Abstract: Flow diverter apparatus is disclosed having a housing and a piston and annular packer disposed therein. The diverter has passages in the piston and housing walls providing fluid communication between the borehole and a vent line. A valve in the vent line is opened before the packer of the apparatus is closed about a tubular member in the bore of the apparatus or completely closes the vertical flow path of the bore of the apparatus when no object is therein, thereby diverting pressurized borehole fluid away from the rig equipment and personnel.

Abstract: A method of preparing an underground bed for treatment. A channel is formed in the bed extending from the ground down through the bed and up to the ground. A cutting device is inserted into the channel operated to form a pathway in a substantially vertical plane.

Abstract: A hole drilling machine which includes a geared stationary drill frame with a guide track to which support legs are attached at either end. A drive shaft made of hollow flexible tubing driven by a motor suspended from the guide track. An adjustable swivel axel to which the drill end is mounted. The drill end is a hollow tube with openings in an end to permit streams of water to wash loose soil out of the hole and assist in the drilling process and a helical knife edge attached thereto. An angled metal piece with exit holes to permit the flow of water is attached to the working end.

Abstract: Apparatus for stabbing well casing to join casing sections to each other, including a rotary table assembly for supporting a casing section in a well bore, a derrick over the rotary table assembly, a crown block at the top of the derrick, a first piston and cylinder subassembly pivotally mounted on one side of the derrick over the rotary table assembly and below the crown block for pivotation about a horizontal axis, a second piston and cylinder subassembly pivotally mounted on a second side of the derrick for pivotation about a horizontal axis, with said second piston and cylinder subassembly located over the rotary table assembly and below the crown block and extending substantially normal to the direction of extension of the first piston and cylinder subassembly, cooperating casing clamping elements carried on the piston rods of the first and second piston and cylinder subassemblies, and counter balancing subassemblies connected to the first and second piston and cylinder subassemblies for pivoting the fir

Abstract: The disclosure provides a method and apparatus for effecting the locking of a well tool in any selected one of a plurality of identical nipples provided in spaced relationship along a well tubing string. Each nipple is provided with an annular recess to receive expandable locking dogs carried by the locking mechanism and an upwardly facing no-go shoulder which is of no lesser diameter than the bore of the tubular string. The locking mechanism is shearably mounted on a running tool and incorporates an expansible C-ring which has a downwardly facing shoulder engagable, when expanded, with the no-go shoulder of the selected locking nipple. The expansible C-ring is held in a retracted position by a collet having spring arms which pass freely downwardly through any or all of the nipples but, when moved upwardly through a selected nipple, engage a surface on the nipple and pull the collet out of its retaining position with respect to the expansible C-ring.

Abstract: A slip mechanism is provided to effect the anchoring of an inner tubular conduit to the inner wall of a larger surrounding tubular conduit such as the casing of the well. Two annular cam elements are disposed in axial alignment for slidable movements on the inner tube. Such cam elements have a plurality of peripherally spaced, axially extending, slots formed in their peripheries. A set of first slip members are radially slidably disposed in a portion of the axial slots and a set of second slip members are radially slidably disposed in the remainder of the axial slots. The slips are provided with an inclined cam surface which cooperates with a correspondingly shaped surface provided in the slot receiving that portion in the cam element. The slips have external teeth and may be of identical configuration, but are reversed when inserted into oppositely extending slots provided in separate cam elements.

Abstract: A drill string working tool is provided that may be releasably engaged to and removed from a drill string member. The tool, such as a cylindrical stabilizer body, is positioned around a cylindrical drill string member, the inner diameter of the stabilizer body being greater than the outer diameter of the drill string member, so as to provide an annular cavity between the stabilizer body and the drill string member. A heating element disposed within a protective outer sheath is mounted axially along the inner surface of the stabilizer body. For installation, a low melting point solid material such as zinc or a zinc alloy is poured in to substantially fill the annular cavity. The stabilizer compression preloads the zinc onto the drill string member, and thus the stabilizer body is non-rotatably attached to the drill string member. For removal, the low melting point fill material is removed from the annular cavity by remelting with the interior heating element and pouring out the fill material.

