During the operational life of an oil and gas well failures can and do happen to safety critical item in your completion such as a broken or stuck flapper valve in your subsurface safety valve.

When a flapper has completely disconnected it can be very difficult to mill or remove from the well because it can spin freely not allowing any traction to be gained by the mill and is usually made from a very hard alloy. Red Kite can offer MCR’s Axial Pyro Torch™ (APT). The APT is a thermite-based system used to direct a plasma output (downward) upon tool initiation. AXIAL PYRO TORCH system consists of three separate body sections that house the nozzle in an axial orientation, as well as fuel extensions and an activation sub.

Following initiation of the THERMAL GENERATOR actuator, the fuel mixture contained within the torch housing flows through the nozzle which directs the superheated plasma stream directly onto the target, in close proximity.

When this tool is above the broken flapper the thermite erodes through the flapper to create a circulation path. Subsequent runs in the well erode the flapper into smaller pieces so it can fall to the bottom of the completion allowing entry to the well to carry out necessary remedial work and allow the well to be put back onto production.

Sample pictures below show the sequential removal of a flapper: