US-12618296-B1 - Preventing loss of hydrocarbon well conveyance string upon unintended connector decoupling

US12618296B1US 12618296 B1US12618296 B1US 12618296B1US-12618296-B1

Abstract

A coupling device is installable to a connector of a hydrocarbon well tubing string to prevent a downhole loss of a portion of the tubing string upon an unintended decoupling of the connector. The connector may include an uphole component and a downhole component with a joint therebetween. The coupling device may at least partially encircle the connector while spanning the joint. A first flange can protrude radially inwardly from the coupling device to engage a groove in the downhole component and a second flange may protrude radially inwardly from the coupling device to extend into a recess in the uphole component. The coupling device limits the downhole movement of the downhole component of the connector and the portion of the tubing string coupled thereto upon an unintended decoupling of the connector by way of a restricted axial movement of the second flange within the recess in the uphole component.

Inventors

David McManus
Daniel Steven McWherter
Ankit Kansagra
Neudis Enrique Sáez
Grant Walker Buchman
Joshua Wayne Webster

Assignees

HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20250407

Claims (20)

1 . A coupling device, comprising: a sleeve member positionable to at least partially encircle a connector of a wellbore conveyance tubing string and to span a joint between an uphole component and a downhole component of the connector, the sleeve member comprising at least two halves that are installable over the connector and subsequently securable to one another; a first flange protruding radially inwardly from an inside wall of the sleeve member and arranged to engage at least one groove in the downhole component of the connector; and a second flange protruding radially inwardly from the inside wall of the sleeve member and extendable into a recess in the uphole component of the connector to limit a distance of an axial separation of the downhole component of the connector from the uphole component of the connector.
2 . The coupling device of claim 1 , wherein the connector is a flanged connector and the uphole component of the flanged connector is securable to the downhole component of the flanged connector by a plurality of threaded fasteners.
3 . The coupling device of claim 1 , wherein an axial thickness of the second flange of the sleeve member is less than an axial length of the recess in the uphole component of the connector so as to permit a limited axial movement of the second flange within the recess.
4 . The coupling device of claim 1 , wherein the second flange of the sleeve member is positionable to contact a stop element at or near a downhole terminus of the recess in the uphole component to restrict a downhole axial movement of the second flange within the recess in the uphole component of the connector.
5 . The coupling device of claim 4 , wherein the connector is a flanged connector, and the stop element is an uphole face of a connecting flange of the uphole component or one or more heads of a plurality of threaded fasteners that secure the uphole component to the downhole component.
6 . The coupling device of claim 1 , further comprising a cable passageway slot that extends axially along the inside wall of the sleeve member.
7 . The coupling device of claim 1 , further comprising one or more fluid passageways extending from the inside wall through an outside wall of the sleeve member.
8 . A coupling device comprising: a sleeve member positionable to at least partially encircle a connector of a wellbore conveyance tubing string and to span a joint between an uphole component and a downhole component of the connector, the sleeve member comprising at least two halves that are installable over the connector and subsequently securable to one another; a first flange protruding radially inwardly from an inside wall of the sleeve member and arranged to engage at least one groove in the uphole component of the connector; and a second flange protruding radially inwardly from the inside wall of the sleeve member and extendable into a recess in the downhole component of the connector to limit a distance of an axial separation of the downhole component of the connector from the uphole component of the connector.
9 . The coupling device of claim 8 , wherein the connector is a flanged connector and the uphole component of the flanged connector is securable to the downhole component of the flanged connector by a plurality of threaded fasteners.
10 . The coupling device of claim 9 , wherein a coupling flange of the downhole component of the flanged connector is positionable within the recess in the downhole component to restrict a downhole axial movement of the downhole component of the flanged connector relative to the uphole component of the flanged connector and to the sleeve member.
11 . The coupling device of claim 10 , wherein an uphole face of the second flange of the sleeve member acts as a stop element to downhole movement of the coupling flange of the downhole component of the flanged connector within the sleeve member.
12 . The coupling device of claim 8 , wherein an axial thickness of the second flange of the sleeve member is less than an axial length of the recess in the downhole component of the connector so as to permit a limited axial movement of the second flange within the recess.
13 . The coupling device of claim 8 , further comprising one or more fluid passageways extending from the inside wall through an outside wall of the sleeve member.
14 . The coupling device of claim 8 , further comprising a cable passageway slot that extends axially along the inside wall of the sleeve member.