Abstract: A well cleanup and completion apparatus and technique. A packer is located downhole in a borehole, and a tool string comprising a one-way vent assembly and a one-way circulating valve assembly is connected above a perforating gun. The tool string is used to run the gun downhole through the packer until the gun arrives at a location adjacent to the formation to be perforated. During this time, the packer assembly must be in a configuration which admits flow from the lower to the upper annulus. Cleaning fluid is circulated down the entire tool string to the one-way circulating valve assembly located immediately above the firing head of the gun, thereby displacing fluid from the lower annulus, and cleaning any debris from the gun firing head. The packer is next closed, the gun detonated, whereupon the formation is perforated and production fluid flows through the perforations, up the lower annulus, into the one-way vent assembly located below the packer, into the tubing, and to the surface of the ground.

Abstract: An improved shifting tool connectable in a well tool string and useful to engage and position a slidable sleeve in a sliding sleeve device in a well flow conductor. The selectively profiled shifting tool keys provide better fit with and more contact area between keys and slidable sleeves. When the engaged slidable sleeve cannot be moved up and the shifting tool is not automatically disengaged, emergency disengagement means may be utilized by applying upward force to the shifting tool sufficient to shear pins and cause all keys to be cammed inwardly at both ends to completely disengage for removal of the shifting tool from the sliding sleeve device.

Abstract: This invention relates to a downhole rotary drilling device. More particularly, it relates to a gas operated turbine motor designed to be located downhole adjacent a rotary drilling bit to impart rotational force to the drilling bit and thus accomplish subsurface drilling operations.

Abstract: An upright tubular housing is provided for downward telescoping over the upper end of a well production tubing and includes three axially spaced and inwardly projecting annular abutments sealingly mounted in the housing. Upper and lower annular axially compressible and radially expandable seal assemblies are disposed in the housing between pairs of adjacent abutments. The housing includes inner generally radially shiftable clamp jaws for tight clamping engagement with the opposing outer surfaces of the tubing and pressurizing fluent material inlet means is provided for admitting seal assembly pressurizing fluent material into the area within the housing disposed between the upper and lower seal assemblies. Further, the upper end of the housing is equipped with a full opening control valve and pressurizing mud inlet means intermediate the control valve and the uppermost seal assembly.

Abstract: An electrode device for electrically heating underground deposits of hydrocarbons in which an insulated pipe is disposed between an electrode and a main guide pipe. The two end portions of the insulated pipe are formed as flanges having outer circumferential surfaces counter tapered to diverge at a predetermined angle toward the end portions. Shock absorbers are disposed between fastening fixtures and the counter-tapered surfaces of the insulated pipe and the fastening fixtures are coupled to connectors on the main guide pipe and the electrode through bolts. If desired, the abutting surfaces of the main guide pipe and the electrode can be formed counter tapered similarly to the counter-tapered surfaces of the insulated pipe.

Abstract: A novel and improved method and means have been devised for releasably bridging or isolating formations in a well. The apparatus consists of a retrievable bridge plug which can be run down into a well to the desired setting depth and a packer assembly on the plug can then be activated to set the apparatus in position. After work has been performed, a retrieving tool is run into the well in order to engage the bridge plug for its removal. If sand or other foreign matter is present on top of the plug, a circulating medium may be employed to remove the foreign matter even as the retrieving tool is being lowered into engagement with the plug. The plug is designed such that pressure can be equalized on opposite sides of the plug as a preliminary to removal from the well by the retrieving tool.

