Patent ID: 7591316

Claim:
A production system comprising: a plurality of vertical risers; a plurality of buoyancy modules, each of the plurality of buoyancy modules being connected to the upper end of a respective one of the plurality of vertical risers; a moored and buoyant underwater support frame, the support frame having opposite first and second sides and comprising on said first side a plurality of guide means for receiving from said first side an upper end of each of the plurality of vertical risers, each of the plurality of risers being clamped within a respective guide means such that an interface between each of the risers and the respective guide means guides and constrains the movement of each riser and its associated buoyancy module so that each riser can move within the respective guide means independently of the other risers; and a plurality of production catenaries, each of the plurality of vertical risers being connected to a respective lower end of one of the plurality of production catenaries at the support frame; and the upper ends of each of the said production catenaries being connected to a surface vessel.