U.S. patent application number 15/028009 was filed with the patent office on 2016-09-01 for support apparatus for supporting drive means, and driving apparatus incorporating such support apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to SOIL MACHINE DYNAMICS LIMITED. The applicant listed for this patent is SOIL MACHINE DYNAMICS LIMITED. Invention is credited to John Graeme Walker.
Application Number | 20160251907 15/028009 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49354476 |
Filed Date | 2016-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160251907 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Walker; John Graeme |
September 1, 2016 |
SUPPORT APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING DRIVE MEANS, AND DRIVING APPARATUS
INCORPORATING SUCH SUPPORT APPARATUS
Abstract
A driving apparatus for driving pipes into the sea bed is
disclosed. The driving apparatus has support arms supporting a
drill tower for driving pipes into the sea bed, and a body for
supporting a plurality of pipes in cassettes. A pipe feeding
mechanism feeds pipes to the drill tower and the apparatus is
controlled from a vessel located at a sea surface.
Inventors: |
Walker; John Graeme;
(Wallsend, GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SOIL MACHINE DYNAMICS LIMITED |
Wallsend |
|
GB |
|
|
Assignee: |
SOIL MACHINE DYNAMICS
LIMITED
Wallsend
GB
|
Family ID: |
49354476 |
Appl. No.: |
15/028009 |
Filed: |
October 2, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
October 2, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2014/071165 |
371 Date: |
April 7, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
175/5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B 3/02 20130101; E21B
15/04 20130101; E21B 25/18 20130101; E21B 7/124 20130101; E21B
15/02 20130101; E21B 19/143 20130101; E21B 7/12 20130101; E21B
19/002 20130101 |
International
Class: |
E21B 15/02 20060101
E21B015/02; E21B 3/02 20060101 E21B003/02; E21B 7/12 20060101
E21B007/12; E21B 19/00 20060101 E21B019/00; E21B 19/14 20060101
E21B019/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 10, 2013 |
EP |
13188073.4 |
Claims
1.-14. (canceled)
15. A support apparatus for supporting a drive apparatus for
driving a plurality of elongate members into a sea floor, the
support apparatus comprising: a body adapted to support a plurality
of said elongate members; at least one support device provided on
said body for supporting said drive apparatus such that a position
of said drive apparatus is adjustable relative to said body; at
least one feeding apparatus means for feeding a plurality of said
elongate members to said drive apparatus; at least one control
apparatus for enabling control of said support apparatus from a
vessel located at a sea surface; and at least one moving apparatus
for moving the body relative to the sea floor.
16. A support apparatus according to claim 15, wherein at least one
said feeding apparatus is adapted to (i) simultaneously feed a
plurality of said elongate members, located in position relative to
each other by means of at least one locating apparatus, with at
least part of said locating apparatus to at least one first
location on said body and to (ii) sequentially feed a plurality of
said elongate members from at least part of said locating apparatus
at at least one said first location to said drive apparatus.
17. A support apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising
at least one manipulator apparatus for unloading at least part of
at least one said locating apparatus from said body.
18. A support apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising
at least one engaging portion for engaging at least one lifting
apparatus to enable lifting of the support apparatus, wherein at
least one said feeding apparatus is adapted to feed a plurality of
said elongate members through at least one aperture below said
engaging portion in use.
19. A support apparatus according to claim 15, wherein at least one
said moving apparatus comprises at least one track.
20. A support apparatus according to claim 15, wherein at least
part of at least one said moving apparatus is adjustable in
position in a direction transverse to a direction of movement of
the support apparatus.
21. A support apparatus according to claim 19, wherein at least one
said track is adjustable in position relative to said body.
22. A driving apparatus for driving a plurality of elongate members
into a sea floor, the driving apparatus comprising: a support
apparatus according to claim 15; and at least one drive apparatus
for driving a plurality of elongate members into the sea floor and
supported by at least one said support device such that a position
of said drive apparatus relative to said body is adjustable.
23. A driving apparatus according to claim 22, wherein at least one
said drive apparatus is pivotable about at least one axis relative
to said body.
24. A driving apparatus according to claim 23, wherein at least one
said axis is substantially parallel to a direction of travel of the
driving apparatus.
25. A driving apparatus according to claim 23, wherein at least one
said axis is transverse to a direction of travel of said driving
apparatus.
26. A driving apparatus according to claim 22, wherein at least one
said drive apparatus comprises drilling apparatus.
27. A driving apparatus according to claim 22, wherein at least one
said drive apparatus comprises a coring apparatus.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a support apparatus for
supporting drive means for driving a plurality of elongate members
into a sea floor, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to
an apparatus for supporting drilling or coring apparatus. The
invention also relates to driving apparatus incorporating such
support apparatus.
