Subsea well template for directional drilling

Patent · Tue Jul 05 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6818538

Goldsmith, R G

A method is described for drilling widely spaced boreholes into a hydrocarbon producing subsea formation comprising the steps of: positioning a subsea drilling template on the bottom of a body of water, the subsea drilling template including laterally disposed, substantially cylindrical drilling guides having a longitudinal axis wherein at least one of the drilling guides has its longitudinal axis disposed at an angle of less than 90/sup 0/ relative to a horizontal plane passing through the subsea drilling template; mooring a drilling vessel floating on the surface of the body of water in a first position relative to the subsea drilling template using a plurality of mooring catenaries; extending a drill string from the floating vessel to the subsea template, the drill string passing into the one of the drilling guides along its longitudinal axis which is disposed at an angle of less than 90/sup 0/; drilling a borehole below the template into the hydrocarbon producing subsea formation; repositioning the drilling vessel to another position relative to the subsea template by adjusting the mooring catenaries; extending the drill string from the vessel into another of the drilling guides; drilling another borehole below the template; and repeating the steps of repositioning the drilling vessel, extending the drill string and drilling the widely spaced boreholes.

• Assignee: Conoco Inc., Ponca City, OK
• Patent Number(s): US 4754817
• OSTI ID: 6818538
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
03 NATURAL GAS
030300 -- Natural Gas-- Drilling
Production
& Processing
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
DRILL PIPES
DRILLING
DRILLING EQUIPMENT
DRILLING RIGS
DRILLS
EQUIPMENT
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OFFSHORE DRILLING
OFFSHORE PLATFORMS
OIL WELLS
PIPES
POSITIONING
ROCK DRILLING
WELLS