Abstract:
An apparatus for cutting and recovering casing from a well which includes a well string having a swivel mounted thereon, a gripping assembly, a lower drive cone, and a cutter mounted on the lower end of the well string, the swivel functioning as the expander or drive cone for the gripping assembly to set the cutter at any desired level within a casing to be cut and the gripping assembly which has been expanded by the swivel to set position functioning to support the swivel for rotation of the string during a cutting. The method of cutting and retrieving casing from a well bore including the steps of lowering the apparatus into the bore, setting the gripping assembly by lowering the swivel to expand the gripping elements so that the gripping assembly supports the swivel at the desired level, cutting the casing by rotation of the well string and expanding the cutter, raising the string to remove the swivel from set position with respect to the gripping assembly and to bring the lower drive cone into position setting the gripping assembly into gripping engagement with the cut casing, and raising the string to retrieve the string and the severed casing supported thereon from the well bore.