Acergy France Sas

Stephane Bombino

A method and apparatus for bending a pipe to mitigate internal wrinkling, with particular benefit when bending a lined pipe upon spooling. Bending is performed continuously by advancing the pipe through a bending zone while an internal mandrel is held at the bending zone to resist wrinkling. In one variant, the mandrel comprises longitudinally-spaced pipe-engaging elements and a tensile link between the elements allows relative movement between the elements. A holdback connection on one of the elements applies hold-back force to that element to be transmitted to the other element via the tensile link. In another variant, the mandrel comprises an elongate pipe-engaging body with a hold-back connection at one end of the body. The body is flexible to bend with the pipe and is shaped to engage an inner surface of the pipe along most of the length of the body.

Pipe bending for reel-lay operations

A method lowers a hollow structure through water and installs that structure at a subsea location. The structure has an internal space containing a ballast material such as sea salt that is substantially denser than water. Upon being lowered with the aid of the ballast material to a subsea destination, the structure is anchored at that destination. Then, water is introduced into the internal space to dissolve, suspend or dilute the ballast material. Thus dissolved, suspended or diluted, the ballast material is evacuated or dispersed from the internal space in a liquid or fluidized form. For example, a solution or suspension of the ballast material can be entrained in a flushing flow of water through and from the internal space. The internal space is then available to perform another, primary function in subsea operation of the structure, for example as a flowline to convey oil or gas.

Lowering buoyant structures in water

A method and an apparatus bend a pipe to mitigate internal wrinkling, with particular benefit when bending a lined pipe upon spooling. Bending is performed continuously by advancing the pipe through a bending zone while an internal mandrel is held at the bending zone to resist wrinkling. In one variant, the mandrel includes longitudinally-spaced pipe-engaging elements and a tensile link between the elements allows relative movement between the elements. A hold-back connection on one of the elements applies hold-back force to that element to be transmitted to the other element via the tensile link. In another variant, the mandrel includes an elongate pipe-engaging body with a hold-back connection at one end of the body. The body is flexible to bend with the pipe and is shaped to engage an inner surface of the pipe along most of the length of the body.

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Nanterre, France

Stephane Bombino