Floatable Spoolbase with Intermediate Carousel Storage
AssigneeSubsea 7 Limited
InventorPhilippe Benoit Jacques Hoffmann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A floatable spoolbase for supplying rigid pipe to a reel-lay pipelaying vessel having a storage reel with an upright rotational axis for interim storage of a continuous length of pipe is disclosed. Welding stations upstream of the storage reel add pipe elements to the pipe to be stored on the storage reel. When a pipelaying vessel visits the spoolbase, the pipe is unwound from the storage reel and fed to a pipelay reel of the pipelaying vessel. Where the pipelay reel turns about a substantially horizontal rotational axis, winding the pipe onto the pipelay reel reduces ovalization of the pipe imparted by previously winding the pipe onto the storage reel.
Claims35
A water-based spoolbase for supplying rigid pipe to a reel-lay pipelaying vessel that visits the spoolbase, the spoolbase comprising at least one storage reel with an upright rotational axis for interim storage of a continuous length of pipe before its supply to a pipelay reel of the pipelaying vessel;
- and at least one welding station upstream of the storage reel for adding pipe elements to the pipe to be stored on the storage reel.
A method of storing rigid pipe at a water-based spoolbase for supply to a reel-lay pipelaying vessel that visits the spoolbase, the method comprising welding pipe elements to a pipe and winding the pipe onto a storage reel having an upright rotational axis.
A method of supplying rigid pipe from a water-based spoolbase to a reel-lay pipelaying vessel visiting the spoolbase, the method comprising unwinding the pipe from a storage reel having an upright rotational axis and feeding the pipe to a pipelay reel of the pipelaying vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.