OT5301
SUBSEA SYSTEMS
ENGINEERING
A/Prof. Loh Wai Lam
SUBSEA OIL & GAS PRODUCTION
SUBSEA OIL & GAS PRODUCTION
SUBSEA PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
Why Subsea Oil & Gas Production?
Objectives of this Lecture
develop the big picture of offshore
production
describe the subsea system
explore some of the less tangible,
industry and operator specific design
drivers not covered in other lectures
highlight a few general design
constraints
A Rather Abbreviated History of Subsea
GROWTH OF SUBSEA PRODUCTION
- DEEPWATER
- SATELLITE SYSTEMS
- TO DEEPWATER FACILITIES
- MARGINAL DEVELOPMENTS
- REMOTE LOCATIONS
- ARCTIC
- LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE
(W AUSTRALIA)
Installation
Risers, offloading
How these systems,
tankers,
requirements
pipelines
are met in the
subsea Separation, Injection
system facilities, compression
Risers
Flowlines, jumpers
and manifolds
Tree, control and umbilical
systems
Drilling and Completion
Slide courtesy of BP
Drilling &
Hull Production
Facilities
Tension Leg
Platform
Risers
Tendons
Drilling &
Production
Facilities
SPAR
Buoyancy
Can
Risers
Control Buoy
Production
Facilities
SEMI
Semi-submersible Production
System
Production
& Export
Risers
Mooring
Offloading
Process Flare Buoy FPSO
Facilities
Floating Production,
Storage, and
Offloading
Mooring
Risers
Dynamically
Positioned
FPSO
B.W. Pioneer
Cascade and Chinook
Helix Producer
Floaters are dominant Deepwater Production Systems
180 70
Percentage of Spend
Number of Units 160 60
140
120 50
100 40
80 30
60
20
40
20 10
0 0
FPSO Semi TLP Spar Control Other
Buoy
Typeof Floating System
2005 2009 2011-2015
2005 data from OTC 17615 State of the Art of Ultra Deepwater Production Technologies
JM Belt, YD Chin, and S Hanrahan Houston, 2-5 May 2005
2009 data from MODEC
2011-2015 from Infield Floating Production Systems, Market Report to 2015
Process Facilities
Export pipeline
Production Dehydration or reinjection
from wells Intermediate
Pressure Gas
Gas Compressors
Low pressure gas
3 phase
separation OIL Oil
(oil,water,gas) Stabilization
(heater treater)
Stabilized Crude
Produced water
Gas Flash gas
treatment and Oil storage
disposal compressors and loading
facilties
Storage and
offloading or export
pipeline
Well Construction
Drill and ream hole for
foundation pipe 30-
40 depending on soil
conditions several
100s of feet deep
primary foundation
member of well
Run guide base and
surface pipe cement
Pressure Containment
Drilling Production
Blowout Preventer
Tree
Wellhead
Installation of Subsea Tree
Tree
Flowline Subsea Control Module
Tree
Variations
Satellite Well Development
Gyrfalcon Devco Gulf Of Mexico 260 m water depth
Template Well development
Ormen Lange Norske Shell Norway 800-1100 m water depth
24 wells in 4 templates
Cluster Well Development
Enfield Woodside Australia - 600m
water depth
Topsides control
Components
Subsea Control
Hydraulic Power Supply System
Electrical Power Supply
Master Control Station
Chemical Supply
Control Room
Umbilical
Subsea Control
Components
Subsea Control
Module
Valve Actuators
Sensors
Distribution
Systems
Subsea Control Umbilical - Lots of parts lots of
acronyms
(none of which are universally accepted)
Topsides Umbilical Termination Assembly
TUTA (aka TUTU)
Subsea Distribution Unit
Umbilical Termination Assembly SDU
UTA (aka SUTA)
Dynamic section
Static Section
Flying Lead
Tree
Seafloor Layout (Field Architecture)
Mooring Impact
Directionally drilled well
Drill center - manifold
Flowline
Host Facility
Export Pipeline
Flowline
Flowline End Termination (FLET)
Satellite Well
Production
Export Riser
Drilling Riser
Riser
Flowline
Pipeline
Inspection and Intervention
Now that you know all about
offshore and subsea
production systems it is time
to see how we can
systematically combine
these elements into a
coherent subsea production
system
Introduction
to SYSTEM
Engineering
Why be concerned with the System ?
What is a System?
a group of independent but interrelated
elements comprising a unified whole
Not just the bits and pieces of hardw are
a complex of methods or rules governing
behavior Behavior of fluids, m aterials,
reservoirs, people etc.
a procedure or process for obtaining an
objective Various objectives m ak ing m oney,
avoiding pollution etc
(Definitions from OED)
Where the Money Goes
Equipment
Drilling
Installation
Process
Field Development Operating Company
Group
Operate
Identify
Need Abandon
Define
Payback time
Concept Budget
Current economics
Define
Present Value Economics
Requirements Projection of future events
Probabilistic
Specify
Functions Schedule and Budget
Project Team
Installation &
Design Build Test Commissioning
Role of the Subsea System
Engineer
Is NOT to optimize the design of individual elements of the
subsea system.
Is NOT to minimize the cost or maximize reliability of the
subsea equipment
IS to ensure that the overall subsea design, when installed,
can be operated in a manner optimizing production
Ultimate Recovery (?)
Cost per BOE (?)
Maximizing PV Profit (?)
Failure to appreciate the underlying drivers of your customer, whether
it be your bosses boss or an operating company client will almost
certainly lead to costly delays and sometimes to a near death
experience for the prospect
Balancing and managing the primary
elements of any development, cost,
time, and scope (quality) is as
important in the design stage as
during project execution.
What Drives Systems Design?
