Drilling vessel and method for operating a drilling vessel adapted to run large diameter casing strings

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10086917-B2
Application number	US-201515520889-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 23, 2015
Priority date	Oct 24, 2014
Publication date	Oct 2, 2018
Grant date	Oct 2, 2018

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for operating a drilling vessel adapted to run large diameters surface casing joints having a diameter of over 20 inch (51 cm) and a length of 30-50 feet (9-15 meters), and build a surface casing string. According to the invention three or more surface casing joints are interconnected into pre-assembled surface casing stands having a length of over 100 feet (30 meters). These surface casing stands are substantially horizontally stored and transferred by a casing stand handling system to a surface casing string handling capacity hoisting device, which subsequently lowers the surface casing string.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for running surface casing from a drilling vessel adapted to handle large diameter surface casing joints each having a diameter of over 20 inch (51 cm) and a length of 30-50 feet (9-15 meters), and build a surface casing string from said joints, comprising the step of using the drilling vessel which is provided with:
a deck with a surface casing stand storage;
a casing stand handling system comprising a crane and a catwalk machine;
a surface casing string handling capacity hoisting device having a surface casing string lifting tool connectable to a surface casing stand; and
a surface casing string hanger,
wherein the method comprises the steps of:
a) interconnecting, on said vessel, three or more surface casing joints each having a diameter of over 20 inch (51 cm) and a length of 30-50 feet (9-15 meters) into pre-assembled surface casing stands each having a length of over 100 feet (30 meters);
b) storing the pre-assembled surface casing stands in the surface casing stand storage in a substantially horizontal position;
c) operating the casing stand handling system to transfer a first pre-assembled surface casing stand of the pre-assembled surface casing stands from the surface casing stand storage to the surface casing string handling capacity hoisting device;
d) connecting the casing lifting tool to said first surface casing stand;
e) lifting said first surface casing stand such that the first surface casing stand is suspended in a substantially vertical position from said surface casing string handling capacity hoisting device in a firing line;
f) operating the surface casing string handling capacity hoisting device to lower the first surface casing stand in said firing line;
g) temporarily holding the lowered first surface casing stand in the firing line by the surface casing string hanger and disconnecting the first surface casing stand from the casing lifting tool;
h) repeating steps d)-f) for a second pre-assembled surface casing stand of the pre-assembled surface casing stands;
i) aligning the second surface casing stand above the first surface casing stand;
j) interconnecting the second surface casing stand and the first surface casing stand to form a surface casing string;
k) releasing the surface casing string from the casing string hanger;
l) lowering the surface casing string over the length of the second surface casing stand by the casing lifting tool;
m) temporarily holding the surface casing string in the firing line by the surface casing string hanger and disconnecting the surface casing string from the casing lifting tool;
n) repeating steps d)-f) and i)-l) for a third pre-assembled surface casing stand of the pre-assembled surface casing stands.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the drilling vessel is provided with a casing pre-assembly installation in which step b) is performed.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the drilling vessel is provided with a surface casing storage adapted to store therein multiple surface casing joints, distinct from the surface casing stand storage.

4. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the casing stand handling system is adapted to transfer the pre-assembled surface casing stands between the casing pre-assembly installation and the surface casing stand storage.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein in step b) three or more vertically oriented surface casing joints are interconnected into surface casing stands.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein in step b) three or more horizontally oriented surface casing joints are interconnected into surface casing stands.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the drilling vessel comprises a hull having a moonpool and a main deck and a tower arranged at said moonpool, wherein the surface casing string is lowered relative to said tower through the moonpool.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the tower is a mast and wherein the firing line is provided parallel to and outside of a first side of the mast.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the vessel is provided with a second hoisting device having a load attachment device, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of performing drilling operations along a second firing line distinct from the first firing line.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the catwalk machine includes:
a pair of horizontal catwalk machine rails;
an elongated catwalk machine frame having a rear end and a front end; and
a skate supported by the frame and movable by a drive motor along the length of the frame between a rearward skate position and a forward skate position,
and wherein the method comprises the steps of:
positioning the frame over the catwalk machine rails in a rearward loading position;
loading a surface casing stand in horizontal orientation onto the catwalk machine in the rearward loading position of the frame;
moving the frame over the catwalk machine rails to a forward casing release position; and
connecting the surface casing stand to be lifted to the surface casing string lifting tool in the forward casing release position.

Assignees

• Itrec Bv

Inventors

• Roodenburg Joop
• Wijning Diederick Bernardus

Classifications

• E21B19/004

  supporting a riser from a drilling or production platform · CPC title

• E21B19/143

  specially adapted for underwater drilling · CPC title

• B63B35/4413 Primary

  Floating drilling platforms, e.g. carrying water-oil separating devices · CPC title

• B63B27/04

  of derricks {, i.e. employing ships' masts} · CPC title

• B63B35/44

  Floating buildings, stores, drilling platforms, or workshops, e.g. carrying water-oil separating devices {(construction methods for floating offshore platforms B63B75/00)} · CPC title