WO2005115879A1

WO2005115879A1 - “apparatus and method for transporting material”

Info

Publication number: WO2005115879A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/002091
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Mark Jerrum; Karl Emil Thomsen; William Andrew Anderson
Original assignee: Crackerbag(S) Limited
Priority date: 2004-05-25
Filing date: 2005-05-25
Publication date: 2005-12-08
Also published as: GB0411660D0

Abstract

An apparatus (10) for transporting material such as drill cuttings produced in hydrocarbon exploration. The apparatus (10) includes a substantially flexible body member (12; 12a, 12b) which is preferably in the form of one flexible bag (12), or two coaxially arranged flexible bags (12a, 12b). A closure mechanism (14; 16) is provided on at least one end of the flexible body member (12; 12a, 12b). The closure mechanism (14; 16) is actuable between an open and a closed configuration such that when in the closed configuration, the material is capable of being retained within the interior of the body member (12; 12a, 12b), and when in the open configuration material within the body member (12; 12a, 12b) is capable of exiting the body member (12; 12a, 12b). The or each closure mechanism (14; 16) grips a portion of the body member (12; 12a, 12b) between an outer (20) and an inner (18) securing member, where the outer securing member (20) is preferably in the form of a steel band clamp (20) and the inner securing member (18) is preferably in the form of a nylon coupling ring (18). A pair of seals (23) are preferably located in grooves formed about the outer circumference of the nylon coupling ring (18) and act between it and the inner circumference of the body member (12; 12a). A method of transporting material is also described.

Description

"Apparatus and Method for Transporting Material"

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for transporting material, and more particularly but not exclusively relates to an apparatus and method for transporting drill cuttings from offshore oil and gas drilling installations.

The process of drilling for hydrocarbons such as oil and gas produces a large amount of drill cuttings; that is, the material that is drilled out of the borehole. The drill cuttings will very often be coated in drilling mud and up until fairly recently it was permitted to dump the coated drill cuttings over the side of the drilling installation. However, in recent years, environmental concerns and legislation has required that drill cuttings be re- injected back into the formation or transported to treatment and disposal sites onshore. Conventionally, drill cuttings are treated on the offshore installation by primary and secondary separation equipment consisting of centrifuges and shale shakers to rid them of the majority of the expensive and potentially corrosive/harmful oil based and water based drilling mud. The drill cuttings are then loaded into a container (such as a skip) by being pumped or gravity fed into the container, and the container is then lifted off the offshore installation or drilling rig by means of a crane onto a rig supply boat or lorry. The rig supply boat or lorry then transports the container containing the drill cuttings to the treatment and disposal facility.

However, conventional containers in which the drill cuttings are transported are often difficult to empty in a straightforward and reliable fashion when full of drill cuttings. In addition, conventional containers have little or no sealing capability to prevent the drill cuttings from escaping from the container when, for example, the container is dropped by the lifting mechanism.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for transporting material comprising: - a substantially flexible body member; and a closure mechanism provided on at least one end of the body member, the closure mechanism being actuable between an open and a closed configuration such that when in the closed configuration, the material is capable of being retained within the interior of the body member, and when in the open configuration material within the body member is capable of exiting the body member.

Preferably, a closure mechanism is provided on each end of the body member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of transporting material comprising :- providing a substantially flexible body member; and a closure mechanism provided on each end of the body member; closing one end of the body member by actuating the closure mechanism from an open configuration to a closed configuration; inserting the material into the interior of the body member through the other end thereof; actuating the respective closure mechanism to close the other end of the body member; and lifting the body member with lifting means associated with the body member to permit transportation of the material.

Preferably, the or each closure mechanism comprises a securing member secured to the body member. More preferably, the or each securing member is secured to the body member by gripping a portion thereof. Typically, the or each securing member is adapted to grip a portion of the body member between an outer and an inner member. Preferably, the outer member comprises a band which may be arranged to provide a compressing force, and which is typically formed of either one ^λC shaped section or a pair of ^ΛC shaped sections having an inner diameter and which are clamped or are otherwise brought together around the inner member.

Preferably, the inner member comprises a ring which has an outer diameter which is preferably at or close to the inner diameter of the outer member.

Preferably, the or each closure mechanism further comprises a removable cover or cap which is selectively retainable within the or each closure mechanism. Preferably, the cover is selectively retainable within the or each closure mechanism via locking means.

Typically, the removable cover is provided with a locking means receiving groove. Typically, the securing means and more preferably the inner member is also provided with a locking means receiving groove.

