Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B19/00—Handling rods, casings, tubes or the like outside the borehole, e.g. in the derrick; Apparatus for feeding the rods or cables
  • E21B19/02—Rod or cable suspensions
  • E21B19/06—Elevators, i.e. rod- or tube-gripping devices
  • E21B19/07—Slip-type elevators
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B17/00—Drilling rods or pipes; Flexible drill strings; Kellies; Drill collars; Sucker rods; Cables; Casings; Tubings
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B17/00—Drilling rods or pipes; Flexible drill strings; Kellies; Drill collars; Sucker rods; Cables; Casings; Tubings
  • E21B17/02—Couplings; joints
  • E21B17/04—Couplings; joints between rod or the like and bit or between rod and rod or the like
  • E21B17/042—Threaded
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B19/00—Handling rods, casings, tubes or the like outside the borehole, e.g. in the derrick; Apparatus for feeding the rods or cables
  • E21B19/02—Rod or cable suspensions
  • E21B19/06—Elevators, i.e. rod- or tube-gripping devices
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B33/00—Sealing or packing boreholes or wells
  • E21B33/02—Surface sealing or packing
  • E21B33/03—Well heads; Setting-up thereof
  • E21B33/04—Casing heads; Suspending casings or tubings in well heads
  • E21B33/0422—Casing heads; Suspending casings or tubings in well heads a suspended tubing or casing being gripped by a slip or an internally serrated member

