Blowout preventers made from plastic infused with graphene, phosphorescent material, and/or other enhancing material. They include a sleeve that is inserted into a well pipe or other opening from which first fluid (such as petroleum or natural gas) is escaping, to stop it from escaping. The large end of a funnel id placed over the well pipe opening. The small end of the funnel is connected to a return pipe. A high pressure pipe (through which a second fluid flows) with a smaller diameter is inserted into the opening. The primary source of power for the apparatus is the pressure from the fluid escaping from the well pipe or other opening, which turns a turbine and propellers that push the device down into the opening to stop the fluid from escaping. If the pressure from the escaping fluid does not provide enough power itself, supplemental power may be used.

A modular subsea fluid storage unit comprises a variable-volume inner tank having a rigid top panel and a peripheral wall that is flexible by virtue of concertina formations. The peripheral wall is extensible and retractable vertically while the horizontal width of the tank remains substantially unchanged. A side wall of a lower housing part surrounds and is spaced horizontally from the peripheral wall of the inner tank to define a floodable gap between the peripheral wall and the side wall that surrounds the tank. An upper housing part extends over and is vertically spaced from the top panel of the inner tank and overlaps the side wall to enclose the inner tank. The floodable gap and the upper housing part enhance thermal insulation and trap any fluids that may leak from the inner tank.

A sealing device is provided suitable for making at least partially fluid-tight a connection between a first pipe and a smaller second pipe, a part of the second pipe being able to be engaged in the first pipe while leaving an inter-pipes space between the two pipes in the radial direction. The sealing device is mounted on a supporting pipe and is adapted to spread out in the inter-pipes space from a guard position to a sealing position. It comprises at least one sealing set including substantially rigid movable sealing members which extend each along a predetermined angular sector in a circumferential direction and are individually guided in displacement between the guard position and the sealing position.

This invention relates in general to the detection and containment of leaking gas and fluids from around wellheads of a well site. The system comprising: at least one perforated or slotted pipe adapted to be placed adjacent a wellhead and having holes sized to allow the transmission of liquid and gas into the pipe, wherein the liquid or gas are leaking from and around the wellhead conductive pipe and the wellhead; a flexible cover, covering at least the adjacent areas around the wellhead and the at least one perforated or slotted pipe; and a fluid detector in fluid communication with the at least one perforated or slotted pipe.

A petroleum pipeline safety system for preventing contamination of an environmentally sensitive area close to a pipeline includes an upstream portion of the pipeline supplying a flow of fluid material, a crossing portion of the pipeline receiving the flow of fluid material from the upstream portion and conveying the flow of fluid material through the environmentally sensitive area to a downstream portion of the pipeline, the downstream portion, a pipeline pressure activated valve selectively capable of blocking the flow of fluid material from entering the crossing portion based upon a change in pressure within the crossing portion, and a fluid capacitor connected to the upstream portion configured to filter out a pressure spike in the upstream portion associated with the valve blocking the flow of fluid material.

A machine includes a spindle for storing wire, a wire passage structure having an interface coupline, a controllable drive system, a control system, and a pressure-resistant housing. The drive system is configured to feed the wire through the wire passage structure and through the interface coupling, under the control of the control system. The housing encloses the wire passage structure, the controllable drive system, and at least a portion of the control system.

This subsystem is an element of an oil well improvement (disasters preventive) system for offshore wells. This subsystem modifies existing in-well; data transmission equipment, data formatting & processing, and further modifies the processing of the existing sensors and remote controlled devices to provide enhanced capacity, reaction time & reliability for dynamically monitoring & controlling in-well resources. This sensor data and controlled tool status is further integrated into a single data base along with all seabed & platform devices and all related information (formation survey, drill plan, etc). The subsystem processes this data and develops instant status of operational conditions and provides recommendations/alerts/automated controls. Although the primary objective of the subsystem focuses on reducing/eliminating the disastrous effects of blowout, the subsystem also provides the means to alter/improve the normal/uneventful well drilling processes.

A containment system for recovering hydrocarbon fluid from a leaking device comprising a dome sealed to the seafloor around the leaking device and forming a cavity for accumulating hydrocarbon fluid. The system comprises a lower closing assembly for closing a lower opening during descent of the system to the seafloor.

A method for recovering a sunken material from a body of water having a water layer and a sediment layer, the sunken material present at a water-sediment interface is presented, comprising using an impermeable hollow column and a high density fluid to float the sunken material to the top of the column for readily removal of the floated sunken material using surface material removing equipment.

A method for determining a presence of reservoired hydrocarbons having a hydrocarbon seep involves locating a hydrocarbon seep at a seabed location where hydrocarbon is actively flowing out of the seabed. Temporally spaced molecular compositions of the hydrocarbon seep are determined. When a temporal variance between the molecular compositions falls within a predetermined temporal tolerance, the hydrocarbon seep is classified as being indicative of the presence of reservoired hydrocarbons. A unique identifier is assigned to the reservoired hydrocarbons.