| US3860067A | 1975-01-14 | |||
| US3000443A | 1961-09-19 | |||
| US3387659A | 1968-06-11 | |||
| US2808890A | 1957-10-08 | |||
| US4533036A | 1985-08-06 |
, ^ 1 . CLAIMS
I Claims
1. A retrievable oil and/or natural gas(es) well blowout preventer comprising an elongated tubular housing having a threaded end portion for connecting said housing in a production pipe-string to a well head, a coarsely threaded upper housing member for combining said housing with its coarsely tapped lower housing, two threaded pins that enjoin said housing members into a housing, and prevent separation, four retractable "set dies" with shearable pins, two double grooved seals that reside on said lower housing outside design, that ensure the movement of oil and natural gases through the inner chamber of said device, a valve assembly arranged inside said chamber, said valve assembly having a valve body provided with an elongated valve stem, an independent adjustable valve stem collar with shearable screw or pin, said valve body to be grooved for the acceptance of various sized "O" rings that will ensure a tight seal against said valve seat, said elongated valve stem is to be centrally located within said inner chamber and residing along said bearing sleeves of the threaded separable valve guides that allow reciprocal movement of said elongated valve in the upward direction of said valve seat upon the force of formation fluid or gas(es) exceeding a predetermined flow rate into said inner chamber due to well head malfunction/destruction, terrorism, war, natural or manmade disasters, which in turn, causes a vacuum within said chamber that will draw said valve into its seat, in combination with an axial, central, concave design incorporated into the lowest portion of said valve that upon the force of formation fluid or gasees exceeding a predetermined flow rate, will assist said valve into the valve seat, automatically ceasing the unwanted, uncontrollable, unrecoverable, release, and/or fire of crude oil and/or natural gases (CO2, etc), into the atmosphere.
2. A retrievable oil and/or natural gas well blowout preventer as claimed in claim 1, comprising of an elongated tubular housing having an internally grooved upper housing for independent placement of this invention at any depth in a cased oil and/or natural gas well bore above the well casing perforations, a coarsely threaded upper housing for combining said housing with its coarsely tapped lower housing, two threaded pins that enjoin said housing members into a housing, and prevent separation, four retractable "set dies" with shearable pins, two double grooved seals that reside on said lower housing outside design, that ensure the movement of oil and natural gases through the inner chamber of said device, a valve assembly arranged inside said chamber, said valve assembly having a valve body provided with an elongated valve stem, an independent adjustable valve stem collar with shearable screw or pin, said valve body to be grooved for the acceptance of various sized "O" rings that will ensure a tight seal against said valve seat, said
elongated valve stem is to be centrally located within said inner chamber and residing along said
3. A retrievable oil and/or natural gas well blowout preventer as claimed in claim 1, in which after said invention is employed said device creates a suitable tubing anchor by the utilization of said set dies into the inner well casing wall. |
RETRIEVABLE OIL AND/OR NATURAL GAS WELL BLOWOUT PREVENTER
SPECIFICATION (35 USC 122)
This application is based on a provisional application # 60/573,034 Filed on 05-21-2004. Docket. # 24593.00
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to subsurface oil well tools. And more specifically to well apparatus for automatically controlling escaping hydrocarbons and natural gases, (CO., etc.), due to well head malfunction/destruction caused by terrorism, war, natural or manmade disasters, accidental or intentional. More commonly known as a "blowout " . The invention is a retrievable pressure sensitive valve assembly for oil and/or gas well blowout prevention, comprising of an upper assembly, either threaded or with a locking device used to attach the invention to piping in order to place said invention to the proper depth within a cased well bore, preferably above the casing perforations, or to be determined by the production/petroleum engineer or company, a lower assembly, an elongated plunger type valve, an independent adjustable valve collar with a means of fastening to the valve stem, an upper valve stem guide, a lower valve stem guide, two threaded pins that allow the upper and lower assemblies to be secured together, various sized "O" rings, two inner double grooved seals, and four "set dies" with four shearable pins, made of hardened steel or suitable material, as described in the accompanying drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An objective of the invention is to provide an apparatus for prevention of oil and/or natural gas well blowout, (hydrocarbons, natural gases, (CO2,etc), from escaping due to well head malfunction, terrorism, war, natural or manmade disasters, by being attached to the production tubing or at any depth in the casing above the well perforations, thus providing safety and security of the well. This device will automatically save millions of dollars of natural resources, and negate the need for oil well firefighters and blowout specialists. This device is easily repairable and installation is simple compared to similar devices in production and use today, if any.
