US 11,773,661 B2
Off shore riser fixation system and method
Sergio Simões, Milan (IT); and Otávio Borges Sertã, Milan (IT)
Assigned to SAIPEM S.P.A., San Donato Milanese (IT)
Appl. No. 17/641,755
Filed by SAIPEM S.P.A., Milan (IT)
PCT Filed Sep. 9, 2019, PCT No. PCT/IB2019/057581
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 9, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/048592, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 18, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0316285 A1, Oct. 6, 2022
Int. Cl. E21B 19/00 (2006.01)
CPC E21B 19/004 (2013.01) [E21B 19/008 (2013.01)] 32 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. System for approximating and connecting an off shore riser duct to a floating unit, comprising:
a tubular coupling recipient installed on the floating unit at a riser coupling level and adapted to receive a coupling adapter of an upper end of said riser duct, said coupling recipient having an annular side wall extending about a recipient longitudinal axis, a downward facing lower opening defined by a lower end edge of the side wall, an upward facing upper opening defined by an upper end edge of the side wall,
a puller installed on the floating unit at a puller level above said riser coupling level and adapted to pull a pulling line extended through the coupling recipient, wherein the pulling line configured to couple to a pulling head at the upper end of the riser duct, so that the upper end of the riser duct is pulled from below upward into the coupling recipient,
a lock provided at the coupling recipient for locking the coupling adapter of the riser duct upper end against downward withdrawal from the coupling recipient,
a pulling line redirecting system comprising at least one curved deviating surface along which the pulling line is extended and at which a lower pulling direction of the pulling line at the lower opening of the coupling recipient is adapted to deviate into an intermediate pulling direction of the pulling line in a region above said lower opening,
wherein the curved deviating surface is formed by a member directly connected to said coupling recipient and arranged at a radial distance from the recipient longitudinal axis smaller than a radial distance of the annular side wall from the recipient longitudinal axis.