Marine Technology Reporter Blogs - subsea

With an eye on the lucrative subsea equipment market, suppliers are investing in technology, local workforce and expanding local facilities. New Brazilian companies specialized in subsea equipment and services also strive to compete with foreign suppliers.Today Petrobras is one of the greatest if not the greatest subsea equipment buyer in the world. With the ongoing discoveries of new deepwater and ultra-deepwater O&G plays in Brazil´s offshore, there is a sustained demand for essential subsea systems such as BOPs, Christmas trees, subsea manifolds, risers, rigid and flexible flowlines, umbilicals, subsea control and monitoring systems, ROV´s, AUS´s and all manner of subsea support systems.

Present in Brazil for over 90 years, GE is preparing to invest $500 million in Brazil along the next 3 years and maintain its investments in local training and research. GE O&G mayl be one of the main recipients of this local investment as it is a market with great growth potential and where GE already has a very strong presence. Very recently Petrobras and General Electric (GE) signed an agreement for future technology cooperation in R&D projects for monitoring and controlling oil and gas production systems. The development of subsea and compact systems for O&GQ production, and remote monitoring of equipment are among the purposes of this agreement, which highlights the importance GE has had in the development of Brazil´s oil industry.

New discoveries and the development of deepwater and ultra-deepwater pre-salt increases the demand for subsea equipment and service providers, attracting various international and local companies to compete for subsea contracts for the Brazilian offshore.The deepwater scene is in full swing in Brazil, with major projects being developed by various operators and national operator Petrobras. All these projects require a multitude of subsea equipment and subsea services, which accounted for a steady growth in subsea equipment and service providers from around the world setting shop in Brazil. Companies that have a history of quality equipment and services usually have an advantage when disputing these contracts, but the final product and services price is also a major issue.

FMC will deliver subsea manifolds and another range of subsea equipment to Petrobras. FMC Technologies has signed a four-year subsea manifold frame agreement with Petrobras. The award is expected to result in approximately $300 million in revenue to FMC Technologies if all of the subsea equipment included in the agreement is ordered. The agreement provides assurance that a minimum of 75 percent of the contracted equipment will be ordered during the contract's four-year call-off period. FMC's scope of supply includes the manufacture of up to eight subsea manifolds with subsea multiplex control systems. All equipment will be engineered and manufactured at FMC's facility in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in 2012.

The recent discovery of hydrocarbon accumulations under the Albacora Leste field´s pre-salt layer confirms there potential of the Campos Basin to be a significant pre-salt producer.The recent oil discoveries in pre-salt layers under certain Petrobras concession areas in the Campos Basin are already being considered significant and tend to offer the possibility of production start-up in a much shorter time frame than the major pre-salt discoveries in the Santos Basin. This is due to the fact that the fields under which these new discoveries are located already have production infrastructure in place and whatever new subsea wellheads are installed will only need to be connected to one of the FPSOs, FSOs or rigs already in place.

The future of O&G recovery most likely lies in deepwater reservoirs. Subsea processing opens the door to more cost-efficient developments, especially for long step-outs and, marginal and deepwater fields. Large-scale seabed processing facilities will require a subsea power grid system that is able to operate for long step-outs with total reliability withstanding extreme pressure and temperatures. As technology leader on land-based power grids, Siemens has configured complex power transmissions to suite multiple subsea operations. Siemens also has broad experience with subsea power concept studies as well as experience producing deep-sea transformers and compressors and ten years experience on subsea control and communication.

C & C is known through the world as a technological leader in the survey field, they´ve been responsible for innovations such as C-Nav, Globally-corrected GPS and the C-Surveyor™ AUVs that have made groundbreaking advancements to the survey industry and subsequently have saved clients time and money worldwide.C & C Technologies do Brasil, a subsidiary of C & C Technologies, Inc. (C & C), the worldwide leader in deepwater autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) operations, was recently awarded a $50 million contract by Petrobras. The 730 day contract will utilize C & C’s state-of-the-art C-Surveyor II AUV and M/V Northern Resolution. The contract can be renewed for an additional 730 days, making the contract potentially worth $100 million.

This cost isn´t only in equipment and manpower, it´s in lives, human and animal and destroyed ecosystems which will take at least a decade to recuperate. Safety must always come first. Even with the most reliable equipment and redundancy, there will always be the human factor. Nothing like a full on environmental tragedy to make for a vital attitude change: Safety first, and then all the profit scene. We all know now, that there is no infallible safety measure, well not man proof anyway. Pressure seems to be a wee bit of a problem too. Like the old saying goes: You only knows, when it blows! Well now we know, don´t we? This is the worst case scenario and it could not be correctly simulated.

The market for ROV services is set for continuous growth in Brazil as new deepwater fields are explored and developed. The recent contract Subsea 7´s i-Tech division signed with Petrobras (Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.) to provide ROV´s and intervention tooling services on up to 30 offshore drilling rigs is a good indication of what is to come. This contract alone will basically double the size of i-tech in Brazil, the contract value is estimated at a minimum of $250m with the potential for up to $405m, depending on the number of units that will go to each rig and the number of personnel deployed to maintain and operate the ROV´s. There are also many ongoing ROV support vessel…

The new Subsea 7 pipeline manufacturing facility and spoolbase will mainly serve the deepwater pre-salt developments at the Santos Basin. Subsea 7 has been active in Brazil for 15 years and has its main offices in workshop in Niteroi, in the state Rio de Janeiro and a spoolbase close to the city of Ubu in the state of Espirito Santo. Although construction of the new plant and spoolbase hasn´t started yet, Subsea 7 is only waiting for a state environmental license to begin building what is to be named the Paraná Subsea Construction Park. The company will invest $100 million and expects to create 600 direct jobs at the new site. Subsea 7 earned $2,4 billion worldwide and $848 million in Brazil in 2009.

