Patents by Inventor Daniel M. Fenz

Daniel M. Fenz has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Drilling riser with distributed buoyancy
    Patent number: 9670740
    Abstract: A drilling riser configured to convey drilling materials between a drilling vessel and a subsea wellhead. The drilling riser has an upper section, and a lower section coupled via a connector to the upper section. The lower section has a buoyant material for distributed passive buoyancy of the lower section. The overall drilling riser is neutrally or negatively buoyant, whereas the lower section is positively buoyant when decoupled from the upper section and coupled to the subsea wellhead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Julian de Freitas Hallai, Daniel M. Fenz
  • DRILLING RISER WITH DISTRIBUTED BUOYANCY
    Publication number: 20160251911
    Abstract: A drilling riser configured to convey drilling materials between a drilling vessel and a subsea wellhead. The drilling riser has an upper section, and a lower section coupled via a connector to the upper section. The lower section has a buoyant material for distributed passive buoyancy of the lower section. The overall drilling riser is neutrally or negatively buoyant, whereas the lower section is positively buoyant when decoupled from the upper section and coupled to the subsea wellhead.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2016
    Publication date: September 1, 2016
    Inventors: JULIAN de FREITAS HALLAI, DANIEL M. FENZ
  • Arctic Rapid Disconnect and Reconnect Floating Driller
    Publication number: 20150101522
    Abstract: A system, including: a floating drilling unit; a buoyancy hull plug releasably connected to the floating drilling unit; mooring lines with first ends secured to a seafloor and second ends secured to the buoyancy hull plug; and a riser that is collapsible through a water column, wherein the buoyancy hull plug supports the riser and the mooring lines while disconnected from the floating drilling unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2014
    Publication date: April 16, 2015
    Inventors: Adel H. Younan, Dmitri G. Matskevitch, Daniel M. Fenz, Theodore Kokkinis