Pressure bleed-off module for oil and gas wells

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11441386-B2
Application number	US-202015930926-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 13, 2020
Priority date	May 13, 2020
Publication date	Sep 13, 2022
Grant date	Sep 13, 2022

Abstract

A pressure bleed-off module for an oil well includes: an inlet receiving fluid from an annulus vent of the well; an outlet sending the received fluid to a kill valve of the well; and two paths coupled in parallel between the inlet and the outlet. Each path channels a flow of the received fluid from the inlet to the outlet and includes: a pressure relief valve dividing the path into an inlet side coupled to the inlet and an outlet side coupled to the outlet, opening when the pressure of the fluid in the inlet side exceeds a threshold, and closing when the inlet fluid pressure is below the threshold; pressure gauges measuring the inlet fluid pressure and the pressure of the fluid in the outlet side; a pressure recorder recording the measured inlet and outlet fluid pressures; and a sampling point for draining the fluid in the outlet side.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A pressure bleed-off module for an oil or gas well, the module comprising:
an annulus vent of the oil or gas well;
a kill valve of the oil or gas well;
an inlet coupled to and configured to receive a fluid from the annulus vent;
an outlet coupled to the inlet and the kill valve, and configured to send the received fluid to the kill valve; and
a plurality of paths coupled in parallel between the inlet and the outlet, each path being configured to channel a flow of the received fluid from the inlet to the outlet, each path including:
a pressure relief valve (PRV) dividing the path into an inlet side coupled to the inlet and an outlet side coupled to the outlet, and configured to open when the pressure of the received fluid in the inlet side exceeds a threshold and to close when the inlet fluid pressure is below the threshold;
a pressure gauge in the inlet side and configured to measure the inlet fluid pressure;
a pressure gauge in the outlet side and configured to measure the pressure of the received fluid in the outlet side;
a pressure recorder configured to record the measured inlet and outlet fluid pressures; and
a sampling point in the outlet side and configured to drain the received fluid in the outlet side.

2. The module of claim 1 , wherein each path further includes:
an isolation valve in the inlet side and configured to block the fluid flow in the inlet side; and
an isolation valve in the outlet side and configured to block the fluid flow in the outlet side.

3. The module of claim 1 , wherein:
the inlet comprises an isolation valve configured to block the received fluid from flowing between the inlet and each of the paths; and
the outlet comprises an isolation valve configured to block the received fluid from flowing between each of the paths and the outlet.

4. The module of claim 1 , wherein:
the inlet comprises a vent configured to vent the received fluid from the inlet; and
the outlet comprises a vent configured to vent the received fluid from the outlet.

5. A pressure bleed-off system comprising:
the pressure bleed-off module of claim 1 ; and
a check valve assembly having an inlet configured to couple to and input the sent fluid from the module outlet, and an outlet coupled to the assembly inlet and configured to couple to and output the sent fluid to the kill valve, wherein the check valve assembly is configured to allow the sent fluid to flow from the module outlet to the kill valve, and to block any fluid flow from the kill valve to the module outlet.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the check valve assembly comprises a plurality of one-way check valves coupled in series between the assembly inlet and the assembly outlet.

7. The system of claim 5 , further comprising:
a first high pressure hose configured to couple the module inlet to the annulus vent;
a second high pressure hose configured to couple the assembly outlet to the kill valve; and
a third high pressure hose configured to couple the module outlet to the assembly inlet.