Aker Solutions do Brasil Ltda. was recently awarded a large subsea contract by Petrobras to supply subsea trees for two of Brazil's pre-salt areas. With this latest contract and the previous contract for subsea trees at the Tupi field, Aker Solutions has secured its presence in all the pre-salt fields presently being developed by Petrobras.Aker Solutions do Brasil Ltda. has signed a frame agreement with Petrobras to supply 40 subsea trees for the Iara and Guará fields, located in the challenging pre-salt area of the Santos basin offshore Brazil. The contract is of approximately USD 300 million. The scope of works includes engineering and manufacturing of 40 vertical subsea trees for 2.500 meter water depths, subsea control systems and 17 complete tool sets.

The Petrobras oil-water subsea separator pilot project includes the qualification test, design and construction of a prototype to be installed in the Marlim Field, at the Campos Basin.During the OTC 2010 in Houston, Petrobras unveiled its subsea oil-water separation, which is being developed by FMC Technologies. This system will push the limits of the subsea three-phase separation envelope to deep waters and heavy oil. Petrobras and FMC are performing an extensive qualification test program for the key components of the separation unit. The increasing produced water rate, its respective treatment costs and limited processing capacity at the existing platforms are the main drivers for Petrobras to move towards a subsea three-phase separation and reinjection system.

A look at how DP systems work and their importance to ships, vessels and rigs working on offshore O&G operations. The main contribution Kongsberg has made to the offshore O&G industry was by developing DP systems for diving support vessels in the 1970s. This significantly increased the efficiency and safety of diving operations. Since then, the offshore and maritime industries have benefited from the advances made to their DP systems. In more recent years these advances have been applied to the cruise industry with dynamic positioning systems for maneuvering and the complex task of precise position keeping. For optimal deepwater drilling the Kongsberg Riser Management System (RMS) assists in all phases of the drilling operation.

The DeepStar project is a joint industry technology development project focused on advancing the technologies to meet its members' deepwater business needs to deliver increased production and reserves. Phase IX is the current phase of the project. The DeepStar project  is a joint industry technology development project focused on advancing the technologies to meet its members' deepwater business needs to deliver increased production and reserves. Phase IX is the current phase of the project. DeepStar Phase IX commenced in January 2008 with nine Oil Company Participants. DeepStar participants represent a strong mix of large and mid-size operators, USA and non-USA based, drawing in a rich array of diverse expertise to address common deepwater challenges.

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.

The DeepStar project is a joint industry technology development project focused on advancing the technologies to meet its members' deepwater business needs to deliver increased production and reserves. DeepStar is a joint industry technology development project focused on advancing the technologies to meet its members' deepwater business needs to deliver increased production and reserves. The Deepstar project provides a forum and creates and  a deepwater continually updates technology databases in key areas of deepwater E&P  for its members to access in order  to support them in  planning and executing deepwater technology development projects .

The Society for Underwater Technology Technical Conference 2010 in Rio de Janeiro discusses the main challenges to be faced in Deepwater O&G exploration and examines the many possible solutions through technological innovations.The challenges faced in exploring deepwater O&G reservoirs are truly incredible. Quoting the visionary Brazilian businessman and investor Eike Batista, himself a player in the O&G industry, “The pre-salt is like going to the moon”. Pre-salt E&P is certainly not the only challenge in deepwater development, but most specialists in the area of deepwater subsea systems development agree that it may be the biggest challenge…

OGX Petróleo e Gás Participações S.A., the largest Brazilian private sector oil and gas company in terms of offshore exploratory acreage, announced today that it has completed the drilling of well 1-OGX-5-RJS, located in block BM-C-43, in the shallow waters of the southern part of the Campos Basin. OGX holds a 100% working interest in this block. The well OGX-5 was drilled to a depth of 4,100 meters, resulting in the detection of hydrocarbons in carbonate reservoirs in the Albian and Aptian sections. Cable tests performed after the conclusion of drilling also identified an oil-bearing column in the Maastrichtian section, from which oil samples were collected.

The Society for Underwater Technology Technical Conference in Rio de Janeiro discusses the main challenges to be faced in Deepwater O&G exploration and examines the many possible solutions through technological innovations.The second day of the conference continued after the coffee break with FMC representatives speaking about their Field Development Toolbox to Enable Optimization and Best Value to Exploit Fields. This consists of an advanced 3D graphical design tool, consisting of a series of modules which enable a field development model to be defined and optimized. This presentation was followed by an interesting talk by researchers from the University of Strathclyde…

The Society for Underwater Technology Technical Conference in Rio de Janeiro discusses the main challenges to be faced in Deepwater O&G exploration and examines the many possible solutions through technological innovations. Summary of the first presentations during the second day of the conference.The second day of the SUT Technical Conference started off with keynote speaker David Brookes, Chief engineer Subsea and Floating Systems for BP. Mr. Brookes has been with BP since 1979 and has been in various subsea related positions within the company, been an acknowledged specialist is subsea system. His was an inspiring presentation about the perspectives on subsea development…