Patents Examined by John Pettitt
  • Patent number: 7240498
    Abstract: A method for providing inventory for expedited loading and transport of compressed natural gas entails obtaining pressurized high-energy content gas; separating the high-energy gas into saturated gas and liquids; and removing impurities from the saturated gas. Water is removed from the gas forming a dry pressurized gas. The dry gas is cooled forming a two-phase gas. The gas is loaded into a storage element located on a floating vessel, while the liquids are loaded into the storage element forming a mixture. One or more storage elements are collected on the land to create an inventory that is quicker to load than comparable loading of natural gas unto the floating vessel. The floating vessel transports the inventory to a desired location at a lower cost than comparable submarine pipeline transport costs for distances of less than about 2500 nautical miles while utilizing the vapor phase during transit to power the floating vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: ATP Oil & Gas Corporation
    Inventor: Robert Magee Shivers, III
  • Patent number: 7237407
    Abstract: This process includes the following steps: (a) the feed natural gas (101) is introduced into a first distillation column (31) which produces, as top product, a pretreated natural gas (111), which pretreated natural gas (111) no longer contains practically any C6+ hydrocarbons; (b) the pretreated natural gas (111) is introduced into an NGL recovery unit (19) comprising at least a second distillation column (49), so as to produce, on the one hand, as column top product, a purified natural gas (151) and, on the other hand, an NGL cut (15); and (c) the said liquefiable natural gas (161) is formed from the purified natural gas (151) resulting from step (b).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: Technip France
    Inventor: Henri Paradowski
  • Patent number: 7237391
    Abstract: A method for processing and transporting compressed natural gas by a floating vessel with a power plant entails obtaining pressurized high-energy content gas, separating the pressurized product stream into saturated gas and liquids, and removing impurities from the saturated gas. Water is removed from the gas forming a dry pressurized gas. The dry pressurized gas is cooled forming a two-phase gas. The gas is loaded into a storage element located on a floating vessel, while the liquids are loaded into the storage element forming a mixture. The floating vessel transports the storage modules and elements to a desired location at a lower cost than comparable submarine pipeline transport costs for distances of less than about 2500 nautical miles while utilizing the vapor phase during transit to power the floating vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: ATP Oil & Gas Corporation
    Inventor: Robert Magee Shivers, III
  • Patent number: 7234307
    Abstract: A cryocooler system having at least one flow straightener which has a system of grooves on its perforated surface for enhancing gas flow uniformity through the system wherein pulsing gas which does not initially pass through the flow straightener through a perforation flows along the surface of the flow straightener within a groove prior to passing through a perforation and is effectively redistributed across the surface of the flow straightener and thus the cross section of the regenerator or thermal buffer tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Praxair Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Bayram Arman, Arun Acharya, Al-Khalique S. Hamilton