Claims
- 1. A subsea wellhead assembly comprising:a low pressure wellhead housing secured to a string of conductor pipe extending into the well; a high pressure wellhead housing having a bore, a lower portion that lands in the low pressure wellhead housing, and an upper portion that extends above an upper end of the low pressure wellhead housing; a communication port formed in the low pressure wellhead housing extending through a side of the low pressure wellhead housing; a pair of seals between the high pressure wellhead housing and the low pressure wellhead housing, defining an annular chamber, the seals being located above and below the communication port; and a passageway extending from the annular chamber to the bore of the high pressure wellhead housing for communicating with a casing annulus.
- 2. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 1, wherein the passageway enters the annular chamber at a higher elevation than where the passageway enters the bore.
- 3. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 1, wherein the passageway comprises a plurality of passageways spaced around the circumference of the high pressure wellhead housing.
- 4. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 1, wherein the pair of seals comprises elastomeric seals.
- 5. A subsea wellhead assembly comprising:an outer wellhead housing; an inner wellhead housing having a bore and a lower portion that lands in the outer wellhead housing; a communication port formed in the outer wellhead housing extending through a side of the outer wellhead housing; a pair of seals between the inner wellhead housing and the outer wellhead housing, defining an annular chamber the seals being located above and below the communication port; a passageway extending from the annular chamber to the bore of the inner wellhead housing for communicating with a casing annulus; upper and lower upwardly facing conical surfaces formed on the inner bore of the outer wellhead housing above and below the communication port; and upper and lower downwardly facing tapered surface formed on the outer surface of the inner wellhead housing that mate with the conical surfaces on the outer wellhead housing.
- 6. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 1, further comprising a wear resistant surface on the outer surface of the high pressure wellhead housing in alignment with the communication port for reducing wear due to the cuttings injected on the outer surface of the high pressure wellhead housing.
- 7. A subsea wellhead assembly comprising:an outer wellhead housing; an inner wellhead housing having a bore and a lower portion that lands in the outer wellhead housing; a communication port formed in the outer wellhead housing extending through a side of the outer wellhead housing; a pair of seals between the inner wellhead housing and the outer wellhead housing, defining an annular chamber the seals being located above and below the communication port; a passageway extending from the annular chamber to the bore of the inner wellhead housing for communicating with a casing annulus; and a frame having a support member that extends at least partially around the outer wellhead housing; a flowline connector mounted to the frame for communicating with the communication port; a plurality of lock members on the support member for movement into engagement with a mating profile on an extension of the outer wellhead housing.
- 8. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 7, wherein the flowline connector has a penetrator that moves between inner and outer positions, the penetrator having an inner end that operably seals and engages the communication port and an outer end for receiving a fluid for injection into the well.
- 9. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 7, wherein the frame aligns to receive the outer wellhead housing with a pair of sleeves for slidingly receiving a pair of guidelines.
- 10. A subsea wellhead assembly for cuttings injection, comprising:a low pressure wellhead housing connected to a sting of conductor pipe extending into the well; a high pressure wellhead housing having a bore, a lower portion that lands in the low pressure wellhead housing, and an upper portion that extends above an upper end of the low pressure wellhead housing; a communication port formed in the low pressure wellhead housing extending through a side of the low pressure wellhead housing for injecting cuttings into the well; a pair of seals above and below the communication port and between the high pressure wellhead housing and the low pressure wellhead housing, defining an annular chamber; a plurality of passages extending from the annular chamber to the bore of the high pressure wellhead housing for communicating with a casing annulus; and a wear resistant surface on the outer surface of the high pressure wellhead housing in alignment with the communication port for reducing wear due to the cuttings injected on the outer surface of the high pressure wellhead housing.
- 11. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 10, wherein the passageway has an upper end that opens into the annular chamber and a lower end that opens into the bore.
- 12. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 10, wherein the pair of seals comprises elastomeric seals.
- 13. A subsea wellhead assembly for cuttings injection, comprising:an outer wellhead housing; an inner wellhead housing having a bore and a lower portion that lands in the outer wellhead housing; a communication port formed in the outer wellhead housing extending through a side of the outer wellhead housing for injecting cuttings into the well; a pair of seals above and below the communication port and between the inner wellhead housing and the outer wellhead housing, defining an annular chamber; a plurality of passages extending from the annular chamber to the bore of the inner wellhead housing for communicating with a casing annulus; a wear resistant surface on the outer surface of the inner wellhead housing in alignment with the communication port for reducing wear due to the cuttings injected on the outer surface of the inner wellhead housing; a frame having a support member that at least partially extends around the outer wellhead housing; a flowline connector mounted to the frame for communicating with the communication port; and a plurality of lock members on the support member for movement into engagement with a mating profile on an extension of the outer wellhead housing.
- 14. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 13, wherein the flowline connector has a penetrator that moves between inner and outer positions, the penetrator having an inner end that operably seals and engages the communication port and an outer end for receiving a fluid for injection into the well.
- 15. The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 13, wherein the frame aligns to receive the low pressure wellhead housing with a pair of sleeves for slidingly receiving a pair of guidelines.
- 16. A method for communicating with a casing annulus of a wellhead assembly, comprising the following steps:providing a high pressure wellhead housing having a passageway extending from its outer surface to its bore, and a low pressure wellhead housing secured to a string of conductor pipe extending into the well and having a communication port extending from its outer surface to its inner surface; then landing a lower portion of the high pressure wellhead housing in the low pressure wellhead housing such that an upper portion of the high pressure wellhead housing extends above an upper end of the low pressure wellhead housing; then sealing the outer surface of the high pressure wellhead housing to the inner surface of the low pressure wellhead housing above and below both the opening of the passageway on the outer surface of the high pressure wellhead housing and the communication port in the low pressure wellhead housing; and then communicating from the outer surface of the low pressure wellhead housing to the bore of the high pressure wellhead housing.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the communicating step further comprises:connecting a flowline connector to the communication port from the exterior of the low pressure wellhead housing; and then injecting a slurry of cuttings through flowline connector and into the casing annulus.
- 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the communicating step further comprises:connecting a flowline connector to the communication port from the exterior of the low pressure wellhead housing; and then injecting a fluid through flowline connector and into the casing annulus.
- 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the communicating step comprises monitoring pressure in the casing annulus.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
Applicant claims priority to the application described herein through a United States provisional patent application titled “Drill Cuttings Injection System,” having U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/333,550, which was filed on Nov. 27, 2001, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
US Referenced Citations (17)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
WO 0244516 |
Jun 2002 |
WO |
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/333550 |
Nov 2001 |
US |