Rotatable ball valve apparatus and method

In a well having a safety valve attached between a wellhead and a blowout preventer, the safety valve having a housing having coaxial upper and lower vertical housing passages, the diameter of the upper and lower passages being sufficiently large to pass a tubing hanger with tubing for landing in the wellhead, and control element means disposed between said upper and lower vertical housing passages for preventing or allowing fluid flow through a passage smaller than the lower vertical housing passage and for providing full diametrical access via the upper housing passage to the lower housing passage,

• a method for controlling the well during installation of production tubing and a production valve comprising the steps of,
• removing an inner part of the control element means,
• setting tubing in the wellhead through the blowout preventer and the upper and lower vertical housing passages where the control element means has been moved to a position providing full diametrical access via the upper housing passage to the lower housing passage,
• inserting the inner part having the passage smaller than the lower vertical housing,
• moving the control element means to a position within the safey valve housing until flow from the tubing is prevented access to the upper passage of the housing,
• removing the blowout preventer from the upper part of the housing,
• installing a production valve to the upper part of the housing, and
• moving the control element means within the safety valve to a position where said passage smaller than the lower vertical housing passage completes the vertical flow path from the tubing in the wellhead below to the production valve above the safety valve housing.

In a well having a wellhead to which is attached a safety valve housing having an upper passage and a lower passage, the lower passage communicating with the wellhead, and the upper and lower passages being open to a chamber in the housing, the housing having an outer part of a rotatable ball seated within the chamber, the outer part having an insert cavity along a central axis of the outer part, the insert cavity having an inner diameter substantially the same as or less than that of the upper passage, the housing having a blowout preventer removably attached to the upper part of the housing with the vertical flow path of the blowout preventer communicating with the upper passage of the safety valve,

• a method of controlling the well during installation of production tubing and a production valve comprising the steps of,
• setting tubing in the wellhead through the blowout preventer and the upper passage, the insert cavity of the outer part of the rotatable ball, and the lower passage of the safety valve housing,
• installing an inner part of the rotatable ball within the insert cavity of the outer part of the rotatable ball, the inner part having an outer diameter substantially the same as that of the insert cavity of the outer part,
• rotating said ball within the safety valve housing to a position where flow from the tubing is prevented access to the upper passage of the housing,
• removing the blowout preventer from the upper part of the housing,
• installing the production valve to the upper part of the housing, and
• rotating the ball within the safety valve to a position where the ball completes the vertical flow path from the tubing in the wellhead below to the production valve above the safety valve housing.