Patent ID: 9051785
Filing Date: 2015-06-09
Classification: E21B

Abstract:
1. An offshore drilling apparatus comprising: a riser spider for supporting a plurality of riser pipe sections during assembly of a riser pipe string, the riser spider forming an annulus around a first riser pipe section of the plurality of riser pipe sections being deployed therethrough and supporting the first riser pipe section during connection to a second riser pipe section of the plurality of sections, each riser pipe section having an identification tag attached to or embedded within an outer-facing surface of the respective riser pipe section; an antenna arrangement comprising an antenna attached to or embedded within a substantial portion of an inner-facing surface of the riser spider and configured so that the antenna at least substantially follows the contour of the substantial portion of the inner-facing surface of the riser spider; and a reader operably connected to the antenna arrangement for reading the plurality of radio frequency identification tags attached to the respective outer-facing surfaces of the plurality of riser pipe sections.