A submudline protection silo system has been developed. The silo is a cylindrical shaped steel structure having a diameter of 9 metres and a total weight of 125 tonnes. The installation method described in the paper is presented in a step by step manner. The structure is transported from shore to the offshore site by a supply vessel. The silo structure is transferred from the supply vessel to a drilling rig. When the silo is placed on the seabed, an installation tool is run by the drilling riser and docked into the silo. The penetration of the silo into the seabed is achieved by using standard equipment onboard a drilling rig only. The excavation process is fulfilled by water jetting and the soil is removed by electrically driven mass pumps. The penetration force is achieved by creating a suction underneath the silo floor. The silo is equipped with systems to remove drill cuttings and excessive cement during drilling operation. The top of the silo has a roof system to protect the X-mas tree from falling objects. Maintenance and inspection of the silo x-mas tree is done by a guided ROV through a hatch system in silo roof. INTRODUCTION This paper presents a development work on submudline silo made by Kvrerner Eureka a.s on behalf of Saga Petroleum a.s. The main purpose of the work was to develop a simple and cost efficient method to install a silo system on one of Saga Petroleum's future wells in the North Sea. DESIGN DATA AND PHILOSOPHY Functional requirements The silo concept shall meet the following functional requirements: The silo concept shall be equipped with a standard drilling template. Drilling of a well and well completion shall be possible using standard drilling procedures and drilling equipment. The silo structure shall have sufficient internal space for a standard blow-out preventer. The silo concept must have a system to discharge the spoils during the 36 inch hole drilling operation. The silo shall have a protection roof. A discharge system to remove sediments or spoils during operation. The X-mas tree shall be retrievable without disconnecting the production pipeline. Design loads The silo structure, including the roof system, shall be designed for dropped objects, wire pulling (fishing gear) and impact from fishing gear. The following loads are used in this study:(available in full paper) Design philosophy The following presents the main philosophy for thisproject: To the maximum extent, make use of standard and well proven drilling related technology. Give priority to simplicity and existing technology. Try to avoid "point of no return" during installation. It should preferably be possible to carry out the silo installation and well completion as a continuous operation All methods, solutions and design details chosen shall be carefully weighed against the impact on the concept total cost.
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