Upright, swivelable buoyed conduit for offshore system

Claim 2

An upright, buoyed element for an offshore system comprising: anchoring means structured so as to be secured to the bottom in a body of water; the anchoring means including internally spherically curved surface means for journalling a ball joint ball member, said surface means including an upwardly directed opening therethrough of lesser radius than the radius of curvature of said internally spherically curved surface means; a ball joint ball member; an elongated rigid tubular element having one end secured to said ball member so that the tubular element projects generally radially outwardly from the ball member; said ball member being surrounded and journalled by said internally spherically curved surface means with said tubular element projecting up through said upwardly directed opening to the vicinity of the upper surface of said body of water in order to permit equipment to be mounted on the upper end thereof for accessibility from the upper surface of the body of water; means defining a bore through said ball member, said bore having an upper end and a lower end, said upper end thereof being in sealed communication with the bore of said tubular element; and flexible conduit means having one end connecting with the lower end of the bore of said ball member, said flexible conduit means having the opposite end thereof structured for connection with a conduit system; valve means mounted on the upper end of the bore of said tubular element for permitting and denying access to the bore of said conduit system from the surface of said body of water and; positive buoyancy flotation means secured on said tubular element and being disposed below the upper surface of said body of water, said flotation means having sufficient positive buoyancy to maintain said tubular element in an upright condition.

Claim 3

The element of claim 1 wherein said anchoring means comprises a pipe driven into the subaquatic floor.

Claim 4

The element of claim 1 wherein said upwardly directed opening through said internally spherically curved surface means is of sufficient diameter compared to the outer diameter of said tubular member as to permit the tubular member to deviate up to about 30* from verticality before interference with the periphery of said opening restricts greater deviation of said tubular member.

Claim 5

The element of claim 1 wherein said opposite end of said flexible conduit means is connected to a petroleum storage tank.

Claim 6

The element of claim 1 wherein the opposite end of the flexible conduit means is connected to a conduit system constituting a natural gas supply and wherein the upper end of said tubular conduit mounts a nAtural gas flare stack.

Claim 7

The element of claim 1 wherein the positive buoyancy flotation means comprises an annular canister of foamed synthetic plastic material.

Claim 8

The element of claim 1 further including a navigation aid signal device mounted on the upper end of said tubular element.

Claim 9

The element of claim 7 wherein said navigation aid signal includes a light.

Claim 10

The element of claim 7 wherein said anchoring means comprises an upper end of a submerged petroleum well.

Claim 11

The element of claim 1 wherein said opposite end of said flexible conduit means is connected to at least one wellhead outlet in communication with a tubing string extending to a recoverable mineral-bearing formation.

Claim 12

The element of claim 10 wherein said wellhead is disposed entirely under water.

Claim 13

The element of claim 10 wherein said wellhead is disposed at least partly under water.

Claim 14

The element of claim 10 wherein said wellhead is disposed on a production platform.

Claim 15

The element of claim 10 wherein said flexible conduit means and said at least one wellhead outlet include a manifold interposed therebetween and wherein the element further includes a second wellhead outlet communicating with said manifold and, via said manifold, with said flexible conduit means, said second wellhead outlet being in communication with a second tubing string extending to a recoverable mineral-bearing formation.

Claim 16

The element of claim 14, wherein the manifold further includes a valve on the side thereof towards the wellhead outlets for each said wellhead outlet, whereby each of the wellhead outlets connected to the manifold may be selectively placed in communication with the tubular element.

Claim 17

The element of claim 15 further including a remote control operator at the surface of said body of water for each last-mentioned valve; a control line for each last-mentioned valve extending from each last-mentioned valve to the tubular element near said ball member, up along the tubular element and to the respective valve remote control operator; and a rotary commutator mounted on said tubular element near said ball member, said rotary commutator being interposed in the control lines for the last-mentioned valves for maintaining the integrity of the valve control lines in spite of swiveling of said ball member and tubular element.

