Subsea Chemical Storage & Injection

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

The development of Subsea Chemical Storage & Injection (SCS&I) technology is a continuation of the trend to move the hydrocarbon production systems subsea. This is driven by a need to make exploitation of remote resources profitable; unlock single-line long tie-backs and subsea to shore architectures, and to enable tie-ins with otherwise constrained topside infrastructure. The SCS&I system is also a significant contributor to the development of "All-Electric" subsea architecture where the umbilical is reduced to a power and communication cable only. The objectives of SCS&I can generally be divided into three categories: 1) Reduced overall project cost by reducing umbilical cost and minimizing topside requirements (weight, space, modifications) 2) De-bottlenecking of installed and/or damaged topside or subsea infrastructure 3) Enabling injection of chemicals which cannot be transported to injection points via traditional means, for example high viscosity chemicals and/or chemicals with significant risk to personnel during topside handling Within the wide variations of field architecture, step out distance, age of infrastructure and field depletion characteristics, the opportunities for successful application of SCS&I are huge. However, not every case is a good SCS&I case. End users and system integrators need to be able to identify where the SCS&I technology can make a difference in terms of reduced cost, increased production and/or improved flow assurance. The drivers for SCS&I are solving the technical and economic challenges with long tiebacks, deeper waters, harsher environmental conditions, HSE concerns on host, complex flow assurance, challenging production fluids and de-bottlenecking of constrained infrastructure.