US2661063A

US2661063A - Method and means of pulling pipe from a well

Info

Publication number: US2661063A
Application number: US237874A
Authority: US
Inventors: Cecil R Owens
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1951-07-21
Filing date: 1951-07-21
Publication date: 1953-12-01
Anticipated expiration: 1970-12-01

Description

C. R. OWENS Dec. 1, 1953 METHOD AND MEANS OF' PULLING PIPE FROM A WELL.l l

Filed July 21, 1951 removed"frmithefweu MTHODNDMEANS'OFLPULLINGBIE i yFRoM A'fWELL the pipe. becomes' stuck vafter `-a certainlength been pulled from""thef-well and consequently, the l"entire stavingl fofipipe canl-seldom, iff evenabe HAnobj ect of my inventionis to provideiavmetnjo`d1 abridin'eanswhereby aJ pull can bei4 exerted on the pipe'and this pullcan then 'be suddenly-'freleased causing a downwardfjar or yjerk onfthe "pipeofl considerable-intensity, thus; loosening. the piple r'and v4'permitting a'-` greater quantity ther-eer i .tobe Vreinoved'from theiwell.

'Another 'object of my invention lis to provide "a'fnovel method fandunea-ns Yof removing "Bille `pfrvrn anA oil'wellin which an upwarqapush Aor i pull isexertedon theipipeof -an-intens1ty A of` less than that which `@will lcause"thepipe'i-to parti and then suddenlyvrelinquishing the pull or push on the pipe and permitting thepipe to drop downwardly, thus causing a' 'downward jar which-'will release the'pipefromitsaattachment'in the formations-and then by a subsequent upwardpull -fafgreater.quantity ofwthe pipeor casing .fcanibe .removed-,from theV well.

.Still-another object of my inventionistoA pro- .-videanovel means of removingpipe fromla well, vwllchconsists in exerting anupward force-on a collar which is attached to the pipe which is being removed through a medium of shearable pins and causing these pins to shear under a known stress.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a novel method and means of pulling pipe from'a well which is effective in operation and which will materially increase the amount of pipe which is recoverable from a well.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing: Y

Figure lis a side elevation of my apparatus used in removing pipe from a well.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the pulling `collar attachment, A l Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the pins as having been sheared.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on lineV 4-4 of Figure 2. l

Referring more particularly to the drawing.

F11 which align --With the -bores i 5 and `permi shearpins -8 Ltolbe driven into-the-bores 5- nd'ffl, lthus' holding lthe collar 3 -and the "sleeve coupled? arrangement as show-n vin *Figure' 2.- f A short `length of l' tubing 9fisthreadedlor'fotherwise` vattached torthefbottom orhthe-sleeve 4(i. 4`:The Stube 9 is spaced vfrom-the pipe or `casingj*sub- J-stantially`r`- as i shown. `Aspider or ring *i0 sur- A*the numeral \I indicates'- thefiioor' ofthe derrick -or the ysurface `of l-the ground, `and the-numeral 2 indicates 'the casi-ngy'or pipe Lwhich =extends downwardly into *the "well and-in Lthe-case-aifYan foilf wellfthisv casing' `or pipe* extends downwardly `fior many'thousandsofieet. 4Sincepipe creas-ing :is now dicult to -obtain it v'is very` desirable to remove as much off-thispipeforfcasingifromifthe ywell as vpossible and each i additional 'vthousand Iffeet of removed pipeY *hasfa Vy-distinctvalue VThecasing 2 is normally at the surface ofkthe fore,I can be grasped -and pullediupwarldiy, #all *My method includes the use-'ofi 'acollar' `A sleeve-6 Ysurrounds collar -3 so 4#that the shear-ing action2 ybetweentlfle -sleeve andV the Icollar on f thepins Atwill be more A effective and as -w-ill-besubsequently described.

rounds the tube 9 and shoulders against the bottom of the sleeve 6.

The spider IB may include slips, if desired, for the purpose of gripping the tube 9 or the lower end of the sleeve 6. A pair of armsk I I-I2 project horizontally from the spider I0, and a hydraulic jack or similar lifting device I3-I4 engages the arms I I-I 2, respectively, thus exerting an upward force against the arms III2, the spider I0, and the sleeve 6.

