This invention provides a system for laying a high bending radius and low weight pipeline on the seabed comprising a subsea pipe-laying vessel comprising a moonpool and at least one coil with at least one pipeline segment to be installed wrapped around it, in which the moonpool comprises an internal baffle element adapted to smooth out the pipeline bend due to the of the pipe-laying vessel movement regarding the seabed, current, and catenary angle, where the system comprises at least one supporting element to support at least one coil allowing it to rotate to unwind the pipeline and where at least one supporting element comprises a handling system allowing the movement of at least one supporting element and at least one coil in at least one axis. A method of laying a pipeline on the seabed is also provided, performed using the described system.

A laying tower for laying pipelines on the bed of a body of water has a supporting structure extending along a longitudinal axis and provided with guides parallel to the longitudinal axis; a first clamp, which is mounted on the supporting structure and configured for selectively clamping and releasing the pipeline in a given point along the longitudinal axis; and a second clamp, which is selectively movable along a path, which extends along a first section above the first clamp; and a second section below the first clamp and, partly, below the supporting structure and configured for selectively clamping and releasing the pipeline along the path.

A laying tower for laying pipelines on the bed of a body of water has a supporting structure extending along a longitudinal axis and provided with guides parallel to the longitudinal axis; a first clamp, which is mounted on the supporting structure and configured for selectively clamping and releasing the pipeline in a given point along the longitudinal axis; and a second clamp, which is selectively movable along a path, which extends along a first section above the first clamp; and a second section below the first clamp and, partly, below the supporting structure and configured for selectively clamping and releasing the pipeline along the path.

A method for assembling pipe-in-pipe pipeline elements for transporting fluids, with each pipeline element comprising an inner pipe including a bulge at one end, and an outer pipe including a recess at one end. The method comprises the successive steps: inserting a first locking wedge axially abutting the bulge of its inner pipe and a corresponding end of its outer pipe, butt-assembling the inner pipe of a new pipeline element on the inner pipe of the pipeline, positioning the outer pipe of the new pipeline element alongside the outer pipe of the pipeline, and butt-assembling the outer pipe of the new pipeline element on the outer pipe of the pipeline by inserting a second locking wedge axially abutting against the bulge of the inner pipe of the pipeline at its free end and the recess of the outer pipe at a corresponding end thereof.

A subsea energy storage installation comprises a pumped-storage system having pumping and hydropower generation components for, selectively, converting electricity into potential energy by expelling water from within a tank into the surrounding sea and for generating electricity from an incoming flow of water re-entering the tank under hydrostatic pressure. The tank comprises at least one elongate rigid pipeline that may be lowered to the seabed as part of a towable unit or laid on the seabed as a pipe string launched from a surface vessel.

A method including at least one phase of near-immobilization or immobilization of the line, including the following steps: activation of the motor of at least one upper tensioner and/or of at least one lower tensioner by a control unit, in order to apply to the movement member of the upper tensioner and/or of the lower tensioner, a holding torque to hold the line against its weight; at least occasional control by the control unit of at least one motor of an upper tensioner and/or of a lower tensioner for causing a movement member of the upper tensioner and/or lower tensioner to move or for changing the holding torque applied to the movement member of the upper tensioner and/or of the lower tensioner.

A method including at least one phase of near-immobilization or immobilization of the line, including the following steps: activation of the motor of at least one upper tensioner and/or of at least one lower tensioner by a control unit, in order to apply to the movement member of the upper tensioner and/or of the lower tensioner, a holding torque to hold the line against its weight; at least occasional control by the control unit of at least one motor of an upper tensioner and/or of a lower tensioner for causing a movement member of the upper tensioner and/or lower tensioner to move or for changing the holding torque applied to the movement member of the upper tensioner and/or of the lower tensioner.

A subsea pipeline (14) has a friction-reducing outer coating, treatment or finish (30) that extends along discrete regions mutually spaced along the length of the pipeline. During laying, curvature is imparted to the pipeline (14) along its length, for example by the residual curvature method or by snake-lay, to create expansion loops (26) of increased curvature relative to intermediate portions (28) of the pipeline (14) that join those loops (26). Each of the loops (26) is coincident with a respective one of the regions that bear the friction-reducing outer coating, treatment or finish (30). This facilitates lateral movement of the loops (26) relative to the seabed (16) to mitigate and control buckling in use of the pipeline (14).

A method of aligning first and second pipes end-to-end in a position ready for welding. Each pipe has an end bevelled with a shape scanned and stored in memory of a control unit. At least one of the pipes has machine readable codes distributed around their circumference of the pipe. The method includes effecting relative movement of the ends of the first and second pipes towards each other, reading at least one of the codes with a reader, and ascertaining the relative movement required to align the pipes in accordance with a target orientation. The relative movement is ascertained with information provided by the read code and the shapes of the bevelled ends stored in the control unit memory. In other aspects, a closed loop control method and machine-learning may be used to align the pipes. A pipe-laying vessel including pipe handling equipment and the control unit is also provided.

A method of aligning first and second pipes end-to-end in a position ready for welding. Each pipe has an end bevelled with a shape scanned and stored in memory of a control unit. At least one of the pipes has machine readable codes distributed around their circumference of the pipe. The method includes effecting relative movement of the ends of the first and second pipes towards each other, reading at least one of the codes with a reader, and ascertaining the relative movement required to align the pipes in accordance with a target orientation. The relative movement is ascertained with information provided by the read code and the shapes of the bevelled ends stored in the control unit memory. In other aspects, a closed loop control method and machine-learning may be used to align the pipes. A pipe-laying vessel including pipe handling equipment and the control unit is also provided.