US3749162A - Arctic oil and gas development - Google Patents

Arctic oil and gas development Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US3749162A
US3749162A US00130092A US3749162DA US3749162A US 3749162 A US3749162 A US 3749162A US 00130092 A US00130092 A US 00130092A US 3749162D A US3749162D A US 3749162DA US 3749162 A US3749162 A US 3749162A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
ice
platform
water
pool
hull
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00130092A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
E Anders
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Global Marine Inc
Original Assignee
Global Marine Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Global Marine Inc filed Critical Global Marine Inc
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3749162A publication Critical patent/US3749162A/en
Assigned to CHEMICAL BANK, A NY CORP. reassignment CHEMICAL BANK, A NY CORP. SECURITY INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: GLOBAL MARINE INC.
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
    • E21B43/01—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells specially adapted for obtaining from underwater installations
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B7/00—Special methods or apparatus for drilling
    • E21B7/008—Drilling ice or a formation covered by ice
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B7/00—Special methods or apparatus for drilling
    • E21B7/12—Underwater drilling
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02B—INTERNAL-COMBUSTION PISTON ENGINES; COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL
    • F02B1/00—Engines characterised by fuel-air mixture compression
    • F02B1/02—Engines characterised by fuel-air mixture compression with positive ignition
    • F02B1/04—Engines characterised by fuel-air mixture compression with positive ignition with fuel-air mixture admission into cylinder
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/10—Internal combustion engine [ICE] based vehicles
    • Y02T10/12—Improving ICE efficiencies