15 . A method comprising: installing a coupling device to a connector of a conveyance tubing string, the connector having an uphole component and a downhole component arranged in mating contact along a joint therebetween, the coupling device comprising: a sleeve member at least partially encircling the connector and spanning the joint between the uphole component and the downhole component of the connector, the sleeve installed to the connector in at least two halves that are subsequently secured to one another a first flange that protrudes radially inwardly from an inside wall of the sleeve member and into a groove in the downhole component of the connector, and a second flange that protrudes radially inwardly from the inside wall of the sleeve member and extends into a recess in the uphole component of the connector to limit a distance of an axial separation of the downhole component of the connector from the uphole component of the connector; and deploying the conveyance tubing string downhole in a wellbore.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein an axial thickness of the second flange of the sleeve member of the coupling device is less than an axial length of the recess in the uphole component of the connector so as to permit a limited axial movement of the second flange within the recess.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein well fluid located within the conveyance tubing string drains through a gap between the inside wall of the sleeve member of the coupling device and an outside surface of the connector when the downhole component of the connector becomes axially separated from the uphole component of the connector along the joint therebetween.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein well fluid located within the conveyance tubing string drains through one or more fluid passageways passing through the sleeve member of the coupling device when the downhole component of the connector becomes axially separated from the uphole component of the connector along the joint therebetween.
19 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising: installing a sensor to the uphole component of the connector or to the sleeve member of the coupling device; and transmitting a signal, from the sensor to a well surface, that indicates an unintended decoupling of the connector when the coupling device moves in a downhole direction relative to the uphole component of the connector.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein receipt of the signal transmitted by the sensor triggers a cessation of a well fluid pumping operation and a subsequent withdrawal of at least a part of the conveyance tubing string from the wellbore.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to hydrocarbon well operations, and more particularly although not necessarily exclusively, to a coupling device to prevent downhole loss of a hydrocarbon well conveyance string upon an unintended decoupling of a conveyance string component connector. BACKGROUND In hydrocarbon well operations, completion operations may follow the drilling of a wellbore. The completion operations may include casing the wellbore and placing various completion equipment downhole in the wellbore. This equipment may include, for example, conveyance (e.g., production) tubing, and various components and devices that are coupled thereto. The various components and devices may include, in some examples, pumping equipment such as an electric submersible pump (ESP) assembly of an artificial lift system. The ESP assembly may include, among other components, a pump, a sealing section, an intake section, and a motor. Each of these components, as well as various other downhole components, can be coupled to the conveyance tubing. Connectors may be used for this purpose. Such connectors occasionally fail. For example, when a connector is a flanged connector, the fasteners securing an upper portion to a lower portion of the flanged connector may break. When a connector fails, a portion of the conveyance tubing string located below the break point of the connector may fall downhole into the wellbore. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a completed hydrocarbon well according to one example of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a flanged connector of a conveyance tubing string located within a wellbore of a hydrocarbon well according to one example of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a coupling device installed over the flanged connector of the conveyance tubing string of FIG. 2 according to one example of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the coupling device installed over the flanged connector of the conveyance tubing string of FIG. 2 according to one example of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is another cross-sectional view of the coupling device installed over the flanged connector of the conveyance tubing string of FIG. 2 according to one example of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another coupling device installed over a flanged connector of another conveyance tubing string according to another example of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is another cross-sectional view of the coupling device installed over the flanged connector of the conveyance tubing string of FIG. 6 according to one example of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of preventing a downhole loss of a portion of a conveyance tubing string upon an unintended decoupling of a connector according to one example of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Certain aspects and examples of the present disclosure relate to a coupling device that can be installed to a connector of a hydrocarbon well conveyance tubing string to prevent loss of a downhole portion of the tubing string upon an unintended decoupling of the connector. In some examples, the conveyance tubing string may be a production tubing string that is installed in a completed wellbore to conduct hydrocarbon well fluids extracted from a formation surrounding the wellbore to a surface of the well, such as to a wellhead. In some examples, the connector may be used to couple components of different downhole equipment to the conveyance tubing string. For example, a connector may be used to couple components of a pump assembly of an artificial lift system to the conveyance tubing string. In such an example, the connector may include a base member and a head member. A connector according to the present disclosure may include an uphole component and a downhole component having a joint therebetween. In some examples, the connector may be a flanged connector, where the uphole component and the downhole component are secured to one another using threaded fasteners. In other examples, the connector may instead be a head-to-head connector, a base-to-base connector, a threaded connector, etc. A sealing element may be associated with the connector to seal the joint between the uphole component and the downhole component and to thereby prevent a leakage of well fluid through the connector. In some examples, the sealing element may be an O-ring. In other examples, the sealing element may be a metal-to-metal seal, or another sealing mechanism. The coupling device may include a sleeve member. The sleeve member can encircle or partially encircle the connector and to span the joint between the uphole component and the downhole component of the connector. In some examples, the sleeve member may be a split sleeve member comprising two halves that can each be installed over a respective portion of the connector and subsequently sec