Subsea wellhead systems

The subsea wellhead system (Fig. 1) is a pressure-containing vessel that provides a means to hang off and
seal off casing used in drilling the well. The wellhead also provides a profile to latch the subsea blowout
preventer (BOP) stack and drilling riser back to the floating drilling rig. In this way, access to the wellbore is
secure in a pressure-controlled environment. The subsea wellhead system is located on the ocean floor, and
must be installed remotely with running tools and drillpipe.

Fig. 1Illustration of a typical subsea wellhead system with temporary abandonment cap installed. This
illustration also shows the wellhead configuration with a 30 20 13 9 7-in. casing program.
Contents
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1 Subsea wellhead system

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1.1 Drilling guide base

1.2 Low-pressure housing

1.3 High-pressure housing

1.4 Casing hangers

1.5 Metal-to metal annulus seal assembly

1.6 Bore protectors and wear bushings

1.7 Running and test tools

1.7.1 Conductor wellhead running tool

1.7.2 High-pressure wellhead running tool

1.7.3 Casing-hanger seal-assembly running tool

1.7.4 Multipurpose tool and accessories

1.7.5 BOP isolation test tool

1.7.6 Seal-assembly running tool

2 Big bore subsea wellhead systems

3 References

4 See also

5 Noteworthy papers in OnePetro

6 External links

7 Category

Subsea wellhead system

The subsea wellhead inside diameter (ID) is designed with a landing shoulder located in the bottom section of
the wellhead body. Subsequent casing hangers land on the previous casing hanger installed. Casing is
suspended from each casing-hanger top, and accumulates on the primary landing shoulder located in the ID of
the subsea wellhead. Each casing hanger is sealed off against the ID of the wellhead housing and the outside
diameter (OD) of the hanger itself with a seal assembly that incorporates a true metal-to-metal seal. This seal
assembly provides a pressure barrier between casing strings, which are suspended in the 18-in. wellhead.
Once drilling is complete, the wellhead will provide an interface for the production tubing string and the subsea
production tree, or, if required, a point to tie back to a platform. The design objective of the subsea wellhead
system is twofold:

To provide the operator with the latest equipment technology, incorporating reliable solutions for the
well conditions to be encountered, as well as maximum strength and capacities.

To provide a system that is easy to install, and requires a minimal amount of handling and rig time.

A standard subsea wellhead system will typically consist of the following:

Drilling guide base.

Low-pressure housing.

High-pressure wellhead housing (typically 18 in.).

Casing hangers (various sizes, depending on casing program).

Metal-to-metal annulus sealing assembly.

Bore protectors and wear bushings.

Running and test tools.

Drilling guide base

The drilling guide base (Fig. 2) provides a means for guiding and aligning the BOP onto the wellhead. Guide
wires from the rig are attached to the guideposts of the base, and the wires are run subsea with the base to
provide guidance from the rig down to the wellhead system.

Fig. 2Illustration of typical guide bases, both guidelined and guidelineless. Each guide base can
incorporate customer-specified features, such as remote-retrievable capabilities and special flow-by
features.

Low-pressure housing
The low-pressure housing (typically 30 or 36 in.; see Fig. 3) provides a location point for the drilling guide base,
and provides an interface for the 18-in. high-pressure housing. It is important for this first string to be jetted or
cemented in place correctly, because this string is the foundation for the rest of the well.

Fig. 3Illustration of typical low-pressure wellhead housings. Each low-pressure housing can also
incorporate various features based on the particular application and drilling environment.

High-pressure housing

The subsea high-pressure wellhead housing (typically 18 in.) is, effectively, a unitized wellhead with no
annulus access. It provides an interface between the subsea BOP stack and the subsea well. The subsea
wellhead is the male member to a large-bore connection, as shown in Fig. 4 (the female counterpart is the
wellhead connector on the bottom of the BOP stack), that will be made up in a remote subsea, ocean-floor
environment. The 18-in. wellhead will house and support each casing string by way of a mandrel-type casing
hanger. The ID of the 18-in. wellhead provides a metal-to-metal sealing surface for the seal assembly, when it
is energized around the casing hanger. The wellhead provides a primary landing shoulder in the bottom ID area
to support the combined casing loads, and will typically accommodate two or three casing hangers and a tubing
hanger. The minimum ID of the wellhead is designed to let a 17-in. drilling bit pass through.

Fig. 418-in. wellheads are manufactured with several different locking profiles to mate with the wellhead
connector located on the bottom of the BOP stack or subsea production tree. The wellhead systems are
usually rated for 10,000 or 15,000 psi and can be installed with a standard lock ring or a rigid lockdown
mechanism, which is the preferred choice for deepwater operations.