Abstract: A wellhead shearing apparatus suitable for use on oil and gas wells having hydrogen sulfide. The apparatus includes a body with a vertical bore and opposed guideways extending from the bore. A ram assembly with two rams, means for moving each ram in the guideways together with the bore for shearing pipe in the bore and apart for other well operations. One ram has an upper cutting blade and the other ram has a lower cutting blade, which has a hard metal insert providing its cutting edge and the upper cutting blade has a hard cutting edge. The rams are of steel having a maximum hardness of 24 to 26 Rockwell C and the insert has substantially greater hardness. The hard cutting edges of both blades are isolated from the sour gas when the blades are under stress as a result of sealing across the vertical bore.

Abstract: A blowout preventer with an aligning apparatus having a housing with a vertical bore therethrough and a blowout preventer in one portion of the housing with guideways extending outward from the bore, aligning guideways in the housing spaced from and parallel to the blowout preventer guideways, an aligning ram in each of the aligning guideways with a piston for extending and retracting the aligning ram, each aligning ram having a carrier slidable in the aligning guideway with a cam surface and a jaw having a mating cam surface and mounted on the carrier with the respective cam surfaces being in engagement, the outer surface of the jaw being substantially perpendicular to the axis of the aligning guideways and adapted to engage tubing within the housing bore, the cam surfaces of opposing aligning rams being angled to cause the opposing jaws to move transversely in the aligning guideways when they come into engagement with tubing to cause the tubing to be moved with the jaws into the preferred position for closi