OTC 4962

Deepwater Diverless Technology Applied to Shallow

Water Operations in Hostile Environments
by J.P. Harrington and L.M. Williams, Brian Watt Assocs. Inc.

Copyright 1985 Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was presented at the 17th Annual OTC in Houston, Texas, May 6-9, 1985. The material is subject to correction by the author. Permission to
copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words.

ABSTRACT The hard, sandy seafloor required the jack-up rigs to be

positioned precisely in their original deep foot prints,
Deep water diverless technology has been successfully created during the exploratory drilling, to provide rig
applied to shallow water drilling operations in hostile stability and avoid possibly disasterous lateral loads
environments of the North Sea to minimize lost rig time. on the legs. Precise rig positioning was also required
This technology encompasses currently available in order to reach all of the template well slots. The
instruments and equipment, with state-of-the-art design, current conditions of 3 to 5 knots were so severe that
and operations procedures. The use of sector scanning the rigs could not be towed onto location, while
sonar, acous tic pos i tioning sys terns, and silicon simultaneously maintaining the proper heading to insure
intensified target, low-light level subsea T.V. cameras spud can foot print coincidence and avoid damaging the
to position rigs and install underwater templates is existing well.
described. Design principles, which allow the diverless
installation of templates and underwater wellheads, are Installation of the drilling template was also hampered
discussed. The utilization of deep water operating by the severe currents. Sand and silt entrained in the
procedures on two shallow water locations in the North water reduced underwater visibility for standard subsea
Sea are also described. The economic advantages of using T.V. cameras and divers to near zero. Diver on-bottom
deep water technology in these locations is illustr~ted. time is limited to approximately one hour per day during
the tide changes; and anything lowered into the water is
INTRODUCTION pushed off target by the strong current. The footings
of bottom-founded templates experienced excessive scour,
There are many places in the world where drilling and resulting in unacceptable tilting.
production operations in shallow water are seriously
hampered due to hostile environments which impose severe Running 30-inch casing was another major problem because
limitations on diving operations. Deep water technology of large current-induced deflections, zero visibility,
was developed to provide solutions to problems associated and lack of diver assistance. Eight to ten foot
with the inaccessibility of' on-bottom sea floor deflections at the end of the 30-inch casing frequently
equipment, poor underwater visibility, and the physical prevented stabbing the casing through its well slot in
limitations of divers. This technology, which includes the template. Early in the program, the derrick was
currently availab Ie equipment, des ign principles and occasionally unable to skid far enough to compensate for
operations procedures, can be judiciously applied to the deflection in the casing during periods of high tidal
shallow water operations to realize substantial savings curents.
in rig time by expediting completion of predrilling wells
through templates for early production. Disconnecting the 30-inch casing at the mudline wellhead
after its installation was another major problem. Snap
In the southern North Sea, Amoco (U.K.) Exploration type casing connectors were initially used for this
Company and Amoco Netherlands Petroleum Company have been purpose. These connectors require a series of bolts on
pre-drilling wells through templates supported on the periphery of the connector to be tightened
exploratory wells in shallow _water. Well protector sequentially by divers to affect release. This operation
jackets are subsequently installed and the wells tied- can only be performed by divers during a 30-minute
back. This development drilling program was seriously interval of slack tide, which occurs once every six hours.
hampered initially by persistant storms and severe Frequently, this operation was improperly performed due
currents. to the complete lack of visibility and time constraints.
Thus, failures resulted in at least a six-hour waiting
interval until the next slack tide.

