Spillage control device and method of using same

Abstract

An apparatus for controlling spillage from a well head or other fluid conducting means comprising a channel member having a fluidic conduit and a dynamic collar surrounding at least a portion of the channel member. The channel member and dynamic collar have a total diameter that is less than the well head or other fluid conducting means diameter. Also disclosed is a method for minimizing fluid spillage from a well head opening or other fluid conducting means opening comprising: a) providing the apparatus of the present invention; b) inserting the device into the opening; c) introducing an expansive material into the dynamic collar to expand the collar sufficiently to seal the opening; and d) optionally, collecting the emerging fluids.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling spillage from an oil well or other fluid conducting means.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most production oil wells contain a well casing within which a production tubing string is positioned. The production tubing string serves as both a means to easily insert and remove a pump rod and also provides a conduit for the extraction of oil and fluids from the well. Typically production tubing strings are held within the well casing through the use of a variety of flanges, hangers and other types of devices that tightly seal the well casing allowing fluids to escape or be removed by way of the production tubing string only.

In many cases an oil reserve or pocket is under considerable underground pressure. Once a well has been drilled, the static pressure to which underground oil is subjected often forces oil upwardly through the well. It is therefore important for conservation, safety and environmental reasons to ensure that there are safe and reliable methods of closing off both the well casing and the production tubing string to prevent the unwanted or accidental spillage of oil or other fluids from the well. In the case of the production tubing string, manually actuated valves or similar structures, often referred to as blow-out prevention valves have been developed specifically for this purpose. Typically such devices include pair of rams that are adjustable to seal around a pump rod effectively sealing off flow passageway and pump rod passageway. Typically, the rams are comprised of a rubberized or neoprene block of material that is generally not affected by petroleum products. The rams provide a sealing mechanism that encompasses the pump rod in the production tubing string in order to effectively shut-off the well opening in the case of an emergency. However, it has become painfully clear with the recent deep water oil spill off the coast of Louisiana that such blow-out prevention valves work efficiently less than 10% of the time. Such failures can lead to oil contamination of sensitive marine wildlife habitats.

Such devices are directed to stopping the flow of oil from the well head which causes the devices to be rather large and require bolting or screwing together a large number of component parts. Where a well casing is inclined or slanted, the considerable weight of these additional devices can place a significant degree of torque upon the various connections, sometimes resulting in failures or stress fracturing.

In view of recent events, it is clear that such devices are unreliable. While the need for off-shore oil drilling is an important aspect of energy independence, oil spillage minimization or elimination is also be an important objective of oil production. Accordingly, there is still a need for a device that can be used in times of emergency that will meet this objective.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling spillage from an oil well or other fluid conducting means, such as a pipeline. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an apparatus for minimizing or eliminating oil spillage from a well head that has experienced a failure of a blow-out prevention device and/or pressure reducing device wherein the well head uncontrollably releases oil and/or gases into the surrounding environment. The device includes a channel member having a fluidic conduit for allowing fluids emanating from the well opening to be channeled to a holding area or an appropriately sized retention container; and a dynamic, inflatable collar surrounding at least a portion of the channel member, wherein the channel member and dynamic collar in a non-inflated state have a total diameter that is less than the open diameter of the well head or other fluid conducting means.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling spillage from an oil well or other fluid conducting means and more particularly, controlling spillage from a well head opening that has experienced a failure of a blow-out prevention device and/or pressure reducing device wherein the well head is uncontrollably releasing oil and/or gases into the surrounding environment. The method include the steps of providing the device of the present invention; and inserting the device into the well head opening; introducing an expansive material into the dynamic collar to expand the collar sufficiently to seal the well head opening and optionally, collecting the fluids emerging from the well head desirably into an appropriate container.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein like parts and objects in the several views have similar reference numerals. It is to be understood that the inventive concept is not to be considered limited to the constructions disclosed herein but instead by the scope of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view in longitudinal section of the device of the present invention showing the dynamic collar in a non-inflated orientation.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 showing the dynamic collar in an inflated orientation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Although the present invention is described with regard to an oil well head leak, the device of the present invention can be used for other fluid conducting conduits such as, for example, a pipeline.

As noted above a problem with the current system of curtailing oil spillage from a well head or other fluid conducting means relies on the woefully inefficient blow-out prevention valves. The sole objective and purpose of these valves is to stop the flow of oil and gases from the well head if there is an emergency. However, the present invention is not directed to stopping the flow of oil and gases from the well head, but instead to seal the well head and controllably redirect the fluids desirably to an appropriate storage container. Accordingly, where a blow-out prevention valve must by design be heavy and cumbersome, the device of the present invention allows for flexibility and is readily deployed into the well head in the case of an emergency.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the device of the present invention is noted generally as reference numeral 10. The device 10 includes a channel member 15 having an outer wall 20 and an inner wall 25. The inner wall 25 further defines a fluidic conduit 30 for allowing well head fluids to be channeled to a retention container. The channel member 15 should be of the type and size that will withstand the materials and pressure of the fluids emanating from the well head without rupturing. Such materials typically include materials utilized in oil well drilling and oil production, which are well known to those skilled in the oil production art. Alternatively, polymeric and/or reinforced polymeric materials, such as polyester or carbon fiber reinforced polymers may also be used.

The device further includes a dynamic collar 40 surrounding at least a portion of the channel member 15. Desirably, the dynamic collar 40 has at least a portion of the surface affixed to the outer wall 20 of the channel member 15, and preferably the portion of the surface adjacent to the channel member 15. Affixation of a portion of the dynamic collar 40 to the outer wall 20 of the channel member 15 may be accomplished by means known to those skilled in the art, such as gluing, thermal welding, RF or HF heat sealing, and the like.

