SUBSEA SMART CROSSING: AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION TO SIMPLIFLY FIELD ARCHITECTURE AND ENABLE COST EFFECTIVE INSTALLATIONS OF SUBSEA PIPELINES FOR LONG-TIE BACKS, SCARP/CANYON CROSSINGS, AND ULTRA-DEEP WATER APPLICATIONS

摘要

Subsea pipelines play a significant role in E&P systems and are often called the lifelines of offshore oil and gas fields. These pipeline systems now cover greater areas and therefore traverse greater distances, go to deeper regions, and use larger diameter pipelines. These developments present several challenges, including: 1.Geo-hazards like scarp or canyon crossings; 2. Multi-diameter requirements; 3. Reduced diameter risers to interface with host facilities; 4. Ultra-deep waters where top tensions become installation limitations; and 5. Piggability of varying pipeline diameters, branching, and materials. Most current approaches for these new frontiers rely on stretching the current design and installation practices that involve pushing materials and equipment to their limits, which leads to very expensive solutions (high Capex and high Opex) for developing, installing, maintaining, and operating subsea pipeline systems. The Subsea Pipeline Smart Crossing System – an innovative solution developed in joint collaboration between Chevron and OneSubsea, a Schlumberger company – enables operators to simplify subsea field architecture and provides a cost-effective solution to enable interconnectivity of different types and sizes of pipes to address the challenges addressed above. This paper presents the challenges and constraints for two different field architectures and presents the Subsea Pipeline Smart Crossing solution, a reliable technical solution for long tie-backs, scarp/canyon crossings, and ultra-deepwater. This paper also presents the solution’s associated technical and commercial benefits that enable operators to optimize their spend on development, installation and operation of subsea pipeline systems.