Claim 18

The element of claim 16, wherein the valve remote control operators are disposed on board a surface vessel on said body of water adjacent the upper end of said tubular element.

Claim 19

The element of claim 10 wherein the tubing string extends to a petroleum-bearing formation and wherein the wellhead includes a normally closed valve between said tubing string and said flexible conduit means, which valve must be opened in order to permit fluid flow between said tubular element and said tubing string.

Claim 20

The element of claim 18 wherein the last-mentioned valve is a one-way, back-pressure openable valve oriented so that pressurized fluid pumped down the tubular element can open said last-mentioned valve and enter the tubing string.

Claim 21

The element of claim 18 wherein the last-mentioned valve comprises a fusible plug normally stopping means defining a fluid passageway so as to permit fluid passage through said fluid passageway only after said fusible plug has been melted.

Claim 22

An upright, buoyed element for an offshore system comprising: anchoring means structured so as to be secured to the bottom in a body of water; the anchoring means including internally spherically curved surface means for journalling a ball joint ball member, said surface means including an upwardly directed opening therethrough of lesser radius than the radius of curvature of said internally spherically curved surface means; a ball joint ball member; an elongated rigid tubular element having one end secured to said ball member so that the tubular element projects generally radially outwardly from the ball member; said ball member being surrOunded and journalled by said internally spherically curved surface means with said tubular element projecting up through said upwardly directed opening to the vicinity of the upper surface of said body of water in order to permit equipment to be mounted on the upper end thereof for accessibility from the upper surface of the body of water; means defining a bore through said ball member, said bore having an upper end and a lower end, said upper end thereof being in sealed communication with the bore of said tubular element; and flexible conduit means having one end connecting with the lower end of the bore of said ball member, said flexible conduit means having the opposite end thereof structured for connection with a conduit system; and positive buoyancy flotation means secured on said tubular element and being disposed below the upper surface of said body of water, said flotation means having sufficient positive buoyancy to maintain said tubular element in an upright condition; the opposite end of flexible conduit means being connected to a conduit system constituting a water sprinkler system disposed on an offshore platform, said water sprinkler system including a plurality of branch conduits extending to the vicinity of items of equipment to be protected and sprinkler heads on said branch conduits.

Claim 23

An upright, buoyed element for an offshore system comprising: anchoring means structured so as to be secured to the bottom in a body of water; the anchoring means including internally spherically curved surface means for journalling a ball joint ball member, said surface means including an upwardly directed opening therethrough of lesser radius than the radius of curvature of said internally spherically curved surface means; a ball joint ball member; an elongated rigid tubular element having one end secured to said ball member so that the tubular element projects generally radially outwardly from the ball member; said ball member being surrOunded and journalled by said internally spherically curved surface means with said tubular element projecting up through said upwardly directed opening to the vicinity of the upper surface of said body of water in order to permit equipment to be mounted on the upper end thereof for accessibility from the upper surface of the body of water; means defining a bore through said ball member, said bore having an upper end and a lower end, said upper end thereof being in sealed communication with the bore of said tubular element; and flexible conduit means having one end connecting with the lower end of the bore of said ball member, said flexible conduit means having the opposite end thereof structured for connection with a conduit system; and positive buoyancy flotation means secured on said tubular element and being disposed below the upper surface of said body of water, said flotation means having sufficient positive buoyancy to maintain said tubular element in an upright condition; the opposite end of flexible conduit means being connected to a conduit system constituting a water sprinkler system disposed on an offshore platform, said water sprinkler system including a plurality of branch conduits extending to the vicinity of items of equipment to be protected and sprinkler heads on said branch conduits.

Claim 26

The device of claim 22 wherein the emergent means includes a valve.

Claim 27

The device of claim 22 further including means anchoring the ball joint to the bottom.

Claim 28

The device of claim 24 wherein the anchoring means comprises an at least partly completed petroleum well.

Claim 29

The device of claim 24 wherein the anchoring means comprises an anchor pipe secured in the bottom.