Drilling riser adapter with emergency functionality

Abstract

A drilling riser adapter connected to a riser. The drilling riser adapter is mounted to a BOP and has a cylindrical body on which a plurality of ports are disposed. The ports can perform various functions. Ports may connect to choke and kill, booster, injection, or hydraulic lines. Some of ports allow access to riser bore to perform emergency functions such as redirecting escaping oil during oil spills to containment vessels via hoses. These ports can remain deactivated until such emergency situations arise.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for enabling access to a central bore of a marine riser string descending from a vessel, the apparatus comprising:
 a riser joint having a cylindrical body with a central bore, the central bore being aligned with the wellbore, the riser joint having a lower connector for connecting to a lower adjacent riser joint or a blowout preventer (BOP) and having an upper connector for connecting to an upper adjacent riser joint;   a plurality of ports disposed externally on a sidewall of the cylindrical body of the riser joint, each port having a passage that extends through the sidewall to the central bore, the plurality of ports being adapted for coupling with an external fluid transmission device to facilitate communication of fluid between the central bore and an external location through the external fluid transmission device.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of ports has a flanged connector. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of ports comprises a valve. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the riser joint is adapted to receive choke-and-kill lines from an adjacent riser joint and rout them to the BOP. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a face of the lower flange communicates with a flow passage of the BOP. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 ,
 wherein said at least one of the ports has an inlet formed in the upper flange, the inlet being in fluid communication with the passage and adapted for connecting to a line descending from the vessel;   wherein said one of the ports is adapted to connect to a flexible tubular serving the BOP.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein a passage of at least one of the plurality of ports extends downward through the sidewall from the port to the bore. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one bore entry port extending through the sidewall of the adapter. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising,
 a seal area within the riser adapter that has a dog profile to allow a closure member to be lowered through the dog profile, and into engagement with the seal area, the dog profile preventing upward movement of the closure member.   
     
     
         10 . A system for controlling a well, the system comprising:
 a marine riser adapted for descending from a vessel down to a Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) mounted to a subsea well;   a riser adapter having a cylindrical body with a bore, the riser adapter having a lower flange for mounting to the LMRP and having an upper flange for engaging a lower end of the marine riser, wherein a face of the lower flange communicates with a flow passage of the LMRP;   a plurality of ports disposed circumferentially on a sidewall the body of the riser adapter, the ports adapted for receiving connections to facilitate ingress or egress of fluid; and   each of the ports includes a passage extending outward and offset from the bore.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein at least one of the plurality of ports has a flanged connector. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 ,
 wherein said at least one of the ports has an inlet formed in the upper flange, the inlet being in fluid communication with the passage and adapted for connecting to a line descending from the vessel;   wherein said one of the ports is adapted to connect to a flexible tubular serving a Blowout Preventer (BOP) installed at the subsea well.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the riser adapter is adapted to receive choke-and-kill lines from an adjacent riser joint and rout them to the BOP. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the line descending from the vessel is a hydraulic line that is in fluid communication with the said one of the ports to allow flow of fluid to BOP components. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the ports:
 extends downward from the upper flange and is in communication with the bore of the riser adapter to allow fluid to be pumped down a booster line to the bore of the riser adapter.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , further comprising at least one bore entry port extending through the sidewall of the adapter. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising,
 a seal area within the riser adapter that has a dog profile to allow a closure member to be lowered through the dog profile, and into engagement with the seal area, the dog profile preventing upward movement of the closure member.   
     
     
         18 . An apparatus for connecting a marine riser descending from a vessel, to a LMRP mounted to a subsea well, the apparatus comprising:
 a riser adapter having a cylindrical body with a bore, the riser adapter having a lower flange for mounting to the LMRP and having an upper flange for engaging a lower end of the marine riser;   a plurality of ports disposed circumferentially on a sidewall of the body of the riser adapter, the ports adapted for receiving connections to facilitate ingress or egress of fluid;   each of the ports includes a passage extending downward through upper flange of the riser adapter and offset from the bore to a face of one of the flanges; and   a seal area within the riser adapter that has a dog profile to allow a closure member to be lowered through the dog profile, and into engagement with the seal area, the dog profile preventing upward movement of the closure member.   
     
     
         19 . A method of communicating with the central bore of a marine drilling rising string coupled to a blowout preventer (“BOP”), comprising:
 providing:
 a riser joint having a cylindrical body with a bore extending longitudinally therethrough, the riser joint being adapted to be assembled as part of a marine drilling riser string at a location proximal to the BOP; 
 a plurality of ports disposed circumferentially on an external sidewall of the central body of the riser joint and extending through the sidewall into the bore, the ports adapted for receiving connections to facilitate ingress or egress of fluid; and 
 
 connecting an umbilical to at least one of the ports; 
 routing the umbilical to a desired location; and 
 pumping flowing fluid from the desired location into the bore of the riser joint through one or more of the plurality of ports. 
 
     
     
         20 . A method of communicating with the central bore of a marine drilling rising string coupled to a blowout preventer (“BOP”), comprising:
 providing: 
 a riser joint having a cylindrical body with a bore extending longitudinally therethrough, the riser joint being adapted to be assembled as part of a marine drilling riser string at a location proximal to the BOP; 
 a plurality of ports disposed circumferentially on an external sidewall of the central body of the riser joint and extending through the sidewall into the bore, the ports adapted for receiving connections to facilitate ingress or egress of fluid; and 
 connecting an umbilical to at least one of the ports; 
 routing the umbilical to a desired location; and 
 flowing fluid from the bore of the riser joint to the desired location through one or more of the plurality of ports.