With the growth in deep-water oil and gas production, condition monitoring of high-value subsea assets to give early warning of developing problems is vital. Offshore operators can then transport and deploy spare parts before a failure occurs thus minimizing equipment down-time.Results are presented from a suite of tests in which multiple elements of a subsea twin-screw pump were monitored using a single fibre optic sensing system that simultaneously measured dynamic strain on the main rotor bearings, pressure and temperature of the lube oil, distributed temperature through the motor stator windings and vibration of the motor housing.
Unbonded flexible risers are a critical part of offshore field architecture bringing oil and gas from seabed to platforms on the surface. A failure in operation will result in stop of production and hence a significant loss of revenue. Risers are subject to a number of loading issues including internal and external pressure, vessel motions and current and wave actions. As a result, risers, endure significant strain levels which can impact on their integrity and functionality. The recent implementation of fiber optic monitoring embedded in flexible risers, is an important step towards turning risers into inspectable structures. The embedded monitoring systems ensure the asset can operate safely at its optimum level for the maximum period of time. The combined use of optical point sensors and fully distributed sensors allow various events to be monitored. This includes breach of outer sheath, condensate build up, polymer temperature, pipe temperature during shut in, fatigue and wire break. The traditional industry method for combating these issues has been extensive onshore testing on small sections of the riser allowing the operator to build up a bank of fatigue and reliability data which is used to statistically forecast the strains and stresses the riser will encounter. This data takes into account expected changes throughout the lifecycle of the riser, such as material degradation and environmental issues including storms and hurricanes. The main inspection method in operation to back this up has been expensive inspection campaigns by diver or ROV focusing on external damage. New advances in optical technology and riser manufacturing techniques mean that a suite of real-time monitoring can provide a far more accurate picture of a riser's condition during operation. This improves decision making by allowing structural and temperature issues to be detected at the earliest possible stage and rectified in the most efficient manner, ensuring risers satisfy safety and regulatory requirements and help maximize oilfield productivity. The enabled condition dependent maintenance of risers will reduce the need for expensive ROV operations for inspection. Real time riser monitoring is set to play an increasingly important role as the operators start to insist on the adoption of this technology in the risers delivered to them. As oil production reaches into deeper and deeper water depths, the real time understanding of the integrity of the risers will become paramount. This paper details the advances that have been made in optical monitoring and visualization techniques and their application within the intelligent riser.
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