Exploration • Drilling • Field Services
Fig. 2. The installation of compressors on the seabed will ensure a high gas flow and recovery rate. The compressor station is almost the size of a soccer field.
With Åsgard
subsea gas compression, we are one step closer to realising our vision of a subsea factory. Subsea processing, and gas compression in particular, is an important technology advance to develop fields in deep waters and harsh environments. Statoil, Åsgard field operator.
“Competing systems may have the same individual properties but are unable to offer all of them as one package.”
Corrosion protection Vikotherm R2 is made up of three layers, all bonded to one another. Te inner layer is chemically bonded to the structure surface, ensuring protection against corrosion, HISC (hydrogen-induced stress cracking) and disbondment. Te middle layer provides thermal insulation, and the outer layer protects against mechanical and water ingress. “Te layer thicknesses and properties
are extremely flexible,” Kopstad explains, “making it easy to adjust to environmental challenges and customer requirements.” Launched in 2012, the Vikotherm R insulation builds on the success of its former generation, first manufactured in the late 1980s. Te updated material has been subjected to years of rigorous testing, including lifetime evaluations, long-term simulated service tests and full-scale qualification tests.
Recent development A notable upgrade to Vikotherm R2 is that it can be applied either on-site or at Trelleborg’s production facility in Norway. “Te growing global subsea market
increasingly focuses on flexibility, delivery time and quality,” says Kopstad. “So it is a huge advantage to be able to apply it on-site, anywhere in the world.”
Trelleborg Offshore Norway AS is based in Krokstadelva, Norway.
www.trelleborg.com/en/Offshore-Norway
Application at the plant involves high-pressure and high-temperature vulcanisation (typically +140°C/+284°F) in an autoclave. Field vulcanisation is done at ambient pressure without an autoclave, but it retains the same properties. Hans Leo Hals, Managing Director
of Trelleborg Offshore & Construction facility in Norway, said: “Tis project represents a quantum leap in seabed technology and is an important step towards realising the field operator’s ambition to develop a complete subsea production site. “As such, guaranteeing optimum
performance and complete reliability at every turn is of paramount importance. Te formation of hydrate plugs and wax build up is a real risk during operation shut downs, high performance subsea thermal insulation is required to ensure optimal flow assurance.”
Production licence Te Åsgard field field comprises the Midgard, Smørbukk and Smørbukk South discoveries. Midgard straddles blocks 6507/11 and 6407/2, while the two other deposits lie in block 6506/11. Saga Petroleum discovered Midgard in 1981, with Statoil finding Smørbukk and Smørbukk South in 1984 and 1985 respectively. Te two companies unitised the three fields into a single production licence in 1995, with Statoil as operator. Åsgard ranks among the largest
developments on the Norwegian continental shelf, embracing a total of 52 wells drilled through 16 seabed templates. l
www.engineerlive.com 27
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