1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a subsea wellhead assembly for an oil and/or gas well, and more particularly to a tubing hanger assembly and annulus sleeve that allows simultaneous control over both the production casing annulus and casing annulus outside the production casing.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical subsea wellhead assembly includes a wellhead housing installed at the sea floor. Generally, as a well bore is drilled, successive concentric casing strings are installed in the well bore. The area between adjacent casings strings is known as an annulus.
Typically, each successive casing string is cemented at its lower end, and includes a casing hanger sealed with a mechanical seal assembly at its upper end in the wellhead housing. Accordingly, the upper end of each casing string is sealed, and any fluid located in the annulus between adjacent casing strings is thereby trapped. Typically, cement is not brought to the casing shoe at the lower end of each casing string. This allows thermal expansion of the fluid trapped in the annulus of the casings into the formation through the lower end of each casing. The amount of thermal expansion of this trapped fluid, as well as other properties of the fluid (e.g., pressure, etc.), are generally unknown during the drilling and production phases of the well.
A greater knowledge of the properties of the fluid trapped in the annuluses of the casing strings would be of great benefit during long term production of the well. Specifically, the area within the innermost casing string, known as the production casing, and outside of the production tubing is the “A” annulus. The area immediately outside the production casing, but within the first intermediate casing, is the “B” annulus. For example, at times, when it is anticipated that the well will be produced, cement is placed in the lower part of the first intermediate casing string to seal annulus “B”. This sealing of annulus “B” helps to protect the formation from leakage in the event that fluid gets into annulus “B” from the production reservoir. One downside to sealing annulus “B”, however, is that high pressure areas may develop once it is sealed. While it is known to use burst or rupture disks to relieve pressure and reduce the possibility that the production casing will collapse, this can result in leakage into the environment. It would be preferable to be able to monitor and control the pressure inside annulus “B”. In addition, the casings that are installed deep in the well may be less pressure-resistant, thereby increasing the possibility of collapse if the pressures in the annuluses become too great. The ability to monitor and control the pressures in both annulus “A” and annulus “B” could prevent such leakage of the fluid or collapse of the production tubing and/or production casing.
When a well has been drilled and cased, certain steps are taken to prepare the well for production. For example, a production tubing string and a tubing hanger are run into the well bore through the BOP stack. Typically, the tubing hanger is landed, sealed, and locked in the wellhead housing and/or the production casing hanger. Thereafter, the production bore extending through the tubing hanger is sealed, the BOP stack is removed, and a christmas tree is lowered onto the wellhead housing. A christmas tree is an assembly of valves, spools, pressure gauges and chokes fitted to the wellhead of a completed well to control production. It is important to the operation and safety of the well that that the proper connections are made between the christmas tree, the wellhead housing, and the tubing hanger. While most current christmas tree designs provide for measuring and controlling pressure in annulus “A”, none are capable of measuring and/or controlling pressure in annulus “B”.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a subsea well completion system that allows for monitoring and control of pressure in both the “A” annulus and the “B” annulus. In fact, a device that provides the ability to monitor and control pressure in the “B” annulus is something that has been asked for by regulatory bodies. However, it has heretofore been given regulatory exemption because it does not exist.
An embodiment of the present invention provides an oil or gas well completion system having a production casing adapter sleeve, a tubing hanger suspension assembly with “B” annulus porting, a christmas tree with “B” annulus control assembly, and a method of installing same. This system shares many features with U.S. Pat. No. 7,419,001, which reference is hereby incorporated herein by reference. In addition, the system of the present invention may also include a sleeve with a seal system assembly that opens and closes a port between annulus “A” and “B”. This sleeve may preferably be installed in the production casing string prior to running the production casing. The tubing hanger may carry an articulating latch ring that expands into a groove in the production casing adapter sleeve. In one embodiment, the weight of the production tubing string and tubing hanger suspension assembly opens the ports to the “B” annulus. In addition, the tubing hanger suspension assembly may include a lockdown assembly that locks the seal assembly sleeve open for the “B” annulus, and may also carry a seal that seals below the ported seal assembly sleeve, thereby isolating the “B” annulus from the “A” annulus. An additional seal above the seal assembly sleeve may further serve to separate the “A” annulus from the “B” annulus.
