Marine Technology Reporter Blogs - completion

With the experience Petrobras has gained in deepwater field construction, the national operator has learned the best ways to get the job done and who to work with. Much of Petrobras’ deepwater seafloor construction work has been done by DOF, Technip, Subsea 7, FMC and Aker. Large deepwater post-salt fields such as Roncador, Frade and Marlim amongst others have been the main testing grounds of many construction techniques and much of the equipment being installed. Obviously, experience in deepwater seafloor construction has also been gained by Petrobras and service providers in locations such as the GoM and West Africa. Most of the pre-salt subsea trees will be built and installed by FMC, OneSubsea and Aker. FMC has a total order worth $1,5 billion, which was announced in March of 2012.

Completion systems are the components necessary to complete a well after it is drilled and prepare it for production. There are a variety of completion options available to oil and gas operators. Cased-hole completion systems, for example, vary from relatively simple single-zone low-pressure/low-temperature (LP/LT) designs to complex high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) applications that are commonly found in deepwater. Cased-hole completion involves running casing or a liner down through the production zone, and cementing it in place. A good cement job is the primary barrier for effective zonal isolation and is the standard industry method to protect the wellbore from unwanted and dangerous influxes of formation fluids, solids and gases.

Ballast control systems are a vital part of semi-submersible oil platforms. The ballast control system is made up of a network of pipes, valves, pumps, and tanks, which work as a liquid control system to keep the vessel at an even keel. Offshore drilling is an extremely risky undertaking, which is susceptible to accidents, which may cause human casualties and environmental disasters. One of the key systems necessary to keep oil rigs afloat, is the effective design of the user interface for the ballast control system, which significantly contributes to overall safety of a rig’s crew and the environment. The threat of disaster is the main reason to provide the operators with the most effective ballast control system possible. One such disaster occurred in 2001 aboard Petrobras’ P36 oil rig.

The all-electric intelligent completion system has evolved for deep and ultra deepwater. When the world's first all-electric intelligent completion was installed in a subsea deepwater well in the Campos Basin, it was the culmination of five years of development, testing and trials. System acceptance was mild, but with the improvements that have been made and the vital role this system will have in ultra deepwater plays, its future looks very bright.On Aug. 3, 2003, the world's first subsea, deepwater, all-electric intelligent completion system was installed in the 8-MLS-67HA-RJS well, in 3,540 ft (1,180 m) of water at Marlim Sul field. The well is about 60 miles (100 km) offshore at the Campos basin, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.