Optimising Performance
Availability
First Oil
Life of Field Support
Location
Water Depth
Brown / Green Field
Cost
The Scope or Quality Triangle
Cost, Schedule, Resources, Quality, Scope
COST
SCOPE SCHEDULE
Normally, one factor is fixed or dominant and the other
two vary in inverse proportion
FASTER, BETTER, CHEAPER PICK TWO
Attributed to NASA
Priorities
COST
Why would you think like this?
Promises to stock analysts re
earnings?
More probably requirement to meet
production expectation.
What is driver ?
Stock value
SCOPE SCHEDULE
(Quality)
What does it means for the system designer?
Little emphasis on optimizing system configuration (scope). Use
design one build two approach
New technology utilized but seen as schedule risk
Major emphasis on first production
Priorities
COST
Why would you think like this?
Resource limitations, credit
unavailability
What is driver ?
Minimum cash impairment
SCOPE SCHEDULE
(Quality)
What does it means for the system designer?
Emphasis on minimizing costs scope often fixed at expense of
schedule
Some chance for cost reduction through new technology
Inevitable push for high class results with low cost engineering (trouble)
Priorities
COST
Why would you think like this?
High level of risk adversity
What is driver ?
Fear of failure with attendant
financial loss
SCOPE SCHEDULE
(Quality)
What does it means for the system designer?
Emphasis on optimizing system availability
Little opportunity for newer technology
Propensity to stick with designs used previously
Often complex designs with multiple redundancies (not always best)
In real life it will never be quite as
clear cut. Remember chose two.
The point will actually float a little
Closer to one side than the other
There is no single best answer for all occasions
The economic drivers change from development to development
It pays to sort between needs and expectations
Small operator tieing back to facility of major
procedures for equipment selection driven
by norms of host operator
Major operator developing marginal prospect
which will not sustain investment associated
with normally selected equipment
Operator Specific Drivers
Corporate priorities change slowly. Think like an
economist: short run one factor changes; long run all
factors change. Beware out of character rapid changes.
Attitudes and experience of one operator are not readily
transferable
Strong individuals often have undue influence on
operator designs technical veracity is not the only
answer
Heritage designs
Comfort factors
Operator personnel resources
Corporate inertia can be very frustrating but is
difficult to arrest either internally or externally
Fundamental Industry Drivers
Corporate
Responsibility Profit
Safety
Reduce risks to as
low as Reasonably
Practical
(ALARP)
People Planet
After Dr David Wood, Back to 3BL basics, Petroleum Review, Sept 2011, pg 30
Corporate
Responsibility Compliance
Safety
Reduce risks to as
low as Reasonably
Practical
(ALARP)
Responsibility Regulation
After Dr David Wood, Back to 3BL basics, Petroleum Review, Sept 2011, pg 30
External Interfaces
Corrib First Gas 2003
Originally forecast for first gas in 2003 First gas now projected for
2014-2015 Cost escalated from 800 to 3 Bn
This was not a job where external interfaces were handled well
Other Elements Driving
Development Decisions
Location of Field
Magnitude of reserves
Enhanced recovery
Location
Really a combination of time and place -
Availability of infrastructure piplelines,
surface facilities, shore based logistics
and reception facilities
Mobilization costs
Local conventions/considerations
Magnitude of Reserves
Big Fields get bigger, Small Fields get Smaller
16 Large fields in UKNS average life now
10 years longer than it was when
sanctioned
Small fields UKNS average recovery less
than 43% of that projected for sanction
Big fields generate the revenue for additional data retrieval,
more wells, and additional capital investment
When things go wrong in a small field operator has to walk
away
Small fields are more risky and cannot sustain same level of
investment
Why development planning should
consider IOR and EOR
World average recovery rate 22%*
Primary Methods recovery
Liquid and Rock expansion 5%
Solution gas drive 20%
Gas cap expansion 30%
Gravity drainage 40%
Water Influx 60%
Secondary Methods (IOR) water and gas injection
can yield 60%
Tertiary Methods (EOR) thermal, gases, chemicals
can yield 80+%
* Statfjord 66% with IOR, Prudhoe Bay 47% with IOR &
EOR
Methods for thermally
enhanced recovery are
employed on land with very
good results attain 80%
recovery inn some places
much of the challenge is to
take this technology offshore
in a cost effective and safe
manner
Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery
Basic idea is to get nutrients to bacteria living in reservoir not
universally accepted but shown to be effective in some field trials
effective at reducing paraffin problems, can change oil
viscosity, impacts wettability of rocks and relative permeability
Enhanced Oil Recovery Re-emerging
technology
Heavy Oil in Rock Oil remaining after Oil remaining after
Sample waterflooding 24 hours of CO2
foam
Source: Journal of Petroleum Technology, Oct 2012, pp 37-39
Flow Assurance
Engineering to make sure the targeted
flowrates are maintained
Incorporates the entire system from the
reservoir, through production, process,
and export systems
Focus in the subsea production system will
be flowlines and pipelines and will
concentrate on hydraulics and deposition
Hydraulics
Pressures reservoir, separator, reception
facility
Fluid composition gas/liquid ratio, water,
density, viscosity
Black oil (little gas < 200 scf/bbl, high viscosity)
Volatile oil (live crude 200 < 2000 scf/bbl)
Gas condensate (low liquid rate, 5 10 bbl/MMSCF)
Gas (often associated with condensed water)
Temperature fluid phase, solids deposition
Flow conduit diameter well tubing, flowlines,
pipelines
Slug Flow will be a significant concern
Solids Deposition
Hydrates usually a major concern
Wax usually handled with inhibitot often
melts and is removed when line heats up
Scale - handled in dry tree wells with squeeze
job but normally an impracticality in subsea wells
Asphaltenes handled with inhibitor
Deposition problems are addressed by thermal
and chemical methods depending on fluid