The process of stabbing a string of casing through the

template and subsequently releasing it initially required
approximately 12 hours of rig time. The marine spread
References and illustcations at end of paper.
rate was approximately $55,000 per day, which resulted
47
 'DEEP WATER DIVERLESS TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO
2 SHALLOW WATER OPERATIONS IN HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS OTe 4962
in a cost of $27,500 each time these operations were The SIT camera is an invaluable tool for operations in
performed. deep or silt laden water. This device collects ambient
light from the surrounding environment and magnifies it
JACK-UP RIG POSITIONING SYSTEMS many thousands of times. It is therefore ab Ie to see
clearly in virtually complete darkness. As a result,
The first problem addressed was the need to accurately little or no illumination is required. The resultant
position the rig relative to the existing exploratory glare associated with back scattering of light from
wellhead within an accuracy of two feet as the rig is particles suspended in the water is eliminated or reduced.
moved into position. The need for this accuracy is SIT cameras can often see clearly where divers and
required to place the jack-up leg spud cans in their standard subsea T.V. systems are virtually blind.
original foot prints and to avoid damaging the wellhead.
Since divers could be used for only short time intervals Obviously, no optical systems are capable of seeing
during each 6-hour tide period, position measurements through opaque matter. During strong tides, the
often took 12 hours to complete. Several of these concentration of sediment occasionally reduced
measurements were required to properly position the rig. visibility to near zero even with the SIT camera. This
situation only existed during the worst periods of -winter
The existing medium frequency radio positioning system peak tides and lasted for approximately one hour several
on the rig was capable of precisely positioning the rig times per day.
relative to several shore based stations, but this system
was not accurate enough to position the rig within the In preparation for these operations, transponders for
required distance from the wellhead. In addition, this both the sonar (500 kHz) and acoustic positioning system
system could not provide a direct relative measurement (60 kHz) were installed on the stern legs of the rig with
between the rig and the wellhead. specially designed brackets. A transponder and a sonar
reflector were preinstalled on the wellhead by divers
Sonar has been used for years -to land guidelineless BOP using a diving support vessel.
stacks on deepwater wellheads in areas with poor
underwater visibility. For this reason, it was decided FINAL RIG MOVE
to use sector scanning sonar to provide close-up
measurements between the jack-up rig legs and the The rig was towed to the site using four tug/anchor
wellhead. Horizontal and vertical sonar heads were placed handling vessels. Rig position was monitored
on the jack-up rig legs (See Figure 1). The sonar signals continuously by the syledis system. When the rig was
were routed to a display console in the control room of 1,500 feet from location, it was oriented in the
the rig for the tow master's use in directing the rig approximate final heading and towed to within 150 feet
move. Sector scanning sonar provides an approximate real- of the final location. The jack-up legs were lowered
time scaled shadow picture of the sea floor in either until they were just picking up weight, as indicated on
,plan or side views. The distance and azimuth of the the electrical current meters in the rig control room.
~ wellhead from the known position of the sonar head, The port and starboard stern anchors were deployed to
mounted oQ_tbe leg of the jack-up rig, can be determined opposite sides of the wellhead (See Figure 2), while the
by taking physical measure~ents directly off the plan bow anchor was deployed forward.
view on the CRT screen using a ruler and protractor.
Under the strong wind and current conditions, it is not
The horizontal sonar head, which produces the plan view, possible to precisely position the rig while maintaining
will also show the old foot prints quite clearly. The the correct heading. The rig must be walked into position
vertical sonar head is used to verify the wellhead by sequentially rotating the rig on selected legs while
identity, if it is located on a highly irregular sea monitoring the rig position continuously using sonar and
floor. acoustic positioning.

