Wellhead assembly for communicating with the casing hanger annulus
AssigneeABB Vetco Gray Inc.
InventorAlan Murray Clark
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A subsea wellhead assembly has the capabilities of communicating from the outer surface of an outer wellhead housing to a casing annulus. Seals between the outer and inner wellhead housings define an annular chamber when the inner wellhead housing lands. The outer wellhead housing has a communication port formed through one of its sidewalls. The inner wellhead housing has a passageway extending from the annular chamber to the bore of the inner wellhead housing. The casing annulus located radially inward of the inner wellhead housing is in communication with the outer surface of the outer wellhead housing through the passageway, the annular chamber between the seals, and the communication port.
Claims19
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;
- and
- a passageway extending from the annular chamber to the bore of the inner wellhead housing for communicating with a casing annulus.
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;
- and
- 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.
The subsea wellhead assembly of claim 17, wherein the frame aligns to receive the outer wellhead housing with a pair of sleeves for slidingly receiving a pair of guidelines.
A method for communicating with a casing annulus of a wellhead assembly, comprising the following steps:
- providing an inner wellhead housing having a passageway extending from its outer surface to its bore, and an outer wellhead housing having a communication port extending from its outer surface to its inner surface;
- then
- landing the inner wellhead housing in the outer wellhead housing;
- then
- sealing the outer surface of the inner wellhead housing to the inner surface of the outer wellhead housing above and below both the opening of the passageway on the outer surface of the inner wellhead housing and the communication port in the outer wellhead housing;
- and then
- communicating from the outer surface of the outer wellhead housing to the bore of the inner wellhead housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.