WO2011151293A2 - Outil de protection de tête de puits et procédé - Google Patents

Outil de protection de tête de puits et procédé Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2011151293A2
WO2011151293A2 PCT/EP2011/058853 EP2011058853W WO2011151293A2 WO 2011151293 A2 WO2011151293 A2 WO 2011151293A2 EP 2011058853 W EP2011058853 W EP 2011058853W WO 2011151293 A2 WO2011151293 A2 WO 2011151293A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
chamber
well head
pressure
tool
seabed
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2011/058853
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2011151293A3 (fr
Inventor
Frank Hoos
Original Assignee
Seatools B.V.
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 Seatools B.V. filed Critical Seatools B.V.
Publication of WO2011151293A2 publication Critical patent/WO2011151293A2/fr
Publication of WO2011151293A3 publication Critical patent/WO2011151293A3/fr

Links

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
    • E21B43/0122—Collecting oil or the like from a submerged leakage

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to covering well heads, in particular submerged wells for hydrocarbon harvesting and more in particular to covering well heads suffering from
  • a further object is to provide a well head cover tool and a method for covering a well head to prevent or contain a blowout.
  • a well head cover tool having an upright orientation and comprising a top, side wall means forming a first open interior chamber and a second open interior chamber and having a downwardly directed open end at the bottom of said tool.
  • the first open interior chamber is suited for covering a well head.
  • the first chamber is closable, e.g. by the tool comprising a first operable valve connected to the first
  • the second chamber is connectable to a pump for
  • the tool may thus be held in place assisted by the force of the outside pressure, in particular a water column pressing down on the tool.
  • At least a portion of the side wall means are configured for cutting into the seabed, so as increase the holding force of the tool against upward pressure.
  • the tool when placed upright on the seabed may be configured to provide a downward force larger than a
  • the second chamber may have a surface area
  • the second chamber may be configured to withstand a second pressure difference between the interior pressure of the second chamber and an outside pressure.
  • the said surface area may then be chosen such that the second pressure difference multiplied by the second surface area exceeds a predetermined value.
  • Such cover tool facilitates determining forces to be exerted by the tool.
  • the first chamber may be connectable to at least one of a pump and a container, in particular via the optional first valve, so that contents of the first container may be drawn off in a controlled fashion and/or be reclaimed.
  • a method of covering a well head comprising the steps of:
  • the portion may comprise an entire well head portion protruding from a seabed. By covering the well head, fluid communication between the interior volume of the first chamber and the outside environment is restricted or restrictable to a controllable flow from the first chamber or to cutting off fluid communication between the interior volume of the chamber and an outside volume, in particular the outside environment,
  • the first chamber may be part of a well head cover tool to be fixed to the well head.
  • the first chamber and/or such well head cover tool may partly or totally be manufactured or assembled on site.
  • the first chamber may comprise a valve for controllably maintaining the interior volume in fluid
  • venting and/or exploiting the well head may be achieved.
  • fixation of the first chamber to the well head may be done with little or no interference to the fixation method by pressure exerted by and/or material flowing from the well head.
  • controlled closure of the well head is possible, also in case of a blowout and continuous flow of well products, e.g. hydrocarbons. This prevents the first chamber, which may be part of a cover tool, being "blown" from the well head.
  • the fixation of the first chamber to the well head may be in any known manner, e.g. screwing, welding etc, and may be done directly or indirectly to any part of the well head and/or associated portions such as a blowout preventer.
  • the first chamber is fixed to the well head indirectly by fixing the first chamber to a seabed to which the well head is fixed in turn, e.g. with anchoring means such as piles or suction anchors.
