Arctic Rapid Disconnect and Reconnect Floating Driller

Abstract

A system, including: a floating drilling unit; a buoyancy hull plug releasably connected to the floating drilling unit; mooring lines with first ends secured to a seafloor and second ends secured to the buoyancy hull plug; and a riser that is collapsible through a water column, wherein the buoyancy hull plug supports the riser and the mooring lines while disconnected from the floating drilling unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a floating drilling unit;   a buoyancy hull plug releasably connected to the floating drilling unit;   mooring lines with first ends secured to a seafloor and second ends secured to the buoyancy hull plug; and   a riser that is collapsible through a water column,   wherein the buoyancy hull plug supports the riser and the mooring lines while disconnected from the floating drilling unit.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a combination of the riser and buoyancy hull plug, while disconnected from the floating drilling unit, has sufficient buoyancy to descend to a depth that clears at least a keel of the floating drilling unit. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the riser includes at least one telescoping joint that enables the riser to collapse through the water column. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one telescoping joint is disposed below the buoyancy hull plug 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the riser includes a plurality of flex joints that enable the riser to collapse. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of flex joints are disposed beneath the buoyancy hull plug. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the buoyancy hull plug has an adjustable buoyancy. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the buoyancy hull plug is a variable depth buoyancy hull plug. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the floating drilling unit is a ship-shaped arctic drilling vessel. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the floating drilling unit is an axi-symmetric drilling vessel. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 7 , further comprising a blowout preventer disposed on the buoyancy hull plug. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a second blowout preventer disposed on a seafloor.