8. A pressure bleed-off system for an oil or gas well, the system comprising:
a pressure bleed-off module having an annulus vent of the oil or gas well, an inlet coupled to and configured to receive a fluid from the annulus vent, a kill valve of the oil or gas well, an outlet coupled to the inlet and the kill valve and configured to send the received fluid to the kill valve, and a path coupled between the inlet and the outlet and configured to channel a flow of the received fluid from the inlet to the outlet, wherein the path includes
a pressure relief valve (PRV) dividing the path into an inlet side coupled to the inlet and an outlet side coupled to the outlet, and configured to open when the pressure of the received fluid in the inlet side exceeds a threshold and to close when the inlet fluid pressure is below the threshold,
an isolation valve in the inlet side and configured to block the fluid flow in the inlet side,
a pressure gauge in the inlet side and configured to measure the inlet fluid pressure,
a pressure gauge in the outlet side and configured to measure the pressure of the received fluid in the outlet side,
a pressure recorder configured to record the measured inlet and outlet fluid pressures,
a sampling point in the outlet side and configured to drain the received fluid in the outlet side, and
an isolation valve in the outlet side and configured to block the fluid flow in the outlet side; and

a check valve assembly having an inlet configured to couple to and input the sent fluid from the module outlet, an outlet coupled to the assembly inlet and configured to couple to and output the sent fluid to the kill valve, and a plurality of one-way check valves coupled in series between the assembly inlet and the assembly outlet and configured to allow the sent fluid to flow from the module outlet to the kill valve, and to block any fluid flow from the kill valve to the module outlet.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the path comprises a plurality of paths coupled in parallel between the module inlet and the module outlet.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein:
the module inlet comprises an isolation valve configured to block the received fluid from flowing between the inlet and each of the paths; and
the module outlet comprises an isolation valve configured to block the received fluid from flowing between each of the paths and the outlet.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein:
the module inlet comprises a vent configured to vent the received fluid from the module inlet; and
the module outlet comprises a vent configured to vent the received fluid from the module outlet.

12. The system of claim 8 , further comprising:
a first high pressure hose configured to couple the module inlet to the annulus vent;
a second high pressure hose configured to couple the assembly outlet to the kill valve; and
a third high pressure hose configured to couple the module outlet to the assembly inlet.

13. An automated method of pressure bleed-off of a fluid from an oil or gas well using a pressure bleed-off module including an annulus vent of the oil or gas well and a kill valve of the oil or gas well, the method comprising:
receiving the fluid from the annulus vent at an inlet of the module, the inlet being coupled to the annulus vent;
channeling, by each of a plurality of paths of the module, a flow of the received fluid from the inlet to an outlet of the module, the paths being coupled in parallel between the inlet and the outlet; and
sending the received fluid from the outlet to the kill valve, the outlet being coupled to the kill valve,
wherein, for each path, channeling the flow includes:
dividing the path into an inlet side coupled to the inlet and an outlet side coupled to the outlet using a pressure relief valve (PRV) of the path;
opening the PRV when the pressure of the received fluid in the inlet side exceeds a threshold;
closing the PRV when the inlet fluid pressure is below the threshold;
measuring the inlet fluid pressure using a pressure gauge in the inlet side;
measuring the pressure of the received fluid in the outlet side using a pressure gauge in the outlet side; and
recording the measured inlet and outlet fluid pressures using a pressure recorder.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising for any path of the parallel paths:
blocking the fluid flow in the inlet side using an isolation valve in the inlet side; and
blocking the fluid flow in the outlet side using an isolation valve in the outlet side.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising for any path of the pa

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Zahur Jawad
• Warraich Nadeem A
• Hajri Muhammad A

Classifications

• E21B21/106 Primary

  Valve arrangements outside the borehole, e.g. kelly valves (valves specifically for maintaining circulation of drilling fluid while connecting or disconnecting tubular joints E21B21/019) · CPC title

• E21B41/0021

  Safety devices, e.g. for preventing small objects from falling into the borehole · CPC title

• F16K17/164

  and remaining closed after return of the normal pressure · CPC title

• E21B34/025

  Chokes or valves in wellheads and sub-sea wellheads for variably regulating fluid flow · CPC title

• E21B43/12

  Methods or apparatus for controlling the flow of the obtained fluid to or in wells (E21B43/25 takes precedence; valve arrangements E21B34/00) · CPC title