Expro North Sea Limited

Deltatek Oil Tools Limited

Tyler Rhes Reynolds

David Michael Shand

Stephen Edmund Bruce

Tristam Paul Horn

An offshore method includes providing an elongate support string for extending between a mobile offshore drilling unit and a seabed location. The string has an upper portion and a lower portion, and an articulated joint is provided between the upper portion and the lower portion. The provision of the articulated joint maintains the lower portion of the elongate support string in a substantially vertical orientation and increases the safe operating radius of the mobile offshore drilling unit or increases the speed at which the unit may transit through the sea with objects suspended via the elongate support string.

Offshore drilling apparatus and methods

A coupling connects an inner string to a lower end of a bore-lining tubing, such as a liner. The coupling includes a catcher and may be provided in combination with at least one member for translating through the inner string and landing in the catcher. The member may be an occluding member, such as a ball for occluding a flow passage through the coupling.

Downhole apparatus

A method of locating bore-lining tubing, such as a liner (), in a drilled bore () comprises selecting a buoyant material, such as air (), having a density lower than the density of an ambient fluid, such as well fluid (). The buoyant material () and an inner tubing () are located within the bore-lining tubing () with the inner tubing () extending from a distal end of the bore-lining tubing to a proximal end of the bore-lining tubing. The inner tubing () is sealed to the distal end of the bore-lining tubing () and to a portion of the bore-lining tubing () spaced from the distal end to define an inner annulus () between the inner tubing () and the bore-lining tubing (). A volume of the buoyant material () is retained within the inner annulus (). An assembly () comprising the inner tubing () and the bore-lining tubing () and containing the volume of buoyant material () is run into a drilled bore (). Fluid () may be flowed through the inner tubing () and into an outer annulus () surrounding the bore-lining tubing ().

Growing community of inventors

Magnolia, TX, United States of America

Tyler Rhes Reynolds