Patent ID: 7032673
Filing Date: 2006-04-25
Classification: B01D,C02F,E21B

Abstract:
1. A method of drilling and completing a subsea well, comprising: (a) connecting a drilling riser to a wellhead housing and landing the wellhead housing in a supporting wellhead that has an external orientation member previously installed in a desired orientation; (b) drilling and casing a well through the wellhead housing; (c) disconnecting the drilling riser from the wellhead housing after casing has been installed; (d) landing a BOP orientation spool on the wellhead housing, the BOP orientation spool having an external orientation member that registers it to the external orientation member on the supporting wellhead, the BOP orientation spool having an internal orientation member; (e) connecting the drilling riser to the BOP orientation spool; and (f) providing a tubing hanger with an orientation member, connecting the tubing hanger to a string of tubing and running the tubing hanger through the drilling riser and BOP orientation spool and orienting the tubing hanger via the internal orientation member in the BOP orientation spool; (g) providing a production tree with an orientation member on a lower end; and (h) removing the BOP orientation spool from the wellhead housing, lowering the production tree onto the wellhead housing, and engaging the orientation member of the production tree with the orientation member of the tubing hanger to rotate the tree to a desired orientation.