The coarseness of the sonar picture introduces an
uncertainty as to the exact wellhead location when one
is concerned with accuracy of a few feet. The fact that
the wellhead can be physically seen, however, provides a
comfortable verification of the rig position relative to
both the wellhead and the old spud can foot prints.
A short base line acoustic positioning system was used
in conjunction with the sonar to provide the precise
location of the wellhead relative to the rig. The
acoustic positioning system provides a very accurate
determination of the wellhead range and azimuth relative
to the rig. Sonar was generally able to locate the
wellhead within three feet of its true location relative
to the rig, but the acoustic positioning system gave
accuracy within one foot.
In practice, the radio positioning system was used to
position the rig within 150 feet of the wellhead location,
and the sonar and short base line acoustic systems were
used as final positioning devices. The final position
was assured by lowering a silicon-intensified target
(SIT) low light level subsea T.V. camera on drillstring In order to assure that the derrick is centered over the
suspended from the cantilevered derrick to ob-servethe wellhead, a SIT camera is lowered on drill pipe to
wellhead location.
A graphical technique was developed to determine the
required steps (See Figure 3) to move the rig onto its
final location. A scale drawing is developed showing the
existing wellhead, the required heading of the rig, and
the final position of the bow leg all relative to the
existing rig location. Final positioning should require
no more than three steps.
To determine these three steps, a circle is drawn around
the final bow leg position of radius S, equal to the
distance between the bow leg and either of the port or
starboard legs.
The rig is rotated about the bow leg through the smallest
angle until either the port or starboard leg lie on the
circle. The rig is then rotated about the leg lying on
the circle until the bow leg lies at its final position.
The last step requires the rig to be rotated about the
bow leg until it is in its proper heading and location.
The rig is then pre loaded and the derrick is skidded out
over the wellhead.
physically observe the wellhead location relative to the

48
OTC 4962 J. P. HARRINGTON, L. M. WILLIAMS 3
rotary table. This operation must be performed at slack running tool to the casing and allowed it to ride over
tide to insure the drillpipe is true vertically. externally upset casing connectors.

CASING SUPPORTED TEMPLATES The camera was run down to the end of the casing just
prior to the casing being stabbed through the template.
Special inexpensive, casing supported, templates (See Then the camera was used to direct skidding of the derrick
Figure 4) were designed to avoid excessive tidal scour in order to stab the casing through the proper well slot.
and accommodate the need for diverless installation Numbers were painted on the inside of the template entry
techniques. These templates were supported on the 30- cones to designate each well slot. In addition, arrows
inch casing of previously drilled exploratory wells to were painted alongside the numbers to indicate compass
avoid problems associated with scour around the footings direction.
of bottom-founded structures in this high current
environment. DIVERLESS RELEASABLE CASING CONNECTORS
TEMPLATE INSTALLATION When conductor casing is installed from a jack-up rig
using mudline suspension systems, the conductor must be
The templates were run on drill pipe using a simple J- disconnected several feet above the mudline.
tool which engage lifting dogs on an extended portion of Disconnection can be achieved in two ways:
the template's center slot shell. The running tool
features large open J-slots which loosely engage the 1. Cut the casing (requires about 4 to 6 hours of rig
template lifting dogs so that it can be easily released time);
from the rig floor after landing the template.
o

2. Divers release conventional connector (may take 1 to

A camera/gyro/inclinometer (CGI) module was designed to 6 hours depending on tidal conditions and water
monitor template orientation during installation. The depth)
CGI module contains a SIT camera to observe the landing
operation, a gyro compass to control orientation, and an Frequently when divers are used, the connector fails to
inclinometer to measure the final level of the template. disconnect due to improper operation of the release
This module engages a keyed well slot on the template. mechanism or by current induced bending moments causing
The subsea SIT camera, mounted on a pan-and-tilt the connector to bind.
mechanism, and fastened to the bottom of the CGI module,
hangs below the template to observe the template when When the casing is cut, there is no commercially available
pngaging the wellhead. A north-seeking gyro compass and reconnect device to re-enter the well.
inclinometer module is mounted in the top of the CGI
module. This allowed accurate orientation of the template Several remote mechanical and hydraulic release
just prior to its landing on the wellhead. A special connectors are available, but they are expensive, and it
mechanical device located on the inside of the template all cases require ancillary equipment to effec~ their
center slot provided anti-rotation once the template was release. This requirement introduces handling problems
set on the wellhead. and protracts running time, resulting in a significant
loss of rig time.
Once the template was ins talled, the CGI module was
retrieved by hauling in the SIT camera umbilical. Figure 6 shows a remotely releasable, drivable connector
which was designed to avoid the handling problem and
Another module was landed in a corner slot of the template minimize lost rig time. This new connector is released
to provide indirect lighting during night operations. by raising the conductor inches and rotating several
This module suspended three ISO-watt underwater flood degrees torque. The connector pin, (See Figure 6)
lights beneath the template to facilitate slot consists of a thick body incorporating 4 locking dogs and
identification when stabbing casing at night. An appropriate sealing surfaces.
umbilical provided electric power and a means of
retrieving the module. This inexpensive system was left The connector box is made with Z-shaped engagement slots
on the ocean floor during the running of all of the 30- and a seal bore. Four retaining tabs on each Z-slot lock
inch casing and saved many hours of rig time during night the pin and box together during running and driving. The
operations. I seal bore provides multiple dove tail grooves for large
O-rings.
All of the 3D-inch casing strings were drive~in a single
operation to reduce costs normally associated with The box is placed over the pin engaging the locking dogs
handling large pipe and mobilization of equipment. in the Z-slots. The retaining tabs are then bolted in
place. A steel bolt secures the lower end of the tab and
CONDUCTOR CASING INSTALLATION a brass shear stud secures the top end.
Stabbing the casing into the template well s lots was During drilling, the connector is held in anti-rotation
simplified by' providing giant entry cones on the well by the locking dogs position in the upper end of the Z-
slots similar to those used on guidelineless subsea slot. In the running mode, the casing is supported by
permanent guide bases. These entry cones provided enough the four dogs resting on the horizontal surface of the
target area for the casing to be stabbed under any current Z-slot. Accidental release is prevented by the presenc~
conditions. of the retaining tabs.
i
when -
re-I

