Patents by Inventor Richard Mark Pye

Richard Mark Pye has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240133256
    Abstract: A drilling tractor tool in a drill string includes a rotating mandrel having an engagement part configured to rotate with the drill string; and a static sleeve disposed on the rotating mandrel configured to remain stationary during rotation of the rotating mandrel. The static sleeve includes a plurality of pockets that form a pathway from an interior of the static sleeve to an exterior of the static sleeve. The drilling tractor tool includes a plurality of force applicators each disposed in a respective pocket of the plurality of pockets of the static sleeve. The plurality of force applicators configured to extend through the respective pocket and apply a forward thrust to the drill string when extended. The engagement part of the rotating mandrel is configured to contact and cause to extend each of the plurality of force applicators respectively as the rotating mandrel rotates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2022
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Applicant: Aramco Overseas Company UK Ltd
    Inventors: Richard Mark Pye, Rae Andrew Younger
  • Patent number: 11867010
    Abstract: A downhole liner delivery tool includes a housing with a flow path; a detachable nose assembly coupled to the housing and fluidly coupled to the flow path and including one or more retractable grips; a flexible wellbore liner including a first end coupled to the detachable nose assembly and a second end coupled within the housing and stored within the flow path of the housing; a seat formed in the flow path and configured to receive a member dropped in a wellbore to increase a fluid pressure of a fluid resin pumped through the flow path to anchor the one or more retractable grips to a wellbore wall and detach the detachable nose assembly from the housing, the fluid resin further pumped through the flow path to deploy the flexible wellbore liner from the housing and seal the flexible wellbore liner against the wellbore wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventor: Richard Mark Pye
  • Patent number: 11828122
    Abstract: A pump down device is deployed at an anchor point in a pipe to perform a pipe severing operation. The pump down device includes: a cutting head positioned at one end of the pump down device that severs the pipe; one or more centralizers that are positioned adjacent to the cutting head and configured to provide friction for deployment of the pump down device at the anchor point and centralize the cutting head; a seal that is positioned near an end opposite to the one end of the pump down device; and an electronics housing that includes a plurality of electronic sensors. The pump down device releases an anchor mechanism upon reaching the anchor point as determined by the plurality of electronic sensors based on preprogrammed inputs. The seal prevents fluid from moving past the pump down device when in operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
    Inventor: Richard Mark Pye
  • Publication number: 20230340844
    Abstract: An evaporative cooler for cooling drilling fluid includes a flow pipe having an inner surface in contact with drilling fluid and an outer surface in contact with an evaporative medium. The flow pipe has a serpentine configuration within a transportation frame. A system for cooling a drilling fluid includes a mud circulation system connecting the drilling fluid between a well and a surface where an evaporative cooler is coupled to the mud circulation system and has a serpentine flow pipe in a transportation frame. A method includes pumping heated drilling fluid from a wellbore to an evaporative cooling system, with an evaporative cooler to cool the heated drilling fluid, and sending the cooled drilling fluid back to the wellbore. Another method includes using an intermediate cooler, wherein the intermediate cooler comprises a heat exchanger and an intermediate fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2022
    Publication date: October 26, 2023
    Applicant: Aramco Overseas Company UK Ltd
    Inventors: Rae Andrew Younger, Richard Mark Pye
  • Patent number: 11773658
    Abstract: A system includes an upper connection having a ring shape with an external surface, where upper splines are formed on the external surface and the upper connection is fixed to the upper section. The system also includes a lower connection having a ring shape with an internal surface, where lower splines are formed on the internal surface and the lower splines are configured to mate with the upper splines of the upper connection. Further, the system includes a fishing sub having a first lateral end and a second lateral end, where the first lateral end is fixed to the lower connection by shear pins configured to shear when a pre-determined tension is applied to the system, and the second lateral end is fixed to the lower section. The upper connection is inserted into the lower connection to form an engagement between the upper section and the lower section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
    Inventors: Rae Andrew Younger, Richard Mark Pye, Graham Richard Hitchcock, Rafael Adolfo Lastra, Faris Hasan Tulbah
  • Patent number: 11746648
    Abstract: A downhole tool includes a bore isolation valve, a sensor configured to receive to a downlink signal, an annular pressure sensor, a valve actuation mechanism coupled to the bore isolation valve and responsive to the downlink signal, a pressure relief mechanism configured to provide a negative pressure pulse signal indicative of the annular pressure by venting fluid from a bore of the tool body, and a battery. A method includes drilling a well with a drill bit coupled to an on demand annular pressure tool initially in a deactivated mode, and activating the tool by a downlink signal when fluid flow out of the annulus drops below the fluid flow into the well to close a bore of the tool, pressurizing the drill string, holding pressure in the drill string, measuring annular pressure with the tool, and sending a negative pressure pulse signal indicative of the annular pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
