Method and apparatus for subsea wireless communication
First Claim
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1. A system for communicating the state of a subsea well including a wellhead, comprising:
- a wellbore, with at least one sensor disposed therein;
a means to communicate information from the sensor to the wellhead;
a seabed data governor disposed on the seafloor proximate to the wellhead to receive information transmitted from the sensor, wherein the seabed data governor comprises;
a housing;
a plurality of buoyant signaling devices contained within the housing, each buoyant signaling device comprising a transmitting device to transmit a signal receivable by a remote receiver device after the buoyant signaling device is released from the seabed data governor, the signal containing a portion of the information received from the sensor disposed in the wellbore;
a data storage to store the information received from the sensor;
a controller to determine a portion of the received information to store on one of the plurality of buoyant signaling devices, to determine when the one buoyant signaling device should be released, and to generate a release signal to select for release only the one buoyant signaling device that is storing the determined portion of the received information; and
a release module to selectively release only the one buoyant signaling device from the housing in response to the release signal.
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Abstract
System and method for communicating the state of a downhole subsea well which includes a wellbore with at least one sensor disposed within it. Information from the wellbore is communicated to a seabed data governor which is disposed on the seafloor. The seabed data governor includes buoyant signaling devices and a release module allowing the release of the buoyant signaling devices which then travel to the sea surface.
23 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A system for communicating the state of a subsea well including a wellhead, comprising:
a wellbore, with at least one sensor disposed therein;
a means to communicate information from the sensor to the wellhead;
a seabed data governor disposed on the seafloor proximate to the wellhead to receive information transmitted from the sensor, wherein the seabed data governor comprises;a housing; a plurality of buoyant signaling devices contained within the housing, each buoyant signaling device comprising a transmitting device to transmit a signal receivable by a remote receiver device after the buoyant signaling device is released from the seabed data governor, the signal containing a portion of the information received from the sensor disposed in the wellbore; a data storage to store the information received from the sensor; a controller to determine a portion of the received information to store on one of the plurality of buoyant signaling devices, to determine when the one buoyant signaling device should be released, and to generate a release signal to select for release only the one buoyant signaling device that is storing the determined portion of the received information; and a release module to selectively release only the one buoyant signaling device from the housing in response to the release signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of communicating the state of a subsea well including a wellhead, comprising:
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transmitting information from at least one sensor disposed in a subsea wellbore to a seabed data governor which is disposed on the seafloor, proximate the wellhead; determining a portion of the information to store on one of a plurality of buoyant signaling devices which are contained within a housing of the seabed data governor; determining the one buoyant signaling device to store the determined portion of the information; storing the determined portion of the information on the one buoyant signaling device; determining when to release the one buoyant signaling device; selecting for release only the one buoyant signaling device that is storing the at least part of the information; and releasing, in response to an input indicating the selection for release, only the one buoyant signaling device with the stored information from the housing of the seabed data governor; bringing the released buoyant signaling device from its location on the seafloor to the sea surface; and transmitting a signal from the buoyant signaling device for receipt by a communication satellite device, wherein the signal comprises at least part of the information received from the sensor. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification