Patent Application
20180163518
Subsea templates are large subsea structures that support or otherwise house wellheads, Christmas trees, and manifolds. A subsea manifold is made up of pipes and valves and is designed to transfer hydrocarbons from wellheads into a pipeline. The manifold is mounted onto the template, e.g., at the seafloor.
Generally, the subsea template includes a foundation that is at least partially embedded within the seafloor. More particularly, the foundation may include several pilings, which may be suction compartments (also referred to as suction anchors), e.g., positioned at the corners of the structure. The suction compartments have an open lower end, which is lowered, and then forced, into the seafloor, thereby anchoring the subsea template manifold in place.
The remainder of the structure is built up from and supported by these suction compartments. A variety of truss-structures, support beams, etc., are connected to the suction compartments to provide the subsea template with sufficient stability and rigidity to allow for safe and effective operation of the subsea devices associated therewith. This can call for a large amount of material, which can be expensive in itself, and also can be expensive and time-consuming to build onto the suction compartments.
Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a subsea template manifold including a first suction compartment configured to be at least partially embedded in a sea floor, a second suction compartment configured to be at least partially embedded in the sea floor, and a bridging element extending between and connected to the first and second suction compartments. The bridging element is configured to be at least partially embedded in the sea floor.
Embodiments of the disclosure may also provide a method for supporting a subsea manifold at a sea floor including embedding at least a portion of a suction compartment of a subsea template manifold into a seabed, and embedding at least a portion a bridging element of the subsea template into the seabed. The bridging element extends between and is connected to the first and second suction compartments.
Embodiments of the disclosure may provide an apparatus for supporting a subsea well system, including a first suction anchor configured to be at least partially embedded in a sea floor, a second suction anchor configured to be at least partially embedded in the sea floor, and a bridging element extending between and connected to the first and second suction anchors. The bridging element is configured to be at least partially embedded in the sea floor.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present teachings and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present teachings. In the figures:
Reference will now be made in detail to specific embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings and figures. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.
It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first object could be termed a second object, and, similarly, a second object could be termed a first object, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Further, as used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context.
The template 100 may also include a top plate 110, which may extend laterally (e.g., in a generally horizontal, parallel to the seafloor direction) between the suction compartments 102-108. Further, the top plate 110 may be coupled to the upper end of the suction compartments 102-108, and thus may be configured to be positioned slightly above or at the seafloor when the suction compartments 102-108 are installed in the seafloor. In some embodiments, the top plate 110 may be provided by several segments, one extending between each pair of adjacent suction compartments 102-108 as shown, but in other embodiments, may be a single plate.
One or more bridging elements 112, 114, 116, 118 may extend between and be coupled to the suction compartments 102-108. For example, respective ones of the bridging elements 112-118 may extend between two of the suction compartments 102-108. In some embodiments, the bridging elements 112-118 may be coupled to the top plate 110, but in other embodiments, the bridging elements 112-118 and the top plate 110 may be separate.
The bridging elements 112-118 may be or include relatively thin, vertically-oriented (i.e., with the thin side facing vertically) plates. In a specific embodiment, each of the bridging elements 112-118 may include two such plates 120, 122, one nearer to the center of the template 100 than the other, with the plates 120, 122 being offset from and extending generally parallel to one another. Between the plates 120, 122 of at least one of the bridging elements (e.g., elements 112 and 116), one or more wellheads 200, 202, 204, 206 may be positioned. Each wellhead 200-206 may include connectors for connecting to wellhead equipment (e.g., Christmas trees, blowout preventers, etc.), which may be or include one or more vertically-oriented posts. Within each wellhead 200-206, a washout sleeve 214, 216, 218, 220 may be positioned, e.g., between the two plates 120, 122. The washout sleeves 214-220 may be connected to the top plate 110 and/or one of the bridging elements 112-118. Further, the washout sleeves 214-220 may be connected to wells, and may represent the upper end of such wells (accordingly, in some cases herein, reference numbers 214-220 may be described as pointing to wells). Well-support brackets 250, 252 may be connect to the bridging elements 112-118 and the corresponding washout sleeves/wells 214-220.
Further, the bridging elements 112, 116 may include the well-support brackets 250, 252. The well-support brackets 250, 252 may couple to the wells 214-220 (e.g., washout sleeves/wellheads 270 thereof). The well-support brackets 250, 252 may further couple to one of the plates 120, 122 and/or to one of the suction containers 102-108.
The well-support brackets 250, 252 may be vertically-oriented plates, brackets, struts, etc. In some embodiments, the well-support brackets 250, 252 may extend downwards, and may be generally triangular, e.g., so as to facilitate extending and embedding the brackets 250, 252 into the seafloor. In other embodiments, the well-support brackets 250 may extend between the plates 120, 122, as shown, and extend upwards therefrom, such that the brackets 250, 252 may, in some cases, not be embedded in the seafloor during installation. The well-support brackets 250, 252 may thus provide lateral support and rigidity for the wells 214-220.
With the wells 214-220 positioned (e.g., one each) between the suction compartments 102-108, the wellhead equipment may be similarly clocked at 90 degree angles. For example,
With continuing reference to
In some embodiments, embedding the at least a portion of the first and second suction compartments 102-108 at 502 and embedding at least a portion of the bridging element 112-118 at 504 occur at least partially at the same time (i.e., simultaneously or overlapping in time).
In some embodiments, the bridging element 112-118 includes one or more vertically-oriented plates extending laterally between the first and second suction compartments 102-108 and being fixed thereto. In such embodiments, embedding the at least a portion of the bridging element 112-118 at 504 may include embedding at least a portion of the plates 120, 122 into the seabed.
In some embodiments, the method 500 may include positioning, at 506, a first Christmas tree 700, a second Christmas tree 702, a third Christmas tree 704, and a fourth Christmas tree 706, on the subsea template 100 and in communication with the wells 214-220. Each of the first, second, third, and fourth Christmas trees 700-706 faces in a different direction. For example, each of the Christmas trees 700-706 may be rotated 90 degrees in orientation from the adjacent Christmas trees 700-706.
As used herein, the terms “inner” and “outer”; “up” and “down”; “upper” and “lower”; “upward” and “downward”; “above” and “below”; “inward” and “outward”; and other like terms as used herein refer to relative positions to one another and are not intended to denote a particular direction or spatial orientation. The terms “couple,” “coupled,” “connect,” “connection,” “connected,” “in connection with,” and “connecting” refer to “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more intermediate elements or members.”
The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Moreover, the order in which the elements of the methods described herein are illustrate and described may be re-arranged, and/or two or more elements may occur simultaneously. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principals of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/432,968, filed on Dec. 12, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62432968 | Dec 2016 | US |
