Flexible Pipe Recovery Using Support Vessels and Seabed Coils
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and limited availability of specialized vessels for collecting subsea flexible pipes, which are often damaged during handling, necessitate the use of less expensive resources that can handle these pipes without causing further damage, allowing the Pipe Line Supply Vessel to be used for more valuable activities.
Innovation Solution
The use of a support vessel with smaller diameter collection wheels and vertical spools activated hydraulically, or a special coil launched on the seabed, to collect flexible pipes without the need for conventional vessels, utilizing a remotely operated subsea vehicle for connection and winding, ensuring minimal damage and efficient handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional PLSV vessels are used to collect flexible pipes, then the pipes can be collected, but the operational costs are high and the vessels have limited availability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a simple barge or platform structure that is much less expensive than conventional PLSV vessels. This support vessel is designed for single-use or limited-use collection operations, sacrificing the high availability and reusability of specialized vessels in exchange for significantly reduced operational costs. The barge serves as a disposable or temporary solution specifically for collecting discarded pipes that will not be reused.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential function of pipe collection from the complex PLSV vessel system, separating the collection operation from the expensive specialized vessel. By using a simple barge with basic winding equipment, only the necessary collection function is retained, while all other expensive vessel systems are eliminated.
2Ease of operation
If conventional vessels with large diameter wheels are used, then pipes can be handled, but the pipes are often damaged during handling
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using large diameter wheels that conventional vessels employ, the patent inverts the approach by using small diameter drums or winches. This reversal of the traditional wheel size concept allows the pipe to be wound directly onto compact drums, eliminating the damage caused by large wheel contact points and improper handling geometries.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the critical parameter of wheel/drum diameter from large to small. This parameter change fundamentally alters the handling mechanism, allowing for gentler pipe contact and more controlled winding operations that prevent damage to the flexible pipe structure.
3Productivity
If specialized PLSV vessels are used for pipe collection, then collection can be performed, but these vessels cannot be used for other value-added activities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal support vessel (barge or platform) that can perform multiple functions. The same simple barge structure can be used for collecting discarded pipes, and when not needed for collection, it can be repurposed for other operational activities. This multi-functionality eliminates the opportunity cost of dedicating expensive PLSV vessels solely to pipe collection.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of specializing vessels for pipe collection (which limits their other uses), the patent inverts the approach by using general-purpose, unspecialized barges. This inversion transforms the vessel from a dedicated collection tool into a flexible resource that can contribute to multiple value-added activities throughout the operational cycle.
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
This approach reduces the operational costs of collecting non-reusable flexible pipes, allows the Pipe Line Supply Vessel to be used for more critical tasks, and minimizes damage during handling, enabling efficient collection and reuse of subsea flexible pipes.
Implementation Method 1
vertical spools activated hydraulically
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention addresses to equipment for collecting flexible pipes without the use of special vessels, using less costly resources and which are not committed to not damaging such equipment during handling, since it is applied to pipes at the end of their useful life or that are already damaged. These types of pipes represent a major liability for some oil industry operators. The technology to be used, in phases of demobilization of fields or even for collecting pipes with no prospect of use, uses vessels with minimal adaptations that rely on the presence of collecting/launching wheels with a much smaller diameter when compared to the wheels used in conventional vessels or, alternatively, the launch of a special collection coil with its own traction means to make it possible to wind the abandoned pipes, in the same place where they are launched, with subsequent collection of the set and transshipment to the vessel itself.