As output from the North Sea region’s largest producers has slowed in recent years, an erroneous notion has developed that the North Sea is in irreversible decline. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is no secret that the shrinking field presents producers with deep waters, aging infrastructure and extreme weather conditions, but with 30 years left in the oilfield’s life, many Scottish oil and gas companies are recognizing its potential as a hotbed of innovation, primed for technological advances that will revolutionize how the industry addresses challenges.

In a high-cost environment, Scotland is leading the world in subsea technology, an area including everything from riser designs to pipeline networks to seabed production, using new pipeline technologies and revolutionizing current lift systems to enhance reliability and drive down costs. Active in more than 40 countries, this subsea technology is now so prevalent that virtually every subsea development worldwide has Scottish technology at its core.

As development of fields using subsea production systems continues into more challenging environments such as deeper waters and extreme weather conditions, the importance of the complex but groundbreaking subsea design process becomes clearer than ever. Scottish companies are embracing those challenges and the opportunity to build on a strong base of industry expertise to demonstrate that the North Sea is still a critical innovation resource in the oil and gas industry.

Brinker Technology is an Aberdeen-based technical solutions company that specializes in creating highly optimized and efficient systems by mimicking processes that occur in nature. In particular, Brinker has developed Platelet Technology, which takes the concept of platelets in the blood stream that constantly patrol veins and initiate the mechanism for sealing cuts and wounds in the human body and adapts it for use in industrial applications.

The technology uses the fluid flow inside a pipeline to deliver specially designed platelets to the leak site. When the platelets reach the vicinity of a leak, fluid forces entrain them into it and hold them against the pipe wall, facilitating sealing and marking the position of the leak for subsequent repair work.

The company took a radically new approach to pipeline integrity in that it seals and then locates leaks in a single integrated process. Whereas conventional leak sealing techniques require direct access to the leak site, the unique effectiveness of the technology lies in its ability to be implemented remotely, working with the pressure in the line to seal from the inside.

Zenith Oilfield Technology is an independent artificial lift service company formed in 2003 to provide technology and services designed in response to industry needs typified by the challenges currently faced in the North Sea — declining production coupled with rising costs.

In an industry where artificial lift is becoming ever more important, the company focuses its work on advancing the discipline to extract the most from a mature or declining resource. This objective is achieved through the gathering and analysis of downhole data and the design of generic and bespoke completion equipment. Cost-effective, reliable equipment, developed on an impressive depth of knowledge and experience, is backed up by resources dedicated to improving artificial lift system performance.

Optimum production and system runlife can be successfully and confidently managed with the artificial lift monitoring systems. Accurate measurements surrounding the electric submersible pump (ESP) or other lift system gives the operator confidence in pushing the downhole pumping system to its optimum performance, enabling maximum production with the knowledge that the pump is running within its specified limits.

New completion system technologies developed include the Auto Flow Sub (AFV), designed to prolong ESP runlife; on pump shut-down the fluid in the tubing above falls back through the pump, taking everything with it, including sands and debris. The AFV alleviates resulting blockage and backspin problems by immediately diverting the column of fluid in the tubing straight to the annulus the instant the pump is switched off.

The North Sea has been and will continue to be an important part of the global oil and gas industry as oil fields mature. The skills and technologies being developed here will help companies recover marginal reserves and ensure longer life for oil fields in every part of the world.

Tom Lamb is head of energy at Scottish Development International.