Compliant Guide Subsea Pressure Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Subsea intervention operations face challenges in controlling pressure during subsea well operations, particularly in deep waters, due to the need for expensive and scarce heavy drilling units and limited non-rig intervention capabilities, which require complex and costly equipment and procedures.
Innovation Solution
A compliant guide system is used to extend between a subsea well installation and a surface location, filled with a buffer fluid to maintain borehole fluids near the seabed, allowing pressure control from the surface using a pressurized compliant guide and dynamic seal, reducing the need for motion compensation systems and simplifying operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heavy drilling units and complex equipment are used for subsea intervention, then pressure control capability is improved, but cost and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the pressure control function from complex heavy drilling units and relocates it to the seabed level using a subsea pressure control device. This allows pressure control to be performed locally at the wellhead rather than requiring complex surface equipment, thereby maintaining pressure control capability while reducing overall system complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a buffer fluid as an intermediary substance between the borehole and the subsea environment. This buffer fluid acts as a mediator that transmits pressure control commands from the seabed device to the borehole contents, enabling effective pressure control without requiring direct mechanical connection to heavy drilling equipment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If guide wires extend from wellhead to surface vessel through open waters, then subsea intervention is enabled, but equipment exposure to open waters and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the guide wire system from the traditional surface-to-seabed configuration and replaces it with a compliant guide that extends only from the subsea installation to a surface location. This reduces the exposure of critical equipment to open waters while maintaining the ability to perform intervention operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a compliant guide, which is a flexible tubular structure that can bend and adapt to wave motion and vessel movement. This flexible guide protects the intervention equipment from direct exposure to harsh open water conditions while maintaining operational adaptability, unlike rigid guide wires that require complex motion compensation systems.
3Reliability
If pressure control is exercised at the seabed with existing equipment, then borehole fluid containment is improved, but equipment complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The subsea pressure control device is designed to autonomously maintain pressure control at the seabed using the buffer fluid and compliant guide system. The device can self-regulate pressure without requiring constant intervention from complex surface equipment or heavy drilling units, thereby achieving reliable borehole fluid containment with simpler subsea equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses hydraulic principles by employing a buffer fluid within the compliant guide to transmit and control pressure at the seabed. This hydraulic system enables effective pressure control and borehole fluid containment using relatively simple subsea equipment rather than complex mechanical drilling devices.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The compliant guide system enables effective pressure control at the surface, reduces the risk of environmental contamination, and simplifies maintenance, allowing for faster and more adaptable intervention operations, including deep water operations, while reducing the complexity and cost of subsea hardware.
Implementation Method 1
A buffer fluid is deployed within the compliant guide to maintain the borehole fluids proximate the seabed
Implementation Method 2
pressure control can be exercised via the pressurized compliant guide and a dynamic seal
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for subsea intervention operations enables pressure control to be accomplished at the surface while borehole fluid control is exercised at the seabed. A compliant guide extends between a subsea well installation and a surface location, such as a surface intervention vessel. A buffer fluid is deployed within the compliant guide to maintain the borehole fluids proximate the seabed. The buffer fluid also enables pressure control over the buffer fluid and the borehole fluid to be performed from the surface. Additionally, a flexible conveyance can be used to move intervention tools through the compliant guide.