Multi-Operational Drilling System with Peripheral Skidding Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional offshore drilling systems face challenges such as limited access to wellbays due to matrix designs, excessive wind loading forces from elevated tubular racking, and safety concerns from objects falling from the rig floor, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs in deep water drilling operations.
Innovation Solution
A multi-operational drilling system with a lowered and centrally located setback and racking system, combined with a peripheral skidding system, allows for simultaneous operations across multiple wellbays, reducing wind loading and improving safety by positioning tubular handling systems below the rig floor and using skidding systems to align drilling modules with wellbay accesses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If tubulars are racked in an elevated setback within the derrick or mast, then tubular handling is facilitated, but excessive wind loading forces are imparted onto the rig during inclement weather
Solution Approach 1:
The setback is extracted from the elevated derrick/mast location and relocated to the rig floor level. This separation removes the tubular storage function from the overhead structure, eliminating the wind sail effect while maintaining tubular handling capability through ground-level positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The setback positioning transitions from a vertical arrangement (elevated within derrick) to a horizontal arrangement (on rig floor). This dimensional change moves the tubular storage from the vertical overhead space to the horizontal deck plane, reducing exposure to wind forces while preserving operational access.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a matrix or grid format wellbay design is used, then structural stability is maintained, but access to wellbays is restricted and only single rig function can take place at a time
Solution Approach 1:
The rig floor is segmented into multiple independent access points surrounding the central setback. This segmentation allows different drilling modules to access different wellbays simultaneously, enabling parallel operations while maintaining the overall structural integrity of the platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The central setback serves as a universal tubular supply point for multiple wellbays and multiple drilling modules simultaneously. This multi-functional design allows the same setback structure to support various operations (drilling, workover, completion) across different wellbays at the same time.
3Device complexity
If setback is positioned within the derrick or mast, then tubular storage is centralized, but the mass and wind resistance mandate removal and dismantling during high wind conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The setback is extracted from the derrick/mast structure and positioned on the rig floor. This extraction eliminates the wind sail effect created by elevated tubulars, allowing the rig to maintain operational continuity during high wind conditions without requiring dismantling or removal of tubular storage.
4Area of stationary object
If overhead tubular storage is used, then space utilization is optimized, but safety concerns arise from objects falling from the rig floor
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of storing tubulars overhead and risking downward falls, the setback is inverted to ground level on the rig floor. This inversion eliminates the falling hazard by positioning tubulars at a safe, accessible level, while space utilization is maintained through efficient ground-level arrangement surrounding the central setback.
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprising a drilling platform having a central focus, a plurality of wellbay accesses positioned along a wellbay access perimeter surrounding the central focus, a drilling module, and a peripheral skidding system defining a skidding perimeter surrounding the central focus. Each of the plurality of wellbay accesses is associated with a wellbay substantially therebelow. The peripheral skidding system is operable to align the drilling module with one or more of the plurality of wellbay accesses, wherein the peripheral skidding system is positioned at an elevation higher than the plurality of wellbay accesses.