US2012328367A1PendingUtilityA1

Oil containment system

39
Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Jun 23, 2011Filed: Jun 23, 2011Published: Dec 27, 2012
Est. expiryJun 23, 2031(~4.9 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Thomas L. Jones
E21B 43/0122E02B 2015/005E21B 43/36
39
PatentIndex Score
0
Cited by
0
References
0
Claims

Abstract

An oil containment system, an oil separator sock, and a method of containing oil, in which the oil separator sock includes a plurality of cable ties attached between a plurality of segments of the separator sock; in which the separator sock is anchored to a plurality of anchor pylons around a wellhead of an oil well at a height that allows escaping oil from the oil well to enter the separator sock and submersibles to work on a pipeline to affect a seal, in which the segments have flexibility on the cable ties to reduce stress, and in which the cable ties attached to the segments form a continuous attachment from anchor pylons at the wellhead to the inner ring of a compass leveler anchor or anchor attachments located in a pumping well on a pumping barge. The system that may be transported by air, land, or sea for a more rapid deployment.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
1 . An oil containment system comprising:
 a separator sock for containing escaping oil from a defective wellhead underwater comprising a plurality of cables ties attached between a plurality of segments of the separator sock,   wherein the separator sock is anchored to a plurality of anchor pylons around a wellhead at a height that allows escaping oil from the oil well to enter the separator sock and submersibles to work on the pipeline to affect a seal,   wherein the segments have flexibility on the cable ties to reduce stress, and   wherein the cable ties attached to the segments form a continuous attachment from anchor pylons at the wellhead to fixed anchor rings located in a pumping well on a pumping barge.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the cable ties attached to the segments form a continuous attachment from the anchor pylons at the wellhead to the inner ring of a compass leveler anchor located in the pumping well on the pumping barge. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein each segment is about twenty to about eighty feet in diameter and about fifteen feet to about thirty feet high, at least about five feet of which inserts into the bottom of the segment immediately above it. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the separator sock has a diameter sufficient to capture the oil-water mixture at the wellhead and prevent the separator sock from becoming pressurized by lowering the pressure in the interior of the separator sock during the pumping operation tending to collapse the segments. 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the uppermost segment holds approximately twenty-eight thousand gallons. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein oil is pumped out of the uppermost segment anchored in the pumping well of the pumping barge. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1 , where in the separator sock allows oil and water to escape out of the of opening (“gills”) at the bottom of each segment if the interior the segment becomes pressurized by rough water. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein each segment is made with a skin of heavy sail cloth material or Kevlar, coated with a sealant to prevent the oil from penetrating the skin or has a skin that is impenetrable by sea water and oil. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein each segment has aluminum tubing stitched to the inside of the segment skin at the top of the segment and another aluminum tubing ring stitched onto the outside surface of the segment skin at least about five feet from the bottom of the segment. 
     
     
         10 . An oil separator sock comprising:
 a plurality of cable ties; a plurality of segments; and a plurality of anchor pylons, wherein the cable ties are attached between a plurality of segments of the separator sock,   wherein the separator sock is anchored to a plurality of anchor pylons around a wellhead   of an oil well at a height that allows escaping oil from the oil well to enter the separator sock   and submersibles to work on the pipeline to affect a seal,   wherein the segments have flexibility on the cable ties to reduce stress, and   wherein the cable ties that are attached to the segments form a continuous attachment from anchor pylons at the wellhead to anchor attachments located in a pumping well on a pumping barge.   
     
     
         11 . The oil separator sock according to  claim 10 , wherein the cable ties attached to the segments form a continuous attachment from the anchor pylons at the wellhead to the inner ring of a compass leveler anchor located in the pumping well on the pumping barge. 
     
     
         12 . The oil separator sock according to  claim 10 , wherein each segment is about twenty to about eighty feet in diameter and about fifteen feet to about thirty feet high, at least about five feet of which inserts into the bottom of the segment immediately above it. 
     
     
         13 . The oil separator sock according to  claim 10 , wherein the separator sock has a twenty to eighty foot diameter which prevents the separator sock from becoming pressurized by lowering the pressure in the interior of the separator sock during the pumping operation tending to collapse the segments. 
     
     
         14 . The oil separator sock according to  claim 10 , wherein the upper most segment holds approximately twenty-eight thousand gallons. 
     
     
         15 . The oil separator sock according to  claim 14 , wherein oil is rapidly pumped out of the uppermost segment anchored in the pumping well of a pumping barge. 
     
     
         16 . A method of containing oil which comprises:
 providing a containment conduit for oil escaping from the ocean or any body of water to rise to the surface in a small containment area where it can be pumped onto waiting transport vessels,   placing the oil in land based storage tanks where the oil and the water separate via gravity or centrifuged for a more rapid processing,   drawing the water from the bottom of the tank,   wherein the process comprises a separator sock rapidly assembled and deployed for the oil containment, working at depths of one and one-quarter mile or more and as the first response to any pipeline break resulting in an oil spill.   
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the separator sock is anchored to a plurality of anchor pylons around a wellhead of an oil well at a height that allows escaping oil from the oil well to enter the separator sock and submersibles to work on a pipeline to affect a seal. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the segments have flexibility on the cable ties to reduce stress. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the cable ties attached to the segments form a continuous attachment from anchor pylons at the wellhead to anchor attachments located in the pumping well on a pumping barge. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the uppermost segment holds approximately twenty-eight thousand gallons.

Join the waitlist — get patent alerts

Track US2012328367A1 — get alerts on status changes and closely related new filings.

We store only your email — no account needed. See our privacy policy.