Qualification and Implementation of a Subsea Wet Gas Compressor Solution

The Gullfaks subsea compression project is a brownfield development which aims to extend the plateau production and increase total recovery from the Gullfaks Sat. Phase II (L and M templates) with multiphase compression technology from OneSubsea. This is the world's first subsea wet gas compressor project, and the compressors are installed at approximately 135 m water depth. The subsea compressors will boost the unprocessed gas well stream containing liquids to Gullfaks C from year 2015 to 2030. The compressor station will be located at the M and L templates and the tie-back distance to Gullfaks C is approximately 16 kilometer. The compressor station is equipped with 3 future hubs for tie-in of additional fields in the area, which enables flexibility to the system. The Gullfaks Compression System (GSC) main components consists of 2 multiphase compressors (WGC4000) with individual recirculation systems, 2 subsea process coolers, 1 flow mixer and 3 bypass headers. The flow mixer is located at the inlet of the station and the main purpose of this device is to dampen out liquid slugs and provide an equal homogenous split of multiphase flow to the two compressors when operating in parallel. The subsea cooler main purpose is to cool the well stream before compression in order to limit the compressor discharge temperature below the flow line design temperature in addition to increase compression efficiency. The wet gas compression technology is applicable for most gas fields which will have use for pressure support at one stage. The system is quite simple i.e. there is no need for conditioning of the well stream. The Gullfaks Subsea Compression station was started up October 7th 2015. This paper will describe the subsea commissioning phase, including lessons learnt from the subsea commissioning phase. In addition this paper will give an outline of the experiences gained during start-up and operational phase. The wet gas compression technology could have an impact on brown field developments where topside weight capacity may be constrain. Such project could also have a positive impact wrt HSE as no tap in to existing topside process will be required. Last but not least, this is a cost efficient solution where the recoveries from the wells are improved in addition to accelerated production.

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How Will Subsea Processing and Pumping Technologies Enable Future Deepwater Field Developments?

Kondapi¹,

Chin

Srivastava

et al. 2017

Day 3 Wed, May 03, 2017

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This is a study on how subsea processing be the enabling technologies for future ultra-deepwater field developments and long distance tiebacks. This study identifies the gaps that need to be closed and decision making process during the field development life cycle by considering both the technical and economic constraints of various subsea processing technologies. As E&P companies continue to explore for oil & gas deeper and further into sea, the challenges associated with developing the deepwater fields are bound to escalate. Subsea processing technologies are the fastest growing technologies due to their huge potential to increase recoverable reserves and to accelerate production. It also enables for cost saving by moving some of the traditional topsides processing to seabed. As the reliability of subsea processing equipment is increasing, the industry is gaining more confidence in subsea processing. As industry gains more experience of design and operating subsea processing technologies, and closing the gaps, it improves understanding of the technology and making advancement to counter the challenges associated with harsher environments and complex fields. Properly-designed modularized compact subsea processing kits can be economic to deploy, and may potentially become an enabler for certain types of marginal field developments. This paper addresses the challenges of reservoir characteristics and fluid properties, cost, risk, reliability, operability, installability, maintainability and intervention complexities; assesses the existing and emerging technologies; focuses on improving efficient compact design to reduce bulky and heavy equipment, achieving separation from heavy oil, and disposal of separated water. Certainly there are limitations in making the subsea processing viable and accessible to all operators but the technology needs and industry collaboration should overcome these challenges. Also there are opportunities for improvement and standardization, and modular design processing systems for reservoir suitability, field layout and topsides support.

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Qualification and Implementation of a Subsea Wet Gas Compressor Solution

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

Supplying control power to the Asgard Subsea compression system

Supplying control power to the Asgard Subsea compression system

Gullfaks Subsea Compression - Subsea Commissioning, Start-Up and Operational Experiences

How Will Subsea Processing and Pumping Technologies Enable Future Deepwater Field Developments?

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