Subsea Wellhead Foundation Stabilization via Embedded Pipes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of subsea wells is laborious and prone to unconsolidated seabed mass washouts, requiring improved stabilization and resource-efficient methods for establishing multiple wellheads without excessive foundation size and weight.
Innovation Solution
A wellhead foundation featuring a suction foundation with a housing and top cover, incorporating pipes that form a high-pressure barrier, which can extend vertically and be lengthened or deflected to stabilize the wellhead, allowing for reduced reliance on conductor casings and enabling multiple wellheads on a single foundation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If conductor casings are installed to stabilize the wellhead, then the wellhead stability is improved, but the installation becomes laborious and washouts of unconsolidated seabed masses occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the conductor casing component from the wellhead stabilization system. Instead of using a separate conductor casing that requires complex installation procedures and causes washouts, the suction foundation directly provides stabilization through its embedded pipes that form the high-pressure barrier, eliminating the need for conductor casings entirely
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the stabilization function and high-pressure barrier function into a single integrated system. The suction foundation with its embedded pipes simultaneously provides both the stabilization mechanism and the high-pressure barrier, merging what were previously separate functions (conductor casing for stabilization + well pipes for high-pressure barrier) into one unified structure
2Productivity
If multiple wellheads are established on the same foundation, then resource efficiency is improved, but the foundation size and weight become excessive making installation demanding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the foundation into modular suction foundations, each with its own embedded pipes. This segmentation allows multiple wellheads to be supported by distributed modular units rather than one massive monolithic foundation, reducing the weight and installation difficulty of each individual foundation unit while maintaining the ability to support multiple wellheads
Solution Approach 2:
The suction foundation design is universal and can support multiple wellheads through its multiple embedded pipes. Each suction foundation unit serves multiple functions: providing stabilization, forming high-pressure barriers, and supporting multiple wellhead locations, thereby achieving resource efficiency without requiring excessive size or weight
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 solution enhances stability and reduces installation costs by eliminating the need for conductor casings, allowing for efficient deployment and retrieval of wellheads, while optimizing pipe connections and supporting loads throughout the well's life cycle.
Implementation Method 1
The ground plan of the housing may be circular, elliptical, oval or polygonal. The wall(s) of the housing is/are tight, so that a negative pressure may be created inside the housing.
Data Source
AI summary
A wellhead foundation is for one or more subsea wells. The wellhead foundation has a suction foundation provided with a housing with an open bottom and a top which is closable with a top cover, and one or more pipes being attached to the housing and extending from the top of the housing and at least over a substantial part of the vertical extent of the housing towards or beyond the open bottom of the housing inside or outside of the periphery of the housing, and a straight upper portion of each pipe projecting up above the top of the housing and forming an upper well-pipe portion which forms part of a high-pressure barrier in the well. The straight upper pipe portion of each pipe is arranged parallel to the center axis of the housing. A method of establishing a subsea wellhead foundation is described as well.