INTRODUCING

the safest, quikest, ram changeout in the industr y

QUIK-LOQ ™

A REVOLUTIONARY NEW DESIGN IN BLOWOUT

PREVENTION EQUIPMENT

For seventy years, Hydril has been the technology leader in

developing products that protect people and the environment.
Known worldwide for our innovative engineering excellence,
our latest development is the new Quik-Loq™ which features:

Safety
• Less time in harm's way for rig personnel
• No bolts. No tools.

Efficiency
• 90% Quicker ram changeout
• 90% Quicker operator changeout

Environment Protection
• Dual-redundant bonnet seals
• Dual-redundant rod seals
• No operator face seals

R E D E F I N I N G R E L I A B I L I T Y T M
New Quik-LoqTM BOP Safer with Ram Changeout
Faster Than Conventional
James P. Anthony, Consultant

A new BOP design from Hydril called Quik-Loq™ maximizes safety of field environment, extensive pressure testing, and life-cycle operation
personnel and protection of the environment, eliminates the need for tools, simulating well over a decade of normal operation.
and increases efficiency by allowing ram and/or operator changeout in a The unit will be offered initially in 13-5/8" through-bore size rated at
matter of minutes rather than hours. 15,000 psig working pressure. Other sizes and pressure ratings will
become available in the near future. All designs use the field-proven Hydril
HSE BENEFITS Multiple Position Locking (MPL) clutch. Units meet NACE MR0175 and
Locking and unlocking the operator to the body is totally “tool-less” and
API 16A design requirements.
“hands clear” for convenience and personnel safety. A sliding/rotating
mounting for the ram-operator assembly makes ram changeout much WHAT ABOUT OPERATOR TRAINING?
safer than with conventional designs. Such ram and operator access Experience so far indicates that operator training for the Quik-Loq™ unit
make the lifts associated with such service more simple and straightfor- is almost “automatic.” An experienced field supervisor for a major drilling
ward. Personnel risk potentials are dramatically reduced. Comments a company summed it up well. “The phrase ‘user friendly’ really applies to
prospective user, “This is the first truly significant improvement in ram-type this innovative design. See it operate once and you’re ready to run it.”
BOP design in about twenty years. It protects field personnel by greatly
reducing the time they are exposed to hazardous conditions and SUMMARY
minimizing potential harm from handling.” Hydril’s Quik-Loq™ design is a first in the industry and offers the following
The Quik-Loq™ design offers added enhancements for environmental primary benefits:
protection. Notable are the ram operators designed with dual redundant 1. Greatly improved personnel safety and convenience in changing ram
radial well bore seals. The radial seals perform independently from each blocks or ram operators very quickly.
other providing each ram operator with a true dual sealing barrier between 2. Added protection from environmental damage.
the well bore and the environment. 3. Ram/operator changeout in minutes rather than hours.
4. No need for special tools or bolt tensioning.
LOCK RING, HANDLING UNIQUE
Key to the improved method of inspecting/changing ram blocks is a seg-
mented, elliptical lock ring and method of handling the operator assembly.
"Flat time" in the drilling depth/time curve can be significantly reduced.
Energized by a linearly stroking actuator ring, a segmented lock ring
retracts when the unlock mechanism is hydraulically actuated.2 This
allows field personnel to easily roll the operator assembly out of the BOP
body on its pivot/slide mounting.
Once clear of the body, the operator assembly can be simply rotated by
hand to any desired position from 0 to 360 degrees rotation.1 The pivot
point is located at the “average” center of gravity (a point halfway between
the centers of gravity with and without the ram block attached) so
rotation is easy and free.
The operator assembly can be rotated as desired or to detent positions at
90 degrees (4 places) to make the ram block easily and safely accessible.
It can then be lifted vertically with no interference from an upper operator
1
Patent 6510897 – Rotational Mounts for Blowout Preventer Bonnets
assembly or other constraint.
2
Patent 6554247 – Quick Release Blowout Preventer Bonnet
Once the new ram block is dropped into place, closing and locking the
operator assembly involves simply rotating it back in line, pushing it in, and The author, Jim Anthony has been active in engineering, marketing, and
actuating the hydraulic cylinders to pull and lock the operator onto the bop technical marketing communications since college (BSEE, Rice '45, MSEE
body. The entire operation requires only minutes. No special tools are Colorado '47). For 26 years he was a registered professional engineer
needed. There is no concern for bolt tensioning since there are no bolts. (Texas). He has had numerous articles published in trade magazines and
Locking and unlocking are performed remotely for convenience and professional journals, taught classes and seminars, and participated in
personnel safety. several litigations as an expert witness.
Operator assembly changeout is just as quick and easy. With the
operator assembly out of the body, rotate it to the zero-degree detent
position, attach a lifting sling, remove the retainer bar on the end of the
slide bars and roll the operator off. To install a new operator assembly, just
repeat the process in reverse order. This operation is safe, reliable and
efficient under any condition.

DESIGNED FOR ALL APPLICATIONS Houston, Texas 281.449.2000

The new design can be used for surface or subsea drilling. At the time
this report was prepared, the new Quik-Loq™ prototype unit was www.hydril.com
completing a series of tests including operation in a “mud soaked” drilling pcgeneral@hydril.com