When the cover is placed within the securing member the locking means receiving groove on the inner member and the locking means receiving groove on the removable cover create a locking means receiving portion therebetween.

Preferably, a locking means is selectively provided between at least a portion of the locking means receiving groove on the securing member and the locking means receiving groove on the cover. Typically, the locking means comprises a removable member which is preferably an elongate wire member. Alternatively, the locking means comprises beads or other substantially incompressible members.

Optionally, the removable cover is attached to a portion of the or each closure mechanism, preferably, via hinging means.

Preferably, the removable cover is a substantially solid disc.

Preferably, the body member is a flexible bag which is typically substantially cylindrical.

Preferably, the body member is provided with a retention means adapted to substantially prevent at least a portion of the body member from moving with respect to the or each closure mechanism. Typically, the retention means comprises at least one substantially circumferentially arranged raised portion or lip which is restricted from passing between the outer and inner securing members. More preferably, retention means is provided on each side of the portion of the body member being prevented from moving with respect to the or each closure mechanism. Typically, the raised portion is formed of a cord which is located within an overlapped portion of the flexible bag. Typically, one or more lifting means is provided on a portion of at least one of the closure mechanisms which is preferably the in use upper closure mechanism.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :- Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a side view of a first embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention; Fig. la is an exploded side view of a second embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a detailed cross sectional view of a lower closure mechanism of Fig. 1 in a closed configuration; Fig. 2a is an exploded side view of a lower closure mechanism of Fig. la; Fig. 3 is a more detailed view of one half of the (in use) lower closure mechanism of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the closure mechanism of Fig. 3 where the interaction of the bag and the closure mechanism is shown; Fig. 5 is a detailed cross sectional view of the (in use) upper closure mechanism of Fig. 1; Fig. 5a is an exploded view of the upper closure mechanism of Fig. la; Fig. 6 is a more detailed view of one half of the upper closure mechanism of Fig. 5; Fig. 7a is a cross sectional side view of a cap of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 7b is a detailed view of a formation provided on the circumference of the cap of Fig. 7a; Fig. 7c is a detailed view of a lower groove formation provided on the circumference of the cap of Fig. 7a; Fig. 8a is a plan view of a closure ring of the apparatus of Fig. 1; and Fig. 8b is a cross sectional view of a closure ring of Fig. 8a taken through the line A-A.

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of an apparatus 10 for storing and transporting material such as drill cuttings which are a waste by-product of the exploration for, and exploitation of, oil and gas. Fig. 1A shows a second embodiment of an apparatus 10 which is largely similar to the apparatus 10 of Fig.l; differences between the embodiments will be discussed hereinafter but similarities will not be discussed.

The apparatus 10 of Fig. 1 comprises a flexible bag 12, which is secured to lower 14 and upper 16 closure mechanisms. The bag 12 is also provided with securing lips 24 (Figs. 2, 4 and 5) at the upper and lower end of the bag 12. Suitable securing lips may be provided by a Kedar strip which is formed on the bag 12 during manufacture by wrapping an end portion of the bag 12 around a cord 25 and then attaching the end of the bag 12 back onto the main body of the bag 12 as shown in Fig. 4. It should be noted that in the present embodiment as shown in Fig. 1, the bag 12 is a substantially pear shaped member made from a flexible plastics material such as polyvinylchloride based fabric or a laminate, and the ^λpear' shape depicted by Fig. 1 is formed to enable the capacity of the bag 12 to be optimal.

The embodiment shown in Fig. la comprises an inner bag 12A which is equivalent to the bag 12 of the embodiment of Fig. 1, and also comprises an optional outer bag 12B which may also be used in order to increase the strength of the overall bag 12A; 12B thereby obviating the possibility of unwanted loss of material from the apparatus. In this case, the inner bag 12A is co-axially located within the outer bag 12B, with the inner bag 12A being slightly longer than the outer bag 12B such that the inner 12A and outer 12B bags are secured within the apparatus 10 as if they were one bag 12. Consequently, the inner 12A and outer 12B bags will effectively form one substantially flexible body member.

