Long-offset control systems, which facilitate subsea-to-beach field developments, with a particular reference to the Statoil Snohvit project

摘要

The Snohvit project in the Norwegian North Sea is a milestone in offshore oil and gas development, with a record breaking offset and all subsea facilities tied-back to shore, without any surface-piercing structures such as platform or floating production facilities, with a consequent dramatic improvement in environmental impact compared with conventional field developments. The field, discovered in 1984, is the first development in the environmentally sensitive Barents Sea and will see first production in 2006, with export of Liquefied Natural Gas to overseas markets in the US and Spain. It is located at 70° north, within the Arctic Circle and 1,000km north of the Nome field, currently the most northerly producing field offshore Norway. Hence a stand-alone solution was required for the development. It has taken 20 years for the technology necessary for the field to be developed economically, to become available, primarily the long offset control and compact, efficient LNG plant, together with long offset multiphase flow. In combination these technologies allow subsea development without the need for a conventional surface piercing structure.