Single Buoy Moorings Inc.

Sbm-imodco, Inc.

Hein Wille

Jack Pollack

Leendert Poldervaart

Hein Oomen

Sophie Boureau

Jean-Pierre Queau

Willem Cornelis Van Wijngaarden

René Perratone

Bram Van Cann

Pierre Balleraud

Jeremy Duncan Stuart Joynson

Leon D Rosen

Adam Bernays

Stein Vedeld

Nabil Demian

Hans Peereboom

Liselotte Van Dijk

Harke Jan Meek

Erik Jan Rooduijn

The present invention relates to a floating LNG plant () comprising a converted LNG carrier with a hull and a plurality of LNG storage tanks () wherein in that the floating LNG plant () comprises: &#x2014;at least one sponson () on the side of the hull, for creating additional hull volume, &#x2014;process equipment () for LNG processing on the floating LNG plant (), and&#x2014;a reservoir for storing fluids separated during the LNG processing, wherein said reservoir is formed by the ballast tank or in the space reserved for the ballast tank of the original LNG carrier.

Floating LNG plant

A system for developing offshore hydrocarbon fields includes a floating hydrocarbon processing unit moored to the seabed and connected to a hydrocarbon reservoir via a riser and a wellhead on the seabed, the unit receiving and processing the hydrocarbon mixture received from the reservoir via the riser, and having equipment to separate the hydrocarbon mixture into oil, water and gas and store them in storage tanks. A gas storage buffer reservoir is placed at a distance from and isolated from the hydrocarbon reservoir. A gas export riser is connected to the floating hydrocarbon processing unit and the gas buffer reservoir to export separated gas and inject it into the gas buffer reservoir. A gas riser has one end connected to the gas buffer reservoir and another end connected to the floating gas processing unit for processing gas received from the gas buffer reservoir for enabling transportation to shore.

Use of underground gas storage to provide a flow assurance buffer between interlinked processing units

A combined offshore system for generating electricity includes of an offshore windmill unit with a generator for extracting power from wind and transferring it into electricity, a electricity export cable connected to the windmill for exporting produced electricity to offshore or onshore consumers, and at least one offshore wave power unit for extracting power from waves. This offshore wave power unit is characterized in that electricity produced by the wave power unit is transferred via the same electricity export cable as the electricity generated by the windmill unit.

Offshore combined power generation system

A system wherein cold water from near the sea floor is pumped through a primarily vertical pipe () to a body () floating at the sea surface so energy can be obtained from water temperature differences. A pump () located at the bottom of the pipe, is part of a pump module () that can be inserted and removed horizontally through a slot () in a bottom structure () lying at the bottom of the pipe. The top of the pipe is sealed to a movable pipe connector, by a U-shaped elastomeric seal (). The pipe can include a short top pipe section () and a long bottom pipe section () of smaller diameter (D), whose upper portion can be pulled up through the top pipe section when the top pipe section is damaged.

Ocean energy conversion

A floating energy generating device includes at least two wind turbines mounted on a floating open structure, the floating open structure being moored to the seabed with a mooring system, each wind turbine featuring in operation mode a blade and rotor part mounted at the top of a tower and being connected via a cable to a central control power electronic unit on the floating open structure, the central control power unit being connected to a submerged high voltage power export cable for exporting the electricity generated by the at least two windmills, characterized in that the floating open structure being connectable to or disconnectable from the mooring system and that when disconnected from the mooring system, the center of gravity of the floating open structure is at or below its center of buoyancy.

Removable offshore wind turbines with pre-installed mooring system

A steel pipeline () extends in a shallow catenary curve between two floating structures (). The pipeline is connected to each floating structure in a joint (B) that has a center lying on or very close to the pitch and roll axes (B,B) of the corresponding structure hull. A first structure has a recess () extending upward from the bottom of the first structure hull to at least the pitch and roll axes of the hull. The shallow catenary curve pipeline extends at an incline (C) of many degrees to the vertical into the recess, and the pipeline end () connects to a pipe connector () lying on the pitch and roll axes. The pipe connector preferably allows free relative pivoting of a plurality of degrees about horizontal axes between itself and the first pipe end.

