U.S. patent application number 11/818955 was filed with the patent office on 2008-08-28 for method of functioning and / or monitoring temporarily installed equipment through a tubing hanger..
Invention is credited to Ross John Trewhella.
Application Number | 20080202761 11/818955 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39714580 |
Filed Date | 2008-08-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080202761 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Trewhella; Ross John |
August 28, 2008 |
Method of functioning and / or monitoring temporarily installed
equipment through a Tubing Hanger.
Abstract
The invention covers the method of supplying services to a
device such as a Subsea Intervention Tree and Retainer Valve using
conduits routed through a tubing Hanger. The method of this
invention provides control of equipment sitting within the BOP
stack and/or marine riser using control systems located external to
the Marine riser. This removes the need for a costly
umbilical/conduit to be run alongside the casing or tubing string
within the marine riser, thereby reducing cost and risk of damage
during deployment of the string. Running time will be significantly
reduced saving valuable rig time. Also, in deeper waters complex
Electro/Hydraulic or MUX control systems traditionally run within
the Marine riser and/or the BOP stack as a part of the Landing
string can be replaced by a local control system located outside
the Marine riser on or around the Production Tree.
Inventors: |
Trewhella; Ross John;
(Houston, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LONGMAN RUSSO;A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION
P.O. DRAWER 3408
LAFAYETTE
LA
70502-3408
US
|
Family ID: |
39714580 |
Appl. No.: |
11/818955 |
Filed: |
September 20, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
166/351 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B 33/038 20130101;
E21B 33/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
166/351 |
International
Class: |
E21B 41/04 20060101
E21B041/04 |
Claims
1. Method of functioning and/or monitoring temporarily installed
equipment through a Tubing Hanger. Comprising: Control System (Item
1), Subsea Production Tree (Item 13) & Tubing Hanger (Item 9).
Delivering hydraulic or electrical controls from the vessel (Item
15) through a control system umbilical (Item 1), terminating at a
junction plate (Item 11) mated to the Production Tree (Item 13).
The Production Tree (Item 13) providing internal conduits
communicating controls through a series of stabs (Item 10). Control
of the Tubing Hanger (Item 9) and other equipment is established by
landing the completion (Item 12) within the production Tree (Item
13) this has the effect of enabling the stabs (Item 10) and
establishing communications with the completion equipment (Item 17)
typically SCSSV, Electrical gauges and Chemical injection mandrels.
Reconfiguring and adding stabs (Item 10) diverts controls up the
assembly into the THRT (Item 7) and ultimately to other equipment.
Establishing communication and control this way provides full
functional control of the said devices. In order to maintain status
of any unlatched elements of the system during disconnect
activities the disconnection points will require hydraulic checking
stabs, these will trap hydraulic pressure allowing the latch to
reconnect and re-establish communications. This method of control
requires that during the initial deployment prior to landing the
Tubing hanger (Item 9) the operator will have no control over
device functionality, and as such it will be necessary to trap
control fluids within some chambers to lock components in preset
positions, control will be regained subsequent to landing the
Tubing Hanger (Item 9). Also, the operator may insist on monitoring
pressure status, in this instance a pressure transducer could be
fitted to transmit data to surface either by electrical conduit or
other form of data transmission.
2. As per claim 1, data is being transmitted as opposed to
hydraulics or electrical power.
3. As per claim 1, Chemicals or gas is being transmitted as opposed
to hydraulics or electrical power.
4. As per claim 1, Hydraulic stabs or electrical connectors could
be replaced by other methods of establishing communication such as
spheriseals, sliding sleeves or seal gallery arrangements.
5. As per claim 1, The hydraulically operated Tubing Hanger may be
replaced by a mechanically actuated hanger.
6. As per claim 1, communication between the Production Tree (Item
13) and the Tubing Hanger is established using pressure applied in
the annulus below the BOP pipe rams or by applied pressure within
the casing/tubing bore.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a method of controlling temporarily
installed equipment such as Subsea Intervention trees and Retainer
Valves using Tubing Hanger access. The method is comprised of the
following components:
[0002] (1) Subsea Test/Intervention Tree and Retainer Valve: This
equipment is utilized as a temporary part of a completion running
string, deployed into wells from offshore floating or anchored
vessels. Located within the vessels BOP stack and directly above
the production trees Tubing Hanger and Tubing Hanger Running tool.