    Inventor: Richard Mark Pye
  • Patent number: 11746611
    Abstract: A retrievable whipstock assembly for a wellbore includes a whipstock including a longitudinal body and an anchor connection, a deflection surface provided on the longitudinal body with a first engagement element, and a drilling assembly including a drill housing and a second engagement element. The second engagement element is selectively extendible between a recessed position and an extended position. In the extended position the second engagement element is engageable with the first engagement element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
    Inventor: Richard Mark Pye
  • Publication number: 20230175690
    Abstract: A system for a spark plume generator system for igniting flammable gases at a drilling rig includes a support disposed within a fireproof housing proximate to the drilling rig. A grinder is mounted on the support. The grinder includes a rotatable grinder axle with an abrasive grinder surface and an igniter mounted on the support so as to cooperatively contact the grinder. The igniter includes an igniter surface that creates sparks when abraded. The fireproof housing includes an opening. Upon rotation of the grinder axle, the grinder surface abrades the igniter surface to create sparks. The support is positioned within the fireproof housing so that sparks created by the igniter surface exit the fireproof housing through the opening. The fireproof housing is positioned such that the opening is facing the drilling rig and sparks exiting the opening will ignite any flammable gases at the drilling rig.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2021
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Applicant: Aramco Overseas Company UK Ltd
    Inventor: Richard Mark Pye
  • Publication number: 20230167696
    Abstract: A downhole liner delivery tool includes a housing with a flow path; a detachable nose assembly coupled to the housing and fluidly coupled to the flow path and including one or more retractable grips; a flexible wellbore liner including a first end coupled to the detachable nose assembly and a second end coupled within the housing and stored within the flow path of the housing; a seat formed in the flow path and configured to receive a member dropped in a wellbore to increase a fluid pressure of a fluid resin pumped through the flow path to anchor the one or more retractable grips to a wellbore wall and detach the detachable nose assembly from the housing, the fluid resin further pumped through the flow path to deploy the flexible wellbore liner from the housing and seal the flexible wellbore liner against the wellbore wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Inventor: Richard Mark Pye
  • Publication number: 20230146339
    Abstract: A downhole tool includes a bore isolation valve, a sensor configured to receive to a downlink signal, an annular pressure sensor, a valve actuation mechanism coupled to the bore isolation valve and responsive to the downlink signal, a pressure relief mechanism configured to provide a negative pressure pulse signal indicative of the annular pressure by venting fluid from a bore of the tool body, and a battery. A method includes drilling a well with a drill bit coupled to an on demand annular pressure tool initially in a deactivated mode, and activating the tool by a downlink signal when fluid flow out of the annulus drops below the fluid flow into the well to close a bore of the tool, pressurizing the drill string, holding pressure in the drill string, measuring annular pressure with the tool, and sending a negative pressure pulse signal indicative of the annular pressure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2021
    Publication date: May 11, 2023
    Applicant: Aramco Overseas Company UK Ltd
    Inventor: Richard Mark Pye
  • Patent number: 11585163
    Abstract: A self-retaining shear pin tool and methods for connecting downhole tubulars in a wellbore are disclosed. The self-retaining shear pin tool includes a cap having an inner side and an outer side opposite the inner side, the cap defining a first recess formed in the inner side of the cap, the first recess of the cap having a cylindrical portion and a frustoconical portion extending from the cylindrical portion towards the outer side of the cap, and a shear pin disposed partially in the first recess of the cap and extending out of the first recess of the cap. The shear pin includes a body, a first recess extending inward from a first end of the body, a second recess extending inward from a second end of the body, a first swage, and a second swage die.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventors: Richard Mark Pye, Rae Andrew Younger, Rafael Adolfo Lastra Melo
  • Patent number: 11572752
    Abstract: A method of deploying a flexible cable in a wellbore includes carrying, by a tubular assembly, a cable spool cartridge into the wellbore. The cable spool cartridge is attached to an exterior of the tubular assembly and contains the flexible cable. A first end of the flexible cable is attached to a buoyancy device, and the buoyancy device is releasably attached to the cable spool cartridge. A fluid is flowed by the tubular assembly in a downhole direction through an interior of the tubular assembly and in an uphole direction within an annulus at least partially defined by the exterior of the tubular assembly. The fluid has a greater density than the buoyancy device. The buoyancy device is released by the cable spool cartridge, and the buoyancy device is configured to travel after release in the uphole direction with the fluid and thereby pull the flexible cable from the cable spool cartridge and into the annulus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventors: Timothy E. Moellendick, Amjad Alshaarawi, Chinthaka Pasan Gooneratne, Bodong Li, Richard Mark Pye
