Control pod for blowout preventer system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9422782-B2
Application number	US-201615074536-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2016
Priority date	Nov 12, 2012
Publication date	Aug 23, 2016
Grant date	Aug 23, 2016

Abstract

A blowout preventer system includes a blowout preventer stack having hydraulic components. The blowout preventer stack is coupled to a lower marine riser package that includes additional hydraulic components. The lower marine riser package includes control pods that enable redundant control of the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack and the additional hydraulic components of the lower marine riser package. These control pods include frames, valves, and stack stingers that facilitate connection of the control pods to hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack, but do not include riser stingers that facilitate communication of control fluid to the additional hydraulic components of the lower marine riser package. The stack stingers extend through central apertures of bottom plates of the control pod frames and facilitate communication of control fluid from the valves to the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack. Additional systems, devices, and methods are also disclosed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A blowout preventer system comprising:
a blowout preventer stack including hydraulic components; and
a lower marine riser package coupled to the blowout preventer stack and including additional hydraulic components, the lower marine riser package also including:
a pair of control pods that enable redundant control of the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack and the additional hydraulic components of the lower marine riser package, wherein each of the control pods includes: a stack stinger that facilitates connection of the control pod to the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack, a plurality of valves for routing control fluid to the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack, and a control pod frame having a bottom plate with a central aperture; wherein the plurality of valves for routing control fluid to the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack are mounted within the control pod frame; wherein the stack stinger extends through the central aperture of the bottom plate of the control pod frame and facilitates communication of control fluid from the plurality of valves to the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack through the stack stinger; and wherein none of the control pods includes a riser stinger that facilitates communication of control fluid to the additional hydraulic components of the lower marine riser package.

2. The blowout preventer system of claim 1 , wherein the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack include at least one pair of hydraulically controlled rams.

3. The blowout preventer system of claim 1 , wherein the additional hydraulic components of the lower marine riser package include a hydraulically controlled annular blowout preventer.

4. The blowout preventer system of claim 1 , comprising a plurality of cables that enable control signals to be routed to the control pods from a control unit, wherein each of the control pods is coupled to a respective cable of the plurality of cables to allow receipt of control signals by each of the control pods.

5. A blowout preventer system comprising a blowout preventer control assembly that is configured to be coupled as part of a wellhead assembly that includes at least one blowout preventer, the blowout preventer control assembly including redundant control pods that facilitate control of hydraulic functions of the wellhead assembly, wherein the redundant control pods are functionally identical to one another, wherein each of the redundant control pods includes: a stack stinger that facilitates connection of the control pod to hydraulic components of the wellhead assembly that are installed on a lower blowout preventer stack, a plurality of valves for routing control fluid to the hydraulic components of the wellhead assembly that are installed on a lower blowout preventer stack, and a control pod frame having a bottom plate with a central aperture; wherein the plurality of valves for routing control fluid to the hydraulic components of the wellhead assembly that are installed on the lower blowout preventer stack are mounted within the control pod frame; wherein the stack stinger extends through the central aperture of the bottom plate of the control pod frame and facilitates communication of control fluid from the plurality of valves to the hydraulic components of the wellhead assembly that are installed on the lower blowout preventer stack through the stack stinger; and wherein none of the control pods includes a riser stinger that facilitates communication of control fluid to additional hydraulic components of the wellhead assembly that are installed on a lower marine riser package.

6. The blowout preventer system of claim 5 , wherein each of the redundant control pods is configured to control from 48 to 144 hydraulic functions of the wellhead assembly.

7. The blowout preventer system of claim 5 , comprising the at least one blowout preventer.

8. The blowout preventer system of claim 5 , comprising the lower marine riser package.

9. The blowout preventer system of claim 8 , wherein the redundant control pods are mounted on the lower marine riser package.

10. A control pod comprising:
a stack stinger that facilitates connection of the control pod to hydraulic components of a blowout preventer stack of a blowout preventer system;
a plurality of valves for routing control fluid to the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack; and
a control pod frame having a bottom plate with a central aperture;
wherein the plurality of valves for routing control fluid to the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack are mounted within the control pod frame; wherein the stack stinger extends through the central aperture of the bottom plate of the control pod frame and facilitates communication of control fluid from the plurality of valves to the hydraulic components of the blowout preventer stack through the stack stinger; and wherein the control pod does not include a riser stinger that facilitates communication of control fluid to additional hydraulic components of a lower marine riser package of the blowout preventer system.

Assignees

• Cameron Int Corp

Inventors

• Mcwhorter David J
• Kennedy Mac M
• Gaude Edward C

Classifications

• E21B33/038

  Connectors used on well heads, e.g. for connecting blow-out preventer and riser · CPC title

• E21B33/0355 Primary

  Control systems, e.g. hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, acoustic, for submerged well heads · CPC title

• E21B33/061

  Ram-type blow-out preventers, e.g. with pivoting rams · CPC title

• E21B33/064 Primary

  specially adapted for underwater well heads · CPC title