| 摘要 |
The invention provides a method and apparatus for accessing a hydrocarbon storage cell and/or removing hydrocarbons therefrom. An access method comprises installing an anchor hub in a capping plate of the hydrocarbon storage cell, and drilling a bore to penetrate an internal volume of the storage cell by passing a drilling apparatus through the anchor hub. A removal method comprises providing a first hydrocarbon storage cell comprising a first anchor hub and providing a second hydrocarbon storage cell comprising a second anchor hub. The first and second anchor hubs are connected to one another with a flowline, and hydrocarbons are pumped from an upper portion of an internal volume of the second hydrocarbon storage cell to an internal volume of the first hydrocarbon storage cell. An anchor hub in one aspect of the invention comprises a main body comprising an upper opening, a lower opening and a throughbore extending between the upper and lower openings. Securing means are configured to fix the anchor hub to a surface of a capping plate of the hydrocarbon storage cell, and the main body comprises a lower portion configured to be located in and extend into a recess formed in an upper surface of the capping plate. |
