Floatec, LLC

Technip France

Stanley Black Decker, Inc.

Keppel Floatec, LLC

John James Murray

Vincent Cook

John Delneo

Edmund Otto Muehlner

Guibog Choi

Harish Mukundan

Apurva Gupta

Edmund O Muehlner

A spar hull centerwell arrangement wherein an adjustable buoyancy centerwell device (ABCD) is disposed within the centerwell of the structure. The adjustable buoyancy centerwell device is rigidly connected to the interior walls of the hard tank and defines an adjustable buoyancy centerwell device within the centerwell. The adjustable variable buoyancy unit is a water and airtight buoyancy chamber that allows the interior ballast to be changed as required. This device can also be used as a storage unit for on board fluids and other produced hydrocarbons.

Spar hull centerwell arrangement

A floating spar hull for offshore oil and natural gas exploration and production having a centerwell arrangement wherein a supporting wellbay deck is positioned in the centerwell at a level below the uppermost portion of the spar hull in the centerwell. The wellbay deck is attached to the spar hull by any suitable means such as shear plates such that a space remains between the deck and the spar hull for risers. This allows equipment to be placed below the uppermost deck of the topsides and eliminates or minimizes wind loads on the equipment.

A riser disconnect and support mechanism for flexible risers and umbilicals on an offshore structure with low under keel clearance. A main body portion includes an inverted and truncated conical or convex section substantially at the center of the main body portion. The main body portion and conical section receive risers therethrough by means of a plurality of conduits through the main body portion and conical section. A plurality of projections extend radially outward from the main body portion. A plurality of arch-shaped riser supports are provided on each projection to support risers and/or umbilical lines and control their bending radii. The projections extend out from the main body portion at a distance that allows the portions of the risers below the main body portion to hang at an angle and bend radius in accordance with the design tolerances of the risers to prevent buckling or damage due to excessive bending while keeping the risers from contacting the sea floor.

Riser disconnect and support mechanism

In an Extendable Draft Platform including a deck, a plurality of buoyancy columns installed in column wells in the deck for movement from a raised position to a submerged position, and a heave plate on the bottom of the columns, each of the columns has an upper portion and a lower portion. A helical strake having a radial height H is fixed to the lower portion of each column. The maximum width of the lower column portion is less than the maximum width of the upper column portion by at least 2H, so that the strake can pass through a column well having maximum width that is only slightly greater than that of the upper column portion. A plurality of guide rails is fixed to the lower portion of each column, each extending along the outer periphery of the strake from the upper column portion to the heave plate.

Extendable draft platform with buoyancy column strakes

A spar-type offshore platform includes a buoyant upper hull structure supporting a deck and having lower end in which is received a buoyant lower mooring module. The upper hull structure is connected to the mooring module by connection lines. The upper hull structure is removed from the mooring module by disconnecting the connection lines from the upper hull structure while leaving the connection lines attached to the mooring module and while the mooring module remains moored to the seabed. The mooring module is lowered relative to the upper hull structure, allowing the latter to be moved away. The upper hull structure may be re-positioned over the mooring module, and the mooring module may be hauled upward into engagement with the lower end of the upper hull structure, so that the connection lines can be recovered and re-attached to the upper hull structure.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

John James Murray