Not applicable.
The disclosure relates generally to offshore structures. More particularly, the disclosure relates to offshore platforms for offshore drilling and/or production operations. Still more particularly, the disclosure relates to deploying and installing bottom-founded offshore platforms.
There are several types of offshore structures that may be employed to drill and/or produce subsea oil and gas wells depending on the depth of water at the location of the subsea well. For instance, jackup platforms are commonly employed as drilling structures in water depths less than about 400 feet; fixed platforms and gravity based structures are commonly employed as production structures in water depths between about 50 and 800 feet; and floating systems such as semi-submersible platforms are commonly employed as production structures in water depths greater than about 800 feet.
Fixed platforms and gravity based offshore structures typically rely, at least in part, on their weight to resist the lateral environmental loads caused by winds, waves, and currents. In some cases, the foundation of the substructure may include vertically oriented piles or skirts designed to penetrate into the sea floor to enhance stability and resistance to bearing and lateral loads.
Embodiments of offshore structures are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, an offshore structure comprises an adjustably buoyant hull including a plurality of vertical columns and a plurality of horizontal pontoons. Each pontoon extends between a pair of the columns. The adjustably buoyant hull is configured to receive a topside. Each column has a central axis, an upper end, and a lower end. Each pontoon has a longitudinal axis, a first end coupled to one of the columns, and a second end coupled to another one of the columns. The offshore structure also comprises a foundation assembly attached to a lower end of the hull. The foundation assembly includes a column skirt extending downward from the lower end of each column. In addition, the foundation assembly includes a pontoon skirt extending downward from a bottom surface of each pontoon.
Another embodiment of an offshore structure comprises an adjustably buoyant hull. The hull comprises a plurality of vertically oriented columns. The huller also comprises a plurality of horizontally oriented pontoons. Each pontoon is positioned between a pair of the columns. Each column comprises an anti-scour plate extending horizontally from a lower end of the column. In addition, each column comprises a column skirt extending downward from a lower end of the column. Each pontoon comprises an anti-scour plate extending horizontally from the pontoon. Further, each pontoon comprises a pontoon skirt extending downward from a bottom surface of the pontoon.
Embodiments of methods for deploying and installing an offshore structure at an installation site in a body of water are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method comprises (a) floating an adjustably buoyant hull to the installation site. In addition, the method comprises (b) transporting a topside to the installation site separately from the hull. Further, the method comprises (c) ballasting the hull into engagement with the sea floor at the installation site after (a). Still further, the method comprises (d) mounting the topside to the hull at the installation site after (c) to form the offshore structure.
Embodiments described herein comprise a combination of features and characteristics intended to address various shortcomings associated with certain prior devices, systems, and methods. The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical characteristics of the disclosed embodiments in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. The various characteristics and features described above, as well as others, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description, and by referring to the accompanying drawings. It should be appreciated that the conception and the specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes as the disclosed embodiments. It should also be realized that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the principles disclosed herein.
For a detailed description of the disclosed exemplary embodiments, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description is exemplary of certain embodiments of the disclosure. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant to be exemplary of that embodiment, and is not intended to suggest in any way that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.
The figures are not necessarily drawn to-scale. Certain features and components disclosed herein may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form, and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness. In some of the figures, in order to improve clarity and conciseness, one or more components or aspects of a component may be omitted or may not have reference numerals identifying the features or components. In addition, within the specification, including the drawings, like or identical reference numerals may be used to identify common or similar elements.
As used herein, including in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising,” as well as derivations of these, are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus are to be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” means either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first component couples or is coupled to a second component, the connection between the components may be through a direct engagement of the two components, or through an indirect connection that is accomplished via other intermediate components, devices and/or connections. The recitation “based on” means “based at least in part on.” Therefore, if X is based on Y, then X may be based on Y and on any number of other factors. The word “or” is used in an inclusive manner. For example, “A or B” means any of the following: “A” alone, “B” alone, or both “A” and “B.” In addition, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally mean along a given axis, while the terms “radial” and “radially” generally mean perpendicular to the axis. For instance, an axial distance refers to a distance measured along or parallel to a given axis, and a radial distance means a distance measured perpendicular to the axis. As understood in the art, the use of the terms “parallel” and “perpendicular” may refer to precise or idealized conditions as well as to conditions in which the members may be generally parallel or generally perpendicular, respectively. As used herein, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “substantially,” and the like mean within 10% (i.e., plus or minus 10%) of the recited value. Thus, for example, a recited angle of “about 80 degrees” refers to an angle ranging from 72 degrees to 88 degrees.
