Method and apparatus for protecting a shallow water well

Patent · Tue Apr 26 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6961897

Cox, B E

This patent describes a method of drilling a shallow-water offshore well and reinforcing a well structure thereof from a jack-up type drilling platform having a derrick and associated drilling and hoisting systems. The platform is of a design providing for the derrick to be moved laterally on the platform within a prescribed work area so that the center line of the derrick is positioned over open water outboard of the platform. The method comprises the steps of: a. providing a jack-up drilling platform and locating it at a selected shallow-water drilling location with its leg footings on the ocean floor and its operating deck jacked-up to normal operating position above the water surface and wave action; b. lowering a large-diameter well conductor through the water below the derrick and setting it in the ocean floor; c. drilling a well through the well conductor and closing the top of the well with a wellhead; d. providing a pile guide template frame substantially polygonal in plan view; e. transporting the pile guide template frame to the shallow water offshore well; f. positioning the frame vertically in the water adjacent the well conductor; g. lowering a pile through each of the pile guides of the frame and driving the pile into the ocean floor; h. raising the template frame along the anchored piles until the top of the frame is at a selected elevation relative to the wellhead at the top of the well conductor with the bottom of the frame above the ocean floor and a major portion of the frame below the water surface; i. fixedly connecting each pile to its surrounding pile guide while the template frame is raised; and j. operatively connecting at least the top of the frame to the well conductor.

• Assignee: Shell Offshore Inc., Houston, TX
• Patent Number(s): US 4739840
• OSTI ID: 6961897
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
03 NATURAL GAS
030300 -- Natural Gas-- Drilling
Production
& Processing
42 ENGINEERING
420206 -- Engineering-- Mining & Drilling Equipment & Facilities-- (1980-1989)
423000 -- Engineering-- Marine Engineering-- (1980-)
DRILL PIPES
DRILLING
DRILLING EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT PROTECTION DEVICES
HOISTING
HOISTS
INSTALLATION
MATERIALS HANDLING
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OFFSHORE DRILLING
OFFSHORE PLATFORMS
OIL WELLS
PIPES
POSITIONING
SUPPORTS
WELL COMPLETION
WELLS