CN117184325A - Fluid conveying pipeline for connecting two large-sized oil tankers - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention describes a fluid transfer conduit connecting two large tankers wherein a suspended pipeline end manifold is connected to the end of the flowline assembly to provide support during towing. The manifold is located near the buoy and then connected to the bottom of the buoy at the surface by flexible leads such as anchor chains. The manifold is then selectively submerged to an operational position below the buoy, with additional subsea hoses or flexible tubing connected to complete the flowline path to the buoy.

Description

Fluid conveying pipeline for connecting two large-sized oil tankers

Technical Field

The invention discloses a fluid conveying pipeline for connecting two large-scale tankers, and particularly relates to a pipeline system for conveying oil and gas products between ships.

Background

Typically, storage and offloading facilities on tankers are connected directly to the subsea production line and receive products from the subsea wells. Depending on the depth and distance of the water, the offloading mooring buoy may be located 1000-1500 meters from the tanker. Is connected through the tanker to the offloading mooring buoy to receive product for transport.

Product streamlines or risers typically extend from the subsea well to the storage means and from the storage means to the mooring buoy for connection to the tanker for transportation.

The metal pipe has an intermediate floatation device positioned along the length of the product flow line to provide a suitable configuration for the flow line to avoid excessive loads due to the weight of the flow line and the relative movement of the offloading mooring buoy and tanker. The installation of such metal pipes on the offloading mooring buoy requires a large lifting load due to the weight of the pipe. Furthermore, it is difficult to drag the pipeline from the storage device to the mooring buoy due to the weight of the pipeline and the considerable distance required for the drag.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to connect a product streamline between two floating hulls, wherein a reasonable distance between the hulls is about 500 meters, a manifold with watertight compartments is connected to the free end of the streamline of a storage device and then towed to a catenary anchor leg mooring buoy for unloading oil products. The pipeline manifold is connected to the bottom of the buoy by suitable flexible members (e.g. anchor chains) when at sea level. The manifold compartment is then submerged to sink the manifold and associated flow lines to a predetermined water depth below the mooring buoy. In this position, a flexible connection product flow line is mounted between the conduit manifold and the buoy for diverting product from the storage device to the CALM buoy. The flexible connection streamlines allow for pitch or roll of the mooring buoy.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a side view of a subsea pipeline and manifold connected to the bottom of a offloading mooring buoy.

Description of the embodiments

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is apparent that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

Referring to fig. 1, a catenary anchor leg mooring buoy is shown generally at 10 that floats on the sea surface 12. A suitable product line 16 extends from the top of the buoy 10 and is adapted to be connected to a tanker (not shown) for supplying product thereto. The subsea conduit end manifold is shown generally at 20 and has a plurality of product flow lines 22 connected thereto, which extend from the storage device. Such storage devices may be bottom support facilities rather than containers. Suitable valves and manifolds 25 for product flow lines 22 are provided to control the flow of product to mooring buoy 10 and to allow recirculation back to permanent storage facility 23 to purge flow lines 22 as needed. The manifold 20 has a plurality of watertight compartments 24 therein, which compartments 24 may be filled or emptied with water as needed to position the manifold 20 at a predetermined water depth. A plurality of support chains 26 are coupled between support manifold 20 and the bottom of mooring buoy 10. To connect product flow line 22 from manifold 20 to mooring buoy 10 for supplying product to supply product line 16, a flexible connection product flow line, indicated generally at 30, is provided. Each connection flow line 30 is formed of a plurality of flexible tube sections 32 of predetermined length and selectively connected to each other.

Product flow lines 22, typically formed of steel tubing, are connected to pipeline manifold 20 at permanent storage facilities 22 and then towed to catenary anchor leg mooring buoy 10. The manifold support chain 26 is then connected from the manifold 20 to the bottom of the buoy 10 at sea level. Next, the watertight compartment 24 in the manifold 20 is submerged with a predetermined amount of water to sink the manifold 20 to a desired water depth below the buoy 10. In this position, the connecting flow line 30 is installed between the manifold 20 and the buoy 10 to provide a product flow path from the permanent storage facility 23 to the buoy 10.

Claims (6)

1. A fluid transfer conduit connecting two large tankers, characterized by: comprising a permanent storage facility for fluid, a floating offshore facility arranged and designed for transporting fluid to a tanker, a first pipe having a first end connected to said storage means, the first pipe having a second end; the subsea pipeline termination device comprises a first input flow line, the second end of the first pipeline being connected to a first input flow line, the termination device having an output pipeline in communication with a first output flow line, a flexible support lead connected between the floating offloading device and the subsea pipeline termination device, the flexible support lead supporting the termination device at a subsea location below the floating offloading device, and a flexible connection product flow line connected to the output flow lines of the termination device and the offloading device.

2. A fluid transfer conduit connecting two large tankers according to claim 1, further comprising a second conduit having a first end connected to the storage means, the first conduit having a second end, and wherein the subsea conduit termination means has a manifold having first and second input streamlines, the first and second input streamlines being in fluid communication with the output streamlines.

3. A fluid transfer pipeline connecting two large tankers according to claim 1, wherein the pipeline termination means comprises a submersible watertight compartment which, when submerged, allows the pipeline termination means to sink to a submerged position under support from flexible support leads.

4. A fluid transfer pipeline connecting two large tankers according to claim 1, wherein the flexible connection product flow line comprises a plurality of flexible hose sections connected end to end.

5. A fluid transfer pipeline connecting two large tankers according to claim 1, the flexible connection product flow line being a flexible metal riser and the first pipeline being a steel pipe.

6. A fluid transfer pipeline connecting two large tankers according to claim 1, the subsea pipeline termination device comprising a plurality of manifolds, each manifold connecting at least two pipelines from the storage tanks to at least one flexible connection product flow line, wherein each connection product flow line is connected to a tanker.