Abstract: Apparatus and method for lifting blowout preventers beneath the floor of a drilling rig are provided. More than one cable is used on the drums of winches, allowing the winches to be compact enough for use on a drilling rig floor while avoiding the requirement for larger cable that would be required to achieve the high safety factors needed. The cables or wire ropes on the winches are attached to a member from which a larger diameter, higher strength intermediate cable is also attached. The intermediate cable is then attached to known apparatus such as a cradle for lifting a blowout preventer stack.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided for lifting equipment or tubulars below the deck of a platform or a drilling rig. Lifting force is monitored with a load cell. A portable platform is added above the deck of an offshore platform to allow running or retrieving a string of tubulars through the deck, thereby avoiding the need to deploy a workover or drilling rig to the platform.

Abstract: A blowout preventor test system utilizes a pipe nipple being threaded, for example, at both ends, and having a central bore through which fluid can be conveyed. At the central portion of the bore is a reduced orifice which constricts flow through the bore. Trapped through the walls of the nipple, on either side of the orifice, are instrumentation taps for attaching a differential pressure recording device having dual pins and a recorder chart. To ensure during testing of the BOP stack that each and every ram on a BOP or blowout preventor stack is properly tested, the orifice within the test nipple provides a restriction in flow which will be apparent from an inspection of the recorder chart. Different readings of pressure drop are produced by the test pin if in fact on each ram, the BOP stack is pressurized and exhausted. Thus, there is provided a means for the inspector to know whether or not each and every ram is inspected.