Definitions

  • Movement of the water pool within the moving ice sheet is accomplished by melting the boundaries of the water pool lying between the barge and the direction from which the ice sheet moves toward the barge at a rate equal to the rate of movement of the ice sheet relative to the submerged well site.
  • the barge is movable across the top of the ice sheet, or across water or land, to and from well site 10- cations on a cushion of low pressure air.
  • the barge may also be used as a land based site of oil or gas well drilling or production operations.
  • Patented July 31, 1973 9 Sheets-Sheet S Patented July 31, 1973 3,749,162
  • This invention pertains to method and apparatus for forming and operating oil and gas wells in arctic locations. More particularly, one aspect of the invention pertains to maintaining the position of a floating barge in a pool of water located in a movable ice sheet by the application of heat to the ice.
  • a semi-submersible drilling platform is essentially a floating stable platform which is anchored in position over the location of the submerged well site and from which the oil and gas wells are drilled.
  • semi-submersible platforms are not practically useful to produce oil or gas from a completed well. Instead, submarine pipe lines are used to transfer oil or gas flowing from the completed well to a remote production facility located either on dry land or on a tower of the type used in water depths less than 300 ft., for example.
  • floating vessels or barges, of essentially conventional configuration to drill oil and gas wells in water depths in which semi-submersible platforms are used, as well as in water depths in excess of 600 ft.
  • a floating drilling vessel is anchored in position over the well site.
  • the vessel may be freefloating over the well site and be maintained in position over the submerged well site by techniques referred to as cynamic positioning tehcniques.
  • Land-fast ice is an ice sheet which, because of the geography, may extend up to 25 miles offshore but is fast to or fixed to the land. In comparison, the permanent ice pack slowly rotates and circulates in the Arctic Ocean. Land fast ice, however, is not perfectly stationary throughout the entire period in which it exists in the Arctic. A land-fast ice sheet may be up to 10 ft. thick, or more, depending upon the geography involved and the time of year. Land-fast ice motion is the result of internal expansion or contraction within the ice sheet.
  • Drilling platforms erected on the ocean floor are not a practical solution to the problem of offshore oil and gas production in arctic areas because, to be economical, such structures would have to be of sufiiciently light weight that they could not withstand the lateral forces applied to them by ice during substantial periods of the year.
  • a texas Tower of strength sufficient to withstand ice loads of the levels encountered off the northern shore of Alaska or Canada is prohibitively expensive.
  • the use of platforms erected on the ocean floor is not regarded as a useful expedient in arctic areas because they are useful only during a short period of time during which no ice conditions exist, and they would be destroyed by ice movement during winter periods. If they were used at all, such towers would have to be erected and used only on a seasonal basis and rebuilt from year to year.
  • the towers and platforms used in' Cook Inlet near Anchorage, Alaska, are'of extremely heavy construction and may be used because winter ice conditions there are less severe than in arctic regions; Cook Inlet lies in the North Temperate Zone. Also, ice movement in Cook Inlet is essentially tidal and thus is of known direction so that surface piercing, bottom-footed structures can usefully be built to resemble bridge piers. Further, Cook Inlet is sufficiently close to the shipyards of Puget Sound that semi-submersible platforms, even those of very heavy construction, can be towed economically to Cook Inlet and there sunk to the sea floor to function as a tower.
  • Self-propelled drilling vessels can be used in arctic areas only during the ice-free season but the economics of this solution are presently undesirable because of the high daily cost of such vessels and the short length of the ice-free season.
  • the tundra which exists at or adjacent to the areas of concern to the oil industry, is a delicate thing.
  • the vegetation which exists inthe tundra is shallow-rooted, delicate and slow growing. This vegetation cover, however, is vital to the survival of the Arctic terrain because of the existence of permafrost below the vegetation layer.
  • the ground thaws, but does not thoroughly dry out, over a short distance below the surface; this zone is termed the active layer.
  • Below the thawed area lies a thick layer of permanently frozen soil known as permafrost. This frozen soil contains substantial frozen water.
  • the structure during movement across land, develop a very low effective footprint pressure on the tundra w as to eliminate the danger of altering ecology due to environmental damage to the tundra active layer in the thaw period, and thus qualify for transit permits issued by the cognizant governmental authorities.
  • This invention provides procedure and equipment meeting all of the desired criteria outlined above and useful on a year-round basis in establishing and operating submerged oil and gas wells in arctic environments, even in areas covered by land-fast ice and the like.
  • the structures contemplated by this invention are simple, effective, protective of the environment and, most importantly, economical.
  • one aspect of this invention pertains to a method for performing operations at and in association with a submerged marine location overlaid by a sheet of ice susceptible of movement relative to the submerged location.
  • the method includes the step of providing a buoyant platform from which desired operations may be performed.
  • the platform is buoyantly floated in a pool of water which communicates through the ice sheet over the submerged location. Desired operations at and in association with the submerged marine location are performed from the platform while the same is in a buoyantly floating state.
  • the position of the platform over the submerged location is maintained during movement of the ice sheet relative to the submerged location within limits appropriate to the operations performed at and in association with the submerged location.
  • the platform is buoyantly supported in a pool of water which communicates through the ice sheet, the weight of the platform is supported buoyantly and no portion of the weight of the platform is supported for any extended period by the ice sheet itself.
  • the position of the pool in which the barge floats is maintained over the submerged location by heating the water in the pool, at least adjacent those boundaries of the pool toward which ice may move, to a temperature sufficient to cause the pool to move in a direction opposite to and at a rate equal to the movement of the ice sheet.
  • the pool is moved in the ice sheet so as to stay stationary over the submerged location.
  • the platform is moved into the desired position over the submerged location, particularly during periods in which ice is present, by supporting the platform on a cushion of air and towing the platform across the ice by suitable tractors or the like.
  • the present invention provides a method for maintaining a floating structure in a substantially fixed position in a pool formed within ice subject to lateral motion.
  • the method includes the step of melting a lateral boundary of the pool on a side thereof opposite the direction of ice motion; this is done for maintaining the pool, and the structure which floats in the pool, in a substantially fixed position irrespective of ice motion.
  • This invention also pertains to apparatus for performing these procedures.
  • the structural aspects of the invention are set forth in the following description.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drilling platform according to this invention on location in an ice sheet over a desired submerged location;
  • FIG. 2 is an elevation view, partially in cross-section, of a drilling platform according to the invention
  • FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, partially in cross-section, of a portion of the drilling platform shown in FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 4 is an elevation view illustrating the movement of a platform according to this invention on an air cushion out of a supporting well formed in a thick ice sheet;
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a closedloop heating and refrigerating energy transfer system for a drilling or production platform according to this invention
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an open-loop energy transfer system for a drilling or production platform according to this invention.
  • FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional elevation view of a portion of a platform according to this invention and illustrates how open and closed loop energy transfer systems may be used in combination with each other;
  • FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional elevation view of another platform according to this invention and particularly illustrates the manner in which a connection is maintained through an ice sheet from the pool in which the platform is buoyantly supported;
  • FIG. 9 is a simplified top plan view of the mooring in an ice sheet of a platform according to this invention.
  • FIG. 10 is a fragmentary elevation view, partially in cross-section, of the air cushion mode of operation of a platform according to this invention.
  • FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation view of a portion of FIG. 10;
  • FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional elevation view showing the closure of a central well through a drilling platform for the purposes of equipping the platform for movement of an air cushion;
  • FIG. 13 is an elevation view of a platform according to this invention equipped for the production of oil from a submerged well disposed below an ice sheet;
  • FIGS. 14 through 17 are cross-sectional elevation drawings illustrating, in sequence, a method of positioning of a platform according to this invention in a DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS Introduction
  • an operations platform has a buoyant barge-like hull.
  • the hull is arranged to float with shallow draft.
  • the platform carries such equipment as necessary to enable performance of desired operations (exploration, drilling, or production, for example) at or in association with an oil or gas well site.
  • the platform is floated in a pool formed in an ice sheet over the site.
  • the pool has communication through the ice sheet so that the weight of the platform is entirely buoyantly supported in use; the ice sheet is not relied upon for support of the platform.
  • the platform hull includes energy transfer arrangements for transferring chemical, thermal and mechanical energy from within the hull to the water pool and the surrounding ice sheet.
  • the transferred energy is predominantly thermal energy, but in some situations it may be appropriate to use only or predominantly mechanical or chemical energy or a combination thereof. Transferred energy is used to maintain the pool in an unfrozen state and to melt or errode away the pool walls to compensate for movement of the ice sheet relative to the submerged well site.
  • the platform is moored to the ice sheet, and not through the ice sheet to the ocean floor.
  • the position of the platform in the pool is maintained as desired by paying out or taking in the mooring lines.
  • the mooring lines are payed out or taken in as necessary, in conjunction with the ice melting operation, to effectively move the pool in the ice sheet so that the pool and the platform stay stationary over the well site irrespective of movement of the ice sheet.
  • An air cushion skirt is removably connected around the circumference of the bull to enable air cushion movement (i.e., ground effect operation) of the platform across ice, land or water when pressurized air is supplied to the space below the hull within the skirt.
  • the skirt is removed during use of the platform in a pool formed in an ice sheet.
  • the energy transfer arrangements associated with the platform bottom be reversible for cooling the hull bottom to prevent thawing of permafrost below the hull when the hull rests on tundra.
  • an air cushion thermal drilling platform is positioned in a well (i.e., recess) 11 formed in a thick ice sheet 12 which extends over the surface of an ocean 13 or the body of water in an arctic area.
  • thick ice refers to ice approximately 2 ft. or more in thickness
  • thin ice refers to ice 2 ft. or less in thickness.
  • drilling platform 10 is positioned over a desired submerged location on the floor 14 of the ocean at which an oil well 15 is being drilled pursuant to operations carried out from the drilling platform.
  • an air cushion drilling platform 10 includes a rectangular barge 17 having a hull to which a removable air cushion skirt 84 (described in greater detail hereinafter) is detachably connected around the periphery of the hull.
  • a removable air cushion skirt 84 (described in greater detail hereinafter) is detachably connected around the periphery of the hull.
  • prime mover encompasses a gas turbine or an internal combustion engine which may be either an ottocycle engine or a diesel-cycle engine.
  • the hull of barge l7 constitutes a major structural element of drilling platform 10 and is. of substantial width relative to its length in furtherance of achieving a barge which floats with shallow draft.
  • the shallow draft feature of the barge is desired because of several considerations which include large clearance during air cushion mode operation of the platform, low footprint pressure of the platform during air cushion mode operation, low thermal requirements during buoyant mode operation in an ice sheet, and stability during both air cushion and buoyant modes of operation.
  • the platform have substantial planform (horizontal) area so that the amount of air pressure necessary to raise the barge hull a desired distance above the ice surface during air cushion mode operation, for example, be on the order of 150 to 225 lbs. per square foot gauge pressure.
  • a presently preferred em-' bodiment of this invention involves a barge structure having a length of 240 it, a beam of ft. with an air cushion pressure of l50 lbs. per square foot; the keel of this barge structure has a clearance of about 6 ft. above the ice or land surface during air cushion mode operation.
  • the large width of the barge 17 relative to its length is also desirable to assure adequate stability of the drilling platform in its buoyant and air cushion states and to equalize the heat transfer requirements of the barge during ice melting operations, particularly lateral ice melting operations, as will become apparent from the following description. It is sufiicient at this point, however, to state that if the barge were square, i.e. had a length-to-beam ratio of approximately 1, the heat demand characteristic of the platform would be the same in all lateral directions. On the other hand, it is desirable that barge 17 be capable of being towed in a fully buoyant state during ice-free conditions, and for this reason a structure having a length-to-beam ratio greater than l is desired. It is apparent, therefor, that the actual length-to-beam ratio of any barge according to this invention is actually a compromise between several competing design factors.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates that the deck 23 of barge 17 is enclosed within a protective insulated deck house enclosure 22 which covers essentially the entire area of the deck.
  • the deck house has been deleted from most of the accompanying figures for purposes of clarity and simplicity of illustration. It is to be understood, however, that the deck house is a significant feature of the drilling platform and is virtually necessary to enable this invention to be practiced in arctic environments on a year-round basis.
  • Within the deck house, on and within the structure of the barge is located all the equipment normally encountered in a conventional floating drilling vessel. Such equipment includes a derrick tower 25 which extends upwardly from the barge deck over a well 26 (FIG. 2) formed through the center of the barge.
  • a derrick tower 25 which extends upwardly from the barge deck over a well 26 (FIG. 2) formed through the center of the barge.
  • Well 26 is located essentially amidships in order that the drilling platform may be stable during air cushion -mode movement of the platform.
  • Derrice tower 25 is hinged adjacent its base, as at 27, above the roof of deck house 22. Accordingly, the derrick tower is hingable into a horizontal stowed position as illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 2 above the roof of the deck house.
  • the derrick tower is a component of a drilling facility of conventional configuration and outfitting which includes a supporting foundation 28 erected on the main deck of barge 17 over center well 26 to place a drilling rig floor 29 at a location elevated above barge deck 23.
  • a conventional rotary table 30 is included in the drilling rig floor in a position centered over center well 26.
  • a mooring winch 32 is located adjacent each'corner of barge 17 on the main deck of the barge, preferably within deck house 22.
  • Additional equipment includes suitable storage tanks 33 within the deck house for drilling mud, cement and other materials normally required during offshore drilling operations, a pylon-type cargo handling crane 34 located outside the deck house, and suitable racks 35 for storing drill pipe and oil well casings. Doors 38 in the deck house roof provide access for the crane 34.
