Shell Oil Comapny

Ray R Ayers

Robert M Kipp

Dean P Hemphill

Donald Wayne Allen

Carl G Langner

Jack D Miller

James W Stevens

Frans F Kopp

William H Petersen

Robert W Patterson

Paul B Ritter, Jr

Wayne F Simpson

Gwo-Tarng Ju

Michael Hosokawa Dupre

Kenneth L Bickham

Michael Lee Eckstein

Eric S Goudy

A subsea hot-tapping system, comprising an existing pipeline; a hot-tap body fitted around the pipeline; and a fluid injected between the pipeline and the body. In some embodiments, the system also includes a radial arm cutter, adapted to cut a hole in the existing pipeline.

Subsea hot tap systems and methods

A spar platform is provided comprising an essentially vertical cylindrical buoyant vessel, and a shroud surrounding the essentially vertical cylindrical vessel wherein the shroud comprises two essentially perpendicular intersecting sets of foam-filled fiberglass elements. In a preferred embodiment, the perpendicular intersecting elements form a grid having openings of 0.05 a dimension of between about 0.05 and about 0.35 vessel diameters and wherein each set of elements contains elements where the centerlines of the elements are separated by about 0.06 to about 0.60 vessel diameters. The shroud is preferably fabricated in panels that can be secured to the vessel using standoffs.

Spar platform

Vortex-induced vibrations of unsupported segments of subsea pipelines are reduced by providing a shroud that can be lowered onto the subsea pipeline wherein the shroud creates turbulence that interferes with vortex shedding and thereby reduces the amplitude of vibrations are reduced. The preferred shroud comprises a plurality of rods supported in vertical planes along the sides of the pipeline. Installation can be performed without the use of divers.

Subsea pipeline shroud

A diverless and guidelineless method to connect two subsea flowlines by a jumper assembly is provided. Pivotable stabs and fluid connection means are provided on each end of the jumper assembly. The stabs mate into receptacles located on the subsea flowline connections. The flowline is preferably lowered vertically and hinged over while sequentially landing the two pivotable stabs into their respective stab receptacles.

Subsea wellhead connections

A seismic float is made in two parts--an upper foam-filled fiberglass hull and a lower steel hull, thereby resulting in a more stable float of reduced dimensions.

Steel-fiberglass float

Pressure-triggering buoys are constructed of prebuckled pipe segments and attached to an offshore structure or pipeline under construction. The attached buoys move with the structure or newly added pipe segment toward the sea bottom, easing the descent. As the structure or segment of pipeline reaches a predetermined depth, the buoy attached thereto collapses, causing the structure or segment of pipeline to be heavier. In the instance of a pipeline, this collapse, in turn, causes the adjacent upper segment of pipeline to move lower, causing the next buoy to collapse, and so on.

Pressure actuated buoy flattener

A method and apparatus are provided for launching a towable body from onboard a towing ship while the towing ship is underway. Inasmuch as the towable body has a tendency to swing from side to side due to motion of the towing ship as the towable body is being lowered into the water, stabilizing apparatus which is attached to the towable body is lowered into the water first, the stabilizing apparatus tending to damp the side to side movement of the towable body.

Float launch system

An end terminal is provided for an underwater electrical cable, the terminal having a booted seal and being field installable and repairable.

Marine electrical plug

Subsea pipelay is accomplished by flying the pipestring underwater with the use of wings which provide sufficient lift to maintain the pipestring off bottom as it is towed.

Winged pipelaying

The present invention pertains to an underwater seismic cable which has at least one tensile cable placed upstream in faired cross sectional arrangement. Located downstream of the tensile cable are placed other electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic cables and hoses, with the electrical cables being adjacent the tension cable.

Faired umbilical cable

A method and apparatus are provided for towing and steering a seismic subarray from onboard a tow vessel. The outboard reach of the seismic subarray, relative to the vessel, is controlled by an adjustable bridle connected to the seismic subarray, and turning of the subarray in coordination with turning of the vessel is done using both the bridle and a rudder located at the rear of the seismic subarray.

Float steering system

The positions of seismic subarrays are determined using special hydrophones in a streamer cable which listen for acoustic signals generated from each seismic subarray.

Seismic array positioning

An oil containment boom system of two parallel, spaced-apart booms, with the forward boom designed to permit splashover of oil, a low pressure area between the booms functioning to retain the splashover oil.

Containment boom system

A connector for joining pipe ends is provided having heat expandable or contractable memory metal rods individually connecting a wedge ring and gripping wedge collet. Each ring and collet are in abutting relationship and coact to grip a pipe end.

Memory metal connector

A pressure vessel is provided with a single use safety valve composed of a partially buckled, hollow chamber which is susceptible to further buckling at a preselected pressure. The chamber is mounted and elastomerically sealed in an opening in the vessel held in position by a support frame either interior to or exterior of the vessel.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Ray R Ayers