  • a method of covering a well head comprises the steps of: arranging first side wall means around the well head on or in a seabed, for forming a first open interior chamber to cover the well head, and
  • a second open interior chamber comprising a closed top, side wall means forming the second open interior chamber and being connected to the first side wall means and having a downwardly directed open end;
  • the first chamber is fixed to the seabed by the second chamber.
  • the tool is forced on or in the seabed, without having to counteract an upward force exerted by pressure of and/or material being emitted from the well head.
  • the steps of arranging the first and second side wall means may be consecutive steps in any particular order, e.g. by placing two tubular or caisson-like objects adjacent or around each other on or in the seabed.
  • the method comprises the further steps of providing a well head cover tool comprising a top, side wall means forming a first open interior chamber and a second open interior chamber and having a downwardly directed open end at the bottom of said tool, wherein the first open interior chamber is arranged for covering the well head, wherein the tool
  • first operable valve connected to the first chamber, and wherein the second chamber is connectable to a pump for reducing pressure in the second chamber with respect to an outside pressure when the tool is placed on or in a seabed, for pressing the tool against the seabed by the resultant pressure difference between the interior pressure of the second chamber and the outside pressure;
  • the first and second chambers are integrated in one tool facilitating correct placement and correct operation of the tool.
  • the method may comprise the further steps of:
  • the second chamber such that it is configured to withstand a predetermined second pressure difference between the interior pressure of the second chamber and the outside downward pressure, and such that the second chamber has a second surface area, such that the second pressure difference
  • the second chamber may be arranged around the first chamber.
  • the first and second chambers are coaxially arranged. This also holds for well head cover tools fixed directly to the well head or associated portions and/or objects such as a blowout
  • preventer as well as for well head cover tools fixed to the seabed by anchoring and/or under the force of one or more pressure differences.
  • bed should be understood to mean the bottom of any type of a body of a flowable medium, in particular water, be it a lake, a sea, an ocean, an estuary or a river etc, but the cover tool and/or the method may also be applied in a flowable granular medium such as loose desert soil e.g. sand and dust. Other objects than a well head may also be covered.
  • Fig. 1A is a side view of an embodiment of a well head cover tool over a well head
  • Fig. 2 is a cross section view of the well head cover tool of Fig. 1 from plane B-B in Fig. 1 ;
  • Fig. 3 is a cross section view of the well head cover tool of Fig. 1 in plane A-A in Fig. 1;
  • Figs. 4 and 5 are view similar to Fig. 3 of different stages in a method of covering the well head with the tool of Fig. 1;
  • Fig. 6 is a cross section view of the well head cover tool of Fig. 1 from plane K-K in Fig. 3;
  • Fig. 7 is detail J of Fig. 3.
  • the Figs show a well head cover tool 1 having an upright orientation and comprising a top 3, side wall means 5, 7 forming a first open interior chamber 9 and a second open interior chamber 11 and having a downwardly directed open end 13 at the bottom 15 of said tool 1.
  • the first open interior chamber 9 is suited for covering a well head 17 in a seabed 18.
  • the well head 17 comprises a blowout preventer and/or (portions of) further systems (not shown)
  • the first chamber 9 should cover these too, preferably.
  • the second chamber 11 is formed in-between first side wall means 5 and second side wall means 7, thereby surrounding the first chamber 9 coaxially.
  • the first and second side wall means 5, 7 are interconnected by supporting wall portions 19 fortifying the tool 1.
  • the supporting wall portions 19 comprise apertures 21 so that different portions of the second chamber 11 separated by supporting wall portions 19 are in fluid communication with each other .
  • the top 3 of the tool 1 provides closed top wall means
  • the tool 1 comprises a first operable valve 27 connected to the first chamber 9.
  • a pump assembly 28 is shown connected to the second chamber 11 via a connector 29.
  • the shown pump assembly 28 is connected to an electromotor 30.
  • the first valve 27 is also suited to connect to a pump (not shown) , possibly via one or more conduits (not shown) .
