Patent Application
20150134158
This invention relates to systems and processes for arctic floating platform systems. In another aspect, the invention concerns a system to monitor ice floes, detect hazardous ice conditions, disconnect, re-position, and reconnect an upper hull of an arctic deep water floating platform to a lower hull of the floating platform system.
Offshore oil and natural gas platform systems rely upon above-sea platforms that support drilling and/or processing equipment to extract resources from subsea wells. The above-sea platforms are mounted through a system of supports that extend from the offshore platform to the sea floor. Oftentimes the supports are adjustable to account for changing sea and/or weather conditions. In other cases, the above-sea platform takes the form of a floating platform or upper hull that floats on the sea surface. The above-sea platform is connected to a subsea platform that often times rests on, or just above, the sea floor. The above-sea platform often includes drilling systems, transport systems, support systems, such as electrical power generation, and crew accommodation systems. In addition to above-sea platforms, many offshore platform systems include subsea platforms that support various systems at or near the sea floor.
Subsea platforms include subsea systems that support the above-sea platforms with extraction, storage, and transport of resources such as oil and natural gas. In arctic regions, the floating platform portions are designed to withstand floes of ice traveling across the ocean. However, in some cases, the floes of ice are such that the floating platform portion must be moved or risk damage. Currently, the floes of ice are visually monitored for age and type. If the floe of ice is too thick or moving too fast, it may be desirable to disconnect and move the floating platform portion for a period of time. Determining a good staging position for the floating platform portion is currently based on experience and visual observation of the floes of ice. Once the floes of ice have returned to acceptable levels, the floating platform may be retuned and reconnected to the subsea portion.
In accordance with one embodiment, an ice alert system includes an ice floe monitoring system, and an ice floe forecast system operatively connected to the ice floe monitoring system. The ice floe forecast system is configured to determine a hazardous ice condition. An evacuation system is operatively connected to the ice floe forecast system. The evacuation system is configured and disposed to determine, in response to the hazardous ice condition, a safe harbor location, and a navigational course from an original anchor point to the safe harbor location.
In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, an artic floating platform system includes a lower hull portion, an upper hull portion detachably coupled to the subsea platform portion, and an ice alert system coupled to the upper hull portion. The ice alert system includes an ice floe monitoring system, and an ice floe forecast system operatively connected to the ice floe monitoring system. The ice floe forecast system is configured to determine a hazardous ice condition. An evacuation system is operatively connected to the ice floe forecast system. The evacuation system is configured and disposed to determine, in response to the hazardous ice condition, a safe harbor location, and a navigational course to the safe harbor location.
In accordance with still another exemplary embodiment, a method of evacuating an arctic floating platform system includes sensing through at least one of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), and a satellite ice floe data of an ice floe at the arctic floating platform system, detecting a hazardous ice condition in the ice floe moving toward the arctic floating platform system, determining a safe harbor location, calculating a navigational course from an original anchor point to the safe harbor location, disconnecting an upper hull portion of the arctic floating platform system from a lower hull, and transporting the upper hull portion to the safe harbor location.
The invention, together with further advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures by way of example and not by way of limitation, in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not as a limitation of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover such modifications and variations that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
An arctic floating platform system, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, is illustrated generally at 2, in
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, arctic floating platform system 2 includes an ice alert system 40 which, as will be detailed more fully below, identifies hazardous ice conditions and provides support for evacuating/temporarily relocating upper hull portion 4. Ice alert system 40 includes an ice floe monitoring system 42 that receives data from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) 44, autonomous undersea vehicles (AUV) 46, satellites 48 as well as various support vessels 50 (see,
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment illustrated in
In further accordance with the exemplary embodiment, ice floe forecast system 66 monitors ice floes near arctic floating platform system 2. Ice floe forecast system 66 scans for ice floe speed, ice floe thickness and the like to create a 4-D graphical representation of the ice floe, such as shown at 88 in
As shown in
At this point it should be understood that exemplary embodiments describe a system for monitoring for hazardous ice conditions in ice floes around an artic floating platform system. In addition, the system determines a safe harbor location as well as navigational courses to and back from the safe harbor location. The system also continuously monitors the ice floe to ensure that the safe harbor location remains safe. If changes in the ice floe occur, the system will determine a new safe harbor location. The system relies on multiple sources for ice floe data including UAV's, AUV's, satellites, as well as data from support vessels and the like that provide for a more accurate prediction of ice floe characteristics. In this manner, the arctic floating platform system remains on station in operation while being afforded an alert and support system that will transport the upper hull away from hazardous ice conditions.
The preferred forms of the invention described above are to be used as illustration only, and should not be used in a limiting sense to interpret the scope of the present invention. Modifications to the exemplary embodiments, set forth above, could be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
This application is a non-provisional application which claims benefit under 35 USC §119(e) of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/902,846 filed 12 November, 2013, entitled “ICE ALERT SYSTEM AND METHOD OF EVACUATING AN ARCTIC FLOATING PLATFORM FROM A HAZARDOUS ICE CONDITION,” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61902846 | Nov 2013 | US |
