Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 3 of the claim states “the subsea just pump”, this should read “the subsea jet pump”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "sensor device" in Line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Titley et al (US PGPub No. 2018/0133621).
Titley teaches:
limitations from claim 16, a method for enhancing subsea production recovery, the method comprising: facilitating flow of a high-pressure motive fluid through piping to a subsea jet pump (paragraph 31), wherein the subsea jet pump (10; FIG. 1) is positioned in a flow path of a low-pressure fluid from a low-pressure subsea well (12; paragraph 28-29), wherein the subsea jet pump pushes a mixture of the high-pressure motive fluid and the low-pressure fluid through a throat (6; FIG. 1) of the subsea jet pump, wherein the mixture is discharged from the subsea jet pump at an elevated pressure relative to a pressure of the low-pressure fluid (FIG. 1; paragraph 33), and wherein the mixture is discharged from the subsea jet pump toward a production facility (60; paragraph 28-33);
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5-7, 11-15, and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Titley et al (US PGPub No. 2018/0133621) in view of Beg (US PGPub No. 2015/0135849).
Titley teaches:
limitations from claim 1, a system for enhancing subsea production recovery (FIG. 2), the system comprising: a subsea jet pump (10) and piping (20, 28; FIG. 2; paragraph 27) that receives a low-pressure fluid from a low-pressure subsea well (12; paragraph 28, 31), wherein the subsea jet pump is configured to receive a high-pressure motive fluid from a source (18; paragraph 28), wherein the subsea jet pump is configured to facilitate a mixture of the high- pressure motive fluid and the low-pressure fluid that passes through a throat of the subsea jet pump (FIG. 1; paragraph 33), and wherein the subsea jet pump (10) is further configured to discharge the mixture at an elevated pressure relative to a pressure of the low-pressure fluid toward a production facility (60; paragraph 28-33);
Titley teaches the pumps (10) in line with piping (~28), but teaches a schematic drawing and therefore does not explicitly teach the jet pump within the piping;
Beg teaches a pipeline assembly (FIG. 1-2) for production fluids (paragraph 2, 5, and 19 for example) using a jet pump (10) positioned within a pipeline (12-14; FIG. 1);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to embody the jet pump of Titley as part of the pipeline, as taught by Beg (pump 10 within line 12-14), as a matter of design choice. Providing a pump as part of the pipeline (FIG. 1 of Beg) reduces parts and allows for ease of installation between similar pipe and pump connections.
Titley further teaches:
limitations from claim 2, wherein the source comprises a high-pressure subsea well. (18; paragraph 28);
limitations from claim 5, wherein the piping comprises a subsea jumper (58) positioned between a subsea tree (12, 14) and a subsea manifold (56);
limitations from claim 6, wherein the subsea jumper comprises a flow control valve (30, 34) placed in series with the subsea jet pump (FIG. 2)
limitations from claim 7, wherein the subsea jumper (58) further comprises an additional flow control valve (32) placed in parallel with the subsea jet pump and the flow control valve (FIG. 2; paragraph 32);
limitations from claim 11, wherein the subsea jet pump (10) is integrated with a subsea structure, and wherein the subsea structure further comprises a plurality of flow control valves (30, 32, 34);
limitations from claim 12, further comprising: a sensor device that is configured to measure a parameter associated with the mixture (see paragraph 30 and claim 9);
limitations from claim 13, further comprising: a controller (36) communicably coupled to the sensor device, wherein the controller is configured to control the high-pressure motive fluid delivered to the subsea jet pump based on a measurement of the parameter made by the sensor device (paragraph 30 and claim 9);
limitations from claim 14, wherein the subsea jet pump (10) is part of a subsea manifold (56);
limitations from claim 15, wherein the jet pump (FIG. 1) comprises a nozzle (2), a mixing zone (prior to outlet 6 in FIG. 1), and a throat (6), wherein the high-pressure motive fluid flows through the nozzle and mixes with the low- pressure fluid in the mixing zone to generate the mixture, and wherein the mixture is pressurized as the mixture flows through the throat (paragraph 26);
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Titley further teaches:
limitations from claim 19, a subsea jumper (100) used for subsea production recovery, the subsea jumper comprising: piping (20, 26, 28 for example) configured to couple to an upstream component (12 via piping 16) and a downstream component (60) of a subsea system, wherein the piping is configured to receive a low-pressure fluid from a low-pressure subsea well through the upstream component (well 12; paragraph 28-29); and a subsea jet pump (10), wherein the subsea jet pump receives a high-pressure motive fluid (paragraph 31) from a source (18), wherein the subsea jet pump pushes a mixture of the high-pressure motive fluid and the low-pressure fluid through a throat (6; FIG. 1) of the subsea jet pump, wherein the mixture is discharged from the subsea jet pump at an elevated pressure relative to a pressure of the low-pressure fluid (FIG. 1; paragraph 33), and wherein the mixture is discharged from the subsea jet pump toward the downstream component of the subsea system (60; paragraph 28-33);
Titley teaches the pumps (10) in line with piping (~28), but teaches a schematic drawing and therefore does not explicitly teach the jet pump within the piping;
Beg teaches a pipeline assembly (FIG. 1-2) for production fluids (paragraph 2, 5, and 19 for example) using a jet pump (10) positioned within a pipeline (12-14; FIG. 1);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to embody the jet pump of Titley as part of the pipeline, as taught by Beg (pump 10 within line 12-14), as a matter of design choice. Providing a pump as part of the pipeline (FIG. 1 of Beg) reduces parts and allows for ease of installation between similar pipe and pump connections.