As best seen in Fig. 2, the in use lower closure mechanism 14 comprises a closure ring 18 which is secured to the bag 12 via a clamp in the form of a steel band 20 which is provided around the outer circumference of the closure ring 18 in the manner of a sleeve in order to sandwich a lower end portion of the bag 12 therebetween; the steel band 20 is located on the lower end portion of the bag 12 such that the securing lip/Kedar strip 24 is lower than the steel band 20 such that, in use, the securing lip/Kedar strip 24 will be prevented from moving upwards by the steel band 20. During installation of the steel band 20, it is placed around the ring 18 in a pair of C shaped or semi-circular sections which are closed around the ring 18. The outer circumference of the ring 18 is contoured to accept the inner circumference of the band 20 in order to increase the gripping capability of the band 20 on the lower end portion of the bag 12. A pair of 0'- ring neoprene seals and/or Kedar filler or similar seals 23 shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are mounted in respective purpose designed grooves formed within the closure ring 18 and are compressed to form a seal against the inner circumference of the inner bag 12A following tightening of the steel band clamp 20.

Also, for the lower closure mechanism of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1A, when the optional outer bag 12B is used in conjunction with the inner bag 12A, the securing lip/Kedar strip 24 of the inner bag 12B is vertically below the securing lip/Kedar strip 24 of the outer bag 12B which in turn in vertically below the steel band clamp 20 such that, in use, the steel band clamp 20 prevents movement of the ends of firstly the outer 12B and secondly the inner 12A bags toward the centre of the apparatus. In other words, the pair of Kedar strips 24 of the inner bag 12A are arranged to be spaced further apart from one another along the longitudinal axis than the pair of Kedar strips 24 of the outer bag 12B.

The grip of the steel band 20 on the material of the bag 20 may be tightened by adjusting a pair of bolt assembly clamps 22 which draws the two ^ΛC shaped sections together. Alternatively, the steel band 20 may be formed in one substantially circular ^ΛC shaped band with the gap between the ends of the band 20 being closed together by one bolt assembly clamp 22.

The closure ring 18 in the embodiments shown comprises a nylon composite material; however, other suitable rigid materials could be used. A recess 26 is also provided on the, in use, lower inner end of the closure ring 18 in order to accept a closure cap 28.

In order to ease manufacture of the apparatus 10, the closure ring 18 may comprise a number of partial segments e.g. quarter segments which when joined together form the complete ring 18.

As best seen in Figs. 7a and 7b, the closure cap 28 comprises a disc shaped member which is provided with grooves 30 and 32 around its circumference. An ^λ0' ring seal 34 (Fig. 3) is provided in the groove 32. The closure cap 28 in the embodiments shown comprises a nylon composite material; however, other suitable rigid materials could be used. It should be noted that though the cap 28 shown in Fig. 3 is provided with a shoulder which in use abuts against recess 26_r this is not necessary to ensure proper operation of the apparatus since the bottom or innermost face of the cap 28 (as opposed to a shoulder) may simply rest upon the recess 26, as shown in Fig. 4. Also, though the outermost face of the cap 28 shown in Fig. 3 does not project flush with the outermost face of the closure ring 18, it may be modified to do so as shown in Fig. 4.

The embodiment shown in Fig. la is provided with a cap sealing ring 27 which, in use, is located between the recess 26 and the inner most face of the cap 28 in order to provide a seal therebetween. The cap sealing ring 27 is preferably formed of a polyurethane material such as S-ECOPUR (RTM) manufactured by Economos Austria GMBH of Judenburg, Austria.

The larger groove 30 on the cap 28, in conjunction with a recess 38 formed on the inner circumference of the closure ring 18, is adapted to accept a wire rope 36 or similar. The wire rope 36 may be formed of a flexible incompressible material such as steel or may take the form of beads etc..

The in use upper closure mechanism 16 will now be described. It should be noted that in order to minimise manufacturing costs, the upper closure mechanism 16 shares certain common features with the lower closure mechanism 14 and where this applies these features have been referred to in the description with similar numerals. The suffix ^λa' has been given to components of the upper closure mechanism 16 where this applies.

The steel band 20a, clamp 22a, wire rope 36a, ^λO' ring seal 34a, closure cap 28a, and closure ring 18a of the upper closure mechanism 16 are substantially the same as those previously described for the lower closure mechanism 14 and hence further description of these components is not required. The upper closure cap 28a also comprises a removable top lid 29 which may be removed to permit ease of filling of the bag 12 since the rest of the closure cap 28 need not then be removed.

An attachment point 42 is also provided on the upper closure cap 28a as shown in Fig. 1 which allows the apparatus 10 to be lifted by e.g. a crane hook (not shown) . Although only one attachment point 42 is shown in Fig. 1, many such points may be provided in order to spread the load around the upper closure ring 18a and the bag 12 when the apparatus 10 is suspended from the attachment points 42. The embodiment shown in Fig. la and Fig. 5a has a number of attachment points spaced apart around the outer circumference of the upper closure ring 18a.

