Patent Application
20080135791
1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to blowout preventers used in the oil and gas industry. Specifically, selected embodiments relate to an improved seal carrier for use in ram-type blowout preventers, in which the seal carrier is configured to be displaced along an axis of the ram-type blowout preventer.
2. Background Art
Well control is an important aspect of oil and gas exploration. When drilling a well, for example, safety devices must be put in place to prevent injury to personnel and damage to equipment resulting from unexpected events associated with the drilling activities.
Drilling wells involves penetrating a variety of subsurface geologic structures, or “formations.” Occasionally, a wellbore will penetrate a formation having a formation pressure substantially higher than the pressure maintained in the wellbore When this occurs, the well is said to have “taken a kick.” The pressure increase associated with a kick is generally produced by an influx of formation fluids (which may be a liquid, a gas, or a combination thereof) into the wellbore. The relatively high-pressure kick tends to propagate upwards from a point of entry in the wellbore towards the surface (from a high-pressure region to a low-pressure region). If the kick is allowed to reach the surface, drilling fluid, well tools, and other drilling structures may be blown out of the wellbore. Such “blowouts” may result in catastrophic destruction of the drilling equipment (including, for example, the drilling rig) and substantial injury or death of rig personnel.
Because of the risk of blowouts, devices known as blowout preventers (“BOPs”) are installed above the wellhead at the surface or on the sea floor in deep water drilling arrangements to effectively seal a wellbore until active measures can be taken to control the kick. There are several types of blowout preventers, the most common of which are annular blowout preventers (including spherical blowout preventers) and ram-type blowout preventers. Blowout preventers may be activated so that kicks are adequately controlled and “circulated out” of the system. In deep water drilling, BOPs are conventionally used in an assembly called a “subsea BOP stack”, or simply a “subsea stack”, so-called because a number of BOP are “stacked-up” (that is, joined together) in an assembly, commonly with 4, 5, or 6 ram-type BOPs stacked-up below one or two annular BOPs. The large number of BOPs in a subsea stack affords redundancy which, for example, may allow the stack to remain on the seabed for an extended period.
Referring initially to
Referring now to
When ram-type blowout preventer 100 is actuated, ram blocks 108 displace along horizontal axis 107 toward vertical bore 104. Rams blocks 108 may either be pipe rams (shown) or variable bore rams, shear rams, blind rams, or any other known to those having ordinary skill in the art. Pipe and variable bore rams, when activated, move to engage and surround drillpipe and/or well tools to seal the wellbore. In contrast, shear rams engage and physically shear any wireline, drillpipe, and/or well tools in vertical bore 104, whereas blind rams close vertical bore 104 when no obstructions are present. More discussion of ram blowout preventers may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,247, issued to Berckenhoff, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
As with any tool used in drilling oil and gas wells, blowout preventers must be sealed and secured to prevent potential hazard to the surrounding environment and personnel. For example, ram-type blowout preventers may include high-pressure seals between the bonnets and the body of the blowout preventer to prevent leakage of fluids. In many instances, the high-pressure seals are elastomeric seals and should be checked regularly to ensure that the elastomeric components have not been cut, permanently deformed, or deteriorated by, for example, a chemical reaction with the drilling fluid in the wellbore.
Referring still to
Conventionally, ram blocks 108 have a pressure equalization path in the form of a groove 101 (sometimes called a “mud slot”) machined into the bottom surface of the ram block to communicate fluid pressure between the vertical bore 104 below the front seals 109 and the respective volumes of the horizontal bore 106 behind the ram blocks. Thus each ram block 108 may be displaced back and forth in the horizontal bore 106 without having to work against fluid pressure differentials between the volume behind the ram blocks 108 and the vertical bore 104 below the front seals 109. Those skilled in the art will of course recognize that fluid pressure communication for pressure equalization between the vertical bore 109 and the volumes behind the ram blocks 108 may be accomplished by other means besides a machined groove in the bottom of the ram blocks 108, such as drilled passageways in the ram blocks, a milled slot in the bottom of the horizontal bore 106, or even a conduit external to the housing 102, or the like.
Referring now to
Since the primary function of ram-type BOPs is to prevent the escape of fluids from the wellbore, many ram-type BOPs only seal in a single direction. Thus, a ram-type BOP may only seal to isolate pressurized fluids from the wellbore to the environment and will not typically include a bidirectional seal; capable of sealing against a differential pressure from above the BOP.
For example, when ram blocks 108 are engaged with one another and sealing against high-pressure fluids from above, the high-pressure fluids may act upon the top surface of ram blocks 108 and urge them downward. Such urging may cause ram blocks 108 to move downward and out of sealing engagement with the top of the horizontal bore 106 (or alternately, in a ram BOP so equipped, with seal carrier 120).
