Emergency Slip Hanger Installation Through BOP
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Solution Overview
Problem
In oil and gas drilling operations, installing an emergency slip hanger and annular packoff with a metal to metal sealing system in a wellhead without removing the blowout preventer is challenging due to the complexity and size of tools required, often necessitating removal of the BOP to access stuck casing strings, which compromises wellbore control and requires reliable seals that cannot be readily maintained or replaced.
Innovation Solution
A system and method involving an emergency casing slip hanger assembly with a slip bowl and slips that can be installed through the BOP, using shear pins to engage the slips with the casing and a slip bowl protector to impose a pressure thrust load, allowing the slips to drop into contact with the casing and support it, along with a hydro-mechanical running tool for setting a metal to metal seal without removing the BOP.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the blowout preventer is removed from the wellhead to access stuck casing strings, then sufficient access is provided to install emergency slip hangers, but wellbore control is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The installation process is divided into separate functional modules: a running tool for delivering the slip hanger assembly, a slip hanger assembly for supporting the casing, and a packer assembly for sealing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and enables installation through the existing BOP without removing it, maintaining wellbore control while providing access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary running tool that passes through the BOP to deliver the slip hanger assembly to the stuck casing. This intermediary tool enables the installation of emergency equipment without removing the BOP, thus maintaining wellbore control while providing the necessary access to the stuck casing strings.
2Manufacturing precision
If complex and large tools are used to install emergency slip hangers, then proper installation can be achieved, but the blowout preventer must be removed to provide sufficient access
Solution Approach 1:
The slip hanger assembly is nested within the running tool, allowing it to be delivered through the BOP in a compact configuration. The slips are contained within the running tool until deployment, enabling installation of complex equipment through the limited access provided by the existing BOP without requiring its removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The running tool incorporates dynamic elements including hydraulic actuators and movable components that enable the slip hanger assembly to be deployed and installed through the BOP. The system transitions from a compact nested state during insertion to an expanded operational state during installation, allowing complex installation through limited access.
3Ease of manufacture
If elastomeric seals are used in annular packoffs, then installation is easier, but they can leak under extended service conditions in gas producing applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite sealing systems that combine metal-to-metal sealing surfaces with elastomeric seal elements. The metal components provide durable, leak-resistant sealing for permanent installations in gas producing applications, while the elastomeric elements facilitate proper sealing engagement. This composite approach maintains ease of installation while ensuring long-term reliability under extended service conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the installation of an emergency slip hanger and annular packoff with a metal to metal sealing system in a wellhead without removing the blowout preventer, maintaining wellbore control and ensuring reliable, long-lasting seals, thus addressing the need for permanent repairs in drilling operations.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of first shear pins releasably coupling the plurality of slips to the slip bowl, wherein the plurality of first shear pins are adapted to be sheared by a pressure thrust load
Implementation Method 2
annular packoff assembly having a metal to metal sealing system
Data Source
AI summary
An emergency casing slip hanger assembly that is adapted to be installed in a wellhead through a blowout preventer includes a slip bowl that is adapted to be releasably coupled to and supported by a slip bowl protector during installation of the slip hanger assembly in the wellhead through a blowout preventer, the slip bowl being further adapted to be positioned around a casing in the wellhead and landed on a support shoulder of the wellhead. A plurality of slips are adapted to engage with and support the casing, and a plurality of first shear pins releasably couple the plurality of slips to the slip bowl, wherein the plurality of first shear pins are adapted to be sheared by a pressure thrust load that is imposed on the slip bowl protector so as to drop the plurality of slips into contact with an outside surface of the casing.