Referring to Fig. 4, a skirt 40 is attached around the circumference of the internal wall of the main bag 12. The skirt 40 may be formed on the bag 12 during manufacture and may also be formed of the same material as the bag 12. When the closure mechanism 14 is in the closed configuration (as shown in Fig. 4) the skirt 40 rests on the closure ring 18 and on the inside of the closure cap 28. In operation, the semi-fluidic nature of the drill cuttings entering the bag 12 tends to press the skirt 40 against the internal wall of closure ring 18 and the inside of the closure cap 28 in order to provide a seal which prevents the drill cuttings from escaping on either side of the closure ring 18. The upper end of the bag 12 is also provided with a skirt 40 as shown in Fig. 4.

The bag 12 material may be any flexible material capable of withstanding the stresses likely to be exerted upon it during operation of the apparatus 10. A particularly suitable material is a geometric webbing material such as that described in International (PCT) Patent Application Publication No WO03/078277, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The dimensions of the bag will typically be in the region of 1 metre in diameter, and around 3 to 4 metres in length; however, greater or smaller dimension bags may be used as required.

In use, the lower closure mechanism 14 is attached to the lower end of the bag 12 by sandwiching the lower edge of the bag 12 between the steel band 20 and the closure ring 18 as previously described. In this regard, the securing lip 24 assists in preventing the closure ring 18 from slipping off the end of the bag 12 since any force which tends to pull the closure ring 18 off the bag 12 will cause the securing lip 24 to come into contact with the steel band 20. The closure ring 18 will therefore not be able to slip off the bag 12 unless the material of the bag 12 is torn or the steel band 20 buckles. The force required .to tear the material or buckle the band 20 is far greater than the operational forces the apparatus 10 will experience in normal operation.

Before the apparatus 10 can be filled with drill cuttings it is necessary to close off the lower end of the apparatus 10 by installing the closure cap 28 in the lower closure mechanism 14. This is done by placing the closure cap 28 into the recess 26 provided on the closure ring 18. This creates a circular cross section channel 30, 38 between the outer circumference of the cap 28 and the inner circumference of the closure ring 18 due to the alignment between the recess 38 on the closure ring 18 and the groove 30 on the cap 28. Wire rope 36 is then inserted into this channel 30, 38 by pushing it (preferably manually via a handle (not shown) ) through an aperture 44 in the wall of the closure ring 18. The wire 36 is progressed through the channel 30, 38 until it resides within the majority of the channel 30, 38. The presence of the wire 36 in the channel between the recess 38 on the closure ring 18 and the groove 30 on the cap 28 prevents the cap 28 from being removed from the closure ring 18 due to the abutment therebetween.

With the lower closure mechanism 14 secured to the bottom of the bag 12 and the cap 28 secured within the closure mechanism 14, the apparatus 10 may now be filled with drill cuttings. This is done by attaching the upper closure mechanism 16 to the upper end of the bag 12 in a similar fashion as previously described for the lower mechanism 14 and then suspending the apparatus 10 from a suitable frame or other structure (not shown) by the upper closure mechanism 16. With the upper closure mechanism 16 in the open position (i.e. when the upper cap 28a is not located on the upper closure mechanism 16a) the apparatus 10 can now be filled with drill cuttings.

Once filled with drill cuttings, the upper cap 28a is then placed into the recess 26a in the upper closure mechanism 18a. The upper cap 28a is then secured within the upper closure mechanism 18a by inserting a wire rope 36a in the same way as previously described for the lower closure mechanism 14.

In this way, the apparatus 10 provides a container which is sealed at each end in order to prevent drill cuttings from leaking out of the apparatus 10 even when, for example, the apparatus 10 is dropped. The sealing capability of each closure mechanism 14, 16 is provided by a combination of the skirts 40, 40a, the 0' ring seals 34, 34a and the close fit between the outer diameter of the caps 28, 28a and the inner diameter of the closure rings 18, 18a. This sealing capability is especially important in offshore operations where environmental factors must be taken into account i.e. if the apparatus 10 is accidentally dropped into the sea, it must be capable of retaining its contents whilst it rests upon the sea bed.

With the apparatus 10 filled with drill cuttings and each end sealed by the lower 14 and upper 16 closure mechanisms, the apparatus 10 may now be moved by a crane or other suitable lifting means onto e.g. a rig supply vessel (not shown) for onward transportation to a processing facility such as an onshore treatment and disposal facility.

