Hydril Company

The Offshore Company

Joseph R Roche

Gabriel G Alexander

Charles D Morrill

William Lyle Carbaugh

Joseph H Hynes

Julian D Keithahn

Frank Allan Bryant

William L Clark

Shaw-Wen Lin

Hugh L Elkins

Larry J Tippit

An underwater pipeline is disclosed that arrests the propagation of a collapse or buckle that may occur as the pipeline is being laid or after the pipeline is in service. The pipeline comprises a plurality of joints of pipe connected end-to-end by a threaded connection. Each connection includes external cylindrical threads of opposite hand on adjacent ends of the pipe joints. A coupling having right and left-hand threads for moving the ends of the pipe joints into abutting position in sealing engagement with a seal ring to seal the connection. The connection provides a physical discontinuity in the pipeline to stop the propagation of a buckle in the pipeline. Additionally, by virtue of the thread profile, the coupling may provide radial support to the pin members to resist collapse.

Apparatus and method for arresting the propagation of a buckle in a

There are disclosed several embodiments of a flow diverter each of which includes a housing installed beneath the floor of a drilling rig on the upper end of a conductor pipe through which a well is to be drilled, a thrust plate sealably supported within a bore through the housing above a side outlet in the housing through which well fluid may be diverted, and a sealing element carried within the bore of the thrust plate for sealably engaging about a pipe string extending into the conductor pipe.

Flow diverter

There are disclosed several embodiments of a marine riser having means for disrupting smooth flow of seawater along its length of the riser and thus damping vertical oscillation of the riser when its lower end is released from a subsea wellhead.

Marine riser

A system is disclosed which may alternatively be used as a diverter or as a blowout preventer for a drilling rig. The system comprises a blowout preventer attached above a spool having a hydraulically driven sleeve/piston. An outlet flow passage in the spool, which may be connected to a vent line, is closed off by the sleeve wall when the spool piston is at rest. Hydraulic ports are connected above and below the blowout preventer annular piston and above and below the spool annular piston. The ports below the blowout preventer piston and above the spool piston are in fluid communication with each other. A hydraulic circuit is provided having two valves between a source of pressurized hydraulic fluid and a drain.

Diverter system and blowout preventer

A marine riser anticollapse valve is disclosed for preventing a marine riser from collapsing under external sea water pressure in the event of a sudden loss of internal drilling fluid pressure. An external valve structure is provided for each of a plurality of openings in the wall of a riser pup joint. Each of the valve structures includes a cylinder having an opening in communication with a body wall opening. A piston in each cylinder is subject to sea water pressure but is prevented from opening when riser bore pressure of a sufficient magnitude is applied internally to the piston via the pup joint opening and cylinder opening. When the riser bore pressure falls, the piston is driven to an open position allowing sea water to enter the riser.

Marine riser anti-collapse valve

An extended lift coupling for joining tubular members in an end-to-end relationship is disclosed. The coupling is of simple design having only three components: a pin, a box and a threaded lock ring. An external compressive axial preload places a torus on the pin in axial compression. Make-up of the lock ring maintains the compressive strain on the torus and the lock ring when the axial make-up force is removed. Thereafter, increased tensile loading on the pin and box is partially absorbed in benign compressive stress of the locking ring. By controlling the geometry of the coupling such that the stiffness of the torus is high compared to the stiffness of the box and the stiffness of the lock ring, the fatigue life of the coupling caused by applied cyclic tensile forces is enhanced.

Fatigue resistant coupling for tubular members

A system adapted for alternative use as a diverter or a blowout preventer for a bottom supported rig and adapted for positioning beneath a rotary table of the drilling rig is disclosed. The system comprises a fluid flow controller and at least two bases adapted for being alternatively removably secured to the controller. When the first base is in combination with the fluid flow controller, the system may be used only as a diverter and when the second base is used in combination with the fluid flow controller the system may be used only as a blowout preventer. A method according to the invention includes steps for installing the system adapted for alternative connection as a diverter or a blowout preventer for a bottom supported drilling rig after structural casing has been set in a borehole.

Diverter/bop system and method for a bottom supported offshore drilling

This invention provides a method and apparatus for maintaining safe pressure in the annulus of a deepwater marine riser by preventing the displacement of drilling mud with formation gas. By providing an improved flow diverting control device having an annular sealing device in the riser string below the riser telescopic joint, liquid well fluids under limited pressure can be maintained in the riser despite the impetus of formation gas below the mud column to displace the liquid. Provision of the annular shut-off below the telescopic joint eliminates the necessity to seal well fluid pressure at the telescopic joint packer during kick control circulating operations. The flow diverting control device includes an outlet which opens on the closing of the annular sealing device and which provides a flow path beneath the annular sealing device to a choke line to facilitate bringing the well under control by circulating kill mud. If the BOP stack is on bottom, circulation can be directed down a riser kill line and introduced into the annulus above a closed ram. If the BOP's are open or if the stack is not on bottom, circulation is directed down the drill pipe, up the riser annulus and through the choke manifold. By maintaining a mud column in the riser annulus, the hazard of collapsing the pipe by external hydrostatic head near the lower end of a deepwater marine riser is avoided.