Formerly, deploying a ram-type BOP having a single direction seal was not considered to be a shortcoming, as there was no reason for a BOP to seal against pressure from above. However, it is now common in deepwater drilling installations for regulatory agencies (e.g., the Minerals Management Service (“MMS”), of the United States Department of the Interior, which regulates offshore drilling for oil and gas in U.S. territorial waters) to require periodic testing of the integrity of individual ram BOPs against wellbore pressures while the subsea stack is located on the seabed.
Previously, such in situ BOP testing may have been accomplished through one of two test methods. In a first test method, a test tool is lowered through the subsea BOP stack on a string of pipe, and anchored below the lowest BOP in the stack. The test tool is actuated to seal off the wellbore at that point (as, for example, by inflating an inflatable packer), and a BOP to be tested is closed. Then, fluid pressure is communicated into the annular space around the pipe above the test tool and below the BOP being tested. After testing, the pipe string and test tool are withdrawn from the wellbore, and normal drilling operations can be resumed.
However, such a method may be extremely costly in terms of rig time. In an alternative test method, the subsea BOP stack may include an additional ram BOP installed in an inverted operating position at the bottom of the subsea BOP stack. Thus, the inverted BOP may seal against test pressure introduced thereabove. However, in placing the additional BOP in an inverted position at the bottom of a subsea BOP stack, the additional ram “cavity” may will not seal against wellbore pressure and thus may not be used as a regular BOP during operations. Furthermore, the additional BOP may also increase the height, weight and cost of a subsea BOP stack.
Consequently, it may be advantageous to have a ram BOP having the ability to seal in both directions on the seabed so that the BOP stack may be tested without running a dedicated test tool into the well. Furthermore, such a dual direction ram BOP will allow the BOP stack to be tested without requiring a dedicated inverted cavity for testing purposes. Further, because of the large number of subsea BOP stacks in existence, it may also be advantageous to have an inexpensive apparatus and method to modify existing ram-type BOPs so they could seal in both directions.
One device currently capable of effecting a bi-directional seal of a bore or conduit, for example in a gate or ball valve, involves separate seals (either metal-to-metal seals or deformable seals) on either side of a movable pressure barrier, whereby each seal acts independently of the other to seal-off pressure from one direction or the other.
However, ram BOPs attempting this “double-seal” approach may disadvantageously trap pressurized fluid behind the ram block, thereby effectively hydraulically locking the ram block. Additionally, the “bottom” sealing mechanism may add complexity and manufacturing expense. Furthermore, because the heavy weight of the ram blocks and the abrasive nature of the wellbore fluid, such a on a ram BOP may have limited working life.
A ram BOP having bi-directional sealing rains is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,431, issued to Helfer, et al, and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The ram BOP of Heifer comprises circumferential seals around the ram blocks wherein passages within the ram blocks between the face and rear of the ram blocks, both above and below the front seal, and valve means within the ram blocks allow flow through the passages only from the front to the rear of the ram block. Such a design is alleged to hold pressure equally from either direction.
Additionally, a ram BOP having bidirectional sealing rams is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,619, issued to Van Winkle, et al, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In lieu of conventional seals, the ram BOP of Van Winkle includes ram block seals which go all the way around the ram block to seal the space behind the rams. In addition, a mechanism is provided to selectively connect the volume behind the rams with the more highly pressurized wellbore volume adjacent to the rams (either above or below). The connection made is free-flowing in both directions thereby allowing for evacuation and fluctuations with changes in wellbore pressure.
Furthermore, a BOP having bidirectional sealing rams is taught is U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,262, issued to Whitby, et al and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This BOP of the Whitby patent includes top seals and bottom seal and, in order to mitigate the issues of fluid trapped behind the ram blocks, includes two fluid communication systems. The first communication system is a selectively operable system to equalize the pressure behind the back of each ram with the fluid pressure below the ram packers. The second communication system includes a selectively operable fluid communications system for equalizing fluid pressure between the back of each ram with the fluid pressure above the ram packers. As such, each selectively operable fluid control system includes a control unit connected to it for such “selective” operation.
All prior-art solutions rely on completely sealing-off the ram block within the horizontal bore and equalizing the pressure differential between the wellbore (above or below the ram blocks) and the volumes behind the ram blocks. These systems are relatively complicated and expensive, the pressure balancing passageways may be prone to plugging (e.g., by drilled cuttings in the drilling mud), and failure of certain pressure-equalizing valve components may provide an open conduit from the wellbore below the ram blocks to the wellbore above the ram blocks. More critically, if the pressure-equalization mechanisms fail (whether, for example, by plugged passageways or the failure of a valving component) while operating in a subsea stack, the cessation of drilling operations, killing the well, and pulling the entire subsea stack to the surface for repairs would likely be required. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a bidirectional sealing ram BOP which does not require pressure equalization passages or valving. Additionally, it would also be desirable to have a ram BOP capable of sealing against bi-directional pressure using the existing ram block seals of “legacy” ram BOPs.
