Method and apparatus for installing subsea insulation

Abstract

Provided herein is a system and apparatus for installing subsea insulation on flowlines, connectors and equipment. This system provides a lightweight, thin mold designed and built to suit the parameters of the subsea item to be insulated. The mold fits and seals around the area to be insulated which is then injected with an insulation material by a remote operation vehicle (ROV). The insulation material is injected as a liquid solution that is a combination of an insulation solution and a catalyst solution mixed together during the injection process. The liquid solution is then allowed to solidify, forming a gel molded insulation.

1 . An apparatus for installing subsea insulation using a remotely operated vehicle comprising: 
 a subsea gel insulation mold;    a subsea insulation solution reservoir skid; and    a subsea gel injection system.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold is selected from the group consisting of a pre-engineered fiberglass enclosure, a plastic enclosure, and a metal enclosure.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold is a hinged enclosure.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold comprises gaskets, wherein the gaskets provide a tight seal between the subsea gel insulation mold and an item to be insulated.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold is preinstalled on an item to be insulated.  
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold is installed by the remotely operated vehicle.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising multiple gel insulation molds, wherein a mold deployment skid supplies the multiple gel insulation molds.  
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the subsea insulation solution reservoir skid comprises a flexible gel reservoir for supplying insulation solution and a hose for delivering the insulation solution.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the subsea gel injection system is integrated within the frame of the remotely operated vehicle.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the subsea gel injection system is provided on a skid separate from the remotely operated vehicle.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the subsea gel injection system skid is mounted to the remotely operated vehicle.  
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising an insulation solution pump.  
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a catalyst pump.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a mixing nozzle for mixing insulation solution and catalyst.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a catalyst reservoir.  
   
   
       16 . A method for installing subsea insulation comprising: 
 installing a subsea gel insulation mold on an item to be insulated; and    using a remotely operated vehicle to simultaneously pump insulation solution and catalyst into the subsea gel insulation mold.    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the remotely operated vehicle installs the subsea gel insulation mold on the item to be insulated.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the insulation solution and catalyst are pumped into the subsea gel insulation mold through a mixing nozzle.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the insulation solution and catalyst are pumped into the subsea gel insulation mold using an insulation solution pump for pumping the insulation solution and a catalyst pump for pumping the catalyst.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold is selected from the group consisting of a pre-engineered fiberglass enclosure, a plastic enclosure, and a metal enclosure.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold is a hinged enclosure.  
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold comprises gaskets, wherein the gaskets provide a tight seal between the subsea gel insulation mold and the item to be insulated.  
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold is installed by the remote operated vehicle.  
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the subsea gel insulation molds are provided by a mold deployment skid.  
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the insulation solution is provided by a subsea insulation solution reservoir skid.  
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein insulation solution and catalyst are pumped from a subsea gel injection system.  
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the subsea gel injection system is integrated within the frame of the remotely operated vehicle.  
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the subsea gel injection system is provided on skid separate from the remotely operated vehicle.  
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the subsea gel injection system skid is mounted to the remotely operated vehicle.  
   
   
       30 . A method for installing subsea insulation comprising: 
 using a remotely operated vehicle to install a subsea gel insulation mold to an item to be insulated; and    using a remotely operated vehicle to pump insulation solution into the subsea gel insulation mold.    
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the remotely operated vehicle installs the subsea gel insulation mold to the item to be insulated.  
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the subsea gel insulation mold is selected from the group consisting of a pre-engineered fiberglass enclosure, a plastic enclosure, and a metal enclosure.  
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the insulation solution is provided by a subsea insulation solution reservoir skid.  
   
   
       34 . An apparatus for installing subsea insulation using a remotely operated vehicle comprising: 
 a means for storing insulation solution;    a means for molding insulation solution; and    a means for injecting the stored insulation solution into the molding means.