This disclosure relates to offshore fixed platforms, for example, the installation or removal of such platforms.
Offshore platforms may need to be dismantled either for decommissioning after their useful lives or for installing new platforms at the same locations to accommodate more equipment or wells (both). Installing and commissioning an offshore platform can involve placing a large structure on a mudline, or seabed, within a body of water. In the case of a jacketed platform, a steel frame structure is secured to the mudline with piles. A portion of the structure surrounds, or “jackets” the piles. Dismantling involves removing the platform sufficiently so that it does not create a navigation hazard, cause any harm to the environment or facilitate installation of a slip-over platform. In the case of fixed offshore platforms, such removal often involves a near complete removal of the fixed platform since fixed platforms are often installed in shallow bodies of water. Removal of fixed platforms down to a mudline of a body of water is common.
In the case of a jacketed platform, removal often involves cutting a structural pile from within the pile a few feet below the mudline. This operation can involve cutting the pile from the pile's interior, lowering explosive charges into the piles, or other methods of cutting from the interior of the pile such as water jetting. The latter can disturb the seabed or degrade the seabed soil (or both).
This disclosure describes technologies relating to removing submerged piles.
Certain aspects of the subject matter described here can be implemented as a method. A top deck of a fixed offshore platform installed on a mudline of a body of water is removed. An upper structure of the fixed offshore platform is removed. The upper structure is below the top deck. A lower structure is secured to the mudline by one or more structural piles remaining. The one or more structural piles, which are housed within one or more members of the lower structure, are driven below the mudline. The lower structure of the fixe offshore platform is removed. The one or more structural piles are left below the mudline.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. To remove the upper structure of the fixed offshore platform, shim plates, which are configured to attach the one or more structural piles within the one or more members of the lower structure, can be cut.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. To drive the one or more structural piles below the muddling, a chaser pile can be positioned to have a first end abut and be in-line with one of the one or more structural piles. The chaser pile can have a diameter sufficient to abut the structural pile. A hammer driver can be positioned at a second end of the chaser pile opposite the first end. The chaser pile can be hammered with the hammer driver to drive the structural pile below the mudline.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The chaser pile can include an insert at the first end to insert into the structural pile. The insert can centralize the chaser pile to be in-line with the structural pile.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The chaser pile can be retrieved prior to removing the lower structure of the fixed offshore platform.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The chaser pile can include an outer surface defining a central opening. To retrieve the chaser pile, an internal lifting tool can be inserted into the central opening.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The internal lifting tool can be a hydraulically actuated tool.
Certain aspects of the subject matter described here can be implemented as a method of clearing piles from a body of water. A chaser pile is positioned to have a first end of the chaser pile to be abut and in-line with an end of a structural pile. The chaser pile has a diameter sufficient to abut the structural pile. A hammer driver is positioned at a second end of the chaser pile opposite the first end. The chaser pile is hammered with the hammer driver to drive the structural pile below a mudline of a body of water.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The chaser pile includes an insert at the first end configured to insert into the structural pile. The insert can centralize the chaser pile to be in-line with the structural pile.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The chaser pile can include an outer surface defining a central opening. To retrieve the chaser pile, an internal lifting tool is inserted into the central opening.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The internal lifting tool can be a hydraulically actuated tool.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The structural pile can secure a fixed offshore platform. A top deck of the fixed offshore platform, which is installed on the mudline of a body of water, can be removed. An upper structure of the fixed offshore platform, which is below the top deck, can be removed. A lower structure can be secured to the mudline by one or more structural piles remaining. The lower structure of the fixed offshore platform can be removed after the structural pile has been hammered below the mudline. To remove the upper structure of the fixed offshore platform, shim plates, which can attach the structural pile within a member of the lower structure, can be cut. The chaser pile can be removed prior to removing the lower structure of the fixed offshore platform. The chaser pile can include an outer surface defining a central opening. To retrieve the chaser pile, an internal lifting tool can be inserted into the central opening. The internal lifting tool can be a hydraulically actuated tool.
Certain aspects of the subject matter described here can be implemented as a method. A top deck of a fixed offshore platform installed on a mudline of a body of water is removed. An upper structure of the fixed offshore platform is removed. The upper structure is below the top deck. A lower structure is secured to the mudline by one or more structural piles remaining. A chaser pile is positioned to have a first end of the chaser pile be abut and in-line with an end of a structural pile. The chaser pile has a diameter sufficient to abut the structural pile. A hammer driver is positioned at a second end of the chaser pile opposite the first end. The chaser pile is hammered with the hammer driver to drive the structural pile, housed within one or more members of the lower structure, below the mudline of the body of water. The lower structure of the fixed offshore platform is removed. The one or more structural piles are left below the mudline.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The chaser pile includes an insert at the first end that can insert into the structural pile. The insert can centralize the chaser pile to be in-line with the structural pile.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The chaser pile can include an outer surface defining a central opening. To retrieve the chaser pile, an internal lifting tool is inserted into the central opening.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. To remove the upper structure of the fixed offshore platform, shim plates configured to attach the one or more structural piles within the one or more members of the lower structure are cut.
Other aspects, taken alone or in combination with any of the other aspects, can include the following features. The chaser pile can be retrieved prior to removing the lower structure of the fixed offshore platform.
The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.
Dismantling jacketed platforms requires the removal of the structural piles that secure the jacket to a mudline of a body of water. Traditional removal methods can include the use of dangerous materials, such as explosives, and working under dangerous conditions for workers, such as diving and cutting in a confined space. These dangerous tasks are often necessary to completely remove a fixed platform structure so that no structure extends above the mudline. Other dismantling methods can include water jetting that can disturb the seabed or degrade the seabed soil (or both). Many jurisdictions require such removal to ensure that there are no navigation hazards in the body of water that the platform inhabited.
This disclosure relates to a method for dismantling a fixed offshore platform. The method includes removing the top deck and upper structure with conventional methods, hammering down the existing piles with a chaser pile and a driver until the original pile is below the mudline, removing the driver and chaser pile, then removing the remaining jacket. The original piles remain buried in the seabed.
While this disclosure contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular implementations. Certain features that are described in this disclosure in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may have been previously described as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementations previously described should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single product or packaged into multiple products.
Thus, particular implementations of the subject matter have been described. Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results.
This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/980,260, filed on May 15, 2018, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Entry |
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Mokhtar, “Decomissioning of Offshore Platforms,” ADMA-OPCO, Jun. 10, 2014, 45 pages. |
Thomas, “Technical Report: Guided wave test of 36″ Pile Pipe in Saudi Aramco SFNY-26 Platform,” ISS, Industrial Support Services Company, May 12, 2017, 16 pages. |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15980260 | May 2018 | US |
Child | 16448856 | US |