Claims
- 1. Underwater pipeline for transferring petroleum products comprising at least one flow line for such products a protective permeable carrier pipe around said flow line, a buoyancy module of a thermally insulative material mechanically resistant to the hydrostatic pressure at the underwater site at which the pipeline is installed, said buoyancy module being exposed, inside said carrier pipe, to a water pressure equal to the external hydrostatic pressure.
- 2. A pipeline according to claim 1, wherein said buoyancy module is made from a material that is lighter than water.
- 3. A pipeline according to claim 1, wherein the carrier pipe is pierced with holes to establish water communication between its inside and outside faces.
- 4. A pipeline according to claim 1, wherein at least one axial void for said flow line is hollowed out in the buoyancy module, said void remaining at a pressure equal to the external hydrostatic pressure.
- 5. A pipeline according to claim 4, wherein said axial void is shaped so that it can also receive a service line.
- 6. A pipeline according to claim 5, wherein said service line is a heating line for heating said flow line by conduction.
- 7. A pipeline according to claim 5, wherein said service line is a power supply line of an underwater well head.
- 8. A pipeline according to claim 5, wherein said service line is a control line of an underwater petroleum products well.
- 9. A pipeline according to claim 1, wherein the buoyancy module is constituted of groups of complementary shells butt jointed one after the other.
- 10. A pipeline according to claim 9, wherein the shells of the same group have channels hollowed into them which form together a section of said axial void.
- 11. A pipeline according to claim 1, wherein said buoyancy module is constituted of a material selected from the group comprising: a syntactic material, a composite material, a rubber, a neoprene, a honeycomb structure material.
- 12. A pipeline according to claim l,wherein said carrier pipe is made from a material selected from the group comprising: PVC, a glassfibre reinforced plastics material.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
97 12685 |
Oct 1997 |
FR |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a Continuation of International PCT application No. PCT/FR98/02154 filed Oct. 8, 1998, which designated the United States.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0 400 689 |
Dec 1990 |
EP |
0 779 467 |
Jun 1997 |
EP |
2 174 271 |
Oct 1973 |
FR |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
PCT/FR98/02154 |
Oct 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/546530 |
|
US |