Hydril USA Manufacturing LLC

David Albert Dietz

Robert Arnold Judge

Eric Lee Milne

Dat Manh Nguyen

Ahmet Duman

Aaron P Smith

Luis Melendez

Hardev Singh

Judge Robert Arnold Arnold

Apparatuses useable in drilling installations for adjusting a mud return flow in a mud loop, at a location far from a mud tank are provided. An apparatus includes (1) a sensor located close to a seabed and configured to acquire values of at least one parameter related to a return mud flow, (2) a valve located near the sensor and configured to regulate the return mud flow, and (3) a controller connected to the valve and the sensor. The controller is configured to automatically control the valve to regulate the return mud flow towards achieving a value of a control parameter close to a predetermined value, based on the values acquired by the sensor. Methods of incorporating an apparatus in a drilling installation and retrofitting existing installations are also provided.

Mudline managed pressure drilling and enhanced influx detection

Systems can be configured to move a ram block in a blowout preventer. The system includes: a first bank of accumulators configured to provide a first pressure to move the ram block; a second bank of accumulators configured to provide a second pressure to move the ram block, wherein the second pressure is greater than the first pressure; and a controller configured to sequentially control the first bank of accumulators to apply pressure to move the ram block and to then control the second bank of accumulators to move the ram block after the first bank of accumulators has moved the ram block a first distance.

Shear boost triggering and bottle reducing system and method

Method and blowout preventer for sealing a well. The blowout preventer includes a body having first and second chambers, the first chamber extending substantially perpendicular to and intersecting the second chamber; a ram block configured to move within the first chamber to seal a first region of the second chamber from a second region of the second chamber; a rod connected to the ram block and configured to extend along the first chamber; a piston connected to the rod and configured to move along and within the first chamber; a bonnet configured to receive the piston, the bonnet being detachably attached to the body; and an indicator device partially mounted outside the bonnet and configured to indicate a physical position of the ram block within the body.

External position indicator of ram blowout preventer

A mudline riser annulus flow meter includes a liner configured to be attached to a riser to cover a hole; a cover configured to be attached to the riser to cover the liner such that a cavity is formed by the liner and the cover; a sensor rod configured to be attached to the liner and to extend inside the cavity, the sensor rod having a bore; a magnet assembly configured to be fixedly attached to the sensor rod; and a waveguide tube attached to the cover. The bore of the sensor rod is configured to receive the waveguide tube.

Riser annulus flow meter and method

A method to determine movement of a wellhead component includes sensing a relative position of the wellhead component with a magnetostrictive sensor over a selected interval of time. The method includes sending a signal from the magnetostrictive sensor to a data acquisition device and recording the relative position of the wellhead component with the data acquisition device with respect to the selected interval of time. Further, the method includes comparing the recorded position of the wellhead component with operations data to determine if the relative position is desirable.

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Houston, TX, United States of America

David Albert Dietz