System and method of executing an underwater well drilling program in the bed of a body of water, and auxiliary floating unit
First Claim
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1. An underwater well drilling system comprising:
- a jack-up having;
a plurality of legs,a plurality of feet, each foot located at a bottom end of a respective one of the legs, each foot configured to rest on a bed of a body of water,a floating structure, wherein the floating structure is connected to selectively move with respect to each of the legs to vary a configuration of the jack-up between;
(i) a first configuration in which the plurality of legs extend exclusively above the floating structure, and (ii) a plurality of second configurations, anda drilling installation supported on the floating structure; and
an auxiliary floating unit selectively connectable to the floating structure of the jack-up such that each of the second configurations of the jack-up include the plurality of legs supporting the floating structure on the bed of the body of water and the auxiliary floating unit selectively connectable to the floating structure above the surface of the body of water, said auxiliary floating unit including;
two hermetically sealed tanks located on opposite sides of the floating structure, andat least one connecting member configured to connect the two hermetically sealed tanks to each other, said at least one connecting member being located beneath the floating structure.
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Abstract
A system configured to execute an underwater well drilling program in the bed of a body of water has a jack-up having a floating structure and a drilling installation supported on the floating structure; and an auxiliary floating unit connectable selectively to the jack-up to enable transfer of the jack-up over the body of water, even in very shallow water.
38 Citations
11 Claims
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1. An underwater well drilling system comprising:
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a jack-up having; a plurality of legs, a plurality of feet, each foot located at a bottom end of a respective one of the legs, each foot configured to rest on a bed of a body of water, a floating structure, wherein the floating structure is connected to selectively move with respect to each of the legs to vary a configuration of the jack-up between;
(i) a first configuration in which the plurality of legs extend exclusively above the floating structure, and (ii) a plurality of second configurations, anda drilling installation supported on the floating structure; and an auxiliary floating unit selectively connectable to the floating structure of the jack-up such that each of the second configurations of the jack-up include the plurality of legs supporting the floating structure on the bed of the body of water and the auxiliary floating unit selectively connectable to the floating structure above the surface of the body of water, said auxiliary floating unit including; two hermetically sealed tanks located on opposite sides of the floating structure, and at least one connecting member configured to connect the two hermetically sealed tanks to each other, said at least one connecting member being located beneath the floating structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of executing an underwater well drilling program in a bed of a body of water, said method comprising:
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connecting, on the body of water, an auxiliary floating unit to a floating structure of a jack-up, wherein; (a) said jack-up has a drilling installation supported by the floating structure, a plurality of legs, and a plurality of feet, each foot located at a bottom end of a respective one of the legs, each foot configured to rest on the bed of the body of water, (b) the floating structure is connected to selectively move with respect to each of the legs to vary a configuration of the jack-up between; (i) a first configuration in which the plurality of legs extend exclusively above the floating structure, and (ii) a plurality of second configurations, each of the second configurations include the plurality of legs supporting the floating structure on the bed of the body of water and the auxiliary floating unit selectively connectable to the floating structure above the surface of the body of water, (d) said auxiliary floating unit has two hermetically sealed tanks located on opposite sides of the floating structure, and at least one connecting member located beneath the floating structure and configured to connect the two hermetically sealed tanks to each other, and (c) said connecting the auxiliary floating unit to the floating structure of the jack-up includes; (i) positioning the auxiliary floating unit underneath the floating structure, and (ii) lowering the floating structure onto the auxiliary floating unit to connect the floating structure to the auxiliary floating unit; and transferring, on the body of water, the jack-up and the auxiliary floating unit from a first drilling station to a second drilling station. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. An underwater well drilling auxiliary floating unit comprising:
a body selectively connectable to a floating structure of a jack-up including a plurality of legs, a plurality of feet, each foot located at a bottom end of a respective one of the legs, each foot configured to rest on a bed of a body of water, a floating structure, wherein the floating structure is connected to selectively move with respect to each of the legs to vary a configuration of the jack-up between;
(i) a first configuration in which the plurality of legs extend exclusively above the floating structure, and (ii) a plurality of second configurations each including the plurality of legs supporting the floating structure on the bed of the body of water and the auxiliary floating unit selectively connectable to the floating structure above the surface of the body of water, and a drilling installation supported on the floating structure, said body including two hermetically sealed tanks located on opposite sides of the floating structure, and at least one connecting member located beneath the floating structure and configured to connect the two hermetically sealed tanks to each other.
Specification