Vertical Oil Storage System and Its Method For Deepwater Drilling and Production

摘要

A vertical oil storage system includes an oil tank for storing oil and water, an oil caisson coupled to the top of the oil tank, a water caisson coupled to the bottom of the oil tank, a containment saucer positioned and floating substantially at the interface between the oil and the water stored in the oil tank, a water pipe extending from an upper water sump in the center well to the water caisson, a water passageway extending from the center well to the water caisson, and an oil pipe extending front the topside facility to the oil caisson. A corresponding method to displace water with oil and to separate oil from displaced water in the vertical oil storage system includes loading oil from a topside facility into an oil caisson via an oil pipe, offloading water from water caisson into an upper water sump in a center well via a water pipe, and offloading water from the center well is a water passageway and discharging it back to open water via a water outlet at the keel of the platform.