Steel pipeline fluid transfer system

A riser installation method including the steps of providing a first vessel situated over a hydrocarbon well, supporting a hydrocarbon transfer duct from the first vessel by a first end that is attached to a lowering device on the first vessel, and attaching a second end of the hydrocarbon duct to a second vessel, at a position near the first vessel. The method also includes the steps of lowering the transfer duct, increasing the distance of the second vessel from the first vessel, pulling the transfer duct until the second vessel is near the third vessel, contacting a section of the transfer duct with the sea bed, displacing the second end of the transfer duct from the first vessel, returning the second end of the transfer duct to the mooring position, and bringing the second end of the hydrocarbon transfer duct in fluid communication with the third vessel.

Riser installation method from an offshore production unit

A flexible cryogenic transfer hose for connecting two cryogenic facilities, has a length of at least 20 m, and:

Cryogenic transfer hose

The invention relates to a hydrocarbon exploration system, comprising a first vessel () having a turret () around which the vessel can weathervane, the turret being moored to the sea bed (), and a second vessel () connected with at least one riser () to a subsea well (), the first vessel () being connected to the second vessel via a fluid transfer duct () comprising a first end section () attached to the turret of the first vessel (), a substantially horizontal mid section (), and a second end section () attached at or near the second vessel (), the second vessel () weighing between 2,000 and 15,000 ton its base being attached to the sea bed via taut tendons (), the weight exerted by the fluid transfer duct () on the second vessel being below 1,000 ton, a power generator being situated on the first vessel (), power being transferred from the power generator via an electrical swivel on the first vessel.

Field development with centralised power generation unit

The invention relates to a mooring system with a first vessel for containing hydrocarbons having at its bow and/or stern a transverse arm and a fluid transfer mechanism of a duct connected to a tank on the first vessel and a coupling end for connecting to a second vessel. The second vessel is moored alongside the first vessel and is attached via at least one cable, extending from its bow in the length direction of the vessel, to a mooring end of the arm. The mooring end of the arm is situated at or near a longitudinal centerline of the second vessel. The arm, during use, is in a fixed position and a pulling force element is attached to the cable for applying a pulling force on the cable upon relative movement of the second vessel with respect to the arm. The force element allows a predetermined maximum displacement of the second vessel.

Side-by-side hydrocarbon transfer system

An offshore system allows a vessel () to sail to a predetermined sea location (), quickly set up a loading system and start the transfer of hydrocarbons to or from a pipeline (), and then quickly disconnect and sail away. The vessel is a DP (dynamic positioning) vessel that does not require mooring or anchor lines, so the only apparatus to install is a conduit () that can be picked up by the vessel to extend between a stationary pipe end () that lies at the sea floor and the vessel. The conduit includes primarily a flexible hose () that extends in a sine wave with two loops (). The conduit includes a rigid reinforced hose section () that is pivotally connected to the sea floor. A chain () can be provided with a portion of the chain lying on the sea floor, to help the disconnected hose coupling (D) remain at a stable position above the sea floor.

Submerged loading system

The invention relates to a floating offshore structure anchored to the sea bed. The floating offshore structure comprises a hull having longitudinal sides and transverse sides, bow and stern anchoring points for mooring a tanker vessel alongside the offshore structure, a deck at a predetermined height above sea level, hydrocarbon storage and/or processing devices being placed on the deck, a spacer member attached to the structure and projecting transversely from the sides for contacting a tanker vessel moored alongside the structure. The anchoring points of the structure comprise of quick release members, wherein the bow and/or stern anchoring points of the structure are situated on a deck which projects transversely from the hull of the structure substantially at the heights of anchoring points of the tanker vessel.

Enhanced side-by-side mooring construction

Method of supplying oil from a first floating structure to an offloading structure, includes providing a flexible duct extending between the two structures at a water depth of between 50 m and 500 m, the duct including a flexible elastomeric material and having an internal diameter of at least 600 mm and a length of between 1500 and 3000 m,

Method of supplying oil from a floating production structure to an offloading buoy via a thermally insulated flexible transfer duct

The invention relates to a floating lowering and lifting device having a floating structure and a lifting unit lowerable from the floating structure towards the sea bed, the lifting unit having a chamber with at least one gas-inlet opening in its wall and an equalization opening in its wall, a gas supply mechanism being connected to the gas inlet opening, the device having a controller connected to the gas supply mechanism for controlling a gas supply rate to the chamber. The chamber has a releasable coupling member for releasably attaching to a load and is connected via a lifting cable to a take up device on the floating structure for lengthening and shortening the lifting cable.

Growing community of inventors

Eze, France

Hein Wille