This application is the U.S. national stage application of International Application PCT/NO2022/050045, filed Feb. 22, 2022, which international application was published on Sep. 1, 2022, as International Publication WO 2022/182243 in the English language. The International Application claims priority of Norwegian Patent Application No. 20210236, filed Feb. 23, 2021. The international application and Norwegian application are both incorporated herein by reference, in entirety.
The invention relates to a tool for operating a well component. More specifically invention relates to a the tool being arranged for deployment on a pipe string, the tool being formed with a central, axially extending bore and comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being arranged above the second portion in a position of use; one or more inlets at the first portion of the tool; and a first set of one or more inlet lines extending axially along tool from the one or more inlets at the first portion of the tool and to one or more inlet line terminations at a lower end of the tool. The invention also relates to a tool assembly in which such a tool is included as well as a method for operating the tool assembly.
A Tubing Hanger (TH) is a wellhead component that is used in well drilling operations or well work over operations. As the name implies, it hangs and supports the tubing string with the topmost tubing joint in the wellhead or Christmas tree and helps in sealing the tubing string inside the tubing spool. The TH also defines the connection between surface control and instrumentation in the well.
During installation of the TH, the TH is latched to a tubing hanger running tool (THRT), the THRT typically including hydraulic actuators for locking the TH to a tubing spool or wellhead and for unlatching the THRT from the tubing hanger. Hydraulic fluids to operate these actuators have commonly been supplied through an umbilical from topside, the umbilical normally including hydraulic lines and power and communication lines. Such umbilicals are very costly, and their cost increasing with the length of the umbilical. Storage of such umbilicals consumes large amounts of deck space, and their handling constitutes a significant HSE risk. Normally, due to the need for integrating umbilical connections into the tubing string, this also adds significant length to the THRT and associated equipment, entailing a need for designated tubing hanger handling tools (THHT) topside for lifting the TH into the drill floor. Thereafter, the THHT is replaced by the THRT before running the equipment into the well. It is therefore desirable to avoid the use of umbilicals, or at least to use slimmer umbilicals, during installation of well equipment, such as tubing, tubing hangers and bore protectors.
The problems of umbilical cost and complicated handling and storage are well known, and several solutions have been proposed to remedy at least some of the drawbacks.
WO2016182449A1 proposes to provide a local subsea source of hydraulic fluid included in an internal control module connected between the tubing string and THRT, while control and communication with topside is provided by means of a slimmer umbilical communicating with the control module via the BOP or riser. Though this solution eliminates the need for hydraulic lines in the umbilical, it still requires the provision of a local hydraulic source, a communication module and a slim communication/power connection to the surface.
In contrast, WO 2011/126591 suggests using feedthroughs in the BOP to drive hydraulic actuators in a THRT. However, the functionality is limited as the connection can only be used to run hydraulic actuators in the THRT in one direction, i.e. to latch/lock the tubing hanger to the spool. For unlatching THRT from the TH, it must be mechanically released from the TH before pulling the pipe string with the THRT out of the well.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,004 B2 discloses system including a subsurface safety valve (SSV) biased toward a closed position and configured to open by application of hydraulic pressure. The system also includes a tubing hanger running tool (THRT), including a conduit in fluid communication with the SSV, and a pressure release valve fluidly coupled to the conduit. The pressure release valve is configured to maintain sufficient hydraulic pressure within the conduit to hold the SSV in an open position while the pressure release valve is in a closed position.
The invention has for its object to remedy or to reduce at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art, or at least provide a useful alternative to prior art.
The object is achieved through features, which are specified in the description below and in the claims that follow.
The invention is defined by the independent patent claims. The dependent claims define advantageous embodiments of the invention.
In a first aspect, the invention relates to a tool for operating a well component, the tool being arranged for well deployment on a pipe string and for being positioned in a central, axially extending cavity of a blowout preventer (BOP), the tool being formed with a central, axially extending bore and comprising:
The well component may e.g. be a tubing hanger running tool (THRT), a tubing hanger emergency retrieving tool (THERT), a bore protector or other hydraulically operated equipment to be installed and/or later uninstalled in/from a well. It should be noted that by “well component” is meant any component used in connection with petroleum wells, and that the component does not necessarily have to be placed or placeable downhole. The well component may, in some embodiments, be placed in or near a wellhead.