  • hull of barge 17 may be quarters for the crew of the barge and the other personnel necessary to operation of a conventional offshore drilling vessel, and other cargo spaces and machinery spaces as appropriate.
  • FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show that it is preferred that the general configuration of barge 17 includes upwardly and outwardly sloping sides and ends, and a flat bottom.
  • the sloping walls of barge l7 facilitate the design of suitable removable air cushion skirts for the barge and also reduces the resistance of the barge when being towed in a conventional manner.
  • Ice Sheet Operation (General) As noted above, there is presently very little infonnation available concerning the long-term structural properties of ice. All that is known is that ice, when subjected to load, has visco-elastic properties in that it behaves somewhat like a viscous medium and somewhat like an elastic medium. The extent to which ice under load behaves as a viscous medium, or an elastic medium, is dependent upon several factors, including the temperature of the ice, the temperature gradient across the ice, the extent to which impurities are present in the ice, and the crystal structure of the ice, the crystal structure of the ice being a function of the manner in which the ice was formed initially.
  • FIG. 2 An inspection of FIG. 2 will show that during use, no portion of the weight of drilling platform 10 is carried by ice sheet 12. Instead, the total weight of drilling platform 10 is buoyantly supported by a pool of water 36 which fills well 11 formed in the top of the ice sheet. Pool of water 36 communicates to ocean 13 below the ice sheet through a hole 37 formed in the ice sheet below barge center well 26. Therefore, as the platform sets down into pool 36 from its air cushion to its buoyantly supported state, a minor portion of the volume of water present in well 11 may be displaced out over the top of the ice sheet, but by far the majority of the volume of such displaced water is transferred back into the ocean through hole 37.
  • the net result is that the h ll portion of the ice sheet between the bottom pool 36 and the ocean 13 is freely floating and supports no portion of the weight of the drilling platform.
  • the ice sheet is not called upon during use of the drilling platform (after conditions are stabilized following arrival of the platform at the drilling site) to carry any portion of the load of the platform. All that is necessary, therefore, is to maintain a quantity of water in pool 36 sufficient to allow the barge to float clear of the bottom of well 11 and to maintain a communication between pool 36 and ocean 13 through the ice sheet.
  • the pool of water around the barge in ice well 11 is maintained by the application of energy to the ice sheet from the platform through the hull in sufficient quantities to erode or melt the ice faces moving toward the hull at appropriate rates.
  • the applied or transferred energy may be in the form of thermal, mechanical or chemical energy, or a combination of these energy forms.
  • Energy transfer is also provided to prevent the water in the ice well from freezing.
  • Vessel position is also maintained by using suitable operating procedures to maintain hole 37 through the ice during drilling operations. It is also desirable that hole 37 be maintained because drilling operations are carried out from the vessel to well 15 through this hole, as shown in FIG. 2.
  • hole 37 is maintained of sufiicient diameter below barge center well 26 to permit a suitable conventional landing base 39 to be conveyed from the drilling platform to the ocean floor during the initial stages of formation of well 15.
  • Hole 37 is also maintained to allow a blow-out preventer 40 and other conventional equipment to be moved into position on landing base 39 via suitable guide wires 41 and load transfer wires 42 extended between the landing base and the barge, and between the blow-out preventer and the barge, respectively, in a conventional manner.
  • Hole 37 through ice sheet 12 is also required since communication between the drilling barge and the well via a riser pipe 43 is required, in a conventional manner, to permit flow of drilling mud between the well and the drilling rig carried by barge 17.
  • a mechanism for heating the exterior surfaces of the barge within ice well 11 to maintain water pool 36 is represented schematically by elements 44 which signify heating coils disposed in contact with the inner surfaces of the barge keel and side walls and through which hot water, or some other heating medium, may be circulated.
  • a plurality of prime movers are incorporated within the facility provided within deck house 22. These prime movers are provided for operation of the air blowers necessary for air cushion mode operation of the platform, and for powering the rotary table and other equipment present in the drilling rig.
  • the prime movers may be four caterpillar D-399 diesel engines, for example, a 725 hp die sel or four Solar Saturn gas turbines, for example, or a combination of diesel engines and gas turbines.
  • the waste heat present in the exhaust from these engines and turbines is sufi'icient to provide ample heat for maintaining pool of water 36 in a liquid state and also for heating the submerged side surfaces of the barge to compensate for movement of the ice sheet laterally relative to well 15. Heating of the ice sheet around the periphery of well 11 for the purposes of melting the ice,
  • a given location on a land-fast ice sheet may move at a rate of 5 ft. per day for more than 24 hours, although admittedly such extended movements of the ice sheet at these rates is not the usual situation.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates, in schematic form, a closed-loop heating and refrigerating system 45 which is useful in air cushion drillijng platform 10 or in any platform, whatever its purpose, according to this invention.
  • system 45 is useful for melting the walls of the water pool 36 to enable the water pool to stay stationary over a submerged well site during movement of the ice sheet.
  • system 45 is useful for enabling drilling platoform 10 to be used on land in arctic regions in a manner described more fully in the following remarks.
  • drilling platform 10 includes a plurality of prime movers 46 which may be gas turbine engines or internal combustion engines of eithr the otto or diesel cycles.
  • Each prime mover is equipped with an air intake duct 47 communicating through deck house 22 to the atmosphere, and an exhaust duct 48 connected between the prime mover and through the deck house to the atmosphere.
  • a conventional heat exchanger 49 is provided in association with each exhaust duct 48 from a prime mover so that a suitable heat transfer fluid circulating through the heat exchanger may be raised in temperature by the hot gases moving through the exhaust duct in response to operation of the prime mover.
  • System 45 also includes a plurality of heat exchange coils 50 which are disposed in intimate heat transfer contact with the inner surfaces of the submerged walls of barge 17. Heat exchange coils 50 are provided to implement the transfer of heat through the barge to and from the surroundings of the barge. The coils are connected to heat exchanger 49 via a manifold 51 and suitable throttle valves 52, and via check valves 53 to the intake of a circulating pump 54 which discharges via a valve 55 to heat exchanger 49. One or more heat exchange coils 50 are provided in each of different discrete heat transfer areas associated with the bottom and side walls of the barge.
  • System 45 also includes, for purposes of refrigeration, a compressor 56 and a condenser 57 which are connected in series relationship to each other in parallel with heat exchanger 49 in a closed-loop circuit which includes manifold 51, heat exchange coils 50 and pump 54.
  • Suitable valves 58 are provided in system 45 to isolate compressor 56 and condenser 57 when the system is used in its heating mode, and to isolate heat exchanger 49 when the system is being used in its refrigeration mode.
  • heat exchange coils 50 function as heating coils when heat transfer fluid is circulated through heat exchange device 49 during heating mode operation of the system.
  • heat exchange coils 50 function as refrigeration coils when the heat exchange medium is circulated through the compressor and condenser during refrigeration mode operation of the system.
  • heat exchange coils 50 are installed at least over the inner surfaces of the flat bottom of the barge l7 and may be provided, if desired, on the inner surfaces of the sloping side and end walls of the barge.
  • An open-loop heat transfer system 60 is shown in FIG. 6 and includes one or more prime movers 46 (only one prime mover is shown in FIG. 6), each equipped with an air inlet duct 47 and an exhaust duct 48 fitted with a heat exchange device 49 so that a substantial portion of the waste heat present in the exhaust from the prime mover may be recovered for use in system 60.
