (110).
2. Spacer Cartridge
Because the spacer cartridge 120 may be used as the lowermost cartridge in the housing's internal pocket (112), the entire extent of its bore 122 as shown on the cartridge 120 of
Moreover, although the spacer cartridge 120 may be used as the lowermost cartridge, this is not strictly necessary. For example, the spacer cartridge 120 can instead be used in any other location along the stack of cartridges in the housing's internal pocket (112) to space out the arrangement as needed. In such a case, the bore 122 as shown on the cartridge 120 of
Finally, a spacer cartridge 120 may also operate as a hanger or other component. As shown in
3. Hanger Cartridge
In
Additionally, the hanger cartridge 170 can be used in positions in the housing (110) having side ports (113) for control lines and the like so that several external seals 126 can be used to isolate these ports (113) from one another. Using these ports (113), the hanger cartridge 170 can be used for electrical feed, hydraulic pressure, fluid injection, or the like. In particular, one or more internal flow passages 171 defined in the cartridge 170 place capillaries (185:
The various cartridges in
E. Assembly Steps
In general, the tree assembly 100 can be pre-assembled as a unit and then installed on the wellhead. Alternatively, the tree assembly 100 can be assembled piecemeal wise on the wellhead. In any event, modification of the tree assembly 100 after installation would involve a number of steps of stacking and unstacking cartridges in the housing 10.
The housing 110 installs on a tubing adapter or head (not shown) of the wellhead and affixes with a flanged or studded connection 114a-b as discussed above. According to the desired arrangement, operators then stack the desired cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170 . . . ) in the internal pocket 112 in the housing 110 using wireline, slickline, or related forms of operation.
For example,
The wireline 202 has a running tool 210 on its end that releasably couples to the cartridge 120, allowing the tool 210 to lower and then release the cartridge 120 in position. Any suitable type of running tool 210 can be used. In the present example, the running tool 210 can be a GS-type pulling tool having biased keys 212 disposed on a core. The biased keys 212 engage in an internal fishing neck 122a defined in the bore 122 of the cartridge 120 as the cartridge 120 is lowered. Once the cartridge 120 is set in place, the latch ring 128 engages inside the lock profile 118 in the housing 110.
The tool 210 can then be released from the cartridge 120 by jarring down or can be released by jarring upward if an additional adapter is used. The jarring breaks a shear pin and releases the keys 212 of the tool 210 from the profile 122a. The released keys 212 retract and allow the tool 210 to be removed from the cartridge 120.
Rather than a running tool 210, any of a number of procedures can be used to raise and lower the cartridges in the housing 110. For example, coupling ports (not shown) may be defined in the top surface of the cartridge for releasably coupling to coupling pins (not shown) used to connect and disconnect wireline to the cartridge. These and any other suitable procedure can be used to raise and lower the various cartridges in the housing 110.
As noted previously, the latch ring 128 is disposed externally around the upper edge of the cartridge 120. As the cartridge 120 is lowered into the internal pocket 112, lower cam surface on the latch ring 128 pushes the ring 128 inward on the cartridge 120 and allows the ring 128 to pass the locking grooves 118 and other features inside the pocket 112. When the cartridge 120 reaches its resting location, the ring 128 extends outward so that the upward facing shoulder will engage the downward facing shoulder of the locking groove 118 and hold the cartridge 120 in place.
The alignment pin 104 for the spacer cartridge 120 is extended into the internal pocket 112 to fit into the alignment slot 124 in the lower edge of the spacer cartridge 120. All of the other pins 104 along the housing 110 are retracted so as not to interrupt passage of the cartridge 120 through the internal pocket 112.
As shown in
Because the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170, . . . ) can have an outer cylindrical shape, the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170, . . . ) may need to be specifically oriented when run into the internal pocket 112 so that any cross passages or ports will align appropriately with side openings 103, 113, 117, etc. in the housing 110 for bonnets 160, flow connections, etc. To help align the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170, . . . ) in the housing 110, the alignment pins 104 noted above sealably fit through side holes in the housing 110 and tighten to engage in alignment slots on the outside of the cartridges.
For the valve cartridge 140, such as shown in
Finally, as shown in
F. Steps to Modify the Tree Assembly
When desired, operators can reconfigure the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170, . . . ) in the housing 110 to meet any desired operational needs. In general, retrieval or reconfiguration of the cartridges (120, 130, 140, 170, . . . ) is the reverse of the installation steps detailed above and shown in
With the well properly sealed off, the bonnets 160 can be removed from the housing 110 so that the stems are free from the valve elements 150. Using wireline 202, operators run a retrieval tool 220 into the housing 110 and connect to the uppermost cartridge (i.e., uppermost valve cartridge 140) to remove it from the housing 110. Similar to the operations discussed previously, the retrieval tool 220 can engage keys 222 in the internal fishing neck profile 142a in the cartridge 140 using conventional techniques to be able to lift the cartridge 140 from the housing 110.