In one aspect, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a ram-type blowout preventer. The ram-type blowout preventer comprises a body, a vertical bore through the body, a horizontal bore through the body intersecting the vertical bore, and a pair of ram blocks disposed in the horizontal bore on opposite sides of the body, in which the ram blocks are adapted for controlled lateral movement to and from the vertical bore. The ram-type blowout preventer further includes a seal carrier disposed about the vertical bore between the BOP body and adjacent to the horizontal bore, in which the seal carrier is configured to be displaced along an axis of the vertical bore. The ram-type blowout preventer further includes a sealing device positioned between the body and the seal carrier.
In another aspect, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a ram-type blowout preventer. The ram-type blowout preventer includes a body, a vertical bore through the body, a horizontal bore through the body intersecting the vertical bore, and a pair of ram blocks disposed in the horizontal bore on opposite sides of the body, in which the ram blocks are adapted for controlled lateral movement to and from the vertical bore. The ram-type blowout preventer further includes a seal carrier disposed at the intersection of the vertical bore and the horizontal bore, in which the seal carrier is configured to be displaced along an axis of the vertical bore and to be sealingly engaged with a top seal of the at least one of the pair of ram blocks. The ram-type blowout preventer further includes a sealing device positioned between the body and the seal carrier.
Further, in another aspect, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a ram-type blowout preventer. The ram-type blowout preventer includes a body, a vertical bore through the body, a horizontal bore through the body intersecting the vertical bore, and a pair of ram blocks disposed in the horizontal bore on opposite sides of the body, in which the ram blocks are adapted for controlled lateral movement to and from the vertical bore. The ram-type blowout preventer further includes a seal carrier disposed at the intersection of the vertical bore and the horizontal bore, in which the seal carrier is configured to be thrust into sealing engagement with at least one of the pair of ram blocks by fluid pressure above the ram blocks. The ram-type blowout preventer further includes a sealing device positioned between the body and the seal carrier.
Further, in yet another aspect, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a method of actuating a ram-type blowout preventer. The method includes sealing a pair of ram blocks against one another proximate a wellbore axis and sealingly engaging a seal carrier with the pair of ram assemblies from fluid pressure acting upon the ram assemblies. The seal carrier is configured to be sealingly displaced along the wellbore axis.
Other aspects and advantages of the embodiments disclosed herein will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.
In one aspect, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a ram-type blowout preventer with an improved seal carrier. In another aspect, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a ram-type blowout preventer with a seal carrier which is configured to be displaced along an axis of a vertical bore of the ram-type blowout preventer. In another aspect, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a ram-type blowout preventer with a seal carrier which is configured to be thrust into sealing engagement with a top seal of a ram assembly of a ram-type blowout preventer.
Referring now to
Furthermore, as shown, seal carrier 520 is radially constrained by BOP body 102, but is free to move vertically within a prescribed range during operation of the ram BOP. In contrast, top seal wear plate 120 shown in
Referring still to
Further, those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that while only a single o-ring seal is 524 shown in
Referring now to
In the embodiment shown in
Furthermore, it should be noted that that in the embodiment shown in
Referring now to
Force=(OA−TA)×WBP; (Eq. 1)
where OA is the o-ring seal area 524A, TA is the top seal area 116A, and WBP is the wellbore pressure 527.
Furthermore, if seal carrier 520 is mechanically biased downwards (as shown with springs 525), the net force may also comprise the total downward force of biasing springs 525. In selected embodiments, the o-ring seal area 524A may exceed top seal area 116A by 5% to insure adequate sealing at test pressure. In other embodiments, the differential between the sealing areas may be greater than 10%.
Referring now to
Furthermore, a plurality of set-screws 531 may be installed radially in seal carrier 520. Thus, the lower limit of the downward travel of seal carrier 520 may be determined by the relative vertical positions of setscrews 531 and the heads of screws 530. Downward mechanical bias is provided by springs 525, which are shown as coil springs, but which may be any appropriate device which generates a spring-force, such as Bellville washers or an elastomeric springs. In one embodiment, the biasing spring force may be provided by a thick resilient gasket between sleeve top surface 520C and BOP body 102 with provision for screws 530 to pass therethrough. Advantageously, such a gasket may serve both as a biasing spring and as a trash seal.
Referring now to
Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that, although seal carrier 520 is shown positioned above a central axis of horizontal bore 106 in
Advantageously, a ram-type BOP fitted with a seal carrier in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein may seal against bi-directional pressure using only the existing top seals and front seals and one additional inexpensive seal behind the seal carrier. Furthermore, such a BOP may seal against such bidirectional pressure without expensive, troublesome, and complicated pressure-biasing mechanisms and methods. Further, seal carriers in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein may be easily and inexpensively retrofitted to existing ram BOPs, thus allowing older BOP stacks to be tested in situ on the seabed inexpensively and quickly, and without dedicating a BOP “cavity” to testing.
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments may be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.
