The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for well intervention operations in subsea wells and, more particularly, to systems and methods for deploying a subsea well intervention system from a surface vessel using a compact powered subsea winch that incorporates a mechanical intervention device launcher assembly.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as an admission of any kind.
Well operations in shallow depth waters sometimes utilize a floating vessel having coiled tubing and various hydraulic hoses and electric cables. A catenary system creates slack in the coiled tubing or the hydraulic hose between a subsea tree and a reel mounted on the floating vessel. In certain situations, mechanical intervention devices may need to be introduced into an intervention flow path, which introduces additional operational considerations as well as increasing the cost of equipment to enable the use of such mechanical intervention devices.
A summary of certain embodiments described herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.
Certain embodiments of the present disclosure include a subsea hose deployment winch comprising a spool configured to have a subsea hose spooled thereon; and a mechanical intervention device launcher assembly which may be directly coupled to an end of the subsea hose. The mechanical intervention device launcher assembly is configured to facilitate insertion of a mechanical intervention device into the subsea hose. The mechanical intervention device launcher assembly also may be constructed to maintain an isolation barrier to the environment.
Various refinements of the features noted above may be undertaken in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter.
Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings, in which:
One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. These described embodiments are only examples of the presently disclosed techniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.
As used herein, the terms “connect,” “connection,” “connected,” “in connection with,” and “connecting” are used to mean “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more elements”; and the term “set” is used to mean “one element” or “more than one element.” Further, the terms “couple,” “coupling,” “coupled,” “coupled together,” and “coupled with” are used to mean “directly coupled together” or “coupled together via one or more elements.” As used herein, the terms “up” and “down,” “upstream” and “downstream”, “upper” and “lower,” “top” and “bottom,” and other like terms indicating relative positions to a given point or element are utilized to more clearly describe some elements. As used herein, the terms “elongate,” “relatively elongate,” “substantially elongate,” and so forth, are used to mean an object that has a length-to-width ratio (e.g., a length-to-diameter ratio) greater than 3.0, greater than 3.5, greater than 4.0, greater than 4.5, greater than 5.0, or even greater.
The embodiments described herein generally include systems and methods for deploying a subsea well intervention system from a surface vessel using a compact powered subsea winch that incorporates a mechanical intervention device launcher assembly. The embodiments described herein are designed to facilitate subsea hydraulic intervention operations that use mechanical intervention devices (e.g., cylindrical mechanical intervention devices, such as cylindrical mechanical intervention darts) that are introduced into the intervention flow path. In particular, the embodiments described herein enable the deployment of an intervention hose with, for example, pre-installed buoyancy modules, bend stiffeners, and a subsea connector while providing a safe, convenient, and efficient means of introducing mechanical intervention devices into the intervention flow path. As described in greater detail herein, the hose may be combined with pre-installed buoyancy modules and bend stiffeners for reasons including: (1) to maintain a minimum bend radius of the hose required to pump the mechanical intervention devices that aim for zonal isolation between the stimulation stages, and (2) to eliminate the need for a heave-compensated winch on the vessel by manipulating the hose into a “lazy-s” form which decouples vessel movements from wellhead loading.
The mechanical intervention device launcher assembly described herein enables convenient placement and launching of multiple mechanical intervention devices into the intervention flow path without the need to disconnect the system from the subsea tree. In addition, the mechanical intervention device launcher described herein may be constructed to ensure that two isolation barriers to the environment are maintained throughout the mechanical intervention device loading process. In addition, embodiments described herein may incorporate an emergency disconnect mechanism which may comprise a passive weak link system for emergency situations such as vessel drive-off or drift-off.
In certain embodiments, the subsea well intervention system 10 may be specifically designed for use in relatively shallow bodies of water 16 having a depth, for example, of between 100 feet and 500 feet, between 150 feet and 400 feet, between 200 feet and 300 feet, or approximately 250 feet. As such, the hose 20 may have a total length of between 200 feet and 600 feet, between 250 feet and 550 feet, between 300 feet and 500 feet, or approximately 400 feet. However, these dimensions are merely provided as examples to illustrate the relative sizes of operation of the subsea well intervention system 10 described herein, and are not intended to be limiting.
As illustrated in
Once the hose 20 is connected to the fluid injection assembly 30 and the subsea tree 18 (e.g., once the hose 20 has been fully unspooled from the winch 24), one or more mechanical intervention devices may be introduced into an intervention flow path via the hose 20 for the purpose of, for example, opening fracturing sleeves. Examples of mechanical intervention devices may include balls, plugs, darts, and so forth. In certain embodiments, the mechanical intervention devices may be electrically connected back to the surface (e.g., back to vessel 12). Depending on the well application, as many as 5, 10, 15, or even more mechanical intervention devices may be introduced into the intervention flow path for a given well.
As described herein, the winch 24, the hose 20, the buoyancy modules 22, as well as the other components of the subsea well intervention system 10 enable the deployment of relatively elongate mechanical intervention devices, such as mechanical intervention darts. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a mechanical intervention device 44. In this embodiment, mechanical intervention device 44 is in the shape of a mechanical intervention dart. The mechanical intervention dart 44 (or other type of mechanical intervention device) may be deployed into an intervention flow path, as described in greater detail below. As illustrated in
In certain embodiments, the elongate, cylindrical mechanical intervention devices 44 may have outer diameters of between 2.0 inches and 5.0 inches, between 2.5 inches and 4.5 inches, between 3.0 inches and 4.0 inches, or approximately 3.5 inches; lengths of between 8.0 inches and 16.0 inches, between 9.0 inches and 15.0 inches, between 10.0 inches and 14.0 inches, between 11.0 inches and 13.0 inches, or approximately 12.0 inches. As such, minimum bending radii of the hose 20 to facilitate the introduction of the elongate, cylindrical mechanical intervention devices 44 into an intervention path may, for example, be between 100 inches and 160 inches, between 110 inches and 150 inches, between 120 inches and 140 inches, or approximately 130 inches. However, these dimensions of the elongate, cylindrical mechanical intervention devices 44 and minimum bending radii are provided merely as examples to illustrate approximate sizes of the elongate, cylindrical mechanical intervention devices 44 suitable for various well applications and are not intended to be limiting.