The tool 220 also has an unlocking element 230, which can have a ring, a lip, fingers, or other feature. When activated either hydraulically or mechanically, the unlocking element 230 moves the latch ring 148 inward to disengage from the lock profile 118 inside the housing 110. Freed from engagement, the cartridge 140 can then be lifted out of the housing 110.
This process is repeated for each the various cartridges at least until the lower most cartridge to be changed is reached and removed. For example, if the bottom spacer cartridge 120 is to be replaced with a hanger cartridge (170) to support a velocity string (180), the lower most spacer cartridge 120 may be reached and removed.
Operators then install the desired arrangement of cartridges into the housing 110, such as installing the hanger cartridge 170 with velocity string (180) and capillary string (185) and then the other cartridges for the desired arrangement.
If a velocity string (180) or capillary string (185) is to be installed, operator will need to remove the downhole valve 204. Therefore, the various openings in the housing 110, such as the bonnet openings 117, will need to be sealed off with flanged adapters, caps or the like, and a wireline BOP, lubricator, and other components will need to be installed on top of the housing 110 so that the downhole valve 204 can be removed and the hanger cartridge 170 and velocity string 180 can be installed. These and other procedures for modifying, disassembling, and reassembling the assembly 100 for various purposes while containing the wellbore will be evident to one skilled in the art with the benefit of the present disclosure so that particular details are omitted for the sake of brevity.
G. Dual Bore Tree Assembly
As shown in
H. Assembly for Drilling, Completion, and Production Operations
Although the assembly 100 has been discussed above for use as a production tree, an assembly 100 having a housing 110 and interchangeable, modular cartridges can be used as part of a wellhead for drilling and completion operations. For drilling, cartridges used in the housing 110 can include tubing hangers and an empty cavity cartridge with a wear sleeve. For completions, a suitable cartridge can have a hanger for the applicable tree configuration (e.g., 2⅜, 2⅞, 4½, etc.). For production, suitable cartridges may be designed for 7-in. frac or other treatment operations to treat the well. These and other types of cartridges can be used for various types of operations using the assembly 100.
For fracing, gravel pack, or other operations, a bore protector or beam can be disposed at least partially in the through-bore 102 of the assembly 100 to protect the internal components. As one example,
For example, a frac head 250 is shown mounted to the top of the housing 110 with a flanged adapter 252. The sleeve 260 extends down from the frac head 250 or adapter 252 from which it hangs. From there, the sleeve 260 passes through all of the various cartridges (120, 130, 140, etc.), eventually terminating at some point in the wellhead or elsewhere. Of course, all of the valve cartridges 140 are open for the sleeve 260 to pass therethrough.
The sleeve 260 is composed of suitable material and defines a bore 262. During frac or treatment operations, treatment fluid (e.g., a slurry of proppant and carrier fluid) introduced via the frac head 250 travels through the sleeve's bore 262. The sleeve 260 communicates the treatment fluid down through the housing 110 to the other portions of the well without damaging or interacting with the cartridges (120, 130, 140, etc.).
After treatment is complete, the protective sleeve 260 is removed from the through-bore 102 so the assembly 100 can operate for production. The protective sleeve 260 can be used for various types of treatment operations, including fracing, gravel pack, acidizing, and acid fracturing, among others.
The foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments is not intended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of the inventive concepts conceived of by the Applicants. It will be appreciated with the benefit of the present disclosure that features described above in accordance with any embodiment or aspect of the disclosed subject matter can be utilized, either alone or in combination, with any other described feature, in any other embodiment or aspect of the disclosed subject matter. Details related to gland nuts, washers, packing, fluid seals, and the like will be apparent to one skilled in the art and are not discussed in detail herein.
In exchange for disclosing the inventive concepts contained herein, the Applicants desire all patent rights afforded by the appended claims. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims include all modifications and alterations to the full extent that they come within the scope of the following claims or the equivalents thereof.
This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/946,528, filed 19-Jul.-2013, which claims the benefit of U.S. Prov. Appl. 61/674,020, filed 20-Jul.-2012, which are both incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61674020 | Jul 2012 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13946528 | Jul 2013 | US |
| Child | 15906303 | US |