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a slip assemblies and methods for gripping casing joints and casing strings.
• Slip assemblies are well known in the down-hole drilling and oil and gas industry. Slip assemblies are used to grip casing sections or strings, also called tubulars or piping, for a number of purposes including drilling, making up or breaking out casing strings and performing operations to produce oil from the well. Casing strings are made up by connecting multiple threaded casing sections together and feeding them into the wellbore. Rotation of a first casing into a second casing is conducted until the thread male and female ends engage one another.
• the gripping mechanism of the slip assembly must be able to carry large loads and in certain operations including make up or break out operations do so while rotationally gripping the casing section or casing string.
• the components of the slip assembly must also cooperate to set and unset with ease and to maintain a fully set position on the casing section or casing string during torqueing and rotation.
• a gripping system for gripping oil well casing, casing string or other string comprising one or more slips cammed against one or more inclined recesses when the gripping system is rotated to enhance gripping engagement of the casing.
• a further gripping system is taught for gripping oil well casing, casing string or other string comprising one or more slips received into one or more inclined recesses.
• a method for gripping casing sections or casing strings comprises the steps of providing a gripping system comprising one or more recesses and one or more slips, setting said one or more slips on the casing section and rotating the gripping system to cam said one or more slips against said one or more inclined recesses, wherein camming said one or more slips against said one or more inclined recesses serves to enhance gripping engagement on the casing.
• a further method is taught for gripping casing sections or casing strings.
• the method comprises the steps of receiving a slip into each of one or more inclined recesses of a gripping system, setting said one or more slips on the casing section and rotating the gripping system.
• Figure 1 is an isometric view of a part of the slip assembly of the present invention
• Figure 2 is an isometric view of further parts of the slip assembly of the present invention.
• Figure 3 is an isometric view of yet further parts of the slip assembly of the present invention.
• Figure 4 is an isometric view of yet further parts of the slip assembly of the present invention.
• Figure 5 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the present slip assembly.
• the slip assembly of the present invention also called a gripping system can be used in conjunction with a number of tools known in the field of oil well completion and production. These tools include but are not limited to elevators, spiders, flush mount spiders, snubbing tools, bucking units and back up tongs.
• the present slip assemblies can be used in relation to any operations involving hoisting and rotation of a casing string or casing section or in any operation in which a casing string, casing section or tubular of any kind is torqued or rotated while under axial loading forces. These operations include but are not limited to casing make up or break out "drilling with casing", snubbing operations and horizontal wellbore operations.
• slip assemblies of the present invention are preferably actuated by one or more cylinders (not shown) that extend to set one or more gripping members of the slip assembly and retract to release said gripping members.
• Other means of actuation are also possible and would be understood by a person of skill in the art to be encompassed by the scope of the present invention
• the seat 16 of the gripping system 14 preferably comprises an array of one or more separate inclined elements 30 for receiving slips 18.
• the inclined elements 30 comprise one or more integral or non-integral means of laterally retaining the slips 18 in the inclined elements 30, in such a way that the slips 18 are prevented from falling or tipping towards a central bore of the casing gripping system 14.
• non-integral retaining means include but are not limited to strips, plates, clips, cages, bars, tabs and rings that can be removably attached to at least a portion of the slip 18 and at least a portion of the seat 16 to laterally retain the slip 18 to the inclined element 30.
• Integral retaining means can include but are not limited to mating profiles on at least a portion of the slip 18 and on at least a portion of the inclined elements 30 that connect to hold the slip 18 to the inclined element 30; such mating profiles can include shiplap profiles, tongue-and-groove profiles, dovetail profiles or other profiles well known in the art.
• the inclined elements 30 can more preferably be in the form of an array of one or more inclined recesses 90 that correspond to a rear face 32 of the slips 18, thereby generating radially inward movement of the slips 18 to grip the casing joint 10 as the slips 18 are disposed longitudinally within inclined recesses 90, without the need for separate tracks, cam followers, springs or other means.
• the inclined recesses 90 have a cylindrical geometry and part-circular cross section to match a cylindrical geometry and part circular cross section of the slips 18. It is also possible for the inclined recesses 90 and slips 18 to have cross sections that are partial rectangles, partial squares, partial ovals, partial rhomboids and partial triangles or other cross-sectional geometries.
• the inclined recesses 90 can comprise an integral retaining means along at least a portion of the axial length of the inclined recess 90.
• at least a portion of longitudinal edges 92 of the inclined recesses 90 comprise an integral throat, tab or strip that act to restrict the size of the mouth 94 of the inclined recess 90, to thereby capture slips 18 and laterally retain slips 18 from falling or tipping into the central bore of the seat 16.
• the inclined recesses 90 are machined to a cross sectional geometry that restricts the mouth 94 of the inclined recesses 90 to be smaller than the widest cross section of the slip 18.
• the recesses 90 function to partially circumferentially capture the slips 18.
• at least a portion of the axial length of the inclined recesses 90 is machined such that the desired cross sectional geometry converges to restrict mouth 94.
• at least a portion of the axial length of the inclined recess 90 is formed as more than half of a circle, otherwise put, more than a semi-circle, to provide a restriction to mouth 94 such that the slip 18 cannot fall into the central bore of the seat 16.
• the slips 18 and the recesses 90 interact in such a way as to enhance gripping forces on the casing section 10 during rotation.
• the slips 18 are caused to cam or wedge into the recesses 90 to thereby maintain a firm penetration of the dies 20 in the slips 18 and a firm grip of the outer surface of the casing section 10 by the dies 20 during casing make up or break out operations.
• slips 18 are nominally smaller in cross section than inclined recesses 90.
• the top drive is rotated to rotate gripping system 14.
• gripping torque causes the slightly smaller slip 18 to
• present seat 16 is preferably shown as having a conical form, it would be well understood by a person of skill in the art that numerous alternative forms of seats 16 are possible that would cause the slips 18 to bias radially inwardly as they move axially down the seat 16.
• the seat 16 may alternatively have a cylindrical form comprised of one or more inclined elements 30.
• the inclined recesses 90 are uniformly spaced around the seat 16. Most preferably, the inclined recesses 90 are arranged in diametrically opposing pairs.
• each slip 18 comprises three dies 20 arranged axially along the slip 18.
• Support means are provided to support the dies 20 on the slips 18.
• a most preferred embodiment of dies 20 and slips 18 is depicted in Figures 3 and 4, in which independent axial load transfer keys or tongues 34 are formed on a front face 36 of the slip 18 that are received in corresponding load transfer grooves 38 formed on a rear face 40 of the dies 20.
• a front face 42 of the dies 20 can have any number of profiles and gripping surfaces well known in the art to engage and grip a range of casing joint diameters.
• the profile may be concave or may be any suitable profile to capture a tubular member when the die 20 comes in contact with such member. Examples of such profiles are well known in the art and would be understood by a skilled practitioner to be included in the scope of the present invention. If concave, the profile of the front face 42 of the dies 20 may preferably have a singular radius of curvature, or a compound radial profile comprising one or more profile sections each having the same or different radii of curvature with either the same or different centers.
• the surface of the front face 42 of the die 20 may be smooth or may be textured, scored, etched or ridged to provide further gripping of the casing joint 10.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
• General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Earth Drilling (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=49482068

Family Applications (2)

Family Applications After (1)

Country Status (4)

Families Citing this family (28)

Citations (10)

Family Cites Families (15)

• 2013
  • 2013-04-25 WO PCT/CA2013/000411 patent/WO2013159203A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2013-04-25 CA CA2871095A patent/CA2871095C/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2013-04-25 CA CA2903671A patent/CA2903671A1/fr not_active Abandoned
  • 2013-04-25 WO PCT/CA2013/000410 patent/WO2013159202A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2013-04-25 CA CA2871085A patent/CA2871085C/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2013-04-25 EP EP13780510.7A patent/EP2831365A4/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 2013-04-25 US US14/396,867 patent/US20150083391A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2013-04-25 EP EP13782085.8A patent/EP2831364A4/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 2013-04-25 US US14/396,582 patent/US20150107856A1/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (10)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events