초록 ▼

The invention provides a wellhead assembly including a wellhead housing supporting a tubing hanger within its central bore and forming a housing stem port through its outer wall to the central bore. The tubing hanger has a side stem port formed through its body intermediate its upper and lower ends

The invention provides a wellhead assembly including a wellhead housing supporting a tubing hanger within its central bore and forming a housing stem port through its outer wall to the central bore. The tubing hanger has a side stem port formed through its body intermediate its upper and lower ends providing access to the central bore of the hanger and being aligned with the housing stem port. The tubing hanger includes a ball valve member having a spherical exterior surface sealed and seated from above and below within the central bore of the hanger. The ball valve member forms a through port extending therethrough aligned with the production bore, and is rotatable in its seated position between open and closed positions with the through port being aligned with the production bore when in the open position. A slot in the exterior surface of the ball valve member if formed proximate the stem port. A ball stem assembly is sealed for axial rotation in both the stem port of the body and the housing stem port of the wellhead housing, one end of the stem providing a coupling for rotatably coupling to the slot in the ball valve member, the other end of the stem assembly extending exterior of the wellhead housing. The ball valve member is externally operated between open and closed positions by an operator coupled to the ball stem assembly exterior the wellhead housing.

대표청구항 ▼

We claim: 1. A tubing hanger for use in a wellhead housing, said wellhead housing having an outer wall and a central bore in which the tubing hanger is sealed and supported, the tubing hanger comprising: a generally tubular body forming a vertical central bore which provides a production bore exten