  • the heat exchange fluid used is sea water which is introduced into the system through a sea chest 61 connected preferably through the flat bottom of barge 17.
  • the inlet of a pump 62 is connected to the sea chest and discharges sea water under pressure to heat exchange device 49 where it is heated and then passed to a manifold 63.
  • Hot sea water passes from manifold 63 along separate paths, each of which includes a throttle valve 64 and a plurality of water discharge nozzles 65 represented schematically in FIG. 6 by a single nozzle element.
  • a throttle valve is provided for each discrete heat transfer area designated for a corresponding portion of the exterior surface of the barge hull.
  • Discharge nozzles 65 are located in the hull of barge 17 so that water introduced to the nozzles is discharged to the exterior of the barge at rel atively high velocity into water pool 36 and against the walls of ice well 11.
  • System 60 is a mechanical and thermal energy transfer system in that the velocity of the discharge from nozzles 65 operates to erode the walls of well 11 as a supplement to the melting produced by the heat energy in such discharge.
  • FIG. 8 illustrates another arrangement which may be use to provide heating of the bottom and side surfaces of barge 17 in furtherance of this invention.
  • Barge 17 is equipped with an inner bottom tank 78 and separate wing tanks 79 along the side, front and rear ends of the barge, respectively.
  • the outer walls of barge 17 define major portions of the boundaries of tanks 78 and 79.
  • Adequate temperature levels for maintaining ice well 11 at the appropriate depth may be achieved merely by circulating hot water, or a mixture of water and ethylene glycol, through inner bottom tank 78.
  • wing tanks 79 In the case of wing tanks 79, however, the greater requirements for heat transfer from the barge to the ice sheet require that the heated liquid be agitated somewhat.
  • Energy transfer system 160 includes a gas turbine 161 having a discharge end 162 from which exhaust gases flow at high temperature and velocity. Typically, the turbine exhaust temperature is about 1,000 F. A portion of the turbine exhaust gases are collected by the belled end 163 of a duct 164 which is disposed substantially coaxially of the turbine to the rear of the turbine a distance sufficient to prevent undue interference (by way of backpressure generation) with the operation of the turbine. The other end 165 of duct 164 discharges to the intake opening 166 of blower 21.
  • Blower 21 discharges air at about 2 psig via a duct 168, also equipped with a closable damper valve 169, to an air skirt air supply plenum 85 which is described hereinafter in greater detail.
  • End 165 of turbine exhaust duct 164 only partially closes the inlet opening to blower 21. Accordingly, when the blower is operated, both during air cushion operation of the platform and during floating operation of the platform, the gases discharged by the blower are at a temperature between ambient temperature (which may be as low as 65 F.) and the temperature of the turbine exhaust. The adjustment of damper 167 controls the temperature of the blower discharge.
  • a branch duct 171 extends from duct 168 between the blower and damper 169 to a pressurized air header 172 within barge 17.
  • a closable damper valve 173 is provided in branch duct 171.
  • a plurality of passages 174 each of which may be branched if desired, extend from the header to respective ones of a plurality of gaswater discharge assemblies 175 installed in the submerged portion of the walls of the barge to discharge to the exterior of the barge.
  • assemblies 175 are arranged in discrete energy transfer areas of the barge hull surfaces. Only one of assemblies 175 is shown in FIG. 20.
  • a closable damper valve 176 is provided in each passage 174.
  • each gas-water discharge assembly 175 includes a venturi 178 defined by the terminal portion of corresponding passage 174.
  • a water discharge nozzle 179 is disposed substantially coaxially of the venturi adjacent the entrance end of the venturi.
  • the discharge end of the venturi is flared so as to cooperate with water discharged into the venturi by nozzle 179 at high pressure to cause hot low pressure gas to be educted via passage 174 from header 172.
  • Nozzle 179 is defined at the end of a pipe 180 which extends to a pressurized water manifold 181 coupled to the discharge of a pump 182.
  • the pump intake is connected to the discharge end of a suction pipe 183 which has an inlet end disposed below the light-weight waterline of barge 17 in centerwell 26.
  • a pipe 180 is provided for each of assemblies 175 and each such pipe preferably includes a throttle valve 184.
  • Each of assemblies 175 operates to discharge mechanical and thermal energy through the barge hull to the adjacent face of ice well 11.
  • Mechanical energy is provided by the velocity head of the warm gas-water mixture discharged to the ice, and such energy is usefully expended in erosion of the ice sheet.
  • the thermal energy in the discharge mixture melts the ice sheet and keeps the water in pool 36 above the freezing point.
  • the discharge from blower 21, during floating operation of platform 10, may be regulated to have a temperature of, say, F.; this discharge is at 2 psig.
  • the water supplied to pump 182 is at about 28 F. and the discharge pressure of the pump may be at 35 psig. Because of the pressure differential between manifold 181 and header 172, substantial warm gas from the header will be entrained in the water discharged from each of assemblies 175. The temperature of the gas-water mixture discharged from the hull through each of assemblies will be significantly above 28 F.
  • the precise temperature of each gas-water discharge mixture is determined by the setting of valves 176 and 184 for each assembly 175. It is also apparent that the adjustment of valves 176 and 184 determines the amount of thermal and mechanical energy transferred per unit time from the barge to the ice sheet via each of assembles 175.
  • chemcial energy may be used to assist in removal of ice around pool 36 and to prevent pool 36 from freezing.
  • a reservoir 186 for ethylene glycol for example, is provided in barge 17 and is connected by suitable conduit 187 to the pressurized water system.
  • the discharge from each of assemblies 175 may contain a suitable portion of ethylene glycol which is effective in pool 36 to lower the freezing point of the pool water and to assist in the ice melting process.
  • Air skirt 84 preferably is fabricated in principal part of rubberized fabric which tends to become stiff and brittle, so as to tend to crack when flexed,-at low temperatures.
  • the structures provided by this invention are intended for use in conditions of extreme cold, say 65 F. or colder.
  • valve 173 in duct 171 is closed and valve 169 in duct 168 is fully opened.
  • Damper 167 in duct 164 is set so that the temperature of the air supplied to air skirt 84 is about 30-F., i.e., slightly below the freezing point of water for the pressure encountered within the skirt below the barge. This temperature of about 30 F.
  • P16. 21 is a schematic diagram of another energy transfer system 190 which may be used where the prime movers of the platform include a gas turbine 161.
  • System 190 is arranged for use only during floating operation of the platform in a well formed in ice sheet 12.
  • An energy conversion unit 191 is mounted substantially coaxially of turbine 161 adjacent the discharge end of the turbine.
  • the conversion unit has an open end 192 adjacent the turbine and an internal chamber 193 to which the open end of the unit communicates.
  • the conversion unit is disposed sufficiently close to the turbine to receive a substantial portion of the turbine exhaust gases.
  • the energy conversion unit may be placed sufficiently close to the turbine to reduce the efficiency of the turbine; this result is permissible since the turbine, in this instance, is used to provide hot high pressure gas, not primarily for the production of power.
  • Energy conversion unit 191 operates to convert the velocity energy of the turbine exhaust gases entering the unit to pressure energy within chamber 193. In effect, the unit serves much the same purpose a a compressor for the exhaust from the turbine.
  • Chamber 193 ' is connected to a pressurized gas header 172 in the barge by a duct 194.
  • the connection of the duct to unit 191 is severable, as at 195, so that the conversion unit may be decoupled from the turbine during air cushion operation of the platform when maximum turbine efficiency is required to satisfy the power requirements of all blowers 21 of the platform.
  • Header 172 is connected via a plurality of passages 174 to a plurality of gas-water discharge assemblies which are substantially in accord with the preceding description.
