Technip France

Jerome Q Burns

Pierre-Armand Thomas

Phillip Andrew Abbott

Pierre Albert Beynet

Stephane Alain Le Guennec

Colin Hough

Deploying an offshore oil and gas production platform comprises placing a buoyant equipment deck on a buoyant pontoon so that elongated legs on the pontoon, each comprising a buoyant float, extend movably through respective openings in the deck. Chains extending from winches on the deck are reeved through fairleads on the pontoon and connected back to the deck. The chains are tightened to secure the deck to the pontoon for conjoint movement to an offshore location. The chains are loosened and the pontoon and leg floats ballasted so that the pontoon and leg floats sink below the floating deck. The chains are then re-tightened until pawls on the leg floats engage the deck. The buoyancy of at least one of the pontoon and leg floats is increased so that the deck is thereby raised above the surface of the water. The chains are connected to mooring lines around an offshore well site, and the raised deck and submerged pontoon are maintained in a selected position over the site with the winches.

Offshore deployment of extendable draft platforms

The invention is an apparatus, method and system for supporting risers in a floating platform. The apparatus comprises a table disposed above a hull-top surface, a first riser opening in the table, and a first dedicated riser tensioner attached to the table and disposed about the first riser opening. The apparatus further comprises a second riser opening, and a second dedicated riser tensioner attached to the table and disposed about the second riser opening. The method comprises tensioning a first riser with a first dedicated riser tensioner, and tensioning a second riser with a second dedicated riser tensioner, wherein the first dedicated riser tensioner is responsive to the second dedicated riser tensioner. The system comprises a mechanism for tensioning a first and a second riser, wherein the mechanism for tensioning the first riser is responsive to the second riser.

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Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Jerome Q Burns