Subsea Challenges

 

14 March 2007 Aberdeen Evening Meeting

Sponsored by BP, J P Kenny and Saipem UK's Sonsub Division

 

Report by A Abou Alshamat and B Donaldson

 

Flyer

 

Overview

The subsea environment presents continual challenges to the designer, the engineer and to offshore technical personnel—often requiring the development of unique solutions. This meeting's speakers introduced some recent and current issues that have lead to innovative problem solving and the application of a range of technologies.

 

Presentations

Future Challenges for Subsea Engineering in Scotland

Stephen McEntee, J P Kenny

The subsea engineering section in Scotland is experiencing a boom based on the current high prices of oil and gas. This boom has brought challenges such as extending the life of subsea infrastructure and decommissioning uneconomic subsea assets, as well as the challenge of finding additional personnel to meet increased demand due to recent rapid growth in the industry. On the other hand, production in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) has past its peak and may be declining faster than expected. This presentation reviews and discusses some of the technical and commercial challenges facing the Scottish subsea engineering sector in the near and medium-term future.

 

Ormen Lange Deepwater Pipeline Installation

Philip Snowdon, Pipelay Analysis Engineer and James O'Flynn, Project Surveyor, Saipem UK

The development of the giant gas field Ormen Lange is the largest industrial project ever carried out in Norway. When production commences this autumn, gas from Ormen Lange will be able to meet up to 20 percent of Britain's gas demand for up to 40 years. Severely irregular seabed terrain caused by huge geological slide and tight installation tolerance necessitated pre-lay seabed intervention and the installation of counteracts to stabilise the pipelines. the convergence of arctic water and the Gulf Stream made conventional acoustic positioning unreliable. This presentation demonstrates the methods used during pipeline installation to mitigate sliding and describes the onboard data acquisition system and survey techniques, supplemented by visual terrain recognition.

 

West of Shetlands—Subsea Operations Case Study

Sandy Meldrum, Senior Subsea Engineer, BP

Foinaven and Schiehallion were the first totally diverless deepwater fields to be developed in the UKCS. Situated in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 180 km west of the Shetland Islands, the subsea infrastructure lies in water depths ranging between 350 and 500 metres. Production from the two fields is via separate floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities, which have had to be overcome. This presentation gives an overview of the FPSO concept and seabed architecture; explains some of the remote technology used; and gives a brief insight into subsea operations and some of the problems which have had to be overcome.