  • Publication number: 20230036409
    Abstract: A retrievable whipstock assembly for a wellbore includes a whipstock including a longitudinal body and an anchor connection, a deflection surface provided on the longitudinal body with a first engagement element, and a drilling assembly including a drill housing and a second engagement element. The second engagement element is selectively extendible between a recessed position and an extended position. In the extended position the second engagement element is engageable with the first engagement element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Publication date: February 2, 2023
    Applicant: Aramco Overseas Company UK Ltd
    Inventor: Richard Mark Pye
  • Publication number: 20220412172
    Abstract: A system includes an upper connection having a ring shape with an external surface, where upper splines are formed on the external surface and the upper connection is fixed to the upper section. The system also includes a lower connection having a ring shape with an internal surface, where lower splines are formed on the internal surface and the lower splines are configured to mate with the upper splines of the upper connection. Further, the system includes a fishing sub having a first lateral end and a second lateral end, where the first lateral end is fixed to the lower connection by shear pins configured to shear when a pre-determined tension is applied to the system, and the second lateral end is fixed to the lower section. The upper connection is inserted into the lower connection to form an engagement between the upper section and the lower section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Publication date: December 29, 2022
    Applicants: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY, Aramco Overseas Company UK Ltd
    Inventors: Rae Andrew Younger, Richard Mark Pye, Graham Richard Hitchcock, Rafael Adolfo Lastra, Faris Hasan Tulbah
  • Publication number: 20220389773
    Abstract: A self-retaining shear pin tool and methods for connecting downhole tubulars in a wellbore are disclosed. The self-retaining shear pin tool includes a cap having an inner side and an outer side opposite the inner side, the cap defining a first recess formed in the inner side of the cap, the first recess of the cap having a cylindrical portion and a frustoconical portion extending from the cylindrical portion towards the outer side of the cap, and a shear pin disposed partially in the first recess of the cap and extending out of the first recess of the cap. The shear pin includes a body, a first recess extending inward from a first end of the body, a second recess extending inward from a second end of the body, a first swage, and a second swage die.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2021
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Inventors: Richard Mark Pye, Rae Andrew Younger, Rafael Adolfo Lastra Melo
  • Publication number: 20220268117
    Abstract: A method of deploying a flexible cable in a wellbore includes carrying, by a tubular assembly, a cable spool cartridge into the wellbore. The cable spool cartridge is attached to an exterior of the tubular assembly and contains the flexible cable. A first end of the flexible cable is attached to a buoyancy device, and the buoyancy device is releasably attached to the cable spool cartridge. A fluid is flowed by the tubular assembly in a downhole direction through an interior of the tubular assembly and in an uphole direction within an annulus at least partially defined by the exterior of the tubular assembly. The fluid has a greater density than the buoyancy device. The buoyancy device is released by the cable spool cartridge, and the buoyancy device is configured to travel after release in the uphole direction with the fluid and thereby pull the flexible cable from the cable spool cartridge and into the annulus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Publication date: August 25, 2022
    Inventors: Timothy E. Moellendick, Amjad Alshaarawi, Chinthaka Pasan Gooneratne, Bodong Li, Richard Mark Pye
  • Publication number: 20220145715
    Abstract: A pump down device is deployed at an anchor point in a pipe to perform a pipe severing operation. The pump down device includes: a cutting head positioned at one end of the pump down device that severs the pipe; one or more centralizers that are positioned adjacent to the cutting head and configured to provide friction for deployment of the pump down device at the anchor point and centralize the cutting head; a seal that is positioned near an end opposite to the one end of the pump down device; and an electronics housing that includes a plurality of electronic sensors. The pump down device releases an anchor mechanism upon reaching the anchor point as determined by the plurality of electronic sensors based on preprogrammed inputs. The seal prevents fluid from moving past the pump down device when in operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2020
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Applicant: Aramco Overseas Company UK Ltd
    Inventor: Richard Mark Pye
  • Publication number: 20220049558
    Abstract: Systems and methods for drilling a subterranean well include a reduced differential sticking drilling collar. The reduced differential sticking drilling collar is an elongated tubular member having a minimum outer diameter at an uphole end and at a downhole end. A collar body is located between the uphole end and the downhole end. The collar body has a cross section of alternating lobes and troughs. The collar body has a maximum outer diameter that is larger than the minimum outer diameter. A taper section extends from the minimum outer diameter to the maximum outer diameter. The lobes of the collar body wind along an entire axial length of the collar body in a spiral pattern.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Publication date: February 17, 2022
    Applicant: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventors: Richard Mark Pye, Rae Andrew Younger