Titley further teaches:
limitations from claim 20, further comprising: additional piping (~22) connected to the piping in parallel with the subsea jet pump; a first flow control valve (30, 34) placed in line with the piping and the subsea jet pump (10); and a second flow control valve (32) placed in line with the additional piping;
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Titley et al (US PGPub No. 2018/0133621) in view of Beg (US PGPub No. 2015/0135849).
Titley teaches an LP well (12), a jumper (58), an HP well (18), and jet pumps (10) with pipelines (16, 20, 22, 24, 28) therebetween; Titley does not teach structure of the subsea assembly such as risers;
Shaw teaches a subsea well (FIG. 1) in which the wells utilize subsea risers (1, 8) to move fluid out of the well (paragraph 12); and
limitations from claim 9, wherein the piping comprises a subsea jumper (58) positioned between a subsea pipeline (12) and a subsea riser base (see Shaw FIG. 1);
limitations from claim 10, wherein the high-pressure motive fluid is delivered from an additional subsea riser base through piping to the subsea jet pump (Titley teaches an HP well supplying motive fluid; Shaw teaches that subsea wells utilize risers);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of subsea pumping installations at the time the invention was filed to utilize commonly known well structure, such as risers, in the system of Titley in order to produce fluid from individual wells and supply the fluid to a pipeline.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Titley et al (US PGPub No. 2018/0133621) as applied to claim 16 above, and in further view of Beg (US PGPub No. 2015/0135849).
Titley teaches the pumps (10) in line with piping (~28), but teaches a schematic drawing and therefore does not explicitly teach the jet pump within the piping;
Beg teaches a pipeline assembly (FIG. 1-2) for production fluids (paragraph 2, 5, and 19 for example) using a jet pump (10) positioned within a pipeline (12-14; FIG. 1);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to embody the jet pump of Titley as part of the pipeline, as taught by Beg (pump 10 within line 12-14), as a matter of design choice. Providing a pump as part of the pipeline (FIG. 1 of Beg) reduces parts and allows for ease of installation between similar pipe and pump connections.
Claim(s) 3-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Titley et al (US PGPub No. 2018/0133621) in view of Beg (US PGPub No. 2015/0135849) as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of GB 2527681 (herein Caltec).
Titley teaches a system (FIG. 5-6) in which a pump (64) provides the high-pressure fluid (lines 70, 78 from line 66 to jet pump 10; paragraph 39-40), but does not that the pump is on a platform above the low-pressure subsea well;
Caltec teaches:
a subsea pumping system (FIG. 7) including a low-pressure well, a jet pump (SSJP) connected to the low-pressure wells and to a high-pressure fluid source on a platform above the well (FIG. 7); and
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limitations from claim 3, wherein the source comprises a high-pressure fluid pumped from a topside of a platform positioned above the low-pressure subsea well (see annotated FIG. 7 above);
limitations from claim 4, further comprising: a pump assembly that is configured to pump the high-pressure fluid (see FIG. 5-6 of Titley), wherein the piping is coupled to and disposed between the pump assembly and the subsea jet pump, and wherein the high-pressure fluid flows from the pump assembly to the low-pressure subsea well through the piping (see FIG. 7 annotated above: the HP from topside is connected to the jet pump (SSJP), and to the LP wells by piping indicated by the solid lines);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of subsea pump systems to provide a HP fluid source (pump) to drive the jet pump of Titley that is located at various locations in the system, including topside as taught by Caltec, as matter of design choice in order to utilize pumping equipment at the most convenient locations (for example relying on existing equipment topside). Further, Caltec teaches that both topside HP sources and below ground HP sources are interchangeable; see last paragraph on Page 5 of Caltec).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Titley et al (US PGPub No. 2018/0133621) in view of Beg (US PGPub No. 2015/0135849) as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of WO 2005/042905 (herein Oneill).
Titley teaches valves (30, 32, 34) able to bypass the jet pumps (10; particularly valve 32), but does not teach that the system is piggable;
Oneill teaches a subsea well system (FIG. 3-5 for example) including a flowline (10n), the flowline having controllable valves (24, 25) and being piggable through the line using the controllable valves (paragraphs 25-28); and:
limitations from claim 8, wherein the subsea jumper further is piggable through the additional flow control valve when the flow control valve is closed and the additional flow control valve is open (see FIG. 7a-d in which valves 24-25, 36, 46 are used to isolate portions of the well system while a pig is delivered through the flowline);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of pumps at the time the invention was filed to allow pigging of the subsea flowlines of Titley such as through valve 32, as taught by Oneill, in order to allow for the cleaning of the fluid lines while avoiding more sensitive pumping equipment.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Titley et al (US PGPub No. 2018/0133621) as applied to claim 16 above, and in further view of WO 2005/042905 (herein Oneill).
Titley teaches valves (30, 32, 34) able to bypass the jet pumps (10; particularly valve 32), but does not teach that the system is piggable;
Oneill teaches a subsea well system (FIG. 3-5 for example) including a flowline (10n), the flowline having controllable valves (24, 25) and being piggable through the line using the controllable valves (paragraphs 25-28); and:
limitations from claim 18, further comprising: closing a valve (see FIG. 7a-d in which valves 24-25, 36, 46 are used to isolate portions of the well system while a pig is delivered through the flowline) to bypass the subsea jet pump in the piping; employing a pigging device through a portion of the piping; and opening the valve (paragraphs 25-28, 30);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of pumps at the time the invention was filed to allow pigging of the subsea flowlines of Titley such as through valve 32, as taught by Oneill, in order to allow for the cleaning of the fluid lines while avoiding more sensitive pumping equipment.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 9835019, 5899273, and 11428082 use jet pumps to assist pumping fluid from under-pressured sources.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER S BOBISH whose telephone number is (571)270-5289. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Essama Omgba can be reached at 469-295-9278. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER S BOBISH/Examiner, Art Unit 3746