When it is required to empty the drill cuttings from the apparatus 10, either the lower cap 28 or upper cap 28a is removed by removing the wire rope 36 from the respective closure mechanism. This is preferably done whilst the apparatus 10 is suspended from either its upper or lower end. In this regard the reader should note that the similarities between each of the lower 14 and upper 16 closure mechanisms combined with ability of the bag 12 to adopt an appropriate shape allows the apparatus 10 to be suspended from either of closure mechanisms 14 and 16 with only very minor modifications being required (i.e. providing additional attachment points 42) without adversely affecting the operation of the apparatus 10. Though omitted from the drawings, the caps 28, 28a may be provided with a safety hinge or other suitable coupling means to the closure ring 18, 18a in order to prevent the cap 28, 28a from falling due to gravity when the cap 28, 28a is released from the apparatus 10.

With the apparatus 10 now empty, it can be stored for re-use at a later stage by allowing the bag 12 to collapse.

Modifications and improvements may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention, for example :-

Although only one securing lip 24, 24a is provided on each end of the bag 12, a pair of securing lips may be provided with one securing lip provided on each side of the closure rings 18, 18a. In this way the securing lips restrict both upward and downward movement of the closure rings 18, 18a with respect to the bag 12.

Claims

CLAIMS : -

1. An apparatus for transporting material comprising :- a substantially flexible body member; and a closure mechanism provided on at least one end of the body member, the closure mechanism being actuable between an open and a closed configuration such that when in the closed configuration, the material is capable of being retained within the interior of the body member, and when in the open configuration material within the body member is capable of exiting the body member.

2. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 1, wherein a closure mechanism is provided on each end of the body member.

3. An apparatus for transporting material according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the or each closure mechanism grips a portion of the body member between an outer and an inner securing member.

4. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 3, wherein the outer member comprises a band member arranged to provide a compressing force.

5. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 4, wherein the band member is formed of a ^ΛC shaped section having an inner diameter wherein the ends of the C shaped section are clamped together around the inner member.

6. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 5, wherein the inner member comprises a ring which has an outer diameter which is marginally less than the inner diameter of the outer member.

7. An apparatus for transporting material according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each closure mechanism further comprises a removable cap member which is selectively retainable within the or each closure mechanism.

8. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 7, wherein the removable cap member is selectively retainable within the or each closure mechanism by locking means.

9. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 8, wherein the removable cap member is provided with a locking means receiving groove.

10. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 9, wherein the inner member is also provided with a locking means receiving groove.

11. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 10, wherein when the removable cap member is placed within the inner member, the locking means receiving groove on the inner member and the locking means receiving groove on the removable cap member align to create a locking means receiving portion therebetween.

12. An apparatus for transporting material according to either of claims 10 or 11, wherein a locking means is selectively provided between at least a portion of the locking means receiving groove on the securing member and the locking means receiving groove on the cover.

13. An apparatus for transporting material according to any of claims 8 to 12, wherein the locking means comprises a removable member which is preferably an elongate wire member.

14. An apparatus for transporting material according to any preceding claim, wherein the body member is a flexible bag.

15. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 3, or to any of claims 4 to 15 when dependent upon claim 3, wherein the body member is provided with a retention means adapted to substantially prevent at least a portion of the body member from moving with respect to the or each closure mechanism.

16. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 15, wherein the retention means comprises at least one substantially circumferentially arranged raised portion or lip which is restricted from passing between the outer and inner securing members.

17. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 16, wherein the retention means is provided on each side of the portion of the body member being prevented from moving with respect to the or each closure mechanism.

18. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the raised portion is formed of a cord which is located within an overlapped portion of the body member.

19. An apparatus for transporting material according to any preceding claim, wherein one or more lifting means is provided on a portion of at least one of the closure mechanisms.

20. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 3, or to any of claims 4 to 15 when dependent upon claim 3, wherein one or more seal means are provided to act between the inner and outer securing means in order to form a seal therebetween.

21. An apparatus for transporting material according to claim 20, wherein the one or more seal means are provided to act between the outer circumference of the inner securing member and the inner circumference of the body member such that the seal is formed when the outer securing member is secured around the outer circumference of the body member.

22. An apparatus for transporting material according to either of claims 21 or 20, wherein there are a pair of longitudinally spaced apart seal means provided, and the seal means comprise 0' ring seals.

23. A method of transporting material comprising: - providing a substantially flexible body member; and a closure mechanism provided on each end of the body member; closing one end of the body member by actuating the closure mechanism from an open configuration to a closed configuration; inserting the material into the interior of the body member through the other end thereof; actuating the respective closure mechanism to close the other end of the body member; and lifting the body member with lifting means associated with the body member to permit transportation of the material.