The plug catcher is used in well completion operations when the zone isolation plugs are being milled out to allow the well to be produced to surface. As the plugs are being milled there is a constant circulation of fluid in order to bring the milled parts to surface. This circulation is passed through screens inside of the plug catcher which allows fluid and sand to pass but retains the larger plug parts. This eliminates plugging of the downstream chokes and flowlines.
The plug catcher has dual screens in parallel which can be isolated from each other. This allows the user to clean out screens on the fly while maintaining circulation through the other side.
3 1/16” 15k PSI Dual Barrel Plug Catcher
The plug catcher features a 15000-psi working pressure and is NACE certified for sour service applications. It has eight gate valves with an internal diameter of 3.0625” and dual screen barrels with an internal diameter of 7.19”. The screens themselves measure 66.75” L with a 4” external diameter and a 3.75” internal diameter.
It features double valve isolation upstream of the plug screens offering maximum safety during screen clean out and redundancy to keep the job going.