Critical Well Intervention:
Freeze Operations / Hot Tap /
Gate Valve Drilling / Wellhead Re-Heading
Cudd Well Control Special Services delivers custom engineered solutions to resolve complex pressure situations resulting from equipment failure or trapped pressure. Services involving cold and hot tapping, gate valve drilling, freeze operations, and wellhead removal are available for onshore and offshore well intervention applications. We design all of our Special Services to help operators reduce costs, minimize downtime, and balance environmental concerns with optimal production output.
BENEFITS
High-pressure/high-temperature capabilities.
Extensive experience in pressure control supported by a highly experienced and diversified Engineering Team.
Comprehensive training program to ensure efficient and safe operations by qualified personnel.
Strategically located to respond quickly.
FREEZE TECHNOLOGY
A Safe Temporary Barrier for Pressured Systems
When you need to repair, replace, or work on pressured equipment — and a full system shutdown is not practical — freeze technology creates a temporary plug that holds the pressure while the work gets done.
Cudd Well Control deploys nitrogen-based freeze systems for a wide range of wellsite and production applications.
WHAT FREEZE TECHNOLOGY DOES
Creating a Temporary Barrier Without Shutting the System Down
Freeze technology uses liquid nitrogen as a chilling agent to lower the temperature of fluid inside a pipe, valve, or wellhead component until it freezes solid — creating a temporary, pressure-holding plug. With that plug in place, downstream work can be performed safely on what would otherwise be a pressured or potentially pressured system.
The freeze holds as long as the nitrogen supply is maintained. This approach is faster than a full shutdown and restart, reduces the volume of kill fluid required, and eliminates the risks associated with depressuring and re-pressuring certain systems.
APPLICATIONS
Applications Across Wellsite and Production Operations
Equipment Repair and Replacement
Creating a freeze plug upstream of a failed valve, fitting, or component allows the defective equipment to be safely removed and replaced without killing the well or depressuring the entire system. Particularly common for valve replacements on producing wells where shutting in is costly.
Wellhead Work
Freeze technology can be applied to wellhead components — including production trees and wellhead spools — to isolate sections for repair, inspection, or replacement while the rest of the system remains pressured.
BOP Components
Where appropriate for the geometry and pressures involved, freeze technology can be used to isolate BOP components for inspection or repair without requiring a full BOP stack removal.
Pipeline and Piping Work
Beyond the wellsite, freeze technology is applicable to pipeline sections and surface piping where isolation is needed for repair, tie-in, or inspection and a full system blowdown is not practical.
Multi-Annuli Applications
Cudd Well Control’s freeze equipment can freeze through multiple strings of pipe simultaneously — up to five annuli. This capability makes it applicable to complex wellhead configurations that simpler freeze equipment cannot accommodate.
KEY BENEFITS
Why Operators Choose Freeze Technology
Need to Work on Pressured Equipment Without Shutting Down?
SURFACE COLD AND HOT TAP OPERATIONS
We perform onshore and offshore cold and hot tapping on lines containing water, oil, gasses, steam, or other chemicals. Cold and hot tapping involves safely drilling into a pressurized tubular or vessel without discharging contents, allowing a controlled bleed of the trapped pressure.
To facilitate the following processes determine and verify the existence of any internal pressure. Examples are:
Capabilities
ULTRA-COMPACT HOT TAP
Engineered for Rapid Deployment
The only hot tap on the market rated API 6A 3G eases logistics concerns by offering a smaller footprint, yet still delivers the same high-quality performance our customers have come to expect from Cudd.
Its compact design is ideal for tight working areas like small cellars, offshore well bays, and other space-restricted locations. Because of its compact size, weighing only 85 lbs, the unit can be transported in the bed of a pickup truck to arrive on location when you need it.
GATE VALVE DRILLING OPERATIONS
Have a pressure control situation that requires a different point of entry?
Gate valve drilling offers an effective approach by drilling out an inoperable gate or plug while it’s in the closed position. This is performed while maintaining pressure downstream of the gate or valve.
Doing this allows for both accurate monitoring and controlled release of pressure, providing the opportunity to pump in fluids to freeze the well. Also to allow isolation of the wellbore to change out valves. Or drill out to full bore to install BPV. We can also drill a gate or TIW valve to its full ID.
Our pressure-compensated gate valve units can drill out valves located several feet away. Available units deliver up to 15,000 psi pressure ratings in H₂S service.
Capabilities
WELLHEAD RE-HEADING
Wellhead Removal and Re-Heading Services
Our well control experts provide a range of options for wellhead removal and re-heading services. Our pneumatic casing cutter and hydraulic sand cutter have the ability to cut various sizes of tubing and casing under pressure. The hydraulic nut splitter enables the removal of rusted, immobile studs. The hydraulic flange spreader removes seized flanges.
