A New Wellhead Installation Technique

Abstract

A new wellhead installation technique has been developed and field tested. The new wellhead system employs a cold forging process which eliminates the need for welding the casing head to the initial casing string an operator sets. Advantages of the new system are its speed of installation, elimination of undesirable welding stresses, and the technique's insensitivity to weather. Described in this paper are the features of the new wellhead installation technique and details surrounding the industry's first installation on a 13-3/8" casing string in July of 1987 in the Gulf of Mexico. Also documented is a discussion of field and engineering data to test its metal to metal sealing characteristics.