Apparatus for use in placing a submarine structure on the sea bed alongside an underwater well and method of drilling a plurality of closely spaced underwater wells

摘要

A template for spacing a submarine structure such as an anchor block or a guide base for a second underwater well alongside an existing underwater well comprises a beam attached at one end, by means of a hinge, to a lowering guide which can be threaded over and be lowered along two guide wires of the first well, and at the other end by a remote-controlled release mechanism to the submarine structure such as the anchor block itself or a guide base for a second well. The beam, with such a submarine structure attached, is lowered down the guide wires while held in a vertical configuration, and is then swung into a generally horizontal configuration at the sea bed.