All Subsea: A Vision for the Future of Subsea Processing

Abstract

Over the past 10 to 15 years subsea processing has been globally established as a market segment within the subsea development arena. Subsea processing is expected to be a growth platform for operators and for the service companies that are developing equipment and solutions for well processing and treatment at or below the seabed. The ultimate result of the All Subsea vision is the production of hydrocarbons from reservoir directly to market. Operators and service companies have high expectations for the profitability this business offers and share the All Subsea vision of future topside-less developments.This paper examines the realism of this All Subsea vision and discusses how the vision can be implemented, based on an analysis of the current state-of-the-art technology and the gaps and barriers that may jeopardize the realization of true subsea-to-market solutions.Developing products and systems with high development costs for a limited market requires a close cooperation between the suppliers and oil companies.The paper also reflects on the history of subsea processing, the market trends, and the way subsea processing technologies are adopted by the industry, seen from the authors' perspective and with their extensive experience in developing and delivering subsea processing solutions worldwide.

Equilibrium partitioning of naphthenic acids and bases and their consequences on interfacial properties

“…Produced water is generated during the production of oil and gas [7] and it contains both dissolved and dispersed oil components [8]. Several oil companies have envisioned a futuristic scenario where an entire production and processing facility would operate on the seafloor, eliminating the need for topside processing all together [6,9,10]. To achieve export quality crude oil from such a facility, additional oil dehydration steps would be required.…”

Subsea natural gas dehydration with membrane processes: Simulation and process optimization

“…2 and the selected capacity is a natural gas feed of 25 MSm 2 /d, saturated with H 2 O at reservoir conditions. Åsgard transport condition is selected as the dehydration requirements, with a water dew point of -18 • C at 69 barg [5,62]. The pressure and the temperature of the natural gas from the reservoir are reduced to 80 bar and 25 • C and a scrubber is applied to remove the liquid hydrocarbon and/or free water.…”

“…In addition to the topside dehydration facility, injection of hydrate inhibitor such as monoethylene glycol (MEG) or methanol is commonly used to prevent hydrate formation from the reservoir to the topside treatment facility [3]. With increasing focus on subsea processing and the ultimate vision of directly exporting of the produced hydrocarbons from the reservoir to the market [5], alternative technologies for subsea dehydration of natural gas should be investigated. Subsea dehydration can reduce the water content in downstream processing steps to acceptable levels, and eliminate the need for continuously injection of hydrate inhibitor.…”

Solvent Regeneration by Thermopervaporation in Subsea Natural Gas Dehydration: An Experimental and Simulation Study

“…The lack of easily accessible natural gas resources and the advancement of new technologies for cheaper exploration have motivated the petroleum industries to exploit more underwater natural gas reservoirs and subsea gas treatment. − The pipeline blockage and corrosion of installations caused by impurities in natural gas are the main issues in gas transportation. , Water vapor is blamed for being the chief culprit in fast aging of the installation and hydrate formation, blocking high-pressure pipelines. Much effort is required to bring down the water content in the high-pressure gas stream to meet the pipeline specifications and prevent the flow assurance problems.…”