A pipe assembly station for performing operations on a field joint during pipe assembly has an active rail extending around an opening through which the pipe can pass. Tool carriages are arranged to traverse along the active rail and around a periphery of the pipe. The station also comprises a standby position, distanced from the active rail and a switch arranged to transfer the tool carriage from the active rail to the standby position. By providing such a combination of a rail and a standby position, a tool carriage can be brought into position on the active rail to perform a pipe joining operation and can be subsequently set back to the standby position, where it is out of the way of operations taking place on the pipe. Such a switching arrangement allows for more effective use of the limited space around the joint.

A device for jointing elements of a pipeline for the transport of fluids includes a support structure on which a pipeline section to be jointed is intended to be mounted, two parallel fixed rails, four plates each comprising a first element capable of cooperating with a rail and a second element fixed on the support structure. The first and the second elements of each plate is linked by a first cylinder aligned along a first adjustment axis and a second cylinder aligned along a second adjustment axis, and a system for controlling the cylinders of the plates to achieve movements along the first and second adjustment axes and capable of cooperating with a system for guiding in translation the support structure along the longitudinal axis of the pipeline section to allow jointing of the pipeline section and the pipeline element.

A device for jointing elements of a pipeline for the transport of fluids includes a support structure on which a pipeline section to be jointed is intended to be mounted, two parallel fixed rails, four plates each comprising a first element capable of cooperating with a rail and a second element fixed on the support structure. The first and the second elements of each plate is linked by a first cylinder aligned along a first adjustment axis and a second cylinder aligned along a second adjustment axis, and a system for controlling the cylinders of the plates to achieve movements along the first and second adjustment axes and capable of cooperating with a system for guiding in translation the support structure along the longitudinal axis of the pipeline section to allow jointing of the pipeline section and the pipeline element.

A temporary pipeline protection apparatus. The apparatus includes a cylindrical sleeve having a pair of halves, each of the halves having a pair of opposed edges parallel to an axis of the cylindrical sleeve. A first edge of each pair of edges of the halves are connected together by at least one hinge assembly configured to move among a closed position, an installation and removal position, and a shipping and transportation position. A latch is configured to close the cylindrical sleeve at a second edge of each of the edges when in the closed position.

The present invention addresses to equipment for collecting flexible pipes without the use of special vessels, using less costly resources and which are not committed to not damaging such equipment during handling, since it is applied to pipes at the end of their useful life or that are already damaged. These types of pipes represent a major liability for some oil industry operators. The technology to be used, in phases of demobilization of fields or even for collecting pipes with no prospect of use, uses vessels with minimal adaptations that rely on the presence of collecting/launching wheels with a much smaller diameter when compared to the wheels used in conventional vessels or, alternatively, the launch of a special collection coil with its own traction means to make it possible to wind the abandoned pipes, in the same place where they are launched, with subsequent collection of the set and transshipment to the vessel itself.

Embodiments of the disclosure include methods and apparatus for a shroud that permits efficient installation and removal thereof from a flange of a pipeline. In one embodiment, a shroud is disclosed that includes a cover structure, and a plurality of retaining members coupled to an interior surface of the cover structure. Each of the plurality of retaining members comprises a rectangular arm coupled to a hinge structure, the hinge structure comprising a spring that fixes the rectangular arm in a position that is substantially orthogonal to a plane of the interior surface, wherein the hinge structure allows movement of the rectangular arm in a first direction and temporarily prevents movement of the rectangular arm in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

A detection system to check the position of a pipeline in a bed of a body of water and extending along a predetermined route; the system comprising a device, which is configured to be moved in a moving direction and along the predetermined route and comprises a support, which mainly extends transversely to the moving direction, a quantity of acoustic wave sources, which are mounted on the support and are configured to transmit acoustic waves through the body of water and the bed of the body of water, and a quantity of acoustic wave receivers, which are located along the support and are configured to receive reflected acoustic waves and emit reception signals related to the reflected acoustic waves; and a processing unit comprising an acquisition unit, which is configured to receive, from the outside, at least one datum selected within a group of known or expected data comprising: the known value of the cross-section of the pipeline, an expected value of the trenching height of the pipeline, the known shape of the pipeline, the expected bathymetric profile of the bed of the body of water, and an expected value of the position of the pipeline; the processing unit being configured to calculate a parameter related to the position of the pipeline in the bed of the body of water on the basis of the reception signals and of said at least one datum selected within the group of data.

A concrete mat apparatus, includes a plurality of elongated concrete members, each member being aligned with and next to another concrete member. Each of the concrete members has an upper generally flat surface, a lower generally flat surface, and a plurality of inclined surfaces that each extend away from an upper or lower surface. Reinforcement extends from a first end portion of each concrete member to a second end portion thereof, the reinforcement including a plurality of longitudinally extending reinforcement bars and a plurality of encircling tie bars at spaced apart intervals. Cabling connects each of the elongated concrete members to another of the elongated concrete members. The combination of elongated concrete members has a width and a length that is at least twice as long as the width. The upper inclined surfaces of one of the elongated concrete members forms a plane with the lower inclined surface of an adjacent elongated concrete member. A plurality of loops are provided along opposed edges of the mat, each loop formed by a portion of the cabling. The loops can be spaced between about one and three feet (30.5 and 91.4 cm) apart.

Methods of laying subsea pipeline (1300) on a seafloor comprising: providing a pipe laying vessel (1100), placing a spooling structure assembly (1200) on the seafloor, and laying the subsea pipeline (1300) in a loop around the spooling structure assembly and associated systems.

A vortex-induced vibration (VIV) suppression system including a strake having a cylindrical body portion dimensioned to encircle an underlying tubular and having opposing ends that form at least one gap extending from a top end to a bottom end of the body portion, a fin portion extending radially outward from the body portion and helically positioned around the body portion, and a connecting member dimensioned to secure the opposing ends of the body portion in a fixed position with respect to one another; and a collar dimensioned to encircle the underlying tubular and position the strake at a fixed axial location along the underlying tubular.