MEGAN UNDERWATER DRILLING STRUCTURES AND METHODS
Structures and methods are disclosed for underwater drilling. One embodiment includes a housing having a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes, wherein there are multiple drill casings in each of the plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes. One or more underwater drilling structures may be stacked on each other in order to connectably establish an underwater drilling structure that satisfies the drilling requirements for recovery or otherwise collecting hydrocarbons. The housing may connect to an adjustable containment portion that is integrated or removable connected to an exploration, production, containment or storage structure, e.g., a drilling ship. The interior of the housing includes the plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes and multiple drill casings, and the housing, itself, may shield its interior from contact with water.
This disclosure generally relates to drilling structures and methods for oil production recovery, wherein the drill structure includes a plurality of drilling tubes having a plurality of drill casings therein that is braced for lateral and vertical movement during subsea drilling.
BACKGROUNDDrilling structures and methods are used to access hydrocarbons in subsea or subterranean environments. Comparatively, construction, maintenance, and contamination retention are more difficult in subsea than subterranean environments; deep waters exacerbate these difficulties. For instance, containment of an oil spill at sea is more difficult to contain than on land because of the liquid-liquid dispersion alongside the influences of current in the former as compared to the liquid-solid dispersion that occurs in the latter. Furthermore, drilling structures at sea often require protracted periods both for constructing, including, for example, casing wells, or otherwise assembling the drilling structure before its ultimate use, and for repairing or otherwise maintaining parts and equipment located on or associated with the drilling structure located underwater. In fact, expensive equipment may be needed just to reach these parts and equipment located underwater due to depth or maneuverability constraints.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one embodiment, the method includes a method for collecting hydrocarbons. The method includes drilling within an underwater drilling structure into an underwater terrain containing the hydrocarbon. The underwater drilling structure includes a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes. Further, the underwater drilling structure includes multiple drill casings in each of the plurality. Further still, the underwater drilling structure includes a housing for the plurality. The method additionally includes collecting the hydrocarbons by an exploration, production, containment or storage structure in communication with the underwater drilling structure.
In one embodiment, an underwater drilling structure includes a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes. Further, the underwater drilling structure includes multiple drill casings in each of the plurality. Further still, the underwater drilling structure includes a housing for the plurality.
So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages and objects of the present invention are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.
It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
The following is a detailed description of example embodiments of the invention depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are examples and are in such detail as to clearly communicate the invention. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. The detailed descriptions below are designed to make such embodiments obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
In addition, directional terms, such as “above,” “below,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” etc., are used for convenience in referring to the accompanying drawings. In general, “above,” “upper,” “upward,” “top,” and similar terms refer to a direction away the earth's surface, and “below,” “lower,” “downward,” “bottom,” and similar terms refer to a direction toward the earth's surface, but is meant for illustrative purposes only, and the terms are not meant to limit the disclosure.
Generally disclosed are methods and systems for drilling structures to assist in the collection, recovery, and/or production of hydrocarbons, e.g., oil. Turning to
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Notably, stacking and connecting individual underwater drilling structures 521, 522, and 523 to form connected underwater drilling structure 520 may require that bottoms 568, 569, or portions thereof, of individual underwater drilling structures 521, 522 are opened so that the plurality of drilling tubes, each having multiple drill casings therein, align so that drilling tube 510, for instance, may traverse a drill casing, which in the connected underwater drilling structure 520, goes through what may be viewed now as a “single” drill casing that extends through individual underwater drilling structure 521, 522, and 523 as a result of the linear, stacked alignment of three drill casings 540, 541, 542 from individual underwater drilling structures 521, 522, and 523 in order to drill into and collect hydrocarbons from beneath the seafloor 570.
