Dril-Quip, Inc.

A subsea wellhead assembly having an arrangement of primary well barriers provided in equipment that is located within the well and/or the wellhead housing is provided. The subsea wellhead assembly may include a tubing hanger positioned in or below a wellhead housing coupled to a subsea well, a tree cap fluidly coupled to the tubing hanger and disposed atop the wellhead housing, and a pair of master production valves configured to be selectively actuated from an open position to a closed position to shut in the subsea well, each of the pair of master production valves located within or below the wellhead housing.

A subsea wellhead system includes: a hanger including a first fiber optic cable; a tree including a second fiber optic cable; a seal sub configured to be coupled to the tree and engaged with the hanger, the seal sub including a fiber optic communications line configured to be communicatively coupled to the first and second fiber optic cables; a transducer configured to be disposed at a downhole location and configured to be communicatively coupled to the first fiber optic cable; a first photodetector disposed in the hanger and configured to convert a light signal traveling through the first fiber optic cable from downhole to an electrical signal communicated to the electrical connection; and a first optical transmitter disposed in the seal sub and configured to convert the electrical signal traveling through the electrical connection into a light signal communicated to the second fiber optic cable.

Systems and methods for coupling subsea tubular members together are provided. An apparatus may be used to properly orient and/or provide communication between a first subsea tubular member that is being landed on a second subsea tubular member. An apparatus for coupling subsea tubular members may include an alignment sub and a corresponding alignment member. The alignment sub includes: a generally cylindrical body having one or more fluid, electric, or fiber optic lines extending therethrough, one or more couplings coupled to at least one end of the alignment sub, and an orientation profile disposed on a surface of the alignment sub. The alignment member has a profile designed to interface with the orientation profile of the alignment sub. One of the alignment sub and the alignment member remains stationary while the other rotates relative to the stationary structure.

Systems and methods for landing a tubing hanger in a wellhead and then orienting a tree (or spool, or flowline connection body) relative to the tubing hanger while landing the tree on the wellhead are provided. This alignment is accomplished without the use of either a tubing spool or a BOP stack with an orientation pin. The tubing hanger alignment devices may be used to orientate the tree as the tree is landed so that the couplings and stabs between the tree and the tubing hanger line up with each other just at the moment of landing.

Systems and methods for control/monitoring of internal equipment in a riser assembly are disclosed. The method includes engaging, via a running tool, an equipment asset used for well construction via a running tool. The method further includes sensing one or more properties associated with the equipment asset via one or more sensors disposed on the running tool and communicating the one or more sensed properties to a monitoring system for incorporation into a database. The method further includes placing the equipment asset in a predetermined location via the running tool.

A nested tubing hanger has a wellhead housing that defines a wellhead bore, an outer hanger installed within the wellhead bore of the wellhead housing that has a parent bowl that supports an inner hanger. A hanger engagement carried by the outer hanger is radially moveable between a release position and an engagement position. In the engagement position, the hanger engagement engages an engagement profile on an outer surface of the inner hanger to lock the inner hanger in the outer hanger. With the hanger engagement in a release position, the inner hanger is removable from the outer hanger.

A gate valve has a valve body defining a flow passage. The valve body has an inner cavity and a gate guide that traverses the flow passage. The valve body includes an upstream valve seat and a downstream valve seat on opposed sides of the gate guide, where each of the upstream valve seat and the downstream valve seat circumscribe the flow passage. A valve gate moves along the gate guide between an open position in which the valve gate engages the downstream valve seat and the upstream valve seat and permits fluid flow along the flow passage and a closed position in which the valve gate blocks fluid flow along the flow passage. A drain passage has an inlet in fluid communication with the inner cavity and an outlet in fluid communication with the flow passage downstream of the gate guide.

A hanger assembly includes: a main body; a lock ring coupled to the main body and configured to expand radially outward into a profile on an inner diameter of the wellhead; and an actuator, wherein the actuator is capable of transferring an axial force from the actuator into outward radial expansion of the lock ring toward the profile on the inner diameter of the wellhead. An interface between the actuator and the lock ring is shaped such that: axially downward movement of the actuator from a starting position to an intermediate position actuates the lock ring into the profile; and axially downward movement of the actuator from the intermediate position to a pre-load position applies a pre-load to the hanger assembly.

Systems: and methods for decreasing bending stress in flange bolting for a connection between a flange and an adjacent piece of equipment is provided. The flange connection includes a single flange with multiple bolts extending: therethrough. The bolts are threaded into the adjacent piece of equipment at one end, and a nut is disposed at an opposite end. of each bolt to provide a means for tightening and/or securing the flange connection. The equipment to which the flange is attached may include subsea well equipment with relatively large outer diameters. The disclosed flange connection utilizes: an initial region of a counterbored (or unthreaded) hole in the mating equipment piece just prior to the start of the thread formed through the equipment. Additionally, a compound hub flange connection is disclosed to further reduce the bending stress on the bolts.

Systems and methods for landing a tubing hanger in a wellhead and then orienting a tree (or spool, or flowline connection body) relative to the tubing hanger while landing the tree on the wellhead are provided. This alignment is accomplished without the use of either a tubing spool or a BOP stack with an orientation pin. The tubing hanger alignment devices may be used to orientate the tree as the tree is landed so that the couplings and stabs between the tree and the tubing hanger line up with each other just at the moment of landing.