A RISER ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF FORMING A RISER ASSEMBLY

摘要

A riser assembly (500) for transporting fluids from a sub-sea location is disclosed. The riser assembly (500) includes a riser (501) having at least one segment of flexible pipe and a plurality of buoyancy compensating elements (511) connected to the riser (501) and connected together in an in-line configuration to form a mid-line buoyancy section (510). The riser assembly (500) also includes at least one buoyancy aid (521) connected to the riser (501) at a position above and spaced apart from the mid-line buoyancy section (510). The at least one buoyancy aid (521) forms a first distributed buoyancy section (520) and is sufficiently buoyant to maintain a tension load on the riser (501) between the first distributed buoyancy section (520) and the mid-line line buoyancy section (510). The riser assembly (500) further includes at least one further buoyancy compensating element (531) connected to the riser (501) at a position above and spaced apart from the first distributed buoyancy section (520) to form a second distributed buoyancy section (530). The second distributed buoyancy section (530) is configured to support a portion of the riser (501) in a wave configuration.