As previously described, bottom-founded offshore structures such as fixed platforms and gravity based offshore structures usually rely on their weight to maintain themselves in position at the installation site. Consequently, these structures are typically not buoyant, and thus, rely on cranes to position and install the substructure on the sea floor, and then to install the topside on top of the substructure. The use of crane barges to install the substructure and the topside can be time consuming and expensive. In addition, substructures without self-floatation capabilities are very difficult to remove during decommissioning, because the piles installed into the seafloor are difficult to cut or because concrete structures may crack during removal. Further, lateral ocean currents may induce sediment transport and erosion (scour) at the interface between the foundation and the seafloor, which may compromise foundation strength and platform stability. Scour is conventionally addressed via specialized dredging vessels, rock dumping vessels, and subsea installation vessels that are used to create a barrier along the perimeter of the foundation to prevent soil erosion by ocean currents. Typical scour protection systems may include, for example, rocks, concrete block mattresses, rubber mats, gravel bags, collars, etc. These vessels and services increase time and cost for offshore platform installation.
Embodiments described herein are directed to bottom-founded offshore structures comprising adjustably buoyant hulls with integral anti-scour plates and foundation skirts. The foundation skirts (including both column skirts and pontoon skirts) and anti-scour plates are integral to the hull and may be built in a shipyard prior to deployment of the hull. The anti-scour plates increase contact surface area with the seafloor, which increases the bearing capacity of the hull, as well as reduce scour along the perimeter of the hull. Embodiments of bottom-founded offshore structures described herein maintain their position (on the seafloor) by self-weighting, by shallow penetration foundations, friction of a large contact area with the seafloor, or combinations thereof. The bottom-founded offshore structures may include a self-flotation hull with a space between columns sufficient to allow a barge to install the topside without the use of crane barges. In addition, the bottom-founded offshore structures may include foundation skirts on both the columns and pontoons to increase total skirt area and reduce depth of the overall skirts. Still further, the bottom-founded offshore structures may include scour prevention devices integral to a hull bottom section, installed at the construction site, which eliminates the need of using specialized vessels for installation of scour protection systems.
Referring now to
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Hull 110 includes a plurality (e.g., at least three) circumferentially-spaced vertical columns 120 and a plurality (e.g., at least three) of horizontal pontoons 130. Each pontoon 130 extends between the lower portions of each pair of circumferentially-adjacent columns 120, thereby forming a central opening 118 (
Each outer column 120 has a central or longitudinal axis 125 oriented parallel to axis 115, a first or upper end 120a extending above the sea surface 103, and a second or lower end 120b opposite end 120a. Upper ends 120a define upper end 110a of hull 110 and lower ends 120b (in conjunction with pontoons 130) define lower end 110b of hull 110. Topside 150 is fixably attached to upper ends 120a of column 120. In addition, each column 120 has a radially outer surface 121 extending between ends 120a, 120b. In this embodiment, outer surface 121 of each column 120 is cylindrical, however, in other embodiments, the outer surfaces of the columns (e.g., outer surfaces 121 of columns 120) may have other geometries. Each column 120 includes a plurality of vertically stacked ballast tanks separated by bulkheads. The ballast tanks of each column 120 can be selectively filled with ballast water and/or air to adjust the buoyant force applied to hull 110.
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In this embodiment, foundation assembly 140 includes a plurality of columns skirts 141, a plurality of column anti-scour plates 143, a plurality of pontoon skirts 146, and a plurality of pontoon anti-scour plates 148. A column skirt 141 and a column anti-scour plate 143 is provided on each column 120, and a pontoon skirt 146 and a pontoon anti-scour plate 148 is provided on each pontoon 130. Skirts 141, 146 extend vertically and axially downward (relative to axis 115) from hull 110, and in particular, from columns 120 and pontoons 130, respectively. Anti-scour plates 143, 148 extend horizontally and radially outward (relative to axis 115) from the outer perimeter of hull 110, and in particular, from columns 120 and pontoons 130, respectively. Skirts 141, 146 and plates 143, 148 are made of rigid materials (e.g., metal or metal alloys) and are fixably coupled to hull 110 such that they do not move translationally or rotationally relative to hull 110.
