Riser centralizer system (RCS)
AssigneeBP Corporation North America Inc.
InventorBenton F. Baugh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In an offshore drilling facility, apparatus is disclosed comprising: a drilling floor centralizer for receiving the upper end of a string of drilling riser sections; a moon pool centralizer for receiving another portion of the drilling riser; and at least one roto-track, removably and rotationally carried by at least one of the pin end of one drilling riser section and the box end of the adjacent drilling riser section, for extending the outer diameter of each of the adjacent ends to the outer diameter of the adjacent drilling risers sections intermediate the ends of the drilling riser sections.
Claims26
In an offshore drilling facility including a drilling floor, a diverter housing carried by the drilling floor, a moon-pool floor located below the drilling floor, and a string of at least two drilling riser sections connected end to end and that extend through the diverter housing and the moon-pool, each drilling riser section having a box end, an opposite pin end, and an outer diameter ends that is less than the overall outer diameter between the ends, apparatus comprising:
- a drilling floor centralizer carried by the drilling floor and configured to receive and centralize the upper end of the string of drilling riser sections;
- a moonpool centralizer carried by the moonpool floor and configured to receive and centralize at least a portion of the string of riser sections;
- and
- a first roto-track disposed about and removably coupled to the pin end of one drilling riser section and a second roto track disposed about and removably coupled to the box end of the adjacent drilling riser section, the first roto-track and the second roto-track each being disposed at an outer diameter equal to the outer diameter of the drilling riser sections between the ends of the drilling risers sections;
- wherein the first roto-track and the second roto-track are coupled end to end and span a threaded connection between the box end and the pin end of two adjacent drilling riser sections;
- wherein at least one of the first and the second roto-track includes a window for accessing at least a portion of the interior of the adjacent ends of two drilling riser sections.
In an offshore drilling facility including a drilling deck, a diverter housing carried by the drilling deck, a moon-pool deck located below the drilling deck, and a string of at least two drilling riser sections connected end to end and that extend through the diverter housing and the moon-pool, each drilling riser section having a box end, an opposite pin end, and an outer diameter intermediate its ends that is greater than the outer diameter immediately adjacent its ends, apparatus comprising:
- a drilling floor centralizer carried by the drilling deck and configured to engage the string of drilling riser sections at a first level with a plurality of first rollers;
- a moonpool centralizer positioned in the vicinity of the moonpool and configured to engage a portion of the string of drilling riser sections at a second and relatively lower level with a plurality of second rollers;
- at least one pin roto-track coupled to the pin end of one drilling riser section;
- and
- at least one box roto-track coupled to the box end of the adjacent drilling riser section, said pin roto-track and said box roto-track extending said outer diameter of each of said adjacent ends of the drilling riser sections to the outer diameter of said adjacent drilling riser sections intermediate its ends and providing a relatively smooth continuous track for said rollers;
- wherein the moonpool centralizer has a central axis, a first end, and a second end opposite the first end, wherein the moonpool centralizer comprises a cage extending axially from the first end to the second end and the plurality of second rollers rotatably coupled to the cage, wherein the cage includes a body extending axially between the first end and the second end and a door extending axially between the first end and the second end, wherein the door is pivotally coupled to the body along an axis of rotation oriented parallel to the central axis of the moonpool centralizer;
- wherein the door has an open position configured to allow the string of drilling riser sections to pass radially through the cage and a closed position configured to prevent the string of drilling riser sections from passing radially through the cage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.