An objective of the invention is to provide an apparatus for the controllability of hydrocarbons, natural gases, CO2, etc., from being released uncontrollably due to well head malfunction/destruction, terrorism, war, natural or manmade disasters, either accidental or intentional in nature, by being able to "set" this apparatus separately above the casing perforations by utilizing a "J-LOCK" or similar internally grooved principle.
(D
An objective of this invention is to provide an adjustable plunger type valve, by exploitation of an HiedefJdtalbeiϊφIδljdstol€i-MSiflM stem collar, thus enabling the valve to be adjusted the desired distance between the valve seat.
An objective of the invention is to provide an avenue to release the valve from its seat once the valve is employed and the well head is properly repaired, by using hydraulic pumping action through the use of a pump capable of unsetting and equalizing the formation pressure.
An objective of this invention is to provide another avenue to release the valve from its seat through the use of a wire line, sinker bar, and a bumper sub assembly, by using a sand line and lubricator once the well head has been properly repaired. The well servicing crew will fill the tubing with fluid, with the pump on standby, and then use the sand line principle to release the valve from its seat and to equalize the pressure differential at the well head by using a choke valve until the desired pressure and flow is achieved.
An objective of the invention is to provide an avenue of being able to position this internally grooved apparatus at any depth according to the size of the invention and casing inside diameter, by the employment of the retractable "set dies" that are employed by turning the well tubing in a clockwise direction until seated in the inner well casing bore above the well perforations. To properly place this oil tool into the well casing bore at the desired depth will require the skill of the rig operator and the oil tool employee on the rig floor.
An objective of this invention is to be able to "unset" this apparatus by the employment of retractable "set dies" that are unemployable by turning the well tubing in a counterclockwise direction until unseated. To properly "unseat" this oil tool will require the skill of the rig operator and the oil tool employee on the rig floor.
An objective of this invention is to be able to "gut out" this apparatus due to the possibility of being unable to "unset" this device, through these required steps. Step 1: Utilizing the sand line (wire line) procedure to "gut out" this device using a sinker bar of the appropriate diameter and bumper-sub and other tools to shear the independent valve stem adjuster set screw or pin, allowing the elongated valve, and valve guides to fall out the bottom of this device, leaving the inside hollow. Step 2: To "spear" this device with the use of fishing tools (a spear or inside grappler) and a bumper-sub to shear the shear pins that are holding the "set dies" in the appropriate places built into this device, thus, enabling the rig operator to "fish" this device out of the hole. If in the event that this device is unable to be "fished out", it can be forced past the casing perforations into the "rat hole" and abandoned.
An objective of this invention is to be able to treat a well through this device.
An objective of this invention is to provide a suitable tubing anchor that is provided by efoiplbiytøpihe ret-λbt&bfe 1 "set dies", thus, possibly eliminating the need for a separate tubing anchor, saving substantial operating costs
This invention is not reliant on other existing patents at this time.
This device can automatically stop the flow of crude oil and/or natural gases from its source into the atmosphere due to damage to the well head m an expeditious fashion Due to its economical design and its construction of high strength material and its various resistance to temperature and pressure, it is an ideal oil and/or natural gas well blowout prevention device Due to the simplicity of design which utilizes the minimal use of mechanical components, the cost efficiency is advantageous.
The ease in which installation occurs places this invention as a forerunner m design and function over existing similar devices, if any.
