In a gas collecting method for collecting gas yielding from source material on a sea bottom, [1] releasing a collecting membrane into water, a fixture being connected with a lower end of the collecting membrane and the collecting membrane being flared downward from its top; [2] keeping a three-dimensional position of the fixture at a target position with its autonomous navigation by a position maintainer provided in the fixture; [3] based on vertical water temperature distribution, setting the lower end at a position that is higher than the sea bottom and shallower than a water depth where the source material separates from its solid state into water and gas and setting the top at a deeper position than a water depth where bubbles of the gas disappear due to mixture of the gas with seawater; and [4] collecting the gas released from the sea bottom by the collecting membrane.

A containment unit for containing fluid leaks in an ambient liquid. The containment unit comprises a weighted base for being disposed around the fluid leak. The weighted base is positioned on top of one or more suction piles. Further, the containment unit comprises a curtain unit coupled to the weighted base. The curtain unit comprises a helical spring and facilitates containing the fluid leak in the ambient fluid. The containment unit further comprises a flotation unit coupled to the curtain unit. The containment unit also comprises thrust roller bearings to allow rotation of the curtain unit with respect to the weighted base and the flotation unit. The invention further discloses a containment system comprising multiple containment units as needed depending on the depth of ambient liquid and as a surface flotation unit comprising pumps, sensors and skimming units to allow for the fluid leaked to be transferred to a vessel.

A deep-sea submarine gas hydrate collecting method and a production house for the first time, the collecting method comprises the steps of: determining an active methane leakage zone near a landward limit of a submarine gas hydrate stability zone, acquiring submarine methane leakage in-situ observation data, determining a methane leakage rate and evaluating its economy; mounting a production house on the seabed, opening a monitoring system after the mounting, monitoring the submarine methane leakage condition and hydrate generation progress in real time, evaluating a hydrate generation amount, and performing hydrate acquisition work; and rapidly processing the gas hydrate in the house by a gas hydrate collecting system of an offshore platform, and continuously monitoring the methane leakage condition. A large amount of methane leaked can be collected, thereof, the method has dual meanings of resources and environment.

Embodiments herein describe apparatus, systems and methods adapted to monitor underwater wells, boreholes, drill holes, etc. (subsea wells). Depending on embodiment, the apparatus, systems and methods can be configured to capture sensor readings and/or to monitor status of a target subsea wells.

A system for emergency response to a well control incident is disclosed, which includes a capture device fitted to a subsea wellhead, a pipeline termination unit fluidly connected to the capture device, and a subsea module fluidly connected to the pipeline termination unit via a subsea flowline, wherein the subsea module comprises a subsea separator, and wherein the subsea module is anchored to a seabed. The system also includes a mini spar fluidly connected to the subsea module by a riser system.

A deep-sea submarine gas hydrate collecting method and a production house for the first time, the collecting method comprises the steps of: determining an active methane leakage zone near a landward limit of a submarine gas hydrate stability zone, acquiring submarine methane leakage in-situ observation data, determining a methane leakage rate and evaluating its economy; mounting a production house on the seabed, opening a monitoring system after the mounting, monitoring the submarine methane leakage condition and hydrate generation progress in real time, evaluating a hydrate generation amount, and performing hydrate acquisition work; and rapidly processing the gas hydrate in the house by a gas hydrate collecting system of an offshore platform, and continuously monitoring the methane leakage condition. A large amount of methane leaked can be collected, thereof, the method has dual meanings of resources and environment.

A petroleum pipeline safety system for preventing contamination of an environmentally sensitive area close to a pipeline is provided. The system includes a first portion of the pipeline including an upstream portion of the pipeline supplying a flow of fluid material and a flow restriction downstream of the first portion of the pipeline. The system further includes a second portion of the pipeline downstream of the flow restriction, receiving the flow of fluid material from the first portion and conveying the flow of fluid material through the environmentally sensitive area to a downstream portion of the pipeline. The flow restriction is configured to create a lower pipeline internal pressure within the second portion as compared to a pipeline internal pressure within the first portion. The system further includes a third portion of the pipeline downstream of the environmentally sensitive area and including the downstream portion of the pipeline.

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.

According to one aspect, an apparatus is adapted to be operably coupled to a subsea blowout preventer and includes a first tubular member defining an internal passage, and a second tubular member extending within the internal passage. A sealing assembly is disposed radially between the first and second tubular members, and includes a sealing element. The second tubular member covers the sealing element and thus facilitates protecting the sealing element from any fluid flow through the internal passage. According to another aspect, a sealing element of a connector is protected before engaging the connector with a subsea casing. The connector is engaged with the casing while the sealing element is protected so that the sealing element is fluidically isolated from any fluid flow through the connector. The sealing element sealingly engages the casing.

The present invention generally relates to containment and control of an oil spill caused by a damaged or broken riser in deep water. More specifically, the present invention relates to a reusable unit that will contain oil spills to a specific location and will also allow oil to be harvested as it flows to the top of the unit while minimizing or even eliminating any environmental clean-up impact or cost. The unit of the present invention is dropped over a damaged or broken riser in a closed position, the unit is released and stabilized in sections until the surface is reached and the containment unit is completely erected.