Retrievable Safety Valve Insert for Wireline Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional safety valves in the oil and gas industry have a limited operational lifespan and are prone to leakage or complete failure, requiring costly and time-consuming workover processes to replace them.
Innovation Solution
A retrievable safety valve insert that can be run in hole in two or more steps, featuring an outer housing, lock mandrel, and safety valve insert closure mechanism, which can be coupled with a secondary opening prong and bore flow management actuator to manage valve states without requiring the removal of the tubing string.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional safety valves are replaced by pulling out the tubing string, then complete valve replacement is achieved, but time and cost are significantly increased
Solution Approach 1:
The safety valve system is divided into two separable components: the tubing string and the safety valve insert. The insert can be independently retrieved through the tubing string using wireline or coiled tubing, allowing valve replacement without removing the entire tubing string. This segmentation enables targeted maintenance of the valve component while preserving the tubing infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety valve insert is extracted as a separate removable component from the tubing string. The insert includes a flapper, seat, and body that can be pulled out through the tubing using a retrieval tool, allowing complete removal and replacement of the valve mechanism without disturbing the tubing string installation.
2Reliability
If traditional safety valves are replaced by pulling out the tubing string, then complete valve replacement is achieved, but cost is significantly increased
Solution Approach 1:
The safety valve system is divided into two separable components: the tubing string and the safety valve insert. The insert can be independently retrieved through the tubing string using wireline or coiled tubing, allowing valve replacement without removing the entire tubing string. This segmentation enables targeted maintenance of the valve component while preserving the tubing infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety valve insert is extracted as a separate removable component from the tubing string. The insert includes a flapper, seat, and body that can be pulled out through the tubing using a retrieval tool, allowing complete removal and replacement of the valve mechanism without disturbing the tubing string installation.
3Productivity
If retrievable safety valve insert is used, then replacement time and cost are reduced, but device complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The safety valve insert is designed as a nested structure where the flapper is contained within the valve body, and the entire insert fits inside the tubing string. The retrieval tool engages with external features of the insert to pull it through the tubing. This nested design allows complex functionality to be packaged in a compact form that can be deployed and retrieved through existing wellbore infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
A retrieval tool acts as an intermediary mechanism to engage with the safety valve insert and pull it through the tubing string. The tool includes engagement features that connect to the insert's external structures, enabling retrieval without direct manipulation of the valve components themselves. This intermediary approach simplifies the retrieval process while handling the complex insert structure.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a retrievable safety valve insert, a safety valve, a well system, and a method. The retrievable safety valve insert, in one aspect, includes an outer housing including an outer housing central bore extending axially therethrough, the outer housing central bore operable to convey subsurface production fluids there through. The insert, according to this aspect, may further include a lock mandrel having a lock mandrel profile extending radially outward from the outer housing, the lock mandrel profile movable between a radially retracted state and a radially expanded state configured to engage with an end sub profile of an end sub. The insert, according to this aspect, may further include a safety valve insert closure mechanism coupled to the outer housing proximate a downhole end of the outer housing central bore, the safety valve insert closure mechanism movable between an outer housing closed state and an outer housing open state.