Preferably, with the removal of the christmas tree and installation of the BOP stack, and the removal of the tubing hanger, the seal assembly sleeve is returnable to the closed and sealed position by springs, thus returning the production casing string to its original pressure containing condition from both the production casing bore and the “B” annulus side. This is required during workovers to ensure safety upon re-entering the well bore. In this way, the well can be safely reworked for reinstallation of the tubing hanger, or plugged for well abandonment. Additionally, with a valve in the “B” annulus bore of the upper body of the tubing hanger, the BOP stack can be removed safely and the christmas tree installed safely.
In one embodiment, the present invention provides a well completion system for controlling and monitoring multiple annuluses in a well, the well having production tubing string, a production casing string surrounding the production tubing string and defining an “A” annulus therebetween, and an intermediate casing string surrounding the production casing string and defining a “B” annulus therebetween. The well completion system includes a tubing hanger suspension assembly including the production tubing string and a tubing hanger having a tubing hanger lower assembly. The tubing hanger lower assembly extends around an upper length of the production tubing string and defines a production annulus between the tubing hanger lower assembly and the production tubing. The tubing hanger lower assembly arranged and designed for insertion within the production casing string. In addition, the tubing hanger lower assembly includes a seal arranged and designed to provide sealed engagement between the tubing hanger lower assembly and the production casing string, the sealed engagement providing a separated area above the seal outside the lower assembly and inside the production casing string that is segregated from the production annulus.
The well completion system also includes a “B” annulus access assembly including at least one port in the production casing string at a location above the seal, and providing access between the “B” annulus and the separated area, the “B” annulus access assembly including a moveable sleeve having an open position and a closed position, the moveable sleeve allowing fluid communication through the at least one port when in the open position, and preventing fluid communication through the at least one port when in the closed position. The tubing hanger suspension assembly includes means for moving the sleeve from the closed position to the open position, thereby allowing the “B” annulus to communicate with the separated area via the at least one port. Furthermore, the tubing hanger housing includes “A” and “B” annulus passageways, the “A” annulus passageway in communication with the production annulus, and the “B” annulus passageway in communication with the separated area.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of monitoring and controlling fluid in multiple annuluses of a well, the annuluses including an “A” annulus between the production tubing and the production casing string of the well, and a “B” annulus between an intermediate casing string and the production casing string of the well. The method includes the step of providing a tubing hanger suspension assembly within the “A” annulus, the tubing hanger suspension assembly configured to seal the “A” annulus so that fluid in the “A” annulus is restricted from entering a separated portion inside the production casing string, and is channeled to a production annulus between the tubing hanger suspension assembly and the production tubing. The method further includes the step of opening ports in the production casing above the seal of the tubing hanger suspension assembly, thereby allowing fluid from the “B” annulus to pass through the production casing into the separated portion inside the production casing string. In addition, the method includes communicating with the separated portion and the production annulus to monitor and control the fluid within the annuluses.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of monitoring and controlling fluid in multiple annuluses of a well, the annuluses including an A annulus between the production tubing and the production casing string of the well, and a B annulus between an intermediate casing string and the production casing string of the well.
The method includes the step of providing a tubing hanger suspension assembly within the A annulus, the tubing hanger suspension assembly configured to seal the A annulus so that fluid in the A annulus is restricted from entering a sealed upper portion of the A annulus and is channeled to a production annulus between the tubing hanger suspension assembly and the production tubing. The method also includes opening ports in the production casing above the seal of the tubing hanger suspension assembly, thereby allowing fluid from the B annulus to pass through the production casing into the sealed upper portion of the A annulus. In addition, the method includes providing a christmas tree in communication with the top of the A annulus and the production annulus to monitor and control the fluid within the annuluses.
The objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become more apparent by reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts and wherein:
In the drawings
Embodiments of the invention are described in detail with specific reference to the drawings. This invention concerns completion of a well that has been drilled and which has its bore hole lined with casing.
Still referring to
Although not shown, the wellhead housing 2a typically includes several internal profiles, dimensions, and details for landing, locking and sealing the stacked casing hangers 25a and 27a in the wellhead housing 2a. Each wellhead manufacturer has several wellhead housings with corresponding casing hangers for each wellhead housing. As a result, the casing hangers 25a and 27a installed in the wellhead housing 2a are typically manufactured by the same company since each manufacturer's wellhead housings and casing hangers are different from any other manufacturer.
