Atwood Oceanics, Inc.

James M Magill

John J Macan

A sea-floor cellar is installed in substantially in the sea-floor in a shallow water area where the distance between the sea-floor, which has a packed or rock ladened soil formation, and a drill ship is not sufficient to allow for normal positioning of a blowout preventer stack on the surface of the sea-floor. According to the method and apparatus of this invention, a first honeycomb of bore holes is drilled in the designated bottom area; a second honeycomb of bore holes having diameters larger than the first honeycomb of holes is then drilled into the designated bottom area to produce a second honeycomb of bore holes of larger diameter; and, a bar member is then rotated into the bore hole to eliminate soil structures left standing in the second honeycomb to produce a substantially clear recessed area for receiving the implantable sea-floor cellar to house a blowout preventer stack substantially below the surface of the subsea bottom.

Method and apparatus for installing a sea-floor cellar in a subsea

An offshore drilling platform protection device for use on an offshore oil well drilling vessel including a drilling platform supportable on a plurality of extendable legs wherein each leg is moved by a rack gear assembly, which rack gear assembly includes an otherwise exposed first gear which engages a second gear positioned in a housing having a rectangular corner opening through which the first gear extends, the protection device including first and second protective sections adapted for mounting over the first gear adjacent to the rectangular corner of the housing for the second gear, the first and second protective sections cooperating to provide an L-shaped opening which communicates with the opening at the second gear housing for protecting the first gear while allowing the first gear to mesh with the second gear.

Offshore drilling platform protection device

An implantable sea-floor shoring cellar is provided for housing drilling equipment such as a blowout preventer stack at least partly below the sea floor in order to allow oil well drilling by drill ships in shallow water areas where the distance between the sea floor and the drill ship is not sufficient to allow for normal positioning of the blowout preventer stack above the sea floor. The implantable sea-floor shoring cellar includes a substantially cylindrical retainer wall assembly with an annular air ejector assembly including ejector nozzles mounted within the retainer wall assembly adjacent to a lower opening; and a plurality of discharge tubes are mounted over the ejector nozzles for removing earth loosened from the sea floor during cutting of an opening below the retainer wall assembly so that the retainer wall assembly may be lowered without interference into place at least partly below the sea floor.

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Houston, TX, United States of America

James M Magill