[0002] In drilling or coring operations on the seabed, for example
in oil exploration and production, drilling is carried out by means
a drill string extending from a semi-submersible vessel located on
the sea surface, the drill string extending from the seabed to the
vessel. This arrangement has the drawback of being very expensive
to implement.
[0003] Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to
overcome the above disadvantage of the prior art.
[0004] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a support apparatus for supporting drive means for driving
a plurality of elongate members into a sea floor, the support
apparatus comprising: [0005] a body adapted to support a plurality
of said elongate members; [0006] support means provided on said
body for supporting said drive means such that a position of said
drive means is adjustable relative to said body; [0007] feeding
means for feeding a plurality of said elongate members to said
drive means; and [0008] control means for enabling control of said
support apparatus from a vessel located at a sea surface.
[0009] By providing feeding means for feeding a plurality of
elongate members to drive means and control means for enabling
control of the support apparatus from a vessel located at a sea
surface, this provides the advantage of avoiding the use of a
semi-submersible vessel, thereby significantly reducing the cost of
drilling or coring operations.
[0010] The feeding means may be adapted to (i) simultaneously feed
a plurality of said elongate members, located in position relative
to each other by means of locating means, with at least part of
said locating means to at least one first location on said body and
to (ii) sequentially feed a plurality of said elongate members from
at least part of said locating means at at least one said first
location to said drive means.
[0011] This provides the advantage of increasing the efficiency of
operation of the apparatus, by minimising the distance through
which the elongate members must be individually moved.
[0012] The support apparatus may further comprise manipulator means
for unloading at least part of said locating means from said
body.
[0013] This provides the advantage of enabling the support
apparatus to be refilled with elongate members, thereby enabling
the apparatus to operate for longer periods and thereby further
reducing costs.
[0014] The support apparatus may further comprise at least one
engaging portion for engaging lifting means to enable lifting of
the support apparatus, wherein said feeding means is adapted to
feed a plurality of said elongate members through at least one
aperture below said engaging portion in use.
[0015] This provides the advantage of enabling the engaging portion
to be located above the centre of gravity of the support apparatus
while enabling elongate members to be fed from the rear of the body
to the front of the body.
[0016] The support apparatus may further comprise moving means for
moving the body relative to the sea floor.
[0017] This provides the advantage of improving fine control of the
position of the apparatus, thereby minimising the risk of damage to
drilling or coring installations.
[0018] The moving means may comprise at least one track.
[0019] At least part of said moving means may be adjustable in
position in a direction transverse to a direction of movement of
the support apparatus.
[0020] This provides the advantage of enabling the dimensions of
the support apparatus to be minimised to enable it to pass through
an aperture in a vessel at a sea surface.
[0021] At least one said track may be adjustable in position
relative to said body.
[0022] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a driving apparatus for driving a plurality of elongate
members into a sea floor, the driving apparatus comprising: [0023]
a support apparatus as defined above; and [0024] drive means for
driving a plurality of elongate members into the sea floor and
supported by said support means such that a position of said drive
means relative to said body is adjustable.
[0025] The drive means may be pivotable about at least one axis
relative to said body.
[0026] At least one said axis may be substantially parallel to a
direction of travel of the driving apparatus.
[0027] At least one said axis may be transverse to a direction of
travel of said driving apparatus.
[0028] The drive means may comprise drilling apparatus.
[0029] The drive means may comprise coring apparatus.
[0030] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be
described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense,
with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0031] FIG. 1 is a side view of a driving apparatus embodying the
present invention with a drill tower thereof in a raised
position;
[0032] FIG. 2 is a side view of the driving apparatus of FIG. 1
with the drill tower thereof in a lowered position;
[0033] FIG. 3 is a side view of an arrangement comprising the
driving apparatus of FIG. 1 with the drill tower thereof engaging a
well control module in a drilling operation;
[0034] FIG. 4 is a front view of the arrangement of FIG. 3;
[0035] FIG. 5 is a top view of the arrangement of FIG. 3; and
[0036] FIG. 6 is a detailed view of part of the arrangement of FIG.
4;
[0037] FIG. 7 is a side view of part of the apparatus of FIG. 1
showing details of a pipe feeding mechanism; and
[0038] FIG. 8 is a plan view of the pipe feeding mechanism of FIG.
7.
[0039] Referring to FIG. 1, a driving apparatus 2 for driving
elongate members in the form of hollow pipes 4 into the seabed as
part of a drilling or coring operation has a body 6 supported on
moving means in the form of a pair of tracks 8 mounted around axles
10 and controlled by hydraulic power units 12 (FIG. 5). As shown in
greater detail in FIGS. 4 and 6, the tracks 8 are moveable on the
axles 10 relative to the body 6 between respective extended
positions 12 and retracted positions 14.