  • each assembly 175 includes a venturi 178 anda pressurized water nozzle 179.
  • Water at high pres sure is supplied to the nozzle via a corresponding pipe 180 from a manifold 181 connected to the discharge of a pump 182 which has its suction in centerwell 26 below the barge shallow draft waterline.
  • a throttle valve 184 is provided in each water line 180.
  • Discharge assemblies 175 are grouped in discrete energy transfer areas of the barges exterior surfaces.
  • Duct 197 has a plurality of outlets 199, preferably one in each hot gas passage from header 172 to a discharge assembly 175.
  • air at an ambient temperature of as low as 65 F. or so is taken into gas turbine 161 and discharged from the turbine at about ambient temperature but at about 60 psig through duct 197.
  • the exhaust from the turbine is at high velocity and has a temperature of about l,000 F.
  • a portion of this exhaust is converted in unit 191 to gas at the same temperature with a pressure of about 60 psig in chamber 193 and in header 172.
  • thehot gas from the header and the cold air from duct 197 are mixed to provide a gas-air mixture having a pressure of about 60 psig and a temperature of about 160 F. This mixture is combined with water at 60 psig and about 28 F.
  • FIG. 9 is a top plan view of an air cushion drilling platform 10 moored in well 11 formed in the upper surface of ice sheet 12.
  • a mooring line 67 extends from each of winches 32 to an anchoring device 68 fixed in the ice sheet at a desired distance from the platform.
  • respective ones of mooring lines 67 are designated as mooring lines 67a, 67b, 67c and 67d, respectively.
  • Anchoring devices 68 may be simple wooden piles or the like frozen into ice sheet 12 at the desired distance from well 11.
  • anchors 68 be so positioned, relative to the four corners of the platform, that mooring lines 67 extend from the paltform along lines which make an angle of 45 to the center line of the platform. That is, the mooring lines extend in substantially orthogonal horizontal directions from the platform.
  • platform 10 is moored via mooring lines 67 to the ice sheet, rathre than through the ice sheet to anchors disposed on the ocean floor.
  • platform 10 is seen to be different from conventional floating drilling vessels or barges which are moored to the ocean floor. Platform 10 instead is moored only to the ice sheet, and for this reason lateral movement of the ice sheet imposes no load upon the platform mooring system. If mooring lines 67 were to extend through the ice sheet to anchors on the ocean floor, movement of the ice sheet would impose loads on the lines sufficient to part the lines (assuming the anchors hold) or sufficient to pull the anchors out of or along the ocean floor.
  • anchors 68 be established at positions which are spaced substantially from the platform when the platform is first set down in or on the ice sheet over the desired submerged location.
  • the initial paid out length of mooring lines 670 to 67d should be substantially greater than the maximum total distance it is expected pool 11 be moved in any direction in the ice sheet over the period required to carry out the desired operations in association with the submerged location. If, however, this expected maximum total distance should be exceeded to any significant extent while the platform is in position in pool 36, the anchors are reset in the ice sheet at a greater distance from the platform.
  • barge 17 of platform has a front end 69, a port side 70, an aft end 71 and a starboard side 72.
  • the ice sheet moves relative to the submerged well site below barge center wall 26 from a direction approaching the front port quarter of the barge, i.e., along the line of mooring line 67a.
  • the position of barge center well 26 be maintained essentially stationary over th submerged well site during movement of the ice sheet from this direction (represented by the arrow in FIG. 9), it is necessary that the position of ice well 11 be moved across the surface of the ice sheet in the direction of mooring line 67a toward the anchor to which mooring line 67a is connected.
  • each of the barge side, end and bottom surfaces constitutes at least one discrete energy transfer area. Also, it is for this reason that the use of an openloop system of the type illustrated in FIG. 6, for example, is preferred in cooperation with the barge end and side surfaces.
  • the open-loop heating system which includes controllable banks of water discharge nozzles 65, allows precise control over the heat flux applied from the barge via each discrete energy transfer area to the walls of ice well 11 at any point around the periphery of the barge.
  • Each one of nozzles 65 represents a plurality of nozzles associated with a particular discrete heat transfer area of the barge. In FIG. 7, however, the nozzles at different elevations along, say, one vertical plane associated with barge w front end 69 are illustrated.
  • Throttle valve 64 is provided to regulate the quantity (volume rate) of hot water supplied from manifold 63 to the front end water discharge nozzles relative to the quantity of water supplied, for example, to barge starboard side 70.
  • Each horizontal row of water discharge nozzles associated with barge front end 69 is connected to valve 64 through a separate control valve 75; if desired, each individual discharge nozzle may have its own control valve associated with it.
  • the open-loop ice heating system provided in barge 17 includes valving adequate to enable precise control over the several water discharge nozzles installed in the end and side surfaces of the barge.
  • the coil is lowered within the center well so as to surround the riser pipe within hole 37, as shown in FIG. 8.
  • the heating coil may be of the electrical resistance type or of the circulating fluid type in which the coil serves a function much like that of coils 50 of closed-loop heating system
  • a platform contemplated by this invention includes a removable air cushion circumferential skirt 84.
  • Skirt 84 is detachably mounted to barge 17 in cooperation with a circumferential air supply plenum 85 which preferably extends around the barge adjacent to the gunwale.
  • the interior of plenum 85 is connected at appropriate locations by suitable ducts 86 to the several air blowers 21 provided within deck house 22.
  • the structure of plenum be of generally inverted L configuration in cross-section.
  • the horizontal leg of the L defines the top surface 87 of the plenum substantially coplanar with the deck of barge 17.
  • the vertical leg of the L defines'the outer wall 88 of the plenum substantially parallel to but outboard of the upper vertical portion of the barge side and end surfaces.
  • the bottom of the plenum- is open along the entire extent of the plenum circumferentially of the barge except for the provision of rigidifying braces 89 (see also FIG. 3) positioned at appropriate intervals around the length of the plenum.
  • Skirt 84 preferably is constructed essentially entirely of airtight flexible sheet material such as a rubberized fabric, or the like.
  • the skirt has inner and outer sheets 90 and 91, respectively, which extend from upper margins 92 adjacent the plenum to lower margins 93 disposed, during air cushion mode operation of the platform, below the bottom of barge 17 be a desired distance.
  • Suitable web sheets 94 are secured transversely between the skirt inner and outer sheets to maintain the desired spacing between these inner and outer sheets during periods when air is supplied to the interior of the skirt under pressure from plenum 85.
  • Web sheets 94 also assist in defining the normal inflated configuration of the skirt.
  • air cushion skirt 84 do not form a portion of this invention.
  • FIG. 10 the basic principles and structural features of an air cushion skirt 84 suitable for use with a platform according to this invention are illustrated in FIG. 10.
  • the inner sheet of skirt 84 is perforated, as at 95, adjacent its lower margin to admit the high pressure air within the skirt to the space provided below barge l7 and the top of ice sheet 12.
  • the clearance provided between the bottom of the bargeand the top of the ice sheet during air cushion mode operation is approximately 6 ft., such clearance being produced by air having a plenum pressure of approximately lbs. per square foot gauge pressure.
  • the inner and outer sheets of skirt 84 may be inclined to a vertical reference plane, as illustrated in FIG. 4, for example, and the communication from the interior of the skirt to the region below the barge may be through a space provided between the lower margins of the inner and outer sheets of the skirt.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates that a plenum 96 for an air cushion skirt may be provided circumferentially of the barge above the barge gunwale and supported relative to the deck of the barge by suitable brackets 97.