Although already discussed and envisaged by the foregoing, further discussion of a methodological aspect of the disclosure ensues. A method for collecting hydrocarbons is disclosed that includes drilling within an underwater drilling structure into an underwater terrain containing the hydrocarbons, wherein the underwater drilling structure comprises a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes, where each of the plurality have multiple drill casings, and the plurality are within a housing. The method further includes collecting the hydrocarbons by an exploration, production, containment or storage structure in communication with the underwater drilling structure, such as through an optionally removable adjustable containment portion that sealingly connects the drilling structure's housing to the exploration, production, containment or storage structure, so as to prevent spillage or contamination into or out the drilling structure. Furthermore, with the BOP being close to the top of the drilling structure, e.g., about 200 feet in some example embodiments, assembly, construction, maintenance and repair of the drilling structure is possible through SCUBA-diving and avoidance of expensive equipment to access deep or otherwise difficult-to-reach, underwater locations. The drilling occurring with use of the disclosed drilling structure includes inserting and rotating drill pipe into one or more of the multiple drill casings of the drilling structure. In additional, example embodiments the drilling may include directionally drilling through directional angled drillheads located on one or more of the multiple drill casings that optionally guide the drilling through communicated global positioning satellite coordinates.
While the foregoing is directed to example embodiments of the disclosed invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
Claims
1. An underwater drilling structure comprising:
- a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes;
- multiple drill casings in each of the plurality; and
- a housing for the plurality.
2. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple drill casings comprise a same or different length, width, and combinations thereof.
3. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple drill casings has a length of less than two hundred feet.
4. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein one or more of the multiple drill casings are filled with concrete or other filler material.
5. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, further comprising one or more directional, angled drillheads located on one or more of the multiple drill casings that optionally guide drilling through communicated global positioning satellite coordinates.
6. The underwater drill structure of claim 1, wherein a blow-out preventer is positioned above the housing and within SCUBA-diving distance underwater.
7. The underwater drill structure of claim 6 wherein the SCUBA-diving distance is approximately two-hundred feet underwater.
8. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality comprise a same or different length, width, and combinations thereof.
9. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein an interconnection among the plurality comprises one or more supports interconnecting at least two interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes within the plurality.
10. The underwater drilling structure of claim 9, wherein the one or more supports comprise lateral supports, radial supports, and combinations thereof.
11. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality comprises a spoke-and-hub arrangement of the plurality.
12. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality comprises a balanced arrangement for the plurality of each drilling tube within the plurality.
13. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality comprises a central drilling tube interconnected to two or more perimeter drilling tubes.
14. The underwater drilling structure of claim 13, wherein the central drilling tube has a larger length, width or combinations thereof as compared to either of the two or more perimeter drilling tubes.
15. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the housing has one or more sides, a bottom and a top, wherein one or more of the plurality is exposed at the top.
16. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, further comprising the housing connected to an adjustable containment portion for optional communication with an exploration, production, containment or storage structure.
17. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the housing shields the plurality and the multiple drill casings from contact with water.
18. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, wherein the underwater drilling structure is connectably stacked onto another underwater drilling structure to form a connected underwater drilling structure comprising two or more stacked underwater drilling structures.
19. The underwater drilling structure of claim 1, further comprising one or more jets mounted to an exterior of the housing, wherein the one or more jets assist in setting the underwater drilling structure.
20. A method for collecting hydrocarbons, the method comprising:
- drilling within an underwater drilling structure into an underwater terrain containing the hydrocarbons, wherein the underwater drilling structure comprises: a plurality of interconnected, pre-set drilling tubes; multiple drill casings in each of the plurality, and a housing for the plurality, and
- collecting the hydrocarbons by an exploration, production, containment or storage structure in communication with the underwater drilling structure.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the drilling comprises inserting and rotating drill pipe in one or more of the multiple drill casings.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein the drilling comprises directionally drilling through directional angled drillheads located on one or more of the multiple drill casings that optionally guide the drilling through communicated global positioning satellite coordinates.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 4, 2015
Publication Date: Aug 4, 2016
Applicant: Megan 1313, Inc. (Brookeland, TX)
Inventors: Tommy D Chambless (Jasper, TX), Dennis L. Pryor (Brookeland, TX)
Application Number: 14/614,335