Marine well containment system and method

A marine well containment system capable of producing fluids from a marine oil and gas well comprising:

• a capture caisson;
• a blowout preventer capable of producing fluids wherein the blowout preventer is enclosed in the capture caisson;
• a subsea containment assembly installed on top of the blowout preventer wherein the subsea containment is exterior to the capture caisson and located in substantially close proximity to the seabed;
• a self-standing riser assembly, wherein the riser assembly further comprises a seabed foundation, a vertical pipe riser and a flexible riser and wherein the riser assembly is connected to the subsea containment assembly;
• a capture vessel connected to the riser assembly;
• wherein the capture vessel is capable of receiving fluids produced by the blowout preventer, captured by the capture caisson, captured by the subsea containment assembly, piped through the riser assembly to the capture vessel or a combination thereof.

A method of controlling a well comprising the steps of:

• assembling components of a marine containment system wherein the marine containment system includes a subsea containment assembly;
• installing a capture caisson over the well to be controlled;
• and
• installing the subsea containment assembly on top of a blowout preventer connected to the well to be controlled after the step of installing the capture caisson, wherein the subsea containment assembly is located in substantially close proximity to the seabed.