Following the setting of the casings shown in
In the preferred embodiment shown in
A universal tubing hanger suspension assembly 13 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in
Referring to
While the production tubing string 28 preferably has a length such that its lower end extends approximately to the production zone Z, the tubing hanger lower assembly 36 preferably has a length substantially less than the length of the tubing string 28. Preferably, the length of the tubing hanger lower assembly 36 is less than 50% the length of the tubing string 28. More preferably, its length is less than 25% the length of the tubing string 28, and most preferably less than 15% the length of the tubing string 28.
Referring to
The tubing hanger housing 13a preferably includes two annulus passageways 14 and 15 extending therethrough as shown in
Since the length of the tubing string 28 is dependent on the depth of the production zone Z, the length of the lower assembly 36 relative to the tubing string 28 varies from well to well. Preferably, the lower assembly 36 has a length in the range of 1′ to 1,500′, more preferably in the range of 1′ to 300′, and most preferably in the range of 5′ to 100′.
As discussed above, the tubing hanger lower assembly 36 carries a lower seal 8 and a lockdown assembly 37. Preferably, the tubing hanger lower assembly 36 is located near the lower end of the tubing hanger housing 13a. The tubing hanger lower assembly 36 preferably has an outside diameter that is slightly less than the inside diameter of the production casing 25. The lower seal 8 and the lockdown assembly 37 may be contained as a unitary assembly or may be separate. Also, as discussed above, the tubing hanger suspension assembly 13 also carries an upper seal 9 which prohibits fluid from passing between the tubing hanger suspension assembly and the production casing hanger 25a. Upper and lower seals 9, 8 allow isolation of the “A” and “B” annuluses 24, 26 during production of the well. These isolation seals also allow monitoring of both “A” and “B” annuluses uniquely during production also with the ability to bleed pressure during production and well shut down periods. Upper and lower seals 9, 8 may be made of any suitable material, such as, for example, an elastomeric material or metal.
Referring to
Upon removing the tubing hanger assembly 13 from well bore, the above actions are reversed to close the port(s) 32. That is, as the tubing hanger assembly is pulled upwards, the flat surface 35b of the first lock dog 35 catches the lower edge of the annulus sleeve 7b and pulls the annulus sleeve 7b back into position over the port(s) 32. In this way, when the tubing hanger assembly is removed, for maintenance or any other reason, the port(s) 32 are closed. The wear bushing 23, fitted near the port(s) 32 within the annulus access adapter assembly 7 is arranged and designed to protect and help maintain the annulus sleeve over the port(s) 32 during drilling, and to prevent the annulus sleeve 7b from travelling above the port(s) 32 upon removal of the tubing hanger assembly 13.
In an alternative embodiment, the sleeve 7b can be opened and closed using hydraulics, as shown in
As shown, for example, in
With regard to installation, the tubing hanger suspension assembly 13 is preferably lowered into the cased well bore and wellhead housing 2a with a tubing hanger running tool (not shown). The tubing hanger running tool is adapted to lock into the upper end of the tubing hanger suspension assembly 13. The tubing hanger running tool preferably includes a production bore that extends through the running tool and communicates with the bore of the tubing hanger suspension assembly 13. The tubing hanger running tool also preferably includes an annulus access bore which communicates with annulus passageways 14, 15, as well as hydraulic lines communicating with the hydraulic lines 42, 44 of the tubing hanger suspension assembly 13. It is to be understood that the tubing hanger running tool preferably includes lines for downhole hydraulics and chemical injection for communication with similar lines in the tubing hanger suspension assembly 13.
It is to be understood that the present invention, including the universal tubing hanger suspension assembly 13, is not limited to the preferred embodiments described herein. For example, the universal tubing hanger suspension assembly 13 is not limited to the tubing hanger housing being received in the wellhead housing. Rather, the universal tubing hanger suspension assembly 13 can also be used in wells in which the tubing hanger is received in tubing spools or horizontal trees mounted on the wellhead housing. It is to be understood that, in such alternative scenarios, the lower seal 8, and optionally the lockdown assembly 37, could still be positioned in the production casing string 25 or a receptacle in that casing string.
Preferred embodiments of the tubing hanger suspension assembly, well completion system and method of installing same according to the present invention have thus been set forth. However, the invention should not be unduly limited to the foregoing, which has been set forth for illustrative purposes only. Various modifications and alterations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the true scope of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/475,542, filed Apr. 14, 2011.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20130062056 A1 | Mar 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61475542 | Apr 2011 | US |