Patent ID: 7506704

Claim:
A downhole swivel joint comprising: a mandrel which forms the upper part of the swivel joint, said mandrel having a longitudinal through passage; a housing which forms the lower part of the swivel joint, a releasable retaining device for maintaining the mandrel and the housing in a first relative axial position until a pre-determined axial load is applied between the mandrel and the housing; the releasable retaining device being releasable upon imposition of said pre-determined axial load to allow the mandrel to move into a second axial position relative to the housing; and means preventing rotation of the mandrel relative to the housing when the housing and the mandrel are in the said first relative axial position and permitting rotation of the mandrel relative to the housing when the mandrel and the housing are in the said second relative axial position, characterised in that respective apertures are provided in the wall of the mandrel and in the wall of the housing, the apertures being isolated from each other when the mandrel and the housing are in one of said relative axial positions and being in communication with each other to permit the flow of fluid from the interior of the mandrel to the exterior of the housing when the mandrel and the housing are in the other of the said relative axial positions, wherein the releasable retaining device comprises a radially resiliently deformable member arranged so as to be resiliently deformed when said components are moved from the first relative axial position to the second relative axial position and the mandrel and the housing are in their first relative axial position so that torque can be transmitted from the mandrel to the housing, the respective apertures are out of communication with each other.