  • the second chamber 11 and/or the connector 29 may be provided with a second operable valve (not shown) .
  • hooks and/or eyes 31 are provided for operation.
  • the tool 1 arranged above the well head 17 to be covered, with the open end 15 facing the well head and the seabed (Fig. 3) .
  • the tool 1 is arranged with the first chamber surrounding and covering the well head 17 (Fig. 4 ) .
  • the valve 27 is open, so that the interior volume of the first chamber 9 is in fluid communication with the outside
  • the bottom end 15 of the tool 1 is made to contact the surface of the seabed 18 and preferably at dig into the surface of the seabed for some distance so as to substantially close off the bottom at least the second chamber 11 .
  • suction is applied to the chamber 11 , here via the pump assembly 2 8 .
  • an underpressure is provided in the second chamber 1 1 . Due to the pressure difference between the pressure inside second chamber 11 and the pressure outside the tool 1 due to the water column above the tool 1 , the tool 1 is forced into the seabed 18 , with seabed material entering the second chamber 11 and possibly the first chamber 9 (Fig. 5 ) .
  • This is similar to the proven technology of suction anchors which have served for mooring numerous vessels and oil rigs in very deep oceans.
  • the holding force, or the force required to separate (unearth) the tool 1 from the seabed F ho i d is determined by the pressure difference ⁇ between the pressure inside the second chamber P 2 and the outside downward pressure exerted by the environment P do wr here a water column up to the water surface, times the surface area of the second chamber A 2 , plus the friction force F F of the material of the seabed 18 onto the embedded portions of the tool 1 , here portions of the various walls 5 , 7 , 19 , that are cut into the seabed 18 .
  • the value of the first (pressure-based) component of the force F ho i d can thus be determined by determining the
  • the required dimensions of the tool can be readily determined, whereby the friction force F F can be taken as an additional safety margin.
  • the first valve 27 can be closed and (further) leakage of the well head 17 can be
  • the underpressure in the second chamber 11 can be increased or maintained, or if the friction force F F is
  • the underpressure may be reduced or the second chamber 11 may even be flooded.
  • the tool 1 may be anchored so tightly into the seabed 18 that the valve 27 or any further connector instead of the valve 27 may be used for harvesting material from the well head 17 and/or pumping on the well head 17, in fact replacing previously existing well head connectors.
  • the first and/or second chambers 9, 11 may be put on an overpressure with respect to the surrounding pressure Pdown so that the tool 1 is blown out of and off the seabed 18.
  • a second chamber may be arranged next to the first chamber, not surrounding it.
  • the first and second chambers may be assembled on-site, since underwater welding is a proven technique, in particular mounting top wall means on the first chamber.
  • Such later-fitted top wall means may be closable with other means than a valve, however a valve is preferred since this allows manipulating the pressure inside the first chamber .
  • the cover means may comprise more than two chambers, e.g. in a variant to the shown embodiment being separated by closed walls 19 and/or comprise double walls.
  • the holding force is then determined by the sum of all pressure differences times the respective effective surface areas of the chambers
  • Such embodiments may provide improved security against leakage and/or collapse under pressure, which may be particularly relevant when the closing-off functionality of the tool is dependent on the pressure difference.
  • the cross-sectional shape of the tool need not be substantially circular or annular, but may be polygonal.
  • the tool may comprise further anchoring means and/or weighing down means such as fins, screw thread portions etc. and at least a portion of the tool and/or wall portions may be applied on or in the seabed by driving means.
  • the bottom of an embodiment of a well head cover tool may comprise connecting means, e.g. one or more screw thread portions, eyes, hooks, welding segments etc. for fixation to a well head and/or to other associated objects, so as to fix (at least the first chamber of) the tool to the well head.
  • Such cover tool may also be used to cover (an exit or leak of) a well head having a sideways (i.e. not vertically upright) exit or leak .
  • One or more valves may be provided to any chamber.
