Equipment and tooling evolve to meet the challenges of subsea field decommissioning

摘要

Reflecting on the success of these decom­missioning campaigns has raised some ideas worth contemplation. Given the improvements to ROV functionality and tooling, is there a cost-savings benefit to the use of flanges in­stead of more expensive alternatives? Will a few hours of vessel time spent torqueing bolts make more sense than the price of a more sophisticated option? These questions can only be answered through a detailed front-end engineering and design study, as every project is different. Moreover, when a project team is faced with old, outdated technology, it is still possible to provide a modern approach to proj­ect engineering and planning. This requires a "start again" strategy that applies to the design of new equipment and especially to the writing of new procedures. A realistic, physical SIT is ultimately the best way to refine procedural methodology and to identify potential issues with newly designed equipment. Subsea field decommissioning projects will be laden with unknowns, but fortunately you do not have to be an astronaut to get to the bottom of it.