Subsea crude oil and/or gas containment and recovery system and method
OwnerRobert H. Jonesinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and a method to contain and recover crude oil and/or gas from a leaking wellhead on a sea bed is described. The system broadly consists of a series of elongated tubes positioned vertically from the sea floor and enclosing the wellhead and rising to the sea surface to be recovered. The leaking crude oil and/or gas rises is contained in the elongated tubes and rises through the series of elongated tubes to sea surface for recovery. Recovery of the crude oil and/or gas on the sea surface is carried out by any of the means currently applicable for this purpose. The method describes how to deploy the crude oil and/or gas containment and recovery system.
Claims20
A subsea crude oil and/or gas containment and recovery system comprising:
- an anchoring means defining a top side and a bottom side for providing a stable support structure for the subsea crude oil and/or gas containment and recovery system;
- at least one guide cable releasably affixed to the anchoring means via at least one guide cable connector for orienting and/or aligning and supporting the subsea crude oil and/or gas containment and recovery system;
- at least one guide cable hoisting means for lowering the anchoring means via the at least one guide cable;
- a plurality of transfer sections releaseably and slideably connected to the at least one guide cable via at least one cable guiding ring for containing and directing crude oil and/or gas from a wellhead or a crude oil and/or gas leak on a seabed floor;
- and
- a transfer section hoisting means for lowering the plurality of transfer sections along the at least one guide cable via a hoisting cable.
A method of deploying a subsea crude oil and/or gas containment and recovery system comprising the steps of:
- locating a location of a wellhead or a crude oil and/or gas leak on a seabed floor via a locating means;
- lowering an anchoring means in a substantially level manner with respect to the seabed floor to the seabed floor encircling the wellhead or the crude oil and/or gas leak via at least one guide cable hoisting means and at least one guide cable into an anchoring position;
- tensioning the at least one guide cable via a load control system controlling the at least one guide cable hoisting means;
- securing a transfer section to the at least one guide cable via at least one guide cable connector;
- lowering the transfer section via a transfer section hoisting means along the at least one guide cable until it comes to rest on the anchoring means;
- securing and lowering subsequent transfer sections until a substantially vertical column of transfer sections are stacked to reach a sea surface;
- recovering the crude oil and/or gas from the wellhead or the crude oil and/or gas leak that is being contained and directed to the sea surface by the substantially vertical column of transfer sections.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.