  • the pressure in any chamber may be monitored, for this monitoring means such as pressure sensors or connections to which pressure sensors can be mounted may be provided.
  • the operating principle of the tool and the method shown in the exemplary embodiment may also be described as follows: the operating principle is based on the principle of suction anchors.
  • the tool comprises a large cylinder which has an inner wall which forms a pressure vessel and an outer wall forming a vacuum vessel around the pressure vessel.
  • the pressure vessel has on the top side a large valve. The under side of both the pressure vessel and the vacuum vessel is open.
  • the diameter of the pressure vessel should be chosen such that that it can accommodate and cover the well head and associated blowout preventer and that the cylinder can rest on the seabed.
  • the tool is placed over the well head with the valve on the pressure vessel open such that no pressure can build up and oil leaking from the well head can flow off freely.
  • the vacuum vessel After placement of the tool, using an (underwater) pump the vacuum vessel is evacuated such that the tool is sucked into the seabed.
  • the valve When the tool is fixed strongly enough to the well head, here: dug in deep enough, the valve may be closed and the well head is effectively closed.
  • a conduit and/or manifold may be connected to the valve to further operate and exploit the well.
  • the diameter of the outer wall needs to be chosen such that the effective pressure force of the water column is larger than the pressure of the well inside the pressure vessel.
  • the construction and the materials should be strong enough to withstand the various forces to be encountered, such as the forces acting on the tool, the well head, the seabed etc.
  • the construction of the proposed tool may be quite simple and straightforward, preventing complications during design, calculations and manufacturing and allowing rapid manufacturing in case of emergency.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Earth Drilling (AREA)
  • Placing Or Removing Of Piles Or Sheet Piles, Or Accessories Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention se rapporte à un outil de protection de tête de puits ayant une orientation verticale et comprenant un moyen de paroi latérale supérieure formant une première chambre intérieure ouverte et une seconde chambre intérieure ouverte et ayant une extrémité ouverte orientée vers le bas au niveau du fond dudit outil. La première chambre intérieure ouverte est appropriée pour couvrir une tête de puits. La première chambre peut être fermée, par exemple, par l'outil comprenant un premier clapet actionnable relié à la première chambre. La seconde chambre peut être reliée à une pompe destinée à diminuer la pression dans la seconde chambre par rapport à une pression extérieure lorsque l'outil est placé sur le fond marin, pour presser l'outil contre le fond marin par la différence de pression obtenue entre la pression intérieure de la seconde chambre et la pression extérieure.
PCT/EP2011/058853 2010-06-01 2011-05-30 Outil de protection de tête de puits et procédé WO2011151293A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US35024910P 2010-06-01 2010-06-01
US61/350,249 2010-06-01
US35066910P 2010-06-02 2010-06-02
US61/350,669 2010-06-02

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2011151293A2 true WO2011151293A2 (fr) 2011-12-08
WO2011151293A3 WO2011151293A3 (fr) 2012-11-15

Family

ID=45067132

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/EP2011/058853 WO2011151293A2 (fr) 2010-06-01 2011-05-30 Outil de protection de tête de puits et procédé

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2011151293A2 (fr)

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4358218A (en) * 1979-12-17 1982-11-09 Texaco Inc. Apparatus for confining the effluent of an offshore uncontrolled well
US4643612A (en) * 1984-12-17 1987-02-17 Shell Offshore Inc. Oil cleanup barge
US5213444A (en) * 1992-04-17 1993-05-25 The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy Oil/gas collector/separator for underwater oil leaks
FR2821143B1 (fr) * 2001-02-19 2003-05-02 Bouygues Offshore Installation de liaison fond-surface d'une conduite sous-marine installee a grande profondeur du type tour-hybride
FR2852917B1 (fr) * 2003-03-26 2005-06-24 Saipem Sa Receptacle a compartiments etanches et procede de mise en place pour recuperer des effluents polluants d'une epave

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
"Deep Water Horizon", 2010, SPRING

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2011151293A3 (fr) 2012-11-15

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