49

--------------------- -
 DEEP WATER DIVERLESS TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO
4 SHALLOW WATER OPERATIONS IN HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS OTC 496
These connectors were used on thirteen wells in the Diverless retrievable instrument packages incorporating
southern North Sea. They performed without failure, and subsea gyro compasses, inclinometers, and television
their use was credited with saving several hundred cameras enabled inexpensive casing supported templates
thousand dollars in rig time. to be installed from the rig within eight hours.
Installation procedures, running tools, and their special
CONCLUSIONS equipment were designed and developed to speed the
installation of conductor casings.
Amoco was able to save several million dollars in
materials and rig time as a result of their successful ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
utilization of deep water diverless technology in areas
where strong currents and sterms were hampering The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance and support
development drilling operations. of Mr. H. G. Schmit of Amoco (U.K.) Exploration Company
and Mr. M. P. Harris of Amoco Netherlands Petroleu~
Sector scanning sonar, acoustic positioning systems, and Company in developing this technology.
special low light television cameras were used to minimize
the time required to locate jack-up rigs on precise
locations, while encountering strong currents and wind
conditions.

50
 ANCHOR
RADIO POSITIONING
ANTENNA r\
\

!
\\
CURRENT

4 N

ANCHOR

Z WELLHEAD

RIG
POSITION

PoSITION

HANDLING BOAT

ANC-HOR

FIGURE 2 TYPICAL ANCHOR DEPLOYMENT

TR-oNDER.,~ SCHEME

FIGURE 1 JACK-UP RIG INSTRUMENTATION

EXTENDED
ROTARY
DERRICK
TABLE
\
?3
EXISTING WELLHEAO
b REQUIRED
HEADING FINAL RIG POSITION
7

INITIAL RIG POSITION

STEP 2 sTEP 3
STEP 1

FIGURE 3 GRAPHICAL RIG MOVE SEQUENCE

 k- DRILLSTRING

&
CAMERA/GYRO/INCLINOMETER MODULE

FIGURE 4 TYPICAL CASING SUPPORTED TEMPLATE

CASING CONNECTOR

LT

ROLLERS

CHAIN
T.V.

CONDUCTOR CASING

CASING sHOE
I

FIGURE 5 SUBSEA CAMERA RUNNING TOOL

 ING

TOR BOX

cONNECTOR PIN BRASS SHEAR BOLT

LOCKING DOG3
RETAINER TAB

STEEL BOLT

LOCKING DOG3

30 INCH CA31NG

(a) ASSEMBLING (b) DRIVING

(c) DRILLING

FIGURE 6 REMOTELY RELEASEABLE, DRIVABLE CASING CONNECTOR