On demand non-rigid underwater oil and gas containment and retrieval system and method

An underwater oil and gas containment and retrieval system comprising:

• a collapsible, deployable oil and gas containment canopy forming a dome, said dome including a plurality of separately-stored dome panels (1), said dome having a top opening;
• a dome panel float for raising and deploying said dome panels from a stored position to a dome shaped position;
• a discharge vent tube (2) having inflatable air chambers (14) to provide rigidity and shape for deploying said discharge vent tube from a stored position to an extended vertical position with the top opening at the ocean surface;
• dome panel storage containers (3) for storing the dome panels (1) on the ocean floor having a top opening and a bottom opening;
• a discharge vent tube storage container (16) for storing the discharge vent tube (2) separately on the ocean floor;
• a discharge vent tube bottom ring (7) connected to the bottom opening of said vent tube;
• a dome ring (6) connected to the top opening of said dome panels;
• means for connecting the discharge vent tube (2) bottom opening to the top of the dome panels (1) utilizing the discharge vent tube bottom ring (7), the dome ring (6), said means including dome ring connecting cables (18) and discharge vent tube cable winches and reels (19), said means for connecting remotely activated from above the water surface;
• and
• one or more anchors for anchoring the dome panels to the bottom of the ocean surrounding the well to be protected.