Landscapes

  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Earth Drilling (AREA)
  • Communication Cables (AREA)
US00130092A 1971-04-01 1971-04-01 Arctic oil and gas development Expired - Lifetime US3749162A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US13009271A 1971-04-01 1971-04-01

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3749162A true US3749162A (en) 1973-07-31

Family

ID=22443021

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00130092A Expired - Lifetime US3749162A (en) 1971-04-01 1971-04-01 Arctic oil and gas development

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US3749162A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CA (1) CA986325A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1385081A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
NO (1) NO133851C (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (40)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3831385A (en) * 1972-06-26 1974-08-27 Chevron Res Arctic offshore platform
US3837311A (en) * 1972-10-05 1974-09-24 Sun Oil Co Apparatus for melting ice
US4073144A (en) * 1976-06-15 1978-02-14 Sun Oil Company Limited Ice removal system
US4075964A (en) * 1975-08-29 1978-02-28 Global Marine, Inc. Ice melting system
US4256188A (en) * 1978-07-17 1981-03-17 Resource Development Consultants Ltd. Method and apparatus for drilling a hole in a body of ice and for the destruction of a body of ice
US4260292A (en) * 1979-10-25 1981-04-07 The Offshore Company Arctic offshore platform
US4270476A (en) * 1979-07-05 1981-06-02 Dome Petroleum Limited Barge construction for warm air canopy ice-free zone
US4328760A (en) * 1979-07-05 1982-05-11 Dome Petroleum Limited Skirt construction
US4335980A (en) * 1980-04-28 1982-06-22 Chevron Research Company Hull heating system for an arctic offshore production structure
US4375835A (en) * 1979-12-21 1983-03-08 The British Petroleum Company Limited Oil production system
US4613001A (en) * 1983-09-21 1986-09-23 Gotaverken Arendal Ab Weather protected offshore drilling rig
US6273193B1 (en) * 1997-12-16 2001-08-14 Transocean Sedco Forex, Inc. Dynamically positioned, concentric riser, drilling method and apparatus
US6745852B2 (en) 2002-05-08 2004-06-08 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Platform for drilling oil and gas wells in arctic, inaccessible, or environmentally sensitive locations
US20070280784A1 (en) * 2004-04-02 2007-12-06 Aquavilla Ab Floating Structure In The Shape Of A Concrete Cofferdam And A Method For Moulding The Concrete Cofferdam
US20100074686A1 (en) * 2008-09-19 2010-03-25 Towley Iii Carl K Structure forming a breakwater and capable of ice free, year round operation
US20100314121A1 (en) * 2007-06-26 2010-12-16 Soerenson Bjoern Bro Well apparatus
US7882646B2 (en) 2004-07-19 2011-02-08 Earthrenew, Inc. Process and system for drying and heat treating materials
US7975398B2 (en) * 2004-07-19 2011-07-12 Earthrenew, Inc. Process and system for drying and heat treating materials
ITPI20100039A1 (it) * 2010-03-29 2011-09-30 Sime S R L Metodo e apparato per ridurre la pressione di un gas naturale alla testa-pozzo
WO2011159563A3 (en) * 2010-06-14 2012-02-16 Shell Oil Company Subsea completions and well interventions using a vessel of opportunity
US8156662B2 (en) 2006-01-18 2012-04-17 Earthrenew, Inc. Systems for prevention of HAP emissions and for efficient drying/dehydration processes
WO2012060531A1 (ko) * 2010-11-01 2012-05-10 대우조선해양 주식회사 극지용 시추선
WO2012060530A1 (ko) * 2010-11-05 2012-05-10 대우조선해양 주식회사 극지용 시추선
CN102619239A (zh) * 2012-04-18 2012-08-01 中国水电顾问集团中南勘测设计研究院 一种利用热液喷淋单元消减海洋工程结构物冰荷载的装置
US20120291684A1 (en) * 2011-05-19 2012-11-22 Gavin Humphreys Ice Breaking Drilling Vessel With Stowable Mast
KR20130045318A (ko) * 2013-04-19 2013-05-03 대우조선해양 주식회사 극지용 시추선
US8568063B2 (en) 2009-04-30 2013-10-29 Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company Mooring system for floating arctic vessel
US20140130440A1 (en) * 2011-06-16 2014-05-15 Bassoe Technology Ab Drilling derrick for offshore drilling incorporating a stressed-skin and offshore platform
US20150027430A1 (en) * 2013-07-29 2015-01-29 Soo-Jin Kim Ice melting apparatus for ship voyage
US9004184B2 (en) 2011-02-02 2015-04-14 Shell Oil Company Method and wellbore system
CN105822267A (zh) * 2016-03-31 2016-08-03 杨溢 一种开采深海天然气水合物的方法与开采装置
CN105822265A (zh) * 2016-03-24 2016-08-03 西南石油大学 外置浮箱多层电热支架的海底天然气收集装置及方法
CN105840099A (zh) * 2016-03-21 2016-08-10 四川宏华石油设备有限公司 一种极地钻机
US9586661B1 (en) * 2016-01-04 2017-03-07 The United States Of America As Represented By Secretary Of The Navy Unmanned underwater vehicle sea floor separation device
US20180038205A1 (en) * 2016-08-03 2018-02-08 Mohamed Hashem Remediation of oil spills under sea ice
US20190233202A1 (en) * 2016-02-08 2019-08-01 Mclaughlin Group, Inc. Fill device for a water reservoir tank
US20190264596A1 (en) * 2018-02-26 2019-08-29 Robert John Sharp Positionable emissions control watercraft
US10953960B1 (en) * 2018-01-22 2021-03-23 Robert John Sharp Self-propelled emissions control servicing watercraft
US20210171164A1 (en) * 2018-01-22 2021-06-10 Stax Engineering, Inc. STAXcraft
CN116161544A (zh) * 2023-04-23 2023-05-26 青岛明珠钢结构有限公司 Fpso船的大型火炬塔的吊装工艺

