Patents Assigned to Conoco
  • Clamp for arctic pipeline support
    Patent number: 4787583
    Abstract: A pipeline clamp for securing a heated arctic pipeline to its support structure comprises a sandwich material of inner and outer layers of fiber reinforced rigid polymer and an intermediate core layer of honeycomb-form aramid paper. The clamp affords all the engineering advantages of prior steel clamps without the disadvantages of being heat conductive which can result in conductance of pipeline heat to the permafrost layer as well as "freezing out" of low melting paraffins flowing within the pipeline which decrease pipeline efficiencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1982
    Date of Patent: November 29, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: Arthur W. Morton
  • Method of launching long pipelines and retrieving support means therefor
    Patent number: 4786207
    Abstract: A long pipeline is constructed at an on-shore site and is supported by floatable ground engaging supports. The pipeline is launched into a body of water while maintaining a tension load on the pipeline to hold it above the floor of the body of water. The floatable supports are retrieved after the pipeline is launched.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1983
    Date of Patent: November 22, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur W. Morton, Henry A. Bourne, Jr.
  • Method and apparatus for isotope separation
    Patent number: 4786478
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for isotope separation using the combination of selective pre-excitation by light radiation with further collisional processing in a DC, rf or microwave gas discharge field to recover ionized atoms or dissociated molecules of the selected isotope. Thus, uranium atoms or molecules in gas phase are irradiated in an interaction volume with light radiation of selected wavelength to raise energy states to a relatively stable second or mid-level. At the same time a gas discharge within said interaction volume subjects raised energy atoms or molecules to a collisional process tending to raise a significant number through the energy ladder to the respective ionization continuum or dissociation light whereupon the charged atoms or molecules may be collected as an enriched bulk of selected isotopic species.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1986
    Date of Patent: November 22, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Samir Ahmed, John Gergely
  • Broad-band hydraulic vibrator
    Patent number: 4785431
    Abstract: A hydraulic vibrator having an adjustable piston rod and a fixed piston rod to vary the cylinder volume for operation at different vibration frequencies. The adjustable piston rod is in threaded engagement with the fixed piston rod and has a piston head adjacent a piston head on the fixed piston rod. Rotation of the adjustable piston rod displaces the two piston heads, thereby varying the cylinder volume of the hydraulic vibrator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: Wilbur J. Myers
  • Hydraulic vibrator with wide dynamic range
    Patent number: 4785430
    Abstract: Vibrator apparatus having adjustable cylinder volume by means of a continuously adjustable end sleeve that varies the axial limit of the cylinder. A reaction mass with an axial cylinder bore reciprocates on a double rod piston. Frist and second end sleeves define the cylinder volume and one end sleeve is threaded and axially translatable relative to the piston to vary volume while a position sensing device continually maintains centering of the piston in the cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: Jack H. Cole
  • Mooring apparatus and method of installation for deep water tension leg platform
    Patent number: 4784529
    Abstract: A method for securely mooring a floating tension leg platform to an anchoring base template. The method involves swinging an end of a neutrally bouyant, one piece tendon which has an enlarged connector downwardly into position adjacent an anchoring receptacle, pulling the enlarged connector through a side-entry opening in the receptacle, lifting the tendon to seat the enlarged connector in a load ring of the receptacle, adjusting the effective length of the tendon to place it in tension and repeating these steps for each of the mooring tendons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew F. Hunter
  • Method and apparatus for converting seismic traces to synthetic well logs
    Patent number: 4785196
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for producing improved synthetic velocity logs from seismic traces. The seismic traces are processed to enhance high frequency content by converting each trace to a spike trace, then filtering the spike trace with a function designed to reduce side lobes and enhance high frequency content. The processed trace is then operated on by a conventional summation process to produce a synthetic velocity log. Due to the enhanced high frequency content of the processed trace, the resulting synthetic log tends to show sharp discontinuities in the geology, much like a log taken from a well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 1983
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: John T. Reed
  • Casing guide for well template
    Patent number: 4784224
    Abstract: A casing guide apparatus includes a subsea well template having a well opening defined therein, and a cylindrical well casing received through the well opening. A casing guide bushing is operably asssociated with the template and the casing for permitting relative vertical movement between the template and the casing and for preventing relative lateral movement between the template and the casing at the well opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Colin P. Leach, Charles N. White
  • Modular drilling template for drilling subsea wells
    Patent number: 4784527
    Abstract: A light-weight, modular drilling template. A template is constructed of light-weight tubular steel having ring stiffeners to provide adequate crush resistance to withstand collapse under hydraulic loading provided by water pressure at 1800 feet water depth. The template is constructed as a pod-receiving frame with separable pods that may be installed after the frame has been set on the seafloor and leveled. The individual pods may be fine tune leveled by means of adjustable jacking mechanisms that form part of the latching devices that secure the pods to the frame. A method for installing a foundation template subsequent to installing the drilling template is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew F. Hunter, Wen J. Wang, Jeffrey L. Mueller
  • Method of three-component reflection seismology
    Patent number: 4783770