Abstract: A well servicing system in which sonic energy is transmitted down a pipe string to a down hole work area a substantial distance below the surface. The sonic energy is generated by an orbiting mass oscillator and coupled therefrom to a central stem to which the piston of a cylinder-piston assembly is connected. The cylinder is suspended from a suitable suspension means such as a derrick, with the pipe string being suspended from the cylinder in an in-line relationship therewith. The fluid in the cylinder affords compliant loading for the piston while the fluid provides sufficiently high pressure to handle the load of the pipe string and any pulling force thereon. The sonic energy is coupled to the pipe string in a longitudinal vibration mode which tends to maintain this energy along the string.

Abstract: This invention relates to rotary rock drilling apparatus, particularly roller cone rock bits used with dry drilling of rock formations. Mining bits are typically air-driven, air-lubricated roller cone rock bits having open bearings, the air being driven through the bearing system between the roller cones and their associated journals. A lubrication system is disclosed which drips a lubricant in liquid form into the air passages communicating with each of the bearings associated with, for example, the three roller cones of the rock bit. Oil is entrained, along with the compressed air, and is directed to the bearings for cooling and lubrication purposes.

Abstract: In a geothermal production well, oil well or gas well, a thermally energized packer cup having a tapered elastomer body and a reinforcing element fabricated from a shape memory alloy seals the well casing when the packer cup is heated to the transformation temperature of the shape memory alloy.

Abstract: A method of inhibiting the occurrence of differential wall sticking in the rotary drilling of hydrocarbon wells is provided. The yield point of the drilling fluid is measured and if necessary increased in a known manner to a minimum value computed from the weight of the drilling fluid so that solid, substantially spherical glass beads having a specific gravity between 2.4 and 2.65, a diameter between 9.84 and 187 mils, and a hardness of 5.5 Mohs placed therein will not settle, and 10 to 50 ppg of the glass beads are added to a quantity of the drilling fluid. A slug of the glass beads/drilling fluid mixture is then spotted in the well bore adjacent a previously identified zone of possible sticking, so that a substantial number of the glass beads may be deposited in the filter cake lining the well bore adjacent the zone of possible sticking.

Abstract: A packer for a subterranean well has slip elements and elastomeric seal elements which are respectively radially expandable into engagement with a well conduit wherein the packer is mounted in surrounding relationship to an inner sleeve which is rigidly interconnectable to a second conduit. An intermediate sleeve is mounted in axially slidable, concentric relationship to the inner sleeve and cooperates with an outer sleeve to define an annular fluid pressure chamber. A upper piston and a lower piston are mounted in the annular pressure chamber and are driven in opposite directions by application of fluid pressure to such chamber. Compressive forces are thus transmitted to the elastomeric sealing elements and a slip mechanism. The packer also incorporates a hydraulic reservoir which is normally filled with casing fluid and has a constricted orifice connected to the casing annulus.

Abstract: An improved rotary drilling head assembly comprising a main housing having an axial bore therethrough; a stripper assembly disposed within the housing axial bore; and a stripper support assembly rotatingly supporting the stripper assembly. The stripper support assembly is removably attachable to the main housing and comprises an inner skirt member which is configured to extend about and to be supported on an exterior support surface of the main housing; an outer bearing housing configured to extend about and to be bearingly interconnected to the inner skirt member; a stripper clamp assembly clamping the stripper assembly to the outer bearing housing; and a clamping assembly removably attaching the inner skirt member to the exterior support surface such that the entire stripper support assembly of the drilling head assembly is removable from the housing as a unitary assembly by disengaging the clamping assembly.

Abstract: Directional drilling is carried out by orienting and positioning a whipstock having a curved guide surface at a predetermined rotational angle with respect to the desired azimuth so as to compensate for lateral deviation of the original bore or rathole. The curved guide surface of the whipstock is given a radius of curvature in a longitudinal direction corresponding to that of the drainhole section radius and is provided with a concave face in a transverse direction which defines lateral wings along the guide surface to control the advancement of the drilling tool along the desired course and avoid objectionable helixing. Proper orientation and guidance of the drill tool by means of the radius whipstock as described permits accurate determination of the drainhole orientation vertical drill distance between the zenith and nadir of the drainhole as well as the actual drilled depth between those points.