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base/receptacle. The sales line receptacle will receive the 123/4-in.
OD pipeline.
30" LEVELING PILE (4 PLACES)
SALES RISER
BASE
WELLHEAD RECEPTACLE (TYP)
Figure 2.29 - 21-well unitized template. (Courtesy Vetco)
The wellhead receptacles allow wells to be drilled using
standard subsea drilling techniques. During template fabrication,
the guideposts for the wellhead receptacles are held in position at
top and bottom during welding to ensure verticality and critical
spacing. To install the wellhead receptacles, a fixture is run down
over the four guideposts of the slot where the receptacle is to be
placed. The center of the fixture has an outer profile that matches
the inner profile of the receptacle. A tapered section below the
receptacle centralizes it on its support beams. When the receptacle
is landed and centralized, it is welded to the large support beams of
the template.
There is likely to be quite a time lag between setting the
template and completing the TLP; consequently, a number of
preliminary operations are carried out by a floating drilling vessel
(fig. 2.30) including:
1. Setting and leveling the unitized template
2. Connecting the sales pipeline
3. Setting the anchor template and piles for mooring the
TLP
4. Drilling a number of the subsea template wells
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