Subsea Processing Systems News

Offshore oil services firm Subsea 7 has announced the award of a sizeable contract by Fieldwood Energy to Subsea Integration Alliance, a global partnership between Subsea 7 and OneSubsea, a Schlumberger company.The award is for the deepwater Katmai field development in the US Gulf of Mexico’s Green Canyon 40, said a press release from the company.This supplier-led integrated subsea development solution, combines OneSubsea’s subsea production systems (SPS) and Subsea 7’s subsea umbilicals, riser and flowline systems (SURF) expertise.The Subsea 7 scope includes project management, engineering, procurement, construction and installation of 40 km of pipe-in-pipe production flowline (12” outer pipe and 8” inner pipe)…

ABS has developed the Subsea Processing System (SPRS) Advisory that provides an overview of the SPRS and associated sub-systems that are currently available and addresses its technology maturity level.The advisory also describes the role of ABS as an independent classification society in the verification and validation of subsea processing technologies including new/unproven technologies through the ABS New Technology Qualification services.The advisory is the first in a series of publications planned by ABS over the next few years. Future publications will include guidance notes, advisories and white papers that provide insight on subsea processing technologies.Deepwater production remains an essential part of the global energy mix and economically viable projects continue to progress.

Brazil’s Petrobras has been one of the leading players in deepwater, subsea development projects since the turn of the century. These projects include pre-salt and post-salt plays, which require extensive and complex subsea engineering and construction efforts. It would be impossible for Petrobras to develop all of its projects alone, therefore much is done by specialized companies, mostly of foreign origin. “We could not have advanced in this project (pre-salt) conventionally, developing the production individually. We needed a global vision of the projects, starting from a high level plan,” said José Formigli, Petrobras’ Executive Director of E&P, speaking of the primary plan for the development of the pre-salt at the Santos Basin, the Plansal, which was created in 2008.

Statoil and ABB have entered an agreement to develop solutions for subsea electrical power transmission, distribution and power conversion systems for water depths down to 3,000 meters and over long distances. The agreement is in the form of a cost-shared joint industrial program (JIP) led by Statoil on behalf of other participating oil companies, with ABB as the technology developer. The agreement follows a large subsea electrification study executed jointly by Statoil and ABB during 2012. “The JIP will develop technologies needed to provide electrical power to subsea pumps, electrical submersible pumps and subsea gas compressors for projects on the Norwegian continental shelf…