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4323322A (en) 1979-07-05 1982-04-06 Dome Petroleum Limited Warm air canopy system for providing ice-free zone

Cited By (68)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3831385A (en) * 1972-06-26 1974-08-27 Chevron Res Arctic offshore platform
US3837311A (en) * 1972-10-05 1974-09-24 Sun Oil Co Apparatus for melting ice
US4075964A (en) * 1975-08-29 1978-02-28 Global Marine, Inc. Ice melting system
US4117794A (en) * 1975-08-29 1978-10-03 Global Marine, Inc. Ice melting system and method
US4073144A (en) * 1976-06-15 1978-02-14 Sun Oil Company Limited Ice removal system
US4256188A (en) * 1978-07-17 1981-03-17 Resource Development Consultants Ltd. Method and apparatus for drilling a hole in a body of ice and for the destruction of a body of ice
US4270476A (en) * 1979-07-05 1981-06-02 Dome Petroleum Limited Barge construction for warm air canopy ice-free zone
US4328760A (en) * 1979-07-05 1982-05-11 Dome Petroleum Limited Skirt construction
US4260292A (en) * 1979-10-25 1981-04-07 The Offshore Company Arctic offshore platform
US4375835A (en) * 1979-12-21 1983-03-08 The British Petroleum Company Limited Oil production system
US4335980A (en) * 1980-04-28 1982-06-22 Chevron Research Company Hull heating system for an arctic offshore production structure
US4613001A (en) * 1983-09-21 1986-09-23 Gotaverken Arendal Ab Weather protected offshore drilling rig
US6273193B1 (en) * 1997-12-16 2001-08-14 Transocean Sedco Forex, Inc. Dynamically positioned, concentric riser, drilling method and apparatus
US6745852B2 (en) 2002-05-08 2004-06-08 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Platform for drilling oil and gas wells in arctic, inaccessible, or environmentally sensitive locations
US20100143044A1 (en) * 2002-05-08 2010-06-10 Kadaster Ali G Method and System for Building Modular Structures from Which Oil and Gas Wells are Drilled
US20070280784A1 (en) * 2004-04-02 2007-12-06 Aquavilla Ab Floating Structure In The Shape Of A Concrete Cofferdam And A Method For Moulding The Concrete Cofferdam
US7421964B2 (en) * 2004-04-02 2008-09-09 Aquavilla Ab Floating structure in the shape of a concrete cofferdam and a method for moulding the concrete cofferdam
US7882646B2 (en) 2004-07-19 2011-02-08 Earthrenew, Inc. Process and system for drying and heat treating materials
US7975398B2 (en) * 2004-07-19 2011-07-12 Earthrenew, Inc. Process and system for drying and heat treating materials
US10094616B2 (en) 2004-07-19 2018-10-09 2292055 Ontario Inc. Process and system for drying and heat treating materials
US8156662B2 (en) 2006-01-18 2012-04-17 Earthrenew, Inc. Systems for prevention of HAP emissions and for efficient drying/dehydration processes
US20100314121A1 (en) * 2007-06-26 2010-12-16 Soerenson Bjoern Bro Well apparatus
US8511385B2 (en) * 2007-06-26 2013-08-20 Agility Projects As Well apparatus
US20100074686A1 (en) * 2008-09-19 2010-03-25 Towley Iii Carl K Structure forming a breakwater and capable of ice free, year round operation
US9233739B2 (en) 2009-04-30 2016-01-12 Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company Mooring system for floating arctic vessel
US8568063B2 (en) 2009-04-30 2013-10-29 Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company Mooring system for floating arctic vessel
WO2011121424A3 (en) * 2010-03-29 2011-12-08 Sime Srl A method and an apparatus for obtaining energy by expanding a gas at a wellhead
WO2011121424A2 (en) 2010-03-29 2011-10-06 Sime Srl A method and an apparatus for obtaining energy by expanding a gas at a wellhead
EA026765B1 (ru) * 2010-03-29 2017-05-31 СИМЕ Срл Способ и устройство для получения энергии путем расширения газа в устье скважины
US9394764B2 (en) 2010-03-29 2016-07-19 Sime Srl Method and an apparatus for obtaining energy by expanding a gas at a wellhead
ITPI20100039A1 (it) * 2010-03-29 2011-09-30 Sime S R L Metodo e apparato per ridurre la pressione di un gas naturale alla testa-pozzo
WO2011159563A3 (en) * 2010-06-14 2012-02-16 Shell Oil Company Subsea completions and well interventions using a vessel of opportunity
GB2493885A (en) * 2010-06-14 2013-02-20 Shell Int Research Subsea completions and well interventions using a vessel of opportunity
CN102947534A (zh) * 2010-06-14 2013-02-27 国际壳牌研究有限公司 使用随意船进行的海底完井和井采油修理作业
CN102947534B (zh) * 2010-06-14 2015-04-29 国际壳牌研究有限公司 使用随意船进行的海底完井和井采油修理作业
CN103261018A (zh) * 2010-11-01 2013-08-21 大宇造船海洋株式会社 用于极地区域的钻探船
WO2012060531A1 (ko) * 2010-11-01 2012-05-10 대우조선해양 주식회사 극지용 시추선
JP2013540646A (ja) * 2010-11-01 2013-11-07 デウ シップビルディング アンド マリーン エンジニアリング カンパニー リミテッド 極地用試錐船
CN103261018B (zh) * 2010-11-01 2016-08-03 大宇造船海洋株式会社 用于极地区域的钻探船
US9327806B2 (en) 2010-11-01 2016-05-03 Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. Drilling ship for a polar region
US9296449B2 (en) 2010-11-05 2016-03-29 Transocean Sedco Forex Ventures Limited Drilling ship for polar region
JP2013544703A (ja) * 2010-11-05 2013-12-19 デウ シップビルディング アンド マリーン エンジニアリング カンパニー リミテッド 極地用試錐船
WO2012060530A1 (ko) * 2010-11-05 2012-05-10 대우조선해양 주식회사 극지용 시추선
CN103282273B (zh) * 2010-11-05 2016-08-31 大宇造船海洋株式会社 用于极地区域的钻探船
CN103282273A (zh) * 2010-11-05 2013-09-04 大宇造船海洋株式会社 用于极地区域的钻探船
US9004184B2 (en) 2011-02-02 2015-04-14 Shell Oil Company Method and wellbore system
US9067649B2 (en) * 2011-05-19 2015-06-30 Stena Drilling Ltd. Ice breaking drilling vessel with stowable mast
US20120291684A1 (en) * 2011-05-19 2012-11-22 Gavin Humphreys Ice Breaking Drilling Vessel With Stowable Mast
US20140209004A1 (en) * 2011-05-19 2014-07-31 Stena Drilling Ltd. Ice Breaking Drilling Vessel With Stowable Mast
US20140130440A1 (en) * 2011-06-16 2014-05-15 Bassoe Technology Ab Drilling derrick for offshore drilling incorporating a stressed-skin and offshore platform
CN102619239A (zh) * 2012-04-18 2012-08-01 中国水电顾问集团中南勘测设计研究院 一种利用热液喷淋单元消减海洋工程结构物冰荷载的装置
KR20130045318A (ko) * 2013-04-19 2013-05-03 대우조선해양 주식회사 극지용 시추선
US20150027430A1 (en) * 2013-07-29 2015-01-29 Soo-Jin Kim Ice melting apparatus for ship voyage
US9586661B1 (en) * 2016-01-04 2017-03-07 The United States Of America As Represented By Secretary Of The Navy Unmanned underwater vehicle sea floor separation device
US20190233202A1 (en) * 2016-02-08 2019-08-01 Mclaughlin Group, Inc. Fill device for a water reservoir tank
US10773877B2 (en) * 2016-02-08 2020-09-15 Mclaughlin Group, Inc. Fill device for a water reservoir tank
CN105840099A (zh) * 2016-03-21 2016-08-10 四川宏华石油设备有限公司 一种极地钻机
CN105822265A (zh) * 2016-03-24 2016-08-03 西南石油大学 外置浮箱多层电热支架的海底天然气收集装置及方法
CN105822267A (zh) * 2016-03-31 2016-08-03 杨溢 一种开采深海天然气水合物的方法与开采装置
CN105822267B (zh) * 2016-03-31 2021-01-26 杨溢 一种开采深海天然气水合物的方法与开采装置
US9920599B2 (en) * 2016-08-03 2018-03-20 Mohamed Hashem Remediation of oil spills under sea ice
US20180038205A1 (en) * 2016-08-03 2018-02-08 Mohamed Hashem Remediation of oil spills under sea ice
US10953960B1 (en) * 2018-01-22 2021-03-23 Robert John Sharp Self-propelled emissions control servicing watercraft
US20210171164A1 (en) * 2018-01-22 2021-06-10 Stax Engineering, Inc. STAXcraft
US12071205B2 (en) * 2018-01-22 2024-08-27 Robert John Sharp Emissions control watercraft
US20190264596A1 (en) * 2018-02-26 2019-08-29 Robert John Sharp Positionable emissions control watercraft
US10970927B2 (en) * 2018-02-26 2021-04-06 Robert John Sharp Positionable emissions control watercraft
CN116161544A (zh) * 2023-04-23 2023-05-26 青岛明珠钢结构有限公司 Fpso船的大型火炬塔的吊装工艺

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA986325A (en) 1976-03-30
GB1385081A (en) 1975-02-26
NO133851B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1976-03-29
NO133851C (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1976-07-07

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US3749162A (en) Arctic oil and gas development
US3972199A (en) Low adhesional arctic offshore platform
US4335980A (en) Hull heating system for an arctic offshore production structure
US3831385A (en) Arctic offshore platform
US3366173A (en) Subsea production system
RU2514296C2 (ru) Система швартовки для арктического плавучего средства
US3750412A (en) Method of forming and maintaining offshore ice structures
US3952527A (en) Offshore platform for arctic environments
US3759046A (en) Movement of marine structures in saline ice
US4486125A (en) Modular arctic structures system
NO20101494A1 (no) Et lager, laste & losse system for lagring av hydrokarbonder pa vaeskeform med anvendelse for offshore installasjoner brukt til boring og produksjon
KR20160113174A (ko) 선박 탑재형 해양 열에너지 변환 시스템
US3738114A (en) Method and apparatus for forming ice island for drilling or the like
US4170266A (en) Apparatus and method for offshore drilling at great depths
US4456072A (en) Ice island structure and drilling method
US4325656A (en) Apparatus and method for forming off-shore ice island structure
US4431346A (en) Method of producing large bodies of ice
US4648749A (en) Method and apparatus for constructing an artificial island
JPS61246414A (ja) 着底式海洋掘削構築体
US4080798A (en) Arctic drilling base
EP0009986A1 (en) Support structure for use in water
CA1054809A (en) Low adhesional arctic offshore platform
CN1035524C (zh) 罐基组合式采油平台及施工方法
Wetmore et al. CIDS: A Mobile Concrete Island Drilling System for Arctic Offshore Operations
KR850001190B1 (ko) 대형 빙상(氷床)의 제조방법

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: CHEMICAL BANK, A NY CORP.

Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:GLOBAL MARINE INC.;REEL/FRAME:005294/0214

Effective date: 19891027