Methods and apparatus for recovery of damaged subsea pipeline sections
AssigneeValkyrie Commissioning Services, Inc.
InventorAlan J Sweeney
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods are described for subsea pipeline servicing, including line-pack testing, physical integrity testing, recovery of damaged sections of pipelines, and product removal from subsea structures. In one embodiment of the invention, a subsea pipeline service skid is provided including at least one sample collection bladder affixed to the skid and in fluid communication with a skid mounted pump dimensioned to pull a sample from the subsea pipeline. In another embodiment, a product removal bladder is provided for removal of the hydrocarbons from a subsea structure. In one embodiment, a method of wet-buckle remediation is provided using a subsea pump to unweight the pipeline.
Claims10
A method of remediation of a wet buckled pipeline using a subsea pipeline service skid comprising the steps of:
- retaining an end of the buckled pipeline above water and exposable to a source of surface gas that can enter the end of the buckled pipeline;
- cutting the buckled pipeline underwater below a damaged section of the buckled pipeline thereby generating a cut end of the buckled pipeline;
- attaching a valve able closure to the cut end of the buckled pipeline;
- connecting a pump to the valve able closure and running the pump to pull water out of the pipeline and thereby reduce pressure in the pipeline and draw air in from the surface gas to dewater the severed section;
- and
- recovering the dewatered section to a surface vessel.
A method of recovery of a section of pipeline disposed on a seabed comprising the steps of:
- deploying a Submersible Vehicle (SV), Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), or Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) to install a termination head on each of a first and a second end of the section of pipeline;
- providing a source of gas to the first end of the section of pipeline;
- utilizing the SV, AUV or ROV to move a Subsea Pipeline Service Skid (SPSS) that includes a high pressure pump to the second end of the pipeline and connect the SPSS to the termination head;
- and
- utilizing the high pressure pump to pull water out of the pipeline and displace fluid in the pipeline with a relatively modest volume of gas from the gas source, thereby dewatering the pipeline;
- and
- recovering the dewatered section of pipeline from the seabed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.