Patent decision

BL number

O/762/21

Concerning rights in

GB 1706604.4 GB 2014821.9

Hearing Officer

Mrs C L Davies

Decision date

13 October 2021

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

NeoDrill AS

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 Section 1(1)(a), 1(1)(b), 2 and 3

Keywords

Inventive step, Novelty

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The invention in both applications is concerned with how to prevent fatigue failure in a wellhead casing. In known wellheads, wellhead elements, in particular a blowout preventer (BOP), are typically installed at the top of a wellhead casing. This can lead to the wellhead casing being subjected to lateral forces so that the wellhead casing can become fatigued and fail. Typically, this is overcome by preventing the loads from reaching the wellhead. The invention of both applications relates to a device for reducing the load on a subsea wellhead casing from a bending moment generated by a horizontal load component from a well element arranged over a wellhead by providing a supporting frame for connection to an upper portion of the wellhead casing and projecting outwards from the centre axis of the wellhead casing (12). The supporting frame is provided with abutments which are connected to a base and at a radial distance from the wellhead casing. The supporting frame being arranged to absorb a portion of the bending moment generated by a horizontal load component from the well element arranged over the wellhead.

The Hearing Officer found that the invention claimed in GB 2014821.9 was novel. On applying the Windsurfing/Pozzoli approach, the Hearing Officer found that the invention claimed in GB1706604.4 did involve an inventive step. The application was allowed under section 18(3).

Full decisionO/762/21  639Kb