US 8,997,858 B2Granted

Liner hanger/packer apparatus with pressure balance feature on anchor slips to facilitate removal

AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated

InventorAndy Tom

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Abstract

A liner hanger/packer apparatus operates by sequential expansion of a slip ring and then a sealing element. The hanger slips are set by pressure on a seated ball actuating anchor slips to grip followed by a stroker assembly and a swage making a first movement. The ball seat is defeated and the liner is cemented. A pickup force extends landing dogs so that a subsequent set down force releases a flapper to close and closes off fluid ports associated with the anchor slips so that pressure on the closed flapper sets the anchor and strokes the swage a second stroke to set the sealing element. A rupture disc breaks in the flapper after further relative movement of mandrel components to open the fluid displacement ports so that the anchor is in pressure balance to backpressure developed from fluid moving through the now broken disc as the running tool is removed.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A running tool for delivery and sequential expansion into an existing tubular of a hanger mounted to a tubular string followed by expansion of a sealing assembly mounted to the tubular string, comprising:

a mandrel having an upper end and a passage therethrough;
an anchor assembly on said mandrel selectively engageable to the tubular string;
a stroker assembly on said mandrel to selectively drive a swage assembly into the tubular string while said anchor assembly selectively grips said tubular string using pressure in said passage;
said passage selectively closed at a first and at a second location, said anchor assembly in fluid communication with said passage on opposed sides of said first location with at least one upper port and at least one lower port, said second location is further from said upper end of said mandrel than said first location;
said anchor assembly actuated once with pressure in said passage delivered to said upper port from said upper end of said mandrel with said passage closed at said first location;
and
said anchor assembly actuated another time with pressure in said passage delivered to said upper port from said upper end of said mandrel with said passage closed at a second location and open at said first location and with said lower port selectively closed, said lower port subsequently opened for removal of the running tool from the tubular string with said upper and lower ports open.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.