It is the primary objective of this invention to provide a method for oil and/or natural gas well blowout prevention, due to well head malfunction/destruction, terrorism, war, natural or manmade disasters, m which a minimum loss of crude oil and/or natural gas is achieved. Combined, this feature with the ability of having a device that is easily machined with a lathe and easily repaired at a reasonable cost with the simplicity of design makes this device unique and genuine m nature. This device has a high degree of quality and reliability incorporated into its design.
This invention possesses many other advantages, and has other objectives of the invention contributing to dependability m use for long periods and under adverse conditions will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, when taken m conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which- DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
Fig 1 Is an isometric view of this invention, thereby showing the tubing assembly. In the upper drawing of Fig. 1, the blowout preventer is shown in the open position In the lower drawing of Fig. 1, the blowout preventer is in the closed position.
Fig. 2 Is an isometric view of this invention, thereby showing the internally grooved "J-LOCK" assembly In the upper drawing of Fig. 2, the blowout preventer is shown m the open position. In the lower drawing of Fig. 2, the blowout preventer is in the closed position.
Fig. 3 Is a vertical section showing the retrievable oil and/or gas well blowout preventer valve assembly with the preferred embodiment of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 Is a vertical section showing the retrievable oil and/or gas well blowout preventer valve
assembly with the preferred embodiment of Fig. 2.
DElAMft ( DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
It will be observed in Fig. 3 and 4, that the upper assembly(l),(la) of this invention is coarsely threaded! 12) into the lower assembly(2) and is then secured integrally by the coarse threads(12) and by the two threaded locking pms(7).
A principal component of the integral valve assembly is a tapered inner chamber! 19) comprising of the joining of the upper valve assembly(l),(la) and the lower valve assembly(2) which during a well blowout will cause a vacuum action in the inner chamber that will draw the valve assembly(3) into the valve seat( 16) ceasing the unwanted, uncontrollable, oil and/or gases from reaching the atmosphere m an uncontrollable manner due to the absence of the well head. The upper assembly(l),(la) includes a threaded separable valve stem guide member(5). The valve stem guide member includes in unitary integral relation, a pair of oppositely extending radial arms(5) projecting from a bushing or bearing sleeve having a central vertical bore(5). (Figs 3 and 4) The lower valve assembly(2) includes a threaded separable valve stem guide rnember(6). The valve stem guide members(5),(6) include m unitary integral relation, a pair of oppositely extending radial arms(5),(6) projecting from a bushing or bearing sleeve having a central vertical bore(5),(6). The lower valve assembly(2) includes two outer double grooved margins! 13) to accept two resilient seals©) made of rubber-like material
With specific reference to Figs. 3 and 4, the valve assembly(3) is grooved! 12) on its lower portion to accept various sized 'O" πngs(8) to ensure a tight seal when employed The upper portion of the elongated valve stem has an independent adjustable collar(4) that is centered vertically, and bored. It is attachable to the valve stem above the upper valve stem guide(5) member for a wide variety of adjustments between the valve(3) and valve seat! 16). The lower portion of the valve(3) is axially centrally concave! 18) to ensure that escaping oil and gases will force the valve mto its seat! 16) Two resilient lower assembly seals©) of rubber-like material that seal the integrally joined apparatus between the inner well casing wall, sealing the oil and/or gases from leaking past the blowout device©), forcing the flow of oil and/or natural gases through the inner chamber! 15) of this device, and therefore ensures the reliability of this oil tool
With specific reference to Fig. 3 and 4, the lower assembly(2) is machined for four retractable set dies! 10) that are held in place with shear pins(l 1) that reside at the location shown m Figs. 3 and 4, (l la). The upper valve stem guide!5) and lower valve stem guide(6) are threaded and separable for the ease of installation and removal. The upper assembly is reduced m diameter to
Obviously the invention is susceptible to changes or alterations without defeating Its practicability or departing from Its spirit. Therefore, I do not want to be confined to the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings and described herein.