Production equipment for oil-fields at sea

Claim 2

In an offshore oil-well installation, base means situated at the bottom of the sea, column means extending upwardly from said base means to an elevation above sea level, said column means having a bottom end articulated to said base means and having above sea level a top end carrying a rotatable head means for turning about the axis of said column means, floating means floating on the sea and carrying distant from said column means a flare means for burning gas, and connecting means connecting said floating means to said head means for turning therewith, so that said floating means on the one hand maintains said flare means distant from said column means and on the other hand brakes the swinging movement of said column means with respect to said base means.

Claim 3

The combination of claim 1 and wherein said floating means has an elongated configuration and has an outer end carrying said flare means while having an inner end nearer to said column means than said outer end, said connecting means extending between said head means and said inner end of said floating means.

Claim 4

The combination of claim 2 and wherein said floating means is in the form of an elongated assembly of cross-braced tubular arms some of which are hollow and form floats for said floating means.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 3 and wherein said connecting means includes elongated arms hinged to said head means and also hinged to said inner end of said floating means.

Claim 6

The combination of claim 4 and wherein a conduit means extends along and is carried by said connecting means and floating means for delivering to said flare means gas to be burned at said flare means.

Claim 7

The combination of claim 1 and wherein said column means carries above said base means a separating means for separating oil and gas, supply conduit means extending from a plurality of wells upwardly along said column means to said separating means for delivering thereto crude oil to be separated into gas and refined oil, conduit means carried in part by said floating means and extending from said separating means to said flare means to deliver said gas thereto to be burned at said flare means, delivery conduit means extending from said separating means downwardly along said column means to carry refined oil from said separating means downwardly along said column means toward said base means, second base means distant from said first-mentioned base means and second column means extending upwardly from said second base means and having a bottom end articulated thereto, said second column means forming part of a loading platform, and connecting conduit means extending from said delivery conduit means away from said first-mentioned base means to said second base means and travelling upwardly along said second column means for delivering refined oil to a vessel from said loading platform.

Claim 8

The combination of claim 1 and wherein said base means also forms a storage reservoir.

Claim 9

The combination of claim 7 and wherein a plurality of wells extend upwardly through said base means.

Claim 10

The combination of claim 1 and wherein said floating means is in the form of an elongated assembly of cross-braced tubular arms at least some of which form floats for supporting said floating means at the surface of the sea in a condition where said floating means is only partly submerged beneath the surface of the sea.

Claim 11

The combination of claim 9 and wherein said floating means has an outer end distant from said column means and carrying said flare means and an opposed inner end to which said connecting means is operatively connected, said connecting means being in the form of an elongated frame work hingedly connected at one end to said inner end of said floating means for providing a horizontal turning axis between said connecting means and floating means and turnably connected at an opposite end to said head means also for turning movement with respect thereto about a horizontal axis.