Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

Other

Kellogg Brown + Root LLC

Rajnikant M Amin

Vimal Vinod Shah

James Robert Birchak

Bruce H Storm, Jr

Wei Han

Fouad Fleyfel

Bayram Kalpakci

James Francis O'Sullivan

Gee Seng Fung

Crispin L Richards

David A Gray

James F O'sullivan

The present invention relates to a subsea system for the production of hydrocarbon reserves. More specifically, the present invention relates to a control wellhead bouy that is used in deepwater operations for offshore hydrocarbon production. In a preferred embodiment, a bouy for supporting equipment for use in a remote offshore well or pipeline includes a hull having a diameter:height ratio of at least 3:1, a mooring system for maintaining the hull in a desired location, and an umbilical providing fluid communication between the hull and the well or pipeline.

Control wellhead buoy

A method and apparatus for analyzing a deposited layer on the inner surface of a fluid container wall having inner and outer surfaces are disclosed. One embodiment of the method comprises (a) transmitting an acoustic signal from a transmitter at a first distance from the outer surface of the wall; (b) receiving a first received signal A, comprising a reflection from the wall outer surface; (c) receiving a second received signal B, comprising a reflection from the wall inner surface; (d) receiving a third received signal C from the wall inner surface; (e) calculating a coefficient R from A, B and C, and (f) calculating a coefficient R from A, B and R , and calculating the acoustic impedance of the deposited layer Z from R , R , and Z , where Z is the acoustic impedance of the material between the transmitter and the wall outer surface. A preferred embodiment of the apparatus comprises a piezoelectric or ferroelectric transducer having front and back faces; a backing member acoustically coupled to said transducer back face and impedance-matched to said transducer element, said backing member having proximal and remote faces; and a delay material disposed between said transducer front face and the wall outer surface.

Acoustic sensor for pipeline deposition characterization and monitoring of pipeline deposits

An apparatus and method are provided for preventing or reducing buildup of certain solids in a system or a conduit containing or conveying a fluid. The fluid can be a single phase liquid, such as a liquid hydrocarbon, or a multiphase fluid such as a mixture of several immiscible liquids, for example liquid hydrocarbon and water, plus a gaseous phase that may include hydrocarbon vapors as well as other gases, for example carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, etc. Preferably, the fluid is crude oil. The solids include all solids precipitating from fluids due to thermodynamically or chemical composition driven forces, as well as materials that can change phases. Preferably, the solids are solids typically dissolved in crude oil, such as higher paraffins, asphaltenes, hydrates, organic salts, and inorganic salts. The method involves passing the fluid through a treatment apparatus placed before the system or conduit under conditions sufficient to deposit the solids within the apparatus, slurrying the solids, and passing the resulting slurry to the system or conduit. The apparatus includes a passage having a length sufficient to effect substantially complete deposition of the solids.

Method for reducing solids buildup in hydrocarbon streams produced from wells

A system for monitoring the presence of deposits or buildup on the inside wall of a fluid-containing pipe comprises a pair of acoustic transmitters outside of the pipe and spaced apart along the length of the pipe and capable of transmitting an acoustic signal into the pipe wall, a pair of acoustic receivers outside of the pipe and spaced apart along the length of the pipe and capable of receiving an acoustic signal from the pipe wall, and a power source for causing the transmitters to transmit a signal. A method for monitoring the presence of deposits or buildup on the inside wall of a fluid-containing pipe, comprises (a) providing first and second acoustic transmitters outside of the pipe and spaced apart along the length of the pipe and capable of transmitting an acoustic signal into the pipe wall, (b) providing first and second acoustic receivers outside of the pipe and spaced apart along the length of the pipe and capable of receiving an acoustic signal from the pipe wall, (c) transmitting a first signal from the first transmitter, (d) measuring the amplitude of the first signal received at the first and second receivers as A and A , respectively, (e) transmitting a second signal from the second transmitter, (f) measuring the amplitude of the second signal received at the first and second receivers as A and A , respectively, and (g) calculating the attenuation of the signal over the length of pipe using the values of A , A , A and A .

Guided acoustic wave sensor for pipeline build-up monitoring and characterization

Acoustic sensor for pipeline deposition characterization and monitoring

A method for monitoring and measuring the buildup of deposits on the inner surface of a pipeline containing flowing fluid comprises (a) transmitting a first acoustic signal into the pipeline through the pipeline wall, (b) receiving echoes of the transmitted signal, and (c) determining from the received echoes how far from the pipeline inner surface the interface between the deposits and the flowing fluid lies. An alternative method for monitoring and measuring the buildup of deposits on the inner surface of a pipeline containing flowing fluid comprises (a) transmitting a first acoustic signal into the pipeline through the pipeline wall, (b) receiving echoes of the signal, and (c) using the Doppler frequency shift of the received echoes to determine how far from the pipeline inner surface the interface between the deposits and the flowing fluid lies. An apparatus for monitoring and measuring the buildup of deposits on the inner surface of a pipeline containing flowing fluid, comprises a first transmitter in acoustic communication with the pipeline wall and generating a transmitted signal, a first receiver in acoustic communication with the pipeline wall generating received echo signal from a received signal comprising the reflection of the transmitted signal off the flowing fluid, and a microprocessor for determining from the received echo signal how far from the pipeline inner surface the interface between the deposits and the flowing fluid lies.

Method and apparatus for pulsed ultrasonic doppler measurement of wall deposition

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Houston, TX, United States of America

Rajnikant M Amin