[0040] A drill tower 16 having a drill motor 18 is supported by
support means in the form of support arms 20 such that the position
of the drill tower 16 is adjustable relative to the body 6. This
enables the drill tower 16 to be located on top of a well control
module 38 (FIG. 3) or blow out preventer in the case of drilling
operations, or directly on the sea bed (FIG. 2) in the case of
coring operations. The drill tower 16 is also pivotable about an
axis 22 (FIG. 5) generally parallel to a direction of travel of the
driving apparatus 2.
[0041] The pipes 4 are arranged in locating means in the form of
cassettes 24 supported on the body 6, and the body 6 has a frame 26
supporting a detachable lift point 28 located generally above the
centre of gravity of the driving apparatus 2 for enabling
deployment of the driving apparatus 2 from a vessel (not shown)
located at the sea surface. The frame 26 defines an aperture 30
(FIG. 4) for enabling the cassettes 24 to be fed through the
aperture 30 by a cassette feeding mechanism (not shown) from a
position 32 at a rear of the body 6 to a position 34 at the front
of the body 6. Feeding means in the form of a pipe feeding
mechanism 40 (FIGS. 7 and 8) feeds individual pipes 4 laterally
into the drill tower 16. Manipulator means in the form of a
manipulator arm 36 unloads empty pipe cassettes 24 from the body 6
and arranges the cassettes 24 on a suitable support (not shown) on
the seabed adjacent the body 6 which limits the extent to which the
empty cassettes 24 become embedded in the sea bed prior to
subsequent removal. The drill motor 18 of the drill tower 16
sequentially drives the pipes 4 into the seabed through well
control module 38 (FIG. 3) or blow out preventer in the case of
drilling operations, or directly into the sea bed (FIG. 2) in the
case of coring operations. Operation of the driving apparatus 2 is
controlled from the vessel (not shown) at the sea surface by means
of an umbilical cable (not shown).
[0042] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the pipe feeding mechanism 40
includes a pair of cassette unload arms 42 for retracting a pipe 4
from a cassette 24 at position 34 and rotating through generally
180 degrees about pivot axis 44, and releasing the pipe 4 to a
drill tower loading arm 46 for feeding the pipe 4 into the drill
tower 16.
[0043] The deployment, operation and recovery of the driving
apparatus 2 will now be described.
[0044] In order to deploy the driving apparatus 2 from the surface
vessel to the seabed, the tracks 8 of the driving apparatus 2 are
initially withdrawn to their retracted positions 14 as shown in
FIG. 6 to minimise the width of the driving apparatus 2. At the
same time, the drill tower 16 is in its raised position as shown in
FIG. 1, in order to minimise the length of the apparatus 2, thereby
minimising the dimensions of the aperture (known as a moon pool) on
the surface vessel necessary for deploying the driving apparatus 2
through sea ice to the seabed.
[0045] The driving apparatus 2 is then lowered, by means of a
support cable (not shown) attached to the lift point 28, to the
seabed where it is located a sufficient distance from the well
control module 38 to minimise the risk of damage to the well
control module 38 as a result of movement of the drive apparatus 2
while it is being lowered to the seabed. Before the tracks 8 of the
driving apparatus 2 come into contact with the seabed, they are
moved outwardly of the body 6 by means of the hydraulic power units
12 to their extended positions 12 as shown in FIG. 4 and the
driving apparatus 2 is then moved by means of its tracks 8 to a
position adjacent the well control module 38. The drill tower 16 is
then lowered into engagement with the well control module 38 by
means of the manipulator arm 36.
[0046] When the drill tower 16 has been brought into engagement
with the well control module 38, individual pipes 4 are removed
from the cassette 24 in the front position 34 by means of the pipe
feeding mechanism 40 and fed sequentially and laterally into the
drill tower 16. The hydraulic power units 12 drive the drill motor
18, which urges the pipes 4 downwards through the well control
module 38 or directly into the sea bed. Pipes 4 are sequentially
driven into the seabed in this manner until the cassette 24 in the
front position 34 is emptied, and the manipulator arm 36 then
unloads the empty cassette 24 from the body 6 and arranges it on a
suitable support (not shown) on the seabed adjacent the body 6 for
subsequent retrieval. The cassettes 24 are then fed forwards
relative to the body 6 so that the place of the empty cassette 24
is occupied by a full cassette 24, and the process continued. The
position 32 vacated by the rearmost cassette 24 can then be
refilled with a full cassette 24.
[0047] When the drilling or coring operation is complete, the
manipulator arm 36 replaces the empty cassettes 24 on the body 6 of
the driving apparatus 2 for retrieval to the surface vessel.
[0048] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that
the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and
not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and
modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the
invention as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *