Patent ID: 8573308
Filing Date: 2013-11-05
Classification: E21B

Abstract:
1. In an offshore drilling facility including a drilling floor, a diverter housing carried by the drilling floor, a moon-pool floor located below the drilling floor, and a string of at least two drilling riser sections connected end to end and that extend through the diverter housing and the moon-pool, each drilling riser section having a box end, an opposite pin end, and an outer diameter ends that is less than the overall outer diameter between the ends, apparatus comprising: a drilling floor centralizer carried by the drilling floor and configured to receive and centralize the upper end of the string of drilling riser sections; a moonpool centralizer carried by the moonpool floor and configured to receive and centralize at least a portion of the string of riser sections; and a first roto-track disposed about and removably coupled to the pin end of one drilling riser section and a second roto track disposed about and removably coupled to the box end of the adjacent drilling riser section, the first roto-track and the second roto-track each being disposed at an outer diameter equal to the outer diameter of the drilling riser sections between the ends of the drilling risers sections; wherein the first roto-track and the second roto-track are coupled end to end and span a threaded connection between the box end and the pin end of two adjacent drilling riser sections; wherein at least one of the first and the second roto-track includes a window for accessing at least a portion of the interior of the adjacent ends of two drilling riser sections.