Extending Tieback Distances: Wet-Mate Connectors, Enabling Technologies for Critical Systems Developments

摘要

With the economics of deepwater production driving subsearntechnology development, the ability to extend tiebackrndistances is critical to the continued effort to reduce CAPEXrnfor deepwater projects. In “mature” regions such as the GOMrnshelf and the UK North Sea, the tie in of remote satelliterndevelopments is already extending the life of existingrnplatforms beyond their original decommissioning dates, yetrnthere are many potential developments just out of reach ofrncurrent tieback technology. At the leading edge of subsearnproduction development, some operators are investigatingrntieback to shore with target distances of 200 km or more.rnFundamental programs in Subsea Separation, MultiphasernPumping and Subsea Electrical Power Transmission arerndemonstrating the critical need for high power and for highrnbandwidth, error free communication, where subsearnprocessing and long step-out distances are necessary. Thesernprograms have identified wet-mateable high-voltage, powerrnconnectors and fiber-optic communication and, consequently,rnwet-mateable fiber-optic connectors, as critical technologiesrnenabling the installation and hook up of the core modules forrneach project.rnWith many of these programs having reached the stage ofrnsubsea trials, or in some cases, full production installations,rnthe wet-mate connection systems have been subjected torncomprehensive “real life” production programs. Thernperformance of these connectors, the benefits of high-voltagernpower systems and fiber-optic communication and the lessonsrnlearned, can significantly improve the application of thesernsystem critical technologies in future subsea production andrnextended tieback systems.