In the field of oil and gas extraction, the performance of wellhead equipment plays a crucial role in the efficiency and cost of extraction operations. As an innovative design, the multi-seat compact wellhead is gradually emerging in the global energy industry, bringing significant advantages to various extraction scenarios. The multi-seat compact wellhead skillfully integrates the concepts of space optimization and function integration in its design. Traditional wellhead devices are often bulky. In multi-well or row-well areas, the placement of numerous wellheads not only occupies a lot of space but also brings many inconveniences to drilling operations. However, the multi-seat compact wellhead, through its unique structural design, has significantly reduced the overall height. For example, the height of some compact wellhead devices is reduced by about 500mm compared with traditional wellheads. At the same time, it adopts a double-wing and double-valve structure. For instance, tubing gate valves and casing gate valves are arranged on both sides of the large cross, usually a combination of 4 tubing gate valves and 4 casing gate valves, and the hanger is seated between the casing gate valve and the tubing gate valve, making the entire wellhead device compact in structure and reducing unnecessary parts and space occupation. This design brings a series of significant advantages. From the perspective of installation and disassembly, when the drilling rig needs to move, traditional wellheads need to be disassembled one by one, which consumes a lot of time and manpower. However, due to the compact structure of the multi-seat compact wellhead, the drilling rig can be dragged as a whole, and the moving time is greatly shortened from the previous 5-6 days to about 30 minutes, which greatly improves the operation efficiency and reduces the downtime. In terms of function, the wellhead is usually equipped with special channels for passing through cables and hydraulic control pipelines. For example, cable channels and hydraulic control pipeline channels are respectively processed on the upper flange and hanger, which makes the wellhead function more perfect. There is no need to set additional channels to meet the passing needs of cables and hydraulic control pipelines, simplifying the wellhead structure.
In practical applications, multi-seat compact wellheads have been successfully applied in many scenarios. In offshore oilfields, space resources are particularly precious. The compact design of multi-seat compact wellheads effectively saves platform space, enabling the platform to accommodate more wellheads and increase the extraction scale. For example, the independently developed domestic compact horizontal single-barrel double-well wellhead on the CP3-PT3 platform of Zhaodong Oilfield under Dagang Oilfield, combined with the full-life-cycle digital management adopted by the platform, can save nearly 30% of the construction, construction period, and operation costs of offshore engineering compared with traditional offshore engineering construction based on the 25-year service life of offshore engineering in oil and gas fields. In onshore multi-well or row-well areas, multi-seat compact wellheads provide great convenience for drilling operations, improve extraction efficiency, and reduce operation costs.
To sum up, relying on its innovative design and significant advantages, the multi-seat compact wellhead is becoming an important equipment choice for improving efficiency and reducing costs in the oil and gas extraction industry. With the continuous development of technology, it is expected to play a greater role in more complex extraction environments and promote the sustainable development of the energy industry.