In a preferred embodiment the one or more outlets may be in flow communication with the central, axially extending bore of the tool. This provides a simple way of handling the return fluid from operation of one or more hydraulic actuators in the well component without the need of additional outputs and modifications of the tool and system as such. An alternative to letting the return flow into the central bore of the tool would be to let one or more return lines extend on the outside of the tool and to a position above the BOP, when installed in a well, or to take the return through a designated feedthrough in the BOP. As mentioned above, the valves provided at the outlets, which may be check valves or other fluid control valves, ensure that the hydraulics can only flow in one direction; from inlet to return lines through well component. The fluid control valves, such as check valves, may be designed to let the return from flow the well component once a pre-determined pressure threshold is reached. In certain embodiments, such as when letting the return flow into the central bore of the tool, the pressure threshold may be set to a few bar, where the back-pressure on the check valves from the central bore may be controllable from topside. The pressure acting on the check valves will be the differential pressure between the return flow and the pressure in the central bore of the tool.
In one embodiment the one or more of the inlets at the first and/or second portion of the tool may be provided with an inlet flow restricting member such as a burst disc and/or a check valve. Such a flow restricting member may ensure that an inlet line, and thereby a hydraulic function in the well component, is not inadvertently activated at pressures below an activation pressure threshold. Different Inlet valves, such as check valves, and/or burst discs at the same portion of the tool may also be designed to be activated at different pressure thresholds so that different hydraulic functions in the well component may be activated independently of each other.
In one embodiment one or more of the inlets at the first and/or second portion of the tool may be provided with a filter for filtering hydraulic fluid. This may be advantageous to ensure that the hydraulics used to activate different hydraulic functions on the well components has sufficient cleanliness.
In one embodiment the one or more inlets at the second portion of the tool and one more of the outlets are provided in a common injection mandrel. This may be beneficial for ease of retrofit of the tool to an existing pipe string and for ease of maintenance.
In addition or as an alternative the one or more inlets at the first portion of the tool may be provided in a carrier clamp, implying that the carrier clamp may then optionally also be provided with valves and/or burst discs and/or hydraulic cleaning filters, as discussed above. Similarly to an injection mandrel, a carrier clamp will also ease retrofit and general assembly of the tool, while simplifying maintenance. In a preferred embodiment, the tool may comprise a crossover sub for connecting the remainder of the tool to a pipe string, and wherein the carrier clamp is clamped to the crossover sub.
The bypass mandrel may enable inlet lines, and optionally outlines lines if the outlets do not extend into the central bore of the tool, to extend along the tool inside the bypass mandrel so that they may be protected inside the wall of the mandrel while the tool maintains a slick and preferably circularly shaped outer circumference. A slick outer surface may make it easier to create a seal around the tool as will be explained in the following.
In one embodiment the tool may be provided with one or more reservoirs with clean fluid. The reservoir(s) may be in the form of a piston, tank, bladder etc, and it may be used to store clean fluid from surface for later use downhole. The reservoir can be an integral part of the tool (first portion, second portion or both) or attached as a separate item. The reservoir can be a liquid divider, but also a separate item/function. The purpose of the reservoir of clean fluid is to provide a closed hydraulic portion of the total hydraulic circuit used to operate the downhole component, such as the THRT. The reservoir may typically be provided on the tool between one or more of the inlets and the outlets, where a partition in the form of a floating piston, a bladder or similar separates the reservoir of clean fluid from the “dirty” fluid entering to tool from the outside, meaning that the dirty/contaminated fluid will push the clean fluid to operate the downhole component. In this way, it is ensured that the hydraulic fluid used to operate the downhole component is unused and clean, improving the reliability of the activation of the downhole component. Many such wellbore components only need to be operated once, implying that the clean fluid only needs to be used once. Fluid entering the tool from the outside, i.e. from a cavity in the BOP, as will be explained in the following, will typically be regarded as dirty/contaminated.