This equipment provides a well isolation and unlatch function as
well as hydrocarbon retention allowing the vessel to safely move
off location in emergencies. These valves are hydraulically
actuated and traditionally rely on application and venting of
hydraulic pressures supplied from either an `In riser` control
system and/or an umbilical terminated at the uppermost face of each
valve. This umbilical is strapped or clamped to the tubing or
casing string and sits within the inside diameter of the
Drilling/Marine riser, as such a high level of risk exists that
movement between these elements due to sea or ocean currents can
cause damage to that umbilical. From the uppermost face of the
assembly where the umbilical or conduit is terminated, internal
porting through the assembly will carry the control fluids or
electrical conduits to the various functions within the Retainer
Valve, Subsea Intervention Tree, Tubing Hanger Running Tool, Tubing
Hanger and ultimately devices within the Completion string. This
requirement for a large number of connections and intricate porting
within the aforementioned devices particularly the Retainer Valve,
Subsea Intervention Tree and Tubing Hanger; this creates multiple
potential for leak paths or loss of electrical continuity for each
conduit.
[0003] (2) Tubing Hanger Running tool: The Tubing Hanger Running
tool is located directly below the Subsea Intervention tree and
provides a facility to latch and unlatch the upper landing string
from the Tubing hanger. This allows the temporary landing string to
be removed leaving the production completion installed and locked.
The Tubing hanger running tool can be mechanically or hydraulically
actuated. Hydraulically actuated Tubing Hanger Running tools
receive control pressure via conduits fed through from the Subsea
Intervention valve assembly and also provides conduits for
controlling the Tubing hanger and devices within the Completion
string. These conduits represent multiple potential leak paths for
each conduit.
[0004] (3) Tubing Hanger: The Tubing hanger forms the uppermost
part of the permanent completion and facilitates the locking of the
Completion into the production tree. The Tubing Hanger is
traditionally hydraulically operated; the Tubing Hanger receives
control pressure from surface via the conduits passed through the
Tubing Hanger Running Tool, the Subsea Intervention valve, the
Retainer Valve and the `In riser` umbilical. It can be seen that
this supply represents a torturous path with a multitude of
potential leak paths. The interface between the Tubing hanger and
the Production tree contains a series of stabs; these stabs
facilitate the hydraulic or electrical communication between the
production tree and Tubing hanger. Control pressures or electrical
conduits are received from the production tree and then passed from
the stabs down the completion string via a series of small-bore
tubing or electrical conduits to control the various devices that
make up the completion string.
[0005] (4) Production Tree: The Production Tree is a valve manifold
that directs well effluent to the production facility via a side
port. The production tree also acts as a control center for the
completion itself; distributing hydraulic or electrical signals to
the various down hole completion devices, which monitor, control or
inject chemicals into the well. These controls are fed to the
production Tree via a production umbilical and Junction or `J`
plate, which is deployed open water, from the production facility
or the drilling vessel, depending on the phase of operation. Once
connected to the production tree the controls are routed through
the body and into the Tubing Hanger as described above via sets of
stabs.
[0006] (5) Control System: The Control system is made up of a power
unit comprising a pump and accumulators combined with hydraulic
valves and regulators configured to control hydraulic pressures
feeding various hydraulically operated devices. A control system
can also regulate and supply electrical power to feed various
electrically driven devices. A control system will also generally
include the means of delivering the hydraulics or electrical power,
i.e. an umbilical which is made up of hydraulic control lines or a
combination of hydraulic control lines and electrical conduits
thereof.
[0007] During completion running/pulling or workover operations
Control elements (i.e fluids and/or electrical) are transferred
from a floating offshore installation via a single or series of
conduits to a junction plate. This junction plate is removable and
attached to the Production tree (Generally, but not restricted to a
Horizontal or spool type trees).
[0008] This junction plate locks the conduit/umbilical to the
production tree and facilitates communication to a series of
hydraulic ports/electrical conduits within the production tree
wall. These ports will link to a set of stabs/receptacles located
within or around the inner wall of the production tree and are
isolated until such time as the mating tubing hanger is landed
within its bore. The tubing hanger is deployed from the rig floor
(Surface), through the bore of the Marine riser, into the BOP stack
and landed on a location within the inner bore of the production
tree. Typically a completion string will be attached to the lower
end of the tubing hanger and a running tool c/w Landing string and
well isolation devices (Typically, but not restricted to a Subsea
Test/Intervention Tree and Retainer Valve) attached to the upper
end.
[0009] The action of landing the Tubing hanger within the
production tree will establish communication between the
aforementioned stabs/receptacles and the Tubing hanger.
Alternatively these stabs/receptacles may be energized to engage
using external forces. These established communications provide
monitoring or control to equipment located within the completion
part or lower part of the inner assembly.
[0010] While the present invention has been described in terms of
specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is
not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The invention may be
embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as
being limited to the embodiments set forth herein: rather, these
embodiments are provided by way of illustration only and so that
this disclosure will be thorough, complete and will fully convey
the full scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Indeed, many modifications and other embodiments of the invention
will come to mind to those skilled in the art to which the
invention pertains, and which are intended to be, and are covered
by this disclosure, the drawings and the claims.
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