In a time of prolonged low oil prices and uncertainty in the future outlook for the oil and gas industry, oil companies and operators are looking for innovative ways of combining available technologies in order to maximize hydrocarbon production while minimizing the need for new significant investments. The scope of this paper is to present optimized field development strategies by erasing the boundaries between FPSO design and subsea architecture, which can result in step-change CAPEX reductions and increase recoverable reserves. The goal has been to identify repeatable and cost effective configurations that are relevant for a wide range of applications. Based on Aker Solutions’ and SBM Offshore’s respective technologies and expertise within field development, various case studies have been completed and optimal technical solutions identified. These solutions are presented and discussed, and include: (1) subsea water removal and re-injection for brownfield applications with an existing FPSO, in order to extend the FPSO’s useful life on a watering-out field and lowering wellhead pressure, (2) enabling new subsea tie-backs to an FPSO of several small stranded fields, by leveraging subsea boosting with subsea power distribution to minimize the need for turret modifications, (3) combine a smaller standardized lease FPSO with subsea separation for brownfields that have reached the end of their economic lives, in order to allow the existing central processing facility to be decommissioned while the field continues to generate cash with a new less costly configuration.
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