Did You Know...
...that in 1800 ether was first used by partyers as a fun diversion? Sniffing the gas led to hilarious and raucous laughter as people watched each other become more and more intoxicated and silly. Several doctors independently realized the value ether would have to anesthetize surgery patients. Of those who claimed rights to the "discovery," none had a happy ending. One had a seizure and died defending his rights. Another spent his life in an asylum because he had been denied acclaim. A third became addicted to chloroform and, in a New York City jail, he soaked a cloth in the drug, severed an artery and bled to death.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8109330 | Inline choke and angled choke for use with oil field equipment An angled or inline choke for flowing drilling fluid to a choke and kill manifold, wherein the choke has a body with a bore, a connection can be sealed to the body and can have a connection bore in communication with the bore. A locking plate can index the connectio... | 02/07/2012 |
| 7735548 | Ball catcher for wellbore operations A ball catcher is adapted to be fluidly connected to a wellhead port to receive wellbore fluids and balls carried therewith. A diverter is fit to the catcher body and has a wellhead end positioned to intercept the fluid flow from the wellhead port so as to divert de... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7360611 | Flow system for a hydraulic choke solids strainer A strainer system having two separate strainers positioned in parallel, where one strainer can be cleaned while still permitting normal flow through the other strainer. The system flow circuit is arranged so that a high pressure backwashing flow can be applied to on... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7308943 | Well operations system A wellhead has, instead of a conventional Christmas tree, a spool tree in which a tubing hanger is landed at a predetermined angular orientation. As the tubing string can be pulled without disturbing the tree, many advantages follow, including access to the producti... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7278481 | Method and system for producing an oil and gas mixture through a well A method and system are provided for controlling the production of oil and gas in a well such that the well operates at the edge of gas coning. Thereto the flow rate and/or pressure of the produced well effluents are controlled by a dynamically controlled choke such... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7178593 | Piggable separation system and method An inline well fluid separator is movable for pigging operations. The separator assembly has a housing with an inlet port and an outlet port. A separation unit is carried within the housing. The separation unit has an operational position in alignment with the ports... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7077163 | Device for controlling the flow of liquid or gaseous media A device controls the flow of liquid or gaseous media, especially a liquid heating or cooling medium, in a line system with a first channel that contains a valve, especially a shut-off valve, and is provided with connections on both ends thereof. Two other channels ... | 07/18/2006 |
| 6991034 | Apparatus and method for enhancing productivity of natural gas wells A natural gas production system prevents liquid accumulation in the wellbore and minimizes friction loading in the wellbore by maintaining production gas velocity above a critical minimum velocity. A pressurized gas is injected into the well to supplement the flow o... | 01/31/2006 |
| 6892818 | Interchangeable choke assembly A pressure reducing apparatus and a method of operating a pressure reducing apparatus are provided. The apparatus is operable to reduce the pressure and flow rate of oil being discharged from a well head to downstream processing equipment. The device has central flo... | 05/17/2005 |
| 6782949 | Choke valve with pressure transmitters In a sub-sea wellhead insert-type choke valve having a bonnet, a pair of pressure transmitters are mounted in the bonnet. One transmitter is connected by a passageway with the annular clearance between the cartridge of the insert assembly and the valve body. This tr... | 08/31/2004 |
| 6730236 | Method for separating liquids in a separation system having a flow coalescing apparatus and separation apparatus A flow conditioning apparatus, a separation system which includes the flow conditioning apparatus and cooperating downstream separation equipment, and a method of using the system are described. The system separates liquid components of differing densities from a fl... | 05/04/2004 |
