Expandable drilling template system
OwnerJack Craininventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A template that can be used for drilling subsea wells in proximity at the seafloor is provided. The template is first placed over an existing protuberance above the seafloor, which is usually the conductor casing of an existing well. The template has a plurality of cans or guide slots, of which one has a J-slot that can be engaged by a running tool. The template is placed near the seafloor and plates are released to rest on the seafloor and support the template. After wells are drilled through the slots, the template can be rotated or moved to additional well casings for the drilling of additional wells.
Claims17
A drilling template for subsea drilling, comprising:
- a plurality of cans supported by a frame and cross-supports, one of the cans having a J-slot therein for support of the template in a horizontal plane and being adapted to be lowered over a selected protrusion extending from a seafloor location;
- a plurality of leveling plate rod guides affixed to the frame and a plurality of leveling plate rods, each of the leveling plate rod guides having a mechanism for controlling movement of one of the leveling plate rods through the rod guide;
- and
- a leveling plate affixed to each of the leveling plate rods.
A running tool for placing a subsea drilling template, comprising:
- a body, the body having an outside diameter and an inside surface and being sized to be lowered inside a selected can of the drilling template, the can having a J-slot therein;
- a plurality of lugs attached to the outside diameter of the body, the lugs being adapted to move inside the J-slot;
- and
- a support attached to the body.
A method for placing a drilling template over a protrusion extending above a seafloor location, comprising:
- assembling the template, the template having a frame, a plurality of cans including a can adapted for lowering over the protrusion, the can having a J-slot therein, and a plurality of leveling plates attached to a plurality of leveling plate rods, each of the leveling plate rods being attached to the frame by a mechanism to control movement of the leveling plate rods with respect to the frame;
- lowering the template with drill pipe, the drill pipe supporting the template by a J-mechanism, to place the can having the J-slot therein over the protrusion with the template a selected distance above the seafloor location;
- operating the mechanism to control movement of the leveling plate rods to release the plurality of leveling plate rods such that the plurality of leveling plates rest on the seafloor location;
- operating the mechanism to control movement of the leveling plate rods to prevent further movement of the leveling plate rods;
- and
- operating the J-mechanism to release the drill pipe from the template.
A method for drilling a plurality of subsea wells through a drilling template, the drilling template comprising a plurality of cans supported by a frame and cross-supports, one of the cans having a J-slot therein for support of the template in a horizontal plane and being adapted to be lowered over a conductor casing extending from a seafloor location, a plurality of leveling plate rod guides affixed to the frame and a plurality of leveling plate rods, each of the leveling plate rod guides having a mechanism for controlling movement of one of the leveling plate rods through the rod guide, and a leveling plate affixed to each of the leveling plate rods, comprising:
- assembling the template, lowering the template with drill pipe, the drill pipe supporting a running tool having lugs to engage the template by the J-slot, to place the can having the J-slot therein over the conductor casing with the template a selected distance above the seafloor location;
- operating the mechanism to control movement of the leveling plate rods to release the plurality of leveling plates and leveling plate rods such that the leveling plates rest on the seafloor location;
- operating the mechanism to control movement of the leveling plate rods to prevent further movement of the leveling plate rods;
- operating the J-mechanism to release the drill pipe from the template and retrieving the drill pipe;
- drilling at least one well through at least one of the cans and placing an added conductor casing therein;
- running the running tool with drill pipe and engaging the running tool and the can having the J-slot therein;
- rotating the template through a selected angle by rotating the drill pipe;
- operating the J-mechanism to release the drill pipe from the template and retrieving the drill pipe;
- and
- drilling at least one well through at least one of the cans and placing an added conductor casing therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.