I don't know the exact category for the placement of this posting but I'll try "tech talk" as I wish to explain some of the science behind this device.
I recently invented the DWOC(tm) deepwater oil catcher, per www.dwoc.info, because of an appeal from the Deepwater Horizon Disaster Response Team, to the public, for ideas about stopping the flow of hydrocarbons from the BP, Deepwater Horizon, Macondo well, blow-out. My goal was to devise a method of capturing all of the fluids gushing from the leak, at the source, before they can enter the deepwater environment, and without the capturing device exerting additional back-pressure on the well-bore as there is uncertainty about its structural integrity.
I have more than fifty years of experience, as an oilfield engineer, in devising methods and means of containing and processing difficult and unusual hydrocarbon production including off-shore well testing and subsea facility management. In arriving at the configuration of the present invention I recalled a concept for deepwater oil containment I first envisioned in the late 60's while engaged in the E&P of the very first oil discovery in the North Sea and I coupled this with my present day patented innovations in the configuration of FPSO oil and gas processing equipment.
The main goals of this "deepwater oil catcher" are:
1. Capture and clean all of the produced fluid, subsea, consisting of oil, gas, water, drilling mud, and chemical additives along with all of the formation debris, before it enters the deepwater environment.
2. Deliver the oil and gas to surface storage facilities for containment in a manner where both are available for useful consumption.
3. In addition to fluids from leaks emanating downstream of a BOP the containment system must be capable of capturing fluids from leaks upstream of the BOP and or away from the wellhead such as from the failure of the well casing or from a pipeline leak.
Although the pressure at the sea-bed 5000 feet deep is about 2200 psig because the containment vessel of the DWOC(tm) deepwater oil catcher is open on the bottom the pressure is equalized which would permit it's construction from relatively thin material. However, there are other considerations such as counter balance of buoyancy and containment of spontaneous combustion that I think dictate a "heavy" wall construction.
in utilizing the open bottom construction a hydraulic ram effect, utilizing the head pressure of the ocean depth, will drive the oil and gas to the surface with considerable pressure without pumps and compressors. The oil column weight in it's conduit to the surface will be 75% to 85% that of the seawater resulting in a pressure at the surface of approximately 300 - 500 psig. The compressed gas is about 3% the weight of seawater and therefore the pressure at the surface will be approximately 2100 psig, which is sufficient pressure for storage in CNG container ships.
There are issues concerning hydrates and buoyancy that must be resolved. For instance if hydrates blocked the evacuation of the gas and therefore gas vapor and hydrates displaced all of the oil and water, approximately 25 million pounds of buoyancy could result vs only 5 million pounds of "dead" weight for the containment vessel. In this event, even though there is a desire to collect the natural gas rather than vent it, it will be necessary, if hydrate inhibition measures fail to permit the evacuation of the gas vapor through it's normal route, to emergency vent only the gas vapor into the ocean.
There are other issues to be resolved as diverse as the evolution of gas vapor in the oil conduit as the pressure declines and the temperature increases during transport to the surface, the exact design of he means for leveling and stabilizing the containment vessel on the sea-bed while permitting access to inside the vessel of cameras and robots, and a way to access the wellhead from an overhead drilling or workover rig with the DWOC (tm) deepwater oil catcher in operation.
I have requested the University of California Irvine Engineering Department to make an evaluation and assist with the evolution of this invention and I'm encouraged by their initial response. I'm open to discussion, suggestions and research assistance from other sources as well.
I have made a rigerous investigation of the devices and systems being proposed to date and find that most entail pressure capping and that none incorporate the processing of the fluids subsea to separate and clean the oil, water and gas and to deliver the gas at sufficient pressure for storage without further compression.
This is still a work in process.