| 6662869 | Ceramic components for high pressure oil wells A pressure reducing assembly for high pressure oil wells is disclosed. The assembly includes a metallic body having inlet and outlet channels that are lined with ceramic inserts. The assembly may also include a removable pressure reducing device that is p... | 12/16/2003 |
| 6648070 | Insert assembly for a wellhead choke valve A reverse flow insert assembly is provided wherein the flow trim of the choke valve is positioned horizontally within the tubular cartridge, so that the cage bore outlet is aligned with the valve body side opening. A collar is provided to throttle the flo... | 11/18/2003 |
| 6612368 | Flow completion apparatus A flow completion apparatus comprises a wellhead housing installed at an upper end of a well bore and a tubing spool connected over the wellhead housing. The tubing spool includes a central bore extending axially therethrough, a production outlet communic... | 09/02/2003 |
| 6595294 | Method and device for gas lifted wells A method and stabilizing gas lift controller for controlling the production flow rate of an oil well, which well comprises at least one gas injection choke (3) and/or at least one production choke (2), the choke or chokes being controlled as a function of... | 07/22/2003 |
| 6513588 | Downhole apparatus Expandable tubing (20) has a tubing wall (22) comprising a plurality of deformable tubular structures (24). The structures (24) have permeable walls and containing a filter medium (28) such that fluid may flow through the structures (24) and the filter me... | 02/04/2003 |
| 6491097 | Abrasive slurry delivery apparatus and methods of using same An improved abrasive slurry delivery apparatus and associated method of using same that permits repeated and/or extended use of the apparatus in a subterranean wellbore, and reduces abrasive wear during fracturing operations while increasing pump rate and... | 12/10/2002 |
| 6446664 | Erosion resistant wear sleeve for high pressure valves A throttling choke valve having a wear sleeve lining the interior surface of the cylindrical passage downstream of the valve sealing mechanism. A preferred embodiment of the wear sleeve has a removable retainer ring that fits between the wear sleeve and t... | 09/10/2002 |
| 6367546 | Ceramic components for high pressure oil wells A pressure reducing assembly for high pressure oil wells is disclosed. The assembly includes a metallic body having inlet, outlet, and directional changing flow channels that are lined with ceramic inserts. The assembly also includes a removable pressure ... | 04/09/2002 |
| 6357524 | System for using inert gas in oil recovery operations A system for powering components on an oil drilling or production platform utilizing a relatively inert fuel, the system including a first plurality of tanks which contain carbon dioxide in the liquid phase; a second plurality of tanks for receiving the c... | 03/19/2002 |
| 6321843 | Preloading type connector A connection for oilfield use is disclosed. It features male and female components held together by dogs actuable through one of the members and into the other. Different configurations of the connections envision a built-in preload to the connection when... | 11/27/2001 |
| 6276386 | Charging device for hydraulic systems There is described herein an apparatus for charging a fluid line through a coupler such as a penetrator. The apparatus comprises a body formed from a sidewall defining a bore positioned along the longitudinal axis and extending therethrough. The first end... | 08/21/2001 |
| 6276451 | Pressure relief system for live well snubbing A pressure relief system for use in live well snubbing has blow-out preventers (BOPs) mounted one above the other in a BOP stack on a live well bore and spools installed between successive ones of the blow-out preventers, the spools and the blow-out preve... | 08/21/2001 |
| 6182764 | Generating commands for a downhole tool using a surface fluid loop A system is used with a well that has a downhole tool which is responsive to a stimulus. The system includes a fluid circulation path that is connected to circulate a fluid and a flow restrictor that is connected in the fluid circulation path and located ... | 02/06/2001 |
| 6112817 | Flow control apparatus and methods The present invention provides a method for obtaining equalized production from deviated wellbores. A plurality of spaced apart flow control device are deployed along the length of the wellbore. The fluid from various zones are drawn in a manner that depl... | 09/05/2000 |
| 6000468 | Method and apparatus for the downhole metering and control of fluids produced from wells In a broad aspect, the invention is a method and apparatus for the downhole metering and control of fluids injected into a subterranean formation, and includes: a housing sealably connectable to a well tubing; a turbine meter disposed in the housing which... | 12/14/1999 |
| 5823262 | Coriolis pump-off controller The operation of an oil well pumping unit control system (20, 200) is governed by a computerized automated control unit (88) that receives flow rate measurements from a Coriolis flow meter (28). The control unit causes production from a beam pumping unit ... | 10/20/1998 |
| 5656136 | Method of transporting and heating a liquid used for treating oil and gas wells or pipeline systems An apparatus and method for heating transporting and heating a liquid for treating oil and gas wells and pipeline systems is provided. The apparatus includes a vehicle having an engine and a tank for transporting a liquid that can be used for treating oil... | 08/12/1997 |
| 5636693 | Gas well tubing flow rate control Gas in association with liquids is produced from a wellbore by disposing a first tubing string having a first fluid communication path into the wellbore to near or below the bottom of a producing zone, disposing within the annulus between the first tubing... | 06/10/1997 |
| 5513704 | Flow back fracture stimulation system The invention relates to fluid flow separators for use with high velocity production fluid flow. The separator has an expansion chamber provided with a flow barrier mounted within the chamber. The barrier is formed from an impact deformable material, such... | 05/07/1996 |
| 5394943 | Subsurface shutdown safety valve and arrangement system A subsurface shutdown safety valve spool piece for installation on underground salt dome cavern storage wells having a cased wellhead at ground level for product input and removal, a cased wellbore and a tubing string extending to the cavern storage area ... | 03/07/1995 |
| 5295534 | Pressure monitoring of a producing well A well pressure monitoring system in which a hydrocarbon fluid is being produced through a Christmas tree or similar flow controller apparatus. Well pressure is transmitted through a tap-off communicated to a pressure sensor. The pressure is thereafter tr... | 03/22/1994 |
| 5241980 | Oil field choke apparatus An improved choke valve apparatus for use in controlling oil well flow for example includes an improved interlock system for warning of a pressurized condition within the valve prior to removal of the valve wing nut member. The safety bleeder plug assembl... | 09/07/1993 |
| 5201491 | Adjustable well choke mechanism Apparatus for regulating the fluid flow produced from a gas pressurized subterranean reservoir. The produced mixture comprising crude oil, water, gas and varying amounts of particulated matter. The apparatus includes a bean which is characterized by a con... | 04/13/1993 |
| 5074519 | Fail-close hydraulically actuated control choke A fail-close hydraulically actuated control choke includes a choke with inlet and outlet flow passages intersecting in a cylindrical flow chamber. A reverse acting trim configuration which utilizes downstream pressure to assist in closing includes a flow ... | 12/24/1991 |
| 5065787 | Choke valve safety device A choke valve safety device to prevent unthreading of the choke bonnet nut until internal pressure has been vented, comprising a U-shaped bracket that fits over a tool-engaging portion of the nut, and a bracket support securable to the choke body only in ... | 11/19/1991 |
| 4926898 | Safety choke valve The invention relates to a safety chock valve having improved body top. An upper part of the valve body has a tapered wall cavity which receives in a sealed engagement a tapered lower part of the valve bonnet. An internally threaded cap member secures sea... | 05/22/1990 |
| 4848473 | Subsea well choke system A subsea well choke system is disclosed. The well choke system has annulus and tubing access as well as wing lines for connections to flow lines. A pressure control valve is installed in the tree cap for easy replacement and also to facilitate pigging and... | 07/18/1989 |
| 4724907 | Method and device for blending surfactant mixtures for treatment of oil wells A method of improving production of heavy crude oil from a well by mixing a first solution of water soluble surfactant and water, and preferably forming a mixture of the first solution and an oil solvent, and pumping the mixture into the well to mix with ... | 02/16/1988 |
| 4705062 | Choke and improved needle tip therefor The improved choke includes a body with an internal valve chamber, an inlet and an outlet communicating through the body into the valve chamber, a valve seat surrounding the opening of the outlet into the valve chamber, and a valve member mounted within s... | 11/10/1987 |
