Methods for internal cleaning and inspection of tubulars

摘要

Methods are disclosed for performing operations such as cleaning, inspection or data acquisition on an internal surface of a hollow cylindrical tubular. Preferred embodiments include providing at least one reel on which a hollow articulated lance is spooled. Tools or sensors, for example, are installed on a distal end of each lance. Hoses, electrical conduits, conductors or other similar carrier hardware inside each hollow lance supply the tools or sensors as required. A stabbing mechanism causes the reel to spool and unspool the lance so that the tools or sensors reciprocate up and down the inside of the rotating tubular.

主权项

1. A method for performing operations on an internal surface of a hollow cylindrical tubular, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a hollow cylindrical tubular, the tubular having a cylindrical axis and an internal surface; (b) providing at least one rotatable reel; (c) spooling a lance on each reel, each lance comprising a plurality of generally straight hollow lance sections concatenated into an articulated string thereof, the string including lance sections having a generally trapezoidal profile deployed such that the string rolls up into a segmented curve when spooled on the reel; (d) connecting a tooling head to a distal end of each lance, each tooling head disposed to receive at least one of a plurality of interchangeable tools, the at least one tool selectably installed on the tooling head according to operations to be performed by the lance on the internal surface of the tubular; (e) deploying at least one hose inside each lance, each hose selected to suit each corresponding tool installed on the tooling head of each lance in step (d); (f) connecting each hose (1) at a distal end thereof to its corresponding tool, and (2) at a proximal end thereof to a supply selected to suit the tool connected to the distal end thereof; (g) positioning the at least one reel so that when the lance on each reel is unspooled and re-spooled, the tooling head travels along a locus substantially parallel with the cylindrical axis of the tubular; (h) deploying a stabbing mechanism between the at least one reel and the tubular, the stabbing mechanism disposed to position a selected one of the lances so that when the selected lance is unspooled off and re-spooled onto its corresponding reel, the tooling head on the selected lance travels along a locus inside the tubular and substantially parallel with cylindrical axis of the tubular, the stabbing mechanism further including at least one stabbing wheel, the at least one stabbing wheel disposed to contact the selected lance such that rotation of the at least one stabbing wheel in opposing directions causes the selected lance to unspool off and re-spool onto its corresponding reel; (i) rotating the tubular about its cylindrical axis; (j) rotating the at least one stabbing wheel so that, as the selected lance in step (h) unspools off and re-spools onto its corresponding reel, the tooling head on the selected lance travels into and out of the tubular; and (k) during step (j), delivering the supply in step (f) to tools on the tooling head on the selected lance.