We claim: 1. A tubing hanger for use in a wellhead housing, said wellhead housing having an outer wall and a central bore in which the tubing hanger is sealed and supported, the tubing hanger comprising: a generally tubular body forming a vertical central bore which provides a production bore extending generally axially through the body; the lower end of the body being adapted for suspending a tubing string, and the upper end of the body being adapted for receiving a landing joint; a side stem port formed through the body intermediate its upper and lower ends providing access to the vertical central bore; seals on the exterior of the body above and below the side stem port for sealing the body in the central bore of the wellhead housing; a ball valve member having a spherical exterior surface sealed and seated from above and below within the central bore of the body, the ball valve member forming a through port extending therethrough axially aligned with the production bore, the ball valve member being rotatable in its seated position between open and closed positions with the through port being aligned with the production bore when in the open position, the ball valve member forming a slot in its exterior surface proximate the side stem port; and a ball stem assembly sealed for axial rotation in the stem port of the body, one end of the ball stem assembly providing a coupling for rotatably coupling to the slot in the ball valve member, the other end of the ball stem assembly extending through the outer wall of the wellhead housing and being coupled to an operator located exterior the wellhead housing for rotating the ball stem assembly, and thus the ball valve member, between open and closed positions. 2. A wellhead assembly comprising: a wellhead housing having an outer wall and a central bore, the housing forming an inwardly extending landing shoulder for supporting a tubing hanger within its central bore, and a housing stem port in the outer wall providing access to the central bore; a tubing hanger comprising: a) a generally tubular body forming a vertical central bore which provides a production bore extending generally axially through the body, a landing shoulder being formed on the outer surface of the body to cooperate with the housing landing shoulder to support the tubing hanger; b) the lower end of the body being adapted for suspending a tubing string; c) the upper end of the body being adapted for receiving a landing joint; d) a side stem port formed through the body intermediate its upper and lower ends providing access to the vertical central bore of the body and being axially aligned with the housing stem port; e) seals on the exterior of the body above and below the side stem port for sealing the body in the central bore of the wellhead housing; and f) a ball valve member having a spherical exterior surface sealed and seated from above and below within the central bore of the body, the ball valve member forming a through port extending therethrough axially aligned with the production bore, the ball valve member being rotatable in its seated position between open and closed positions with the through port being aligned with the production bore when in the open position, the ball valve member forming a slot in its exterior surface proximate the side stem port; a ball stem assembly sealed for axial rotation in both the side stem port of the body and the housing stem port of the wellhead housing, a first end of the ball stem assembly providing a coupling for rotatably coupling to the slot in the ball valve member, and a second end of the ball stem assembly extending exterior of the wellhead housing; and an external operator coupled to the second end of the ball stem assembly and located exterior the wellhead housing for rotating the ball stem assembly, and thus the ball valve member, between open and closed positions. 3. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 2, which further comprises an alignment mechanism carried on the wellhead housing and the tubing hanger body to axially align the tubing hanger on landing in the wellhead housing such that the housing stem port and the tubing hanger side stem ports are axially aligned. 4. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein the alignment mechanism comprises: the tubing hanger body forming an axial alignment slot at its lower end; the wellhead housing forming a side bore in its wall proximate the alignment slot of the tubing hanger body; and an alignment pin sealed in the side bore to engage the alignment slot in order to axially align the tubing hanger on landing in the wellhead housing such that the housing stem port and tubing hanger side stem ports are radially aligned. 5. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein the ball stem assembly comprises: a separate hanger stem sealed within the tubing hanger side stem port and a separate housing stem sealed with the housing stem port; a ball-facing end of the hanger stem providing the coupling to the ball valve member, said coupling comprising a protruding tongue for connection and coupling to the ball slot; an exterior end of the housing stem extending exterior the wellhead housing for connection to the external operator; and a stem-to-stem coupling connecting and coupling the other ends of the hanger and housing stems for concerted axial rotation in the stem ports. 6. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 5, wherein the stem-to-stem coupling includes a slot formed on the connected end of the hanger stem, and a protruding tongue formed at the connected end of the housing stem, such that when the tongue is connected and coupled in the slot, the stems have concerted axial rotation in the stem ports. 7. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 6, wherein the housing stem is sealed within the housing stem port at its outer end with a stem nut for extending and retracting the housing stem such that it can be connected and coupled with the hanger stem, thereby permitting landing of the tubing hanger within the wellhead housing with the housing stem in a retracted position. 8. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 7, wherein the housing stem is formed with first and second axial stem slots positioned to align the tongue of the housing stem with the slot of the hanger stem depending on whether the ball valve member is in an initial open or closed position on landing of the tubing hanger, and wherein the wellhead housing includes a locator pin extending into the housing stem port to engage in one or the other of the first or second stem slots. 9. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 8, wherein the hanger stem and housing stem are sealed in the hanger stem port and housing stem port respectively, and wherein the hanger stem and housing stem are back seated in the hanger stem port and housing stem port respectively to prevent dislodging from pressure in the central or production bores. 10. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 9, which further comprises: the ball valve member being seated in a ball chamber in the central bore of the hanger body, the ball chamber having a widened diameter relative to the production bore; upper and lower annular seats held in sealed relationship within the ball chamber above and below the ball valve member; upper and lower annular seat seals held within the seats for sealing against the spherical exterior surface of the ball valve member; and a retainer to retain the ball valve member, seats and seat seals within the ball chamber, such that the production bore of the tubing hanger is axially aligned through each of the ball valve member in the open position, the annular seats, the seat seals and the retainer. 11. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 10, wherein the retainer includes one or more retainer rings threaded into the bore of the tubing hanger body to retain the ball valve member, seats and seat seals within the ball chamber. 12. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 2, which further comprises: lockdown pin side ports located circumferentially through the wall of the wellhead housing at its upper end; a lockdown pin sealed for extension and retraction within each of the pin side ports; and a plurality of circumferentially spaced dimples or a circumferential groove formed at the upper end of the hanger body for engagement with the lockdown pins to prevent the tubing hanger from being dislodged from the wellhead housing. 13. The wellhead assembly as set forth in claim 11, which further comprises: lockdown pin side ports located circumferentially through the wall of the wellhead housing at its upper end; a lockdown pin sealed for extension and retraction within each of the pin side ports; and a plurality of circumferentially spaced dimples or a circumferential groove formed at the upper end of the hanger body for engagement with the lockdown pins to prevent the tubing hanger from being dislodged from the wellhead housing.