As will be appreciated, movement of elongate, cylindrical mechanical intervention devices 44 to an intervention flow path via the hose 20 benefits from a controlled longitudinal shape of hose 20. Accordingly, the buoyancy modules 22 may be configured to provide not only buoyancy for the hose 20, as described with reference to
The embodiments of the buoyancy modules 22 illustrated in
In this embodiment, the buoyancy module 22 and/or bend restrictor 48 comprises a pair of separable sections 49 which may be combined to create a longitudinal opening 50. The longitudinal opening 50 is sized to grip hose 20 when the separable sections 49 are assembled, i.e. closed, over the hose 20. The separable sections 49 may be held in the assembled/closed position by bands 51 or other suitable fasteners to securely affix the buoyancy module 22/bend restrictor 48 along hose 20. It should be noted two separable sections 49 are illustrated but a greater number of separable sections 49 may be employed when constructing each buoyancy module 22 and/or bend restrictor 48.
In certain embodiments, the winch 24 may include a mechanical intervention device launcher assembly 52 configured to facilitate the introduction of elongate, cylindrical mechanical intervention devices 44 into an intervention flow path.
As illustrated, the mechanical intervention device launcher assembly 52 is coupled to a hose connector 56 at an upstream end 58 of the hose 20. In certain embodiments, the mechanical intervention device launcher assembly 52 includes a first valve 60 and a second valve 62 which may each be aligned axially with the end 58 of the hose 20 to facilitate insertion of a mechanical intervention device 44 when the hose 20 is in, for example, a fully deployed position (e.g., entirely unspooled from the spool 66 of the winch 24). Insertion of one of the mechanical intervention devices 44 is illustrated by arrow 64 in
As illustrated most clearly in
According to an embodiment, as illustrated most clearly in
In certain embodiments, the sequence of launching a mechanical intervention device 44 using the mechanical intervention device launcher assembly 52 of the winch 24 may include initially deploying the hose 20 subsea and orienting the valves 60, 62 and the EQD device 76 such that the axis of the mechanical intervention device launcher assembly 52 is generally horizontal, as illustrated in
According to an embodiment, valves 60 and 62 may be sequentially opened and closed to facilitate insertion of mechanical intervention device 44 while maintaining a barrier to the well. During initial insertion of each device 44, for example, one or more valves of the subsea tree 18 and one of the valves 60, 62 (e.g. valve 62) may be closed to provide two barriers to the well, while leaving the other valve 60, 62 (e.g. valve 60) open for receiving device 44. Subsequently, valves 60, 62 may be manipulated to enable movement of the device 44 to the well while maintaining well isolation. An example of manipulating valves 60, 62 includes closing valve 60 and then opening valve 62 to enable movement of the mechanical intervention device 44 into hose 20. The subsequent opening of the valves on the subsea tree 18 and the movement of mechanical intervention device 44 down through hose 20 enables deployment of the device 44 into the well. In some embodiments, the winch 24 may be spooled back a relatively small amount (e.g., between 10-15 feet, for example) to facilitate loading of each successive mechanical intervention device 44.
The embodiments described herein improve operational efficiency of subsea hydraulic interventions which involve the introduction of mechanical intervention devices 44 into the intervention flow path. Reduced operational time, and thus operating expense, is achieved as the deployment or retrieval of the subsea connector (e.g., the fluid injection assembly 30 described herein) and the hose 20 is executed in a single step, and there is no need for the hose 20 to be disconnected from the subsea tree 18 to complete the well with multi-stimulation treatments. That is, the embodiments described herein facilitate the introduction of multiple mechanical intervention devices 44 into the intervention flow path, for zonal isolation between each hydraulic intervention stage, without disconnecting the hose 20 from the subsea tree 18. As the winch 24 may have the hose 20, the buoyancy module(s) 22, and the bend restrictor(s) preconfigured onshore, reduced manual handling is required offshore on the vessel 12, thus substantially improving operation of the subsea well intervention system 10. In addition, the dual active and single passive emergency disconnect system also provides significant risk mitigations to vessel drift-off or drive-off scenarios. In some operations, the powered winch 24 may be an electrically powered winch selected to provide a more reliable and a lower carbon footprint system compared to other winches.
The specific embodiments described above have been illustrated by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should be further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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21306122 | Aug 2021 | EP | regional |
The present document is a National Stage Entry of International Application No. PCT/US2022/040399, filed Aug. 16, 2022, which is based on and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/233,428, filed Aug. 16, 2021, and EP Patent Application No. 21306122.9, filed Aug. 16, 2021, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2022/040399 | 8/16/2022 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2023/023010 | 2/23/2023 | WO | A |
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PCT International Search Report and Written Opinion; Application No. PCT/US2022/040399; Dated Nov. 28, 2022; 9 pages. |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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63233428 | Aug 2021 | US |