US Patent Issued to EXPRO NORTH SEA on Sept. 30 for "Offshore drilling apparatus and methods" (British, American Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 30 -- United States Patent no. 12,428,918, issued on Sept. 30, was assigned to EXPRO NORTH SEA Ltd. (Aberdeen, Great Britain).

"Offshore drilling apparatus and methods" was invented by Tristam Paul Horn (Westhill, Great Britain), Stephen Edmund Bruce (Blairgowrie, Great Britain), Tyler Rhes Reynolds (Magnolia, Texas) and David Michael Shand (Banchory, Great Britain).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An offshore method includes providing an elongate support string for extending between a mobile offshore drilling unit and a seabed location. The string has an upper portion and a lower portion, and an articulated joint is provided between the upper portion and the lower portion...