Transportable Subsea Station for Well Intervention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Subsea intervention operations for well servicing are costly and time-consuming due to the need for deploying rigs and surface vessels, which limits efficient maintenance and servicing of subsea wells.
Innovation Solution
A transportable subsea station that can be moved between locations, coupled with a surface vessel or other transport vehicles, and equipped with a docking station for underwater vehicles, allowing for efficient recharging and data communication, enabling flexible and cost-effective well intervention operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional rig deployment is used for subsea intervention operations, then well servicing can be performed, but operational costs and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the intervention operation into two independent segments: a transportable base station that remains on the seabed and an autonomous underwater vehicle that performs the actual well servicing tasks. This segmentation allows the AUV to be deployed quickly without requiring full rig deployment, significantly reducing deployment time while maintaining complete well servicing capability through the coordinated operation of the station and vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous underwater vehicle serves as an intermediary between the transportable base station and the subsea well. The AUV carries out the intervention operations remotely, eliminating the need for direct rig deployment to the well location. This intermediary approach enables well servicing without the time-consuming and costly process of deploying and positioning traditional intervention rigs.
2Reliability
If traditional rig deployment is used for subsea intervention operations, then well servicing can be performed, but operational costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces expensive traditional intervention rigs with a more cost-effective combination of a simple transportable base station and an autonomous underwater vehicle. The AUV, being a relatively inexpensive robotic system compared to full-scale rigs, performs the intervention tasks, thereby significantly reducing operational costs while maintaining the necessary well servicing capability through automated remote operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous underwater vehicle performs well servicing operations independently without requiring continuous human intervention or expensive rig infrastructure. The AUV navigates to the well, executes intervention tasks autonomously or with remote guidance, and returns to the base station for recharging, creating a self-service system that eliminates the need for costly traditional rig deployment and operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the station is made transportable for flexible deployment, then adaptability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base station is designed with dynamic characteristics, being transportable and deployable at different subsea locations rather than being a fixed permanent structure. This dynamic design allows the station to be moved to various wells requiring intervention, providing deployment flexibility and adaptability. The transportable nature is achieved through integrated lifting arrangements that enable the station to be raised and repositioned as needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The transportable base station is designed as a universal platform that can support multiple different autonomous underwater vehicles and perform various well servicing functions. The station includes a docking facility that can accommodate different AUV types and a lifting arrangement that can deploy the vehicle for different intervention tasks. This multi-functional design provides adaptability across different well locations and service requirements without proportionally increasing complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A technique facilitates a subsea operation such as a well intervention operation. A system (20) comprises a station (22) movably positioned at a subsea location. The station comprises a housing (26) and a lifting arrangement (28) mounted on the housing to enable lifting of the station and movement of the station from one subsea location to another to enable successive subsea operations. The station further comprises a docking station (30) which may have connectors within the housing. In some applications, the station also may comprise a power lead (34) which may be operatively connected to a subsea installation and a transceiver (44) for communicating data to a desired location, e.g. a surface location. The docking station enables docking with an underwater vehicle (32) used to facilitate the subsea servicing operation.