From Aberdeen: When you put a group of subsea control technologists together in a small room to discuss the future of controls, one would expect a lively discussion about fibre optics, data flow, all-electric systems and the like.

What came out at Aker Solutions technology day on Oct. 8 were not so much desires, but concerns. Has reliability gone into reverse? Are systems too complex? Would standardisation have a negative effect on innovation? Will local content requirements in some countries further delay the implementation of new technology? Have operators really taken on board the need to reduce costs?

It did seem a bit that what was needed were not answers, but a confessional.

The purpose of this day was not to listen to the sounds of clattering worry beads, but hear what AkerSol had to say, mostly about control systems. The big news was the launch of its sixth generation subsea electronics module, dubbed Vectus 6.0.

AkerSol controls veep Davy Benison called it ‘a step change in technology’ which has come after 30 plus years of subsea controls development. This is not just new electronics in a new canister, but something quite different, combining new architecture with both new hardware and software.

The re-designed SEM incorporates three modules - the electronics module designed with no wiring, ie all plug in circuit boards; an auxiliary EM for control of chokes and valves; and a 24V DC power supply module with a wide range of output power - 200-900V AC and 280-1,200V DC.

A key aim is to have zero-failures, but one wonders if that is possible. The SEM is also meant to be future-proof, ie based on a platform that can meet new technology needs.

Strangely enough, future-proofing is not the real problem today, but obsolescence. AkerSol UK MD Matt Corbin said that he was pleased that a recent Statoil presentation added the challenge of ‘older’ to the standard ‘deeper, colder, longer’ mantra.

One more challenge now seems to be a new focus on reliability with the current MTBF for a control module reduced to two to three years from what formerly was about five. One reason suggested is poor training of technicians with a need to shift to some form automated testing.

There was quite a contrast to hear presentations from a technologist from Total HQ and from Shell UK. Bruce Gardner who jumped ship from AkerSol six years ago to join Shell was almost apologetic that Shell here is solely interested in keeping its current inventory of controls system (and wells) running at the lowest cost.

Its acronym of the moment is AIPSM or asset integrity process safety management. You can only guess at exactly what that means. The key technology for Shell UK with its ageing systems is a backwards compatible low power SEM that has been jointly developed with AkerSol.

Big ideas

On the other hand, Gregor Deans from Total wanted to talk about everything on the technology menu including beyond 2025. Many from the gathering may not even be working then.

The Total menu is as extensive as that in a Parisian brasserie with the ongoing focus on deeper waters and long distance tiebacks with a few items not yet in use. These include subsea chemical storage and injection to reduce the size of umbilicals and permanently located auvs for subsea inspection and maintenance, the latter still in the mix for inclusion at Kaombo (SEN, 31/11).

The Total has been the champion of all-electric systems - it has the only two electric trees in the water - and it continues to see this as a technology with a future. It will install its third Cameron/OneSubsea electric tree in early 2016, but this time the system will include the big missing item - an electric downhole safety valve which is now qualified.

Also on coming from its multi-course taster are compact separation; more subsea raw injection (SPRINGS - currently on a pilot in the Congo); high and low pressure gas-liquid separation; high-power boosting, long-distance dry compression, et al.

WHAT WE HEARD: Talisman is due to bring the Tartan platform and its coterie of subsea satellites back in production next month after two years of being offline for maintenance.

Its subsea team’s new focus is Cayley-Shaw (SEN, 29/24) which is being called simply ‘a massive project’.

Total is really cheesed off that Statoil got to the name ‘subsea factory’ first. Isn’t there a nice sounding French equivalent?

The AkerSol/Baker Hughes Subsea Production Alliance is getting ready to launch two new systems - PowerJump, a horizontal seabed esp, and PowerHub, a retrofit esp installed by coil tubing and hung off the top of the tubing hanger. Also on the cards is the completion of the qualification at the beginning of next year of AkerSol’s MultiBooster multiphase pump.

Another general issue - is it necessary to have every company, ie the hardware suppliers, be able to provide every technical solution? A good question, but that is one for the proponents of capitalism. Who will tell a company not to develop new equipment?

To wit, should AkerSol have spent considerable sums qualifying MultiBooster and FMC have worked extensively with Sulzer or should they cede the multiphase pump market to OneSubsea?

That does not really seem a sensible proposition, especially as any number of operators have procurement policies that forbid a contract award without a competitive tender process.

A comment from an operator with experience of six different control systems suppliers: control modules from new suppliers - ie DrilQuip and OneSubsea? - have proven to be more reliable, while admitting that they have fewer operational years to base statistics on.

There are moves afoot to develop a UK-based low-cost subsea separation and injection system that could appeal to some smaller operators. One key element of the system would be a Hayward Tyler motor.

Apparently HT is being courted by a number of the big hardware folks, but there might be another insider. Valve specialist Severn Glocon has taken a 10% stake in HT and its chairman, Maurice Critchley, is a new non-exec direction. Watch this space.

AkerSol says that its Quad 204 (31/12) project for BP is the biggest ongoing controls programme with an MCS capable of handling 100 wells and 60 new subsea control modules including 14 for new wells.

And finally...shall we put the ongoing debate about ‘standardisation’ to one side and rename it ‘the industrialisation of subsea’?

Offshore