Qualification and Application of All Electric and Topside Less Subsea Multiphase Pump Technology in Subsea Factory Mission to Minimise the Life Cycle Cost

Abstract

In recent years, various operating companies have been working on the processes of "Simplification, Standardization, Automation, Digitalization, and Optimization in several elements". To achieve this, there are tremendous subsea technology developments going on all over the world in many areas such as; design in terms of size and weight, improvement in reliability, advanced materials, flow assurance, digital tools, real time condition monitoring and control, installation and operation. The development of Subsea technology continues to be an important part of subsea field development projects to reduce the life cycle costs, increase recovery, provide solution to long tieback problems and challenges. PETRONAS ("the Company") is pursuing an Upstream Life Cycle Cost (CAPEX/OPEX) reduction approach under the Facilities of Future (FOF) program and mission called "Subsea Factory". The FOF target is to reduce Upstream life cycle cost by 40% starting from 2025 and Subsea Factory is one of the enablers to contribute to the reduction. There are four primary technologies focused on Subsea Factory: Subsea Separation, Subsea Multiphase Pump, Water Injection and Subsea Storage. The Subsea Multiphase Pump is one of the prioritized technologies for Subsea Factory to contribute to a 40% reduction. Subsea multiphase pump technology has great potential to reduce the CAPEX/OPEX and increase oil recovery, but due to the high equipment cost, huge topside space requirement, reliability and operating issues become very challenging and limit its application to operating companies. The Company collaborates with FASTsubsea AS on a Joint Industry Project to develop and qualify "the World first All Electric & Topside-less Subsea Multiphase Pump Technology". The uniqueness about this technology compared to commonly installed subsea pump is that it requires much less topside space as there is no need for variable speed drives or barrier fluid hydraulic power units. This paper describes the qualification and application of All-electric & Topside-less subsea multiphase pump technology in the Company - Subsea Factory mission, including: pain point with conventional subsea multiphase pumpthe Joint Industrial Project initiative with respect to technology development to pilot test to maturityimplementation of this technology and value creation in upcoming field development projectthe case study and potential of this technology for the Company future field development project