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