    Abstract: A method of three-component seismology wherein seismic energy induced vertical, radial and transverse particle movement is detected at plural spaced positions along a survey line to produce orthogonal data signals, and the different orthogonal data signals are variously processed both separately and interactively to develope novel signal relationships which improve indication and identification of steeply dipping reflections, out-of-plane reflections, and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 8, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: Steve H. Danbom
  • Tension-restrained articulated platform tower
    Patent number: 4781497
    Abstract: A tension-restricted articulated platform tower for offshore oil and gas production. Two or more tower segments of increasing lateral dimension (proceeding toward the ocean floor) are stacked and articulated by means of a resilient joint. The platform tower behaves as a fixed tower under normal quiescent conditions with each of the segments above the base segment sitting thereabove in an at rest position. When forces sufficient to unseat the compressed resilient joint element are directed against the platform tower (e.g., from wind, waves, or water current), the tower behaves complaintly with tension elements secured to each corner post providing a restorative force proportional to the amount of tower movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 1, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Demir I. Karsan, Shaddy Y. Hanna, Jimmy Y. Yeung
  • Filter with self-actuating rotating backwash selector
    Patent number: 4781825
    Abstract: A filter comprising a housing having a plurality of filter tubes suspended from a partition which divides the housing into an upper and lower chamber and a backwash selector which is rotated by backwash fluid so that during the backwash mode filter tubes are sequentially exposed to the full force of the backwash fluid so that an improvement in backwashing is obtained. The use of the filter is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 1, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Steven D. Grimes, Sidney H. DePriest
  • Method for fast slant stack of seismic data
    Patent number: 4779238
    Abstract: A method for processing seismic data in the x-t domain to derive a slant stack in the p-tau domain wherein partial slant stacks are computed over a plurality of small groups of traces which are iteratively merged using linear interpolation into successively larger groups of traces to exhibit the p-tau data characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 18, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: Michael S. Howard
  • Apparatus for coating thin layer chromatographic plates
    Patent number: 4776297
    Abstract: Apparatus for uniformly coating thin layer chromatographic plates. A plate holder secures a plurality of chromatographic plates while a metering device with an adjustable doctor blade is drawn over their surface at a uniform speed by a variable speed motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 11, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: Dale L. Kohler
  • Reducing permeability of highly permeable zones in oil and gas formations
    Patent number: 4773482
    Abstract: High permeability zones in subterranean formations are reduced in permeability by the gelation of water soluble polymers of polyalkylenimines, polyalkylenepolyamines and mixtures thereof in such formations with cross-linking agents containing difunctional groups which are capable of cross-linking with said polymers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 27, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: Joe D. Allison
  • Reducing permeability of highly permeable zones in underground formations
    Patent number: 4773481
    Abstract: High permeability zones in subterranean formations are reduced in permeability by the gelation of water soluble polymers of polyalkylenimines, polyalkylenepolyamines and mixtures thereof is such formations with nonionic polymers which are hydrolyzable to anionic polymers which are capable of cross-linking with and gelling said water soluble polymers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 27, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Joe D. Allison, Jerry D. Purkaple
  • Dissolution performance by injection through a die-type nozzle
    Patent number: 4771800
    Abstract: Drag reduction in hydrocarbon fluids flowing through conduits is improved by the injection of high molecular weight non-crystalline hydrocarbon soluble drag-reducing polymers through dies having multiple openings at substantially the same distance from the conduit wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 20, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventor: John M. Pomeroy
  • Method for improving the performance of highly viscous concentrates of high molecular weight drag reducing polymers
    Patent number: 4771799
    Abstract: High molecular weight viscoelastic polymers are dissolved by passing the polymer solution through a die which "beads" the polymer allowing the formation of very fine filaments which are drawn into the flow. The beading and flow rate are balanced to maintain constant fine filament formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 20, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Steven L. Baxter, Max H. Lewis
  • Buoy having minimal motion characteristics
    Patent number: 4768984
    Abstract: The present invention provides a service buoy for performing direct wireline maintenance of a subsea well. The buoy is maintained in position over the well by a rigid riser kept under tension and which allows for the well re-entry. The primary buoyant body of the buoy is maintained permanently submerged and a truss structure presenting the minimum surface area to the action of wind and waves extends above the sea level to support a small deck from which the wireline work can be performed. The centers of gravity and buoyancy for the buoy are in close proximity so as to minimize lateral surge and sway motions of the installed buoy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 1985
    Date of Patent: September 6, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Joao G. de Oliveira, Arthur W. Morton, Paul R. Erb, Michael S. Triantafyllou
  • Dual wall steel and fiber composite mooring element for deep water offshore structures
    Patent number: 4768455
    Abstract: A composite structure of lightweight is used as a tensioned tether element for mooring of offshore facilities. The composite structure comprises bonded inner and outer tubular members having an annular space therebetween. Aramid or other fibrous, high strength material is bonded to the inner surface of the outer tubular member to provide additional tensile strength thereto. The remainder of the annulus between the inner and outer tubing may be filled with a foam material such as polyurethane foam. The composite structure can be made so as to be of neutral, positive or negative buoyancy. The composite allows greater tensile loadings than steel materials by themselves at greatly reduced weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 6, 1988
    Assignee: Conoco Inc.
    Inventors: Orwin G. Maxson, Robert D. Ohmart, Marvin L. Peterson