Marine riser well control method and apparatus

A marine riser safety valve is disclosed which, when placed in series with a deep water marine riser string, prevents collapse of riser pipe when inadvertent gas influx replaces the drilling fluid column. A cylindrical body is provided having a depression formed therein with at least one diaphragm port from the central bore of the body through the wall of the depression. A valve port is provided axially from the depression. A cylindrical member including a cylindrical diaphragm and a valve sleeve are joined end-to-end. The cylindrical member is disposed about the exterior of the body with the elastomeric diaphragm covering the depression and the valve sleeve covering the valve port. When a differential pressure develops across the wall of the diaphragm of a predetermined threshold, the diaphragm constricts into the body depression and moves the valve sleeve axially, opening the valve port to permit sea water influx. An outer skirt is provided to prevent outward ballooning of the diaphragm when bore pressure is greater than the surrounding sea water pressure.

Marine riser fill-up valve

A system and method for installing a fluid flow controller and telescoping spools beneath an offshore bottom supported drilling rig rotary table is disclosed. Upper and lower telescoping spools are provided for initially connecting a Diverter/BOP convertible fluid flow controller between structural casing in the well and a permanent housing beneath the drilling rig rotary table. A system and method for installing a fluid flow controller and a lower telescoping spool beneath and offshore bottom supported drilling rig rotary table is disclosed. This alternative embodiment of the invention provides the lower telescoping spool connected between the diverter/BOP convertible fluid flow controller and structural casing in the well. The top of the controller is connected to the permanent housing beneath the drilling rig rotary table. Additionally, a diverter system, a low pressure blowout preventer system and a high pressure blowout preventer system are disclosed for both embodiments.

A vent line system is disclosed which is adapted for connection to a flow diverter attached to a drilling rig. The system assures that the vent line is always open for discharge of pressurized drilling fluid away from the drilling rig in one of two directions.

Vent line system

A system is disclosed which may alternatively be used as a diverter or as a blowout preventer for a drilling rig. The system comprises a BOP attached above a spool having a hydraulically driven sleeve/piston. An outlet passage in the spool, which may be connected to a vent line, is closed off by the sleeve wall when the spool piston is at rest. Hydraulic ports are connected above and below the BOP annular piston and above and below the spool annular piston. The ports below the BOP piston and above the spool piston are in fluid communication with each other. A hydraulic circuit is provided having two valves between a source and a drain of pressurized hydraulic fluid.

A system and method for installing a fluid flow controller and telescoping spools beneath an offshore bottom supported drilling rig rotary table is disclosed. Upper and lower telescoping spools are provided for initially connecting a Diverter/BOP convertible fluid flow controller between structural casing in the well and a permanent housing beneath the drilling rig rotary table. Clamp means are provided for clamping the rig vent line to an opening in the housing wall of the fluid flow controller during drilling of the borehole through the structural casing in preparation for setting and cementing the conductor casing. In that mode, the system is adapted as a diverter system. After the well is drilled for the conductor casing and the conductor casing is cemented and cut off at its top, a mandrel is fitted at the top of the conductor casing to which the lower end of the lower spool may be connected. The system may be used in this configuration as a diverter system, or after removal of the vent line and connection of a kill line to the housing outlet, the system may be used as a low pressure blowout preventer system.

Diverter/BOP system and method for a bottom supported offshore drilling

Apparatus adapted for connection to a drilling conduit beneath a drilling rig floor for diverting pressurized well bore fluid in the conduit from the rig and sealing the annulus between a pipe or other object and the conduit or closing the vertical flow path of the conduit in the absence of any object in the conduit is disclosed. The apparatus includes a housing, an annular packing element and two pistons. The housing is provided with at least one outlet passage in the wall of its body, and one of the two pistons acts as a sliding sleeve valve in cooperation with the housing wall for preventing fluid communication between the outlet passage and the interior of the housing when it is in a nonactuated or normal position and for allowing fluid communication when it is in an actuated or diverting position. The second piston is advantageously disposed axially upwardly within the housing and is adapted for engagement with the upper part of the first piston after the first piston has moved an upward axial distance sufficient to insure opening of the outlet passage before the upward movement of the first piston urges the second piston upwardly thereby causing the annular packing element to close about an object in the housing bore. Another embodiment of the invention provides two outlet passages in the housing wall and two holes in the first piston. When the first piston is in the normal position, one of its holes is in alignment with one of the housing outlet passages, while the other outlet passage is covered by a portion of the piston wall. When actuated, the piston closes the previously opened outlet passage and opens the previously closed outlet passage.

Growing community of inventors

Humble, TX, United States of America

Joseph R Roche