To solve the problem of insufficient load-bearing capacity of conventional wellhead platforms and minimum platforms in service in Bohai, a method is proposed to use conductors as the load-bearing structure to transfer part of the platform load to the conductors, in order to improve the platform's load-bearing capacity. A detachable platform load transfer slant support device is invented to quickly complete the improvement transformation of the bearing capacity. Taking the Bohai Platform as an example, carry out numerical simulation of load transfer conductors. The results show that for in-service conventional jacket platforms, the average load transfer efficiency is 10.8%; For minimum platforms, the average load transfer efficiency is 14.3%. The numerical simulation has verified that the method of improving the platform's bearing capacity by transferring loads to conductors is feasible, which can effectively enhance the operational capacity of in-service platforms with insufficient carrying capacity, and effectively guide the optimization of minimum platforms structure design.
With the gradual advancement of the development process of Bohai Oilfield, the problem of insufficient bearing capacity of pile foundations on in-service wellhead platforms is becoming increasingly prominent. The old platforms cannot be expanded and renovated on a large scale, and the oilfield production capacity cannot be effectively released. At the same time, marginal oil fields in the Bohai Sea usually adopt minimum platforms development model due to low production (George, 2008; Jeremy, 2012; Wong et al., 2021), but the carrying capacity of the minimum platform is weak, and the platform scale and number of wells are limited. The structure and size of the conductor are similar to steel piles. After the oilfield was put into operation, only the Christmas tree was installed on the upper part of the conductor and the axial bearing capacity was not fully utilized, which was seriously wasted(Mostafa, 2019; Tleshev, et al., 2016; Liu, Yu and Liang, 2021). To solve the problem of insufficient load-bearing capacity of conventional wellhead platforms and minimum platforms in service, a method is proposed to use conductors as the load-bearing structure to transfer part of the platform load to the conductors, thereby improving the platform's load-bearing capacity.
