Acergy France Sas

Olivier Lodeho

Vincent Loentgen

Alexis Wegner

Yann Brouard

Johan Janot

A subsea buoy comprises a rigid watertight external shell extending continuously around a supporting internal structure that is sealed and fully enclosed by the shell. The shell is formed integrally and simultaneously with the internal structure by the same additive manufacturing process. The internal structure comprises cavities disposed between structural members, such as struts of a lattice or webs of a matrix. The structural members and cavities can be in a hierarchical or fractal array comprising a relatively narrow outer tier adjoining the shell and at least one relatively wide inner tier within the outer tier.

Pressure-resistant buoys

A subsea installation for the production of hydrocarbons includes a flowline and a group of heating cables extending along the flowline. A star end termination effecting short-circuit connection between the heating cables of the group is located at a subsea location remote from the flowline. For example, a subsea structure or fluid conduit in fluid communication with the flowline, such as a PLET or a spool, can be interposed between the termination and the flowline. The termination may be a module that is connectable electrically to the heating cables via flying leads and connector hubs.

Subsea installations comprising heated conduits

A pipe-in-pipe section comprises an inner pipe spaced within an outer pipe to define an annulus between the inner and outer pipes. The annulus contains a solid insulating material, which may be a microporous aerogel, and an inert gas such as krypton at near-atmospheric pressure.

Insulation of pipe-in-pipe systems

A subsea pipeline coated with a thermally insulating coating has a radially outer surface shaped to define external hold-back formations. In a J-lay operation, the weight load of a pipeline catenary is held back using a complementary bushing or clamp of an installation vessel engaged with the hold-back formations. The weight load is transferred from the catenary to the bushing or clamp by shear forces acting through the coating. The coating extends continuously along the pipe and is interposed between the hold-back formations and the underlying pipe. The hold-back formations may be integral with the coating.

Growing community of inventors

Paris, France

Olivier Lodeho