Emergency method for running slips over casing collars
AssigneeABB Vetco Gray Inc.
InventorCharles D. Bridges
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An emergency casing hanger can be lowered over casing collars and into a wellhead housing to support a string of casing. The casing hanger has a slip bowl which is slotted so that it can be radially expanded to insert over the casing collar. Slips are carried in the interior of the bowl for gripping the casing once the slip bowl is in position. The running tool has an inner sleeve that holds the slips in a retracted position and holds the slip bowl in an expanded position until the slip bowl clears the collar. Once the running tool has been removed, a honing tool is then lowered over the casing. The honing tool has honing stones mounted in a housing and biased inward for smoothing the exterior of the casing to receive a seal.
Claims15
An emergency method of installing a string of casing in a wellhead housing in the event the string of casing becomes stuck, the string of casing having casing sections connected together by casing collars, resulting in a casing collar being located above the wellhead housing when the string of casing becomes stuck, the method comprising:
- cementing the string of casing in the well;
- providing a radially expansible slip bowl with a slips carried in the interior of the bowl;
- expanding the slip bowl and lowering the slip bowl and slips over the casing collar, then radially contracting the slip bowl;
- and
- landing the slip bowl in the wellhead and moving the slips radially inward relative to the slip bowl to grip the casing.
An emergency method of installing a string of casing in a wellhead housing in the event the string of casing will not extend to a desired depth, the string of casing having casing sections connected together by casing collars, resulting in a casing collar being located above the wellhead housing when the string of casing is stuck, the method comprising:
- cementing the string of casing in the well;
- providing a radially and resiliently expansible slip bowl with a slips carried in the interior of the slip bowl for movement between retracted and gripping positions;
- inserting a running tool within the interior of the slip bowl to expand the slip bowl and to hold the slips outward in the retracted position;
- then
- lowering the running tool, slip bowl and slips over the casing collar;
- then
- removing at least a portion of the running tool from the interior of the slip bowl to allow resiliency of the slip bowl to return the slip bowl to a contracted position and allowing the slips to move radially inward relative to the slip bowl to grip the casing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.