Patent ID: 6953092
Filing Date: 2005-10-11
Classification: E21B

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for free-fall installation of an underwater wellhead, comprising: a wellhead constructed and arranged to be embedded in the seabed following its free-fall, a ballast part directly or indirectly releasably attachable to said wellhead, and a holding and recovery means for holding and recovering the ballast part, wherein said holding and recovery means for holding and recovering the ballast part is additionally operable to recover the wellhead, wherein said holding and recovery means comprises a launching and recovery line attached to the ballast part, and wherein said holding and recovery means further comprises a sacrificial cable having its two ends attached to the wellhead and which passes through a first linking element associated with said launching and recovery line, so that, prior to cutting of said sacrificial cable, both said wellhead and said ballast part are supported and recoverable and, after cutting of said sacrificial cable, only said ballast part may be recovered.