The dynamic collar 40, in the uninflated state, is adapted to be at least partially and preferably fully inserted into the opening of the leaking well head or fluid conduit. When an expansive material is introduced into the dynamic collar 40, it expands substantially for sealing the opening. Preferably, the dynamic collar 40 during inflation or expansion has an outer perimeter 45 that contacts the inner perimeter of the well head opening. The outer perimeter 45 may be smooth or have a roughened or textured surface for contacting the inner surface of the well head opening. This texture provides extra gripping force between the dynamic collar 40 and the inner perimeter of the well head opening.

The dynamic collar 40 may further include an inlet port 50 that is in fluid communication with an internal volume 55 of the dynamic collar 40. The inlet port 50 permits inserting and/or releasing an expansive material utilized for expanding or inflating the dynamic collar 40 during operation. Non-limiting examples of suitable expansive materials include fluidic materials, foams, and micronized particles. Non-limiting examples of suitable fluidic materials include liquids and gases, such as, for example, water, glycols, oils, air, nitrogen, argon, helium, carbon dioxide, and the like. Non-limiting examples of suitable foams include high, medium, and low density expansive foams and non-expansive foams. Such foams are well known in the foaming art and include polyurethane foams, polyester foams, as well as reactive and non-reactive foams. In the latter, it is contemplated a foam requiring multi-component reactive moieties are introduced into the dynamic collar 40 preferably through the inlet port 50. Such components may introduced individually or collectively at predetermined times during the expansive process.

The dynamic collar 40 may be any shape and configuration that is dictated by the circumstance. Although FIG. 2 illustrates the dynamic collar 40 as a cylindrical configuration, the dynamic collar 40 can be donut, trapezoidal such as a stopper wherein one end is larger than the other end, and the like. The dynamic collar 40 can be fabricated from any pliable, and preferably expansive material so that when the expanding fluid or material is introduced into the dynamic collar 40, preferably through the fluidic inlet port 50, the outer perimeter 45 expands sufficiently to contact the well head pipe inner perimeter, thereby sealing the well head and forcing the emanating fluids to be redirected into the channel member 15. Non-limiting examples of such pliable materials include polybutylene, neoprene, isoprene, natural and synthetic rubber, and the like. Such pliable materials may be reinforced and/or have particular plasticizers, antioxidants, and other additives to improve their flexibility and/or resistance to degradation from exposure to the subjecting environment, such as crude oil. A feature of the present invention is that the combination of the channel member 15 and the dynamic collar 40, in the uninflated state, have a total outer diameter that is less than the inner diameter of the well head opening.

Advantageously, the present device is directed to not stopping the flow of fluids from the well head, but instead only sealing the well head and redirecting the emanating fluids. Another advantage is that the device does not have be heavy, bulky or bolted to the well head. Another advantage of the present invention is that the device can be readily deployed in an emergency.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that since the dynamic collar is expansive, one size of the device may be used for a variety of well head openings.

Yet another advantage of the present invention, is that the device can be utilized in any fluid conducting means, such as a pipeline wherein the pipeline has a leak. The device can be inserted into the pipeline, the collar expanded and the fluid conducted down stream.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method for minimizing or eliminating oil spillage from a well head opening or other fluid conducting means that has experienced a failure from, for example, a blow-out prevention device and/or pressure reducing device. The method include the steps of providing a device of the present invention; inserting the device into the opening; introducing a fluid into the dynamic collar to expand the collar sufficiently to seal the opening; and collecting the fluids emerging from the conduit, preferably into an appropriate container.

Having described the invention in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications may be made to the various aspects of the invention without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed and described herein. It is, therefore, not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated and described but rather it is intended that the scope of the present invention be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling spillage from a well head or other fluid conducting means comprising:

a) a channel member having a fluidic conduit for conducting fluids; and

b) a dynamic collar surrounding at least a portion of the channel member, wherein the channel member and the dynamic collar in an uninflated state have a total diameter that is less than a well head or other fluid conducting means opening.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said channel member has an outer wall and an inner wall, wherein the inner wall further defines a fluidic conduit for allowing the fluids to be channeled.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein at least a portion of the dynamic collar is affixed to the outer wall of the channel member.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said dynamic collar is fabricated from a pliable, expansive material.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said dynamic collar configuration is selected from cylindrical, donut, or trapezoidal.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a inlet port attached to said dynamic collar and providing fluid communication with an internal volume of the dynamic collar.

7. An apparatus for controlling spillage from a well head or other fluid conducting means comprising:

a) a channel member having a fluidic conduit for conducting fluids;

b) a dynamic collar surrounding at least a portion of the channel member; and

c) a fluidic inlet attached to said dynamic collar and providing fluid communication with an internal volume of the dynamic collar, wherein the channel member and dynamic collar in an uninflated state have a total diameter that is less than the well head or other fluid conducting means opening.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said channel member has an outer wall and an inner wall, wherein the inner wall further defines a fluidic conduit for allowing the fluids to be channeled.

9. A method for minimizing fluid spillage from a well head opening or other fluid conducting means opening comprising:

a) providing the apparatus of claim 6;

b) inserting the device into the opening;

c) introducing an expansive material into the dynamic collar to expand the collar sufficiently to seal the opening; and

d) optionally, collecting fluids emerging from the well head.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said expansive material is selected from the group consisting of fluidic materials, foams, and micronized particles.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said fluidic materials are selected from liquids and gases.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said fluidic materials are selected from water, glycols, oils, air, nitrogen, argon, helium, and carbon dioxide.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein said foams are selected from expansive and non-expansive foams.