In a second aspect, the invention relates to a tool assembly comprising:
With the tool assembly according to the invention it is possible to pressurize two different cavities around the tool assembly by means of feedthroughs in a BOP. The feedthroughs may in some embodiments be existing feedthroughs in the BOP such as connections for kill and choke lines, whereby no additional modifications need to be made to the BOP. In other embodiments, new, designated feedthroughs may be made specifically for the purpose. Since the tool has different inlets adapted to be positioned in the two different cavities, the two different feedthroughs may be used to activate different hydraulic actuators on the well component. This may be used to control actuators that must not be run at the same time, such as installing a TH and unlatching a THRT from the TH, are operated independently of each other. Since the hydraulic fluids only flow in one direction into these actuators/cylinders, the tool and tool assembly according to the invention gives more flexibility in the hydraulic operation of a well component compared to the prior art aiming to avoid the use of hydraulic umbilicals.
In one embodiment, two or more rams may include an annular ram and a pipe ram. The annular ram is sometimes simply referred to as an “annular”. It should however be noted that any ram or seal adapted to engage with the tool or pipe string to seal and thereby create such sealed cavities in the BOP may be used.
In one embodiment, as already exemplified above, the well component may include a tubing hanger running tool (THRT), and wherein the downhole tool assembly is adapted to install and uninstall a tubing hanger (TH) in and from a well and to unlatch and latch the THRT from and to TH.
In a third aspect, the invention relates to method for operating a well component by means of a tool assembly according to the second aspect of the invention, the method comprising the steps of:
In a fourth aspect the invention relates to a method for operating a well component by means of a downhole tool assembly according the second aspect of the invention, the method comprising the steps of:
In the following is described an example of a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In the following the reference numeral 1 will be used to denote a tool according to the first aspect of the invention, whereas reference numeral 10 will be used to denote a tool assembly according to the second aspect of the invention. Identical reference numerals will be used to identify identical or similar features in the drawings, which are shown schematically and simplified, and in which various features are not necessarily drawn to scale.
When it is desired to activate a first hydraulic function in the THRT 58, such as to install the TH 60 in the well, one of the cavities 68, 70 may be pressurized by supply of hydraulic fluid through a respective feedthrough 72, 74. In an exemplary embodiment, the first cavity 68 may be pressurized, whereby not shown hydraulic fluid flows into the inlet 18 at the first portion 14 of the tool 1 cleaned by filter 20, as indicated in
Similarly, when desired to activate a second hydraulic function in the THRT 58, such as to unlatch it from the TH 60 in the well, the second cavity 70 may be pressurized by the second feedthrough 74. Hydraulic fluid flows from inlet 42 in the injection mandrel 38 at the second portion of the tool 1, through the second inlet line 44 and termination 46 and into a second inlet 82 in the THRT 58. In the THRT 58 the hydraulic fluid acts on a second hydraulic actuator 84 to release/unlatch the THRT 58 from the TH 60 (not shown in
It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. Use of the verb “comprise” and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those stated in a claim. The article “a” or “an” preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.
The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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20210236 | Feb 2021 | NO | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/NO2022/050045 | 2/22/2022 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2022/182243 | 9/1/2022 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4811784 | Theiss | Mar 1989 | A |
5029643 | Winslow | Jul 1991 | A |
6536529 | Kerr et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
7306042 | Bansal | Dec 2007 | B2 |
7395866 | Milberger et al. | Jul 2008 | B2 |
8668004 | June et al. | Mar 2014 | B2 |
20050217845 | McGuire | Oct 2005 | A1 |
20220298889 | Falk | Sep 2022 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2011126591 | Oct 2011 | WO |
2016182449 | Nov 2016 | WO |
Entry |
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Norwegian Search Report for No. 20210236, dated Aug. 19, 2021. |
International Search Report and the Written Opinion for PCT/NO2022/050045, dated Jun. 9, 2022. |
International Preliminary Report on Patentability and the Response to the Written Opinion for PCT/NO2022/050045, dated Oct. 26, 2022 and Oct. 7, 2022. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20240060381 A1 | Feb 2024 | US |