Method and apparatus for protecting a shallow-water well

Patent · Tue Apr 26 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:7041296

Casbarian, A O.P.; Dewalt, K M

A method of drilling a shallow-water offshore well from a drilling barge and subsequently reinforcing an unsupported columnar well installation to resist the effect of wind and wave forces encountered by the well installation, is described comprising the steps of: (a) installing a well conductor in an ocean floor at a shallow water location and anchoring it to the ocean floor, (b) drilling the well through the well conductor and closing the top of the well with a production wellhead, (c) providing a first pile guide template frame, (d) transporting the first pile guide template frame to the offshore unsupported well installation, (e) positioning the first pile guide template frame in vertical sliding arrangement on the well conductor below the production wellhead, (f) lowering the first pile guide template frame to the ocean floor, (g) providing a second pile guide template frame, (h) supporting the second pile guide template frame to the offshore unsupported well installation, (i) positioning the second pile guide template frame in a manner such that the other ends of the additional laterally-extending support members are operatively positioned adjacent a wall of the well conductor, (j) vertically aligning the pile guides of the second pile guide template frame over the pile guides of the first pile guide template frame (k) lowering a pile through each of the vertically-aligned pile guides of the first and second pile guide template frames and driving the pile into the ocean floor, (j) fixedly connecting each pile to its surrounding spaced-apart pile guides, and (m) operatively connecting at least the other ends of the laterally-extending support members at the top of the second pile guide template frame and the well conductor guide of the first pile guide template frame to the well conductor.

• Assignee: Barnett and Casbarian, Inc., Metairie, LA
• Patent Number(s): US 4740107
• OSTI ID: 7041296
• 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
420200 -- Engineering-- Facilities
Equipment
& Techniques
423000 -- Engineering-- Marine Engineering-- (1980-)
ALIGNMENT
DEPTH
DIMENSIONS
DRILLING
EQUIPMENT PROTECTION DEVICES
FABRICATION
FASTENING
INSTALLATION
JOINING
MARITIME TRANSPORT
MATERIALS HANDLING
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OFFSHORE DRILLING
OFFSHORE PLATFORMS
OIL WELLS
POSITIONING
SUPPORTS
TRANSPORT
WELL COMPLETION
WELLS