Referring still to
Anti-scour plate 143 extends laterally or horizontally from outer surface 121 of the corresponding column 120 at lower end 120b (at or immediately above the upper end of the corresponding column skirt 141). In this embodiment, a plurality of circumferentially-spaced, rigid, support brackets or fins 144 extend between column 120 and plate 143. In particular, brackets 144 extend downward from outer surface 121 of column 120 to the upper surface of plate 143. Brackets 144 support plate 143 and help maintain the rigidity and integrity of plate 143 under vertical load. In this embodiment, plate 143 has a uniform horizontal width and generally follows the contours of outer surface 121 of column 120.
Referring still to
Anti-scour plate 148 includes a first portion 148a extending generally down and radially outward (relative to axis 115) from bottom surface 132 of the corresponding pontoon 130 and a second portion 148b extending horizontally outward from first portion 148a. Second portion 148b is oriented at an oblique angle (e.g., 135°) relative to first portion 148a. In addition, plate 148 of each pontoon 130 extends axially (relative to axis 135) between ends 130a, 130b of the corresponding pontoon 130, and second portion 148b is contiguous with and extends axially (relative to axis 135) between column anti-scour plates 143 of the adjacent columns 120. In this embodiment, a plurality of circumferentially-spaced, rigid, support brackets or fins 149 extend downward from radially outer lateral surface 134 of pontoon 130 to the upper surface of plate 148. Brackets 149 support plate 148 and help maintain the rigidity and integrity of plate 148 under vertical load. In this embodiment, plate 148 has a uniform horizontal width. As best shown in
As will be described in more detail below, during installation of hull 110, skirts 141, 146 penetrate vertically into the sea floor 102 and plates 143, 148 bear against the upper surface of sea floor 102 as hull 110 is seated against the sea floor 102. Skirts 141, 146 bear horizontally against the material forming the sea floor 102, and thus, resist lateral loads (e.g., wind, waves, sea currents) experienced by hull 110. Plates 143, 148 increase the contact surface area with sea floor 102, and thus, increase the vertical bearing capacity of hull 110. Brackets 144, 147, 149 support plates 143, skirts 146, and plates 148, respectively, and increase the rigidity of plates 143, skirts 146, and plates 148, respectively, as they come into contact with the sea floor 102. In addition, with anti-scour plates 143, 148 disposed on the sea floor 102 and extending outward from columns 120 and pontoons 130, respectively, plates 143, 148 extend over and cover the sea floor 130 along the outer perimeter of hull 110, thereby reducing and/or preventing erosion of the sea floor 102 around the perimeter of hull 110. In particular, the plates 143, 148 shield the soil, gravel, and rock on the sea floor 102 around the outer perimeter of hull 110 from subsea water currents.
Referring now to
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In the manner described, topside 150 and hull 110 are transported to the installation site independently and assembled at the installation site to form structure 100. In general, the process shown in
While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope or teachings herein. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only and are not limiting. Many variations, combinations, and modifications of the systems, apparatus, and processes described herein are possible and are within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but is only limited by the claims that follow, the scope of which shall include all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims. The inclusion of any particular method step or operation within the written description or a figure does not necessarily mean that the particular step or operation is necessary to the method. The steps or operations of a method listed in the specification or the claims may be performed in any feasible order, except for those particular steps or operations, if any, for which a sequence is expressly stated. In some implementations two or more of the method steps or operations may be performed in parallel, rather than serially. The recitation of identifiers such as (a), (b), (c) or (1), (2), (3) before operations in a method claim are not intended to and do not specify a particular order to the operations, but rather are used to simplify subsequent reference to such operations.
This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national stage application of PCT/BR2019/050128 filed Apr. 8, 2019, and entitled “Offshore Steel Structure with Integral Anti-Scour and Foundation Skirts,” which claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/654,483 filed Apr. 8, 2018, and entitled “Offshore Steel Structure with Integral Anti-Scour and Foundation Skirts,” each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/BR2019/050128 | 4/8/2019 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62654483 | Apr 2018 | US |