When the pipe 2 is stuck in the well and after upward pull will fail to move it; the parts are assembled, as shown in Figure l, that is, the collar 3 is attached to the top of the casing, the sleeve 6 is placed around the collar, and the `shear pins 8 are driven in place, as shown. The

is hindering its upward movement. Thereafter the casing 2 is then grasped and pulled from the well in the usual manner.

At times it might be possible that the casing 2 would drop downwardly into the well when the pins are sheared and, therefore, a means is provided to catch the casing and prevent it from falling downward great distances into the well. This includes a short length of pipe I5, which screws into the upper end of the collar 3. A coupling I6 may be provided at the upper end of the pipe I5, and an elevator l1 encircles the pipe I5, this elevator being supported from the travelling block I8 by usual links I9. The pipe I5 can push upwardly through the elevator I'I and still if the casing 2 tends to drop downwardly to a greater extent than is necessary this casing would be caught by the coupling I6 engaging the elevator I1.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. The method of removing stuck pipe from a Well consisting of rst connecting a sleeve to the pipe by means of shear pins, then pulling upwardly on the sleeve to impart an upward strain on the pipe suflicient to shear said pins, thus suddenly releasing the connection between the sleeve and the pipe to allow the pipe to drop into the well, independently engaging said pipe to permit only a predetermined drop thereof into the well, and then removing the pipe from the well.

2. A means to remove pipe from a well, comprising a collar xedly mounted on the top of the pipe, a sleeve encircling the collar, shear pins extending through the collar and into the sleeve, means engaging and supporting the sleeve to exert an upward pull thereon, said pins being sheared at a predetermined stress thereon to permit said pipe to retract, and means adapted to engage said pipe to support said pipe independently of said iirst named means after said pins are sheared and the pipe is retracted.

3. A means to remove pipe from a well, comprising a collar xedly mounted on the top of the pipe, a sleeve encircling the collar, shearable A means connecting the collar and the sleeve, a spider engaging and supporting the sleeve, and hydraulic jacks engaging the spider to exert an upward pull thereon suiicient to release said means connecting the collar and the sleeve, said l means being released at a predetermined stress thereon to permit said pipe to retract, and means adapted to engage said pipe to support said pipe 4 independently of said first named means after the means connecting the collar and the sleeve are sheared and the pipe is retracted.

4. A means to remove pipe from a well, comprising a collar xedly mounted on the top of the pipe, a sleeve encircling the collar, shearable means connecting the collar and the sleeve, means engageable with the sleeve to exert an upward pull thereon, said shearable means being sheared at a predetermined stress thereon to permit said pipe to retract, and means adapted to engage said pipe to support said pipe independently of said sleeve after said shearable means are sheared and the pipe is retracted.

5. A means to remove pipe from a well, comprising a collar iixedly mounted on the upper end of the pipe, a sleeve fitting over the collar, said sleeve and collar having alignable bores therein, shear pins extending into said bores and connecting said sleeve and collar, said pins being sheared at a predetermined stress thereon to permit said pipe to retract, and means adapted to engage said pipe to support said pipe independently of said sleeve after said pins are sheared and the pipe is retracted, means engageable with the sleeve to exert an upward pull thereon, said pull being sufricient to shear the pins, said means comprising a spider engaging the sleeve, and hydraulic jacks bearing against the spider to press said spider upwardly against the sleeve.

6. The method of removing stuck pipe from a well, which consists in first connecting the pipe and a sleeve surrounding the pipe with a'shearable connection, then pulling upwardly on the sleeve to impart an upward strain on the pipe and until the shearable connection is broken to allow the pipe to drop downwardly into the well, independently engaging said pipe in addition to the support of the sleeve to permit only a predetermined drop thereof into the well, and then removing the pipe from the well.

CECIL R. OWENS.

References Cited in the le oi this patent UNITED sTATEs PATENTS Number Nam Date 1,482,163 Streda Jan. 29, 1924 1,929,055 Carr Oct. 3, 1933 2,078,426 Sweet Apr. 27, 1937 2,410,262 Breaux Oct. 29, 1946 2,508,285 Otis et a1. May 16, 1950