OTC 24934-MS

How to Increase Recovery of Hydrocarbons Utilizing Subsea Processing

Technology
Rudisham Marjohan, OneSubsea

Copyright 2014, Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference Asia held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 25–28 March 2014.

This paper was selected for presentation by an OTC program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Offshore Technology Conference, its
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Abstract
As demand for oil escalates and resources from the relatively simple onshore and shallow water fields become relentlessly
depleted, oil companies are compelled to focus on more remote, complicated and deeper water reserves. At the same time,
emerging technologies to increase recovery and extend the life of brownfield developments often requires moving this
equipment to the seabed due to topside space, capacity and integrity constraints.

These technological challenges are now being met head-on with subsea processing and the need to provide an increased
recovery factor to justify the large investment made. Not only does subsea processing become an enabler for producing from
these challenging environments, it also frees up space on the topsides while allowing expansions to be implemented on the
seabed, with the additional benefit of offering significant cost saving possibilities. Notably, subsea boosting has
demonstrated added value for increased hydrocarbon recovery through several commercial installations since 1995.

This technical presentation will focus on increasing recovery of oil and gas by implementation of subsea processing
techniques and in particular, subsea boosting. An overview of the different applications of subsea boosting systems will be
given. This will cover options that include subsea single-phase and multiphase hydrocarbon boosting, subsea seawater
injection, and finally, subsea compression with a world’s first, true multiphase compressor.

A number of case studies where significant increase in production has been seen as a result of implementing subsea boosting
at the seabed will be presented. These cases will demonstrate the key production enabling techniques that allow enhanced
recovery from deeper waters, as well as production of heavier and more viscous fluids, including high water cut production.

Introduction
Plenty has been said and written about subsea processing lately. In fact, subsea processing has gained some ground in the oil
and gas industry with quite a few successful projects delivered over the years spreading in nearly every major offshore oil
and gas region of the world. The North Sea, West Africa and offshore Brazil are areas where the technology is most active.
Western Australia is also following suit. However, despite these exposures, it is still regarded as an emerging technology by
some operators, with a relatively small number of systems installed globally. In recent years though, there has been a higher
level of acceptance to the subsea processing technologies as recognition for their potential returns also increases. We can see
now that subsea processing is becoming a viable option for many field developments.

The basis of this paper is to highlight some of the achievements where subsea processing did not exist just for the sake of
technological showcase alone, but also became an enabler for deepwater, remote and harsh environments, as well as being a
major contributing factor in increasing the hydrocarbon recovery factor from subsea fields.

Subsea processing
In the author’s knowledge, there is no official accepted definition for the term “subsea processing.” However, in general, it
may be defined as any active treatment or conditioning of produced fluids, either on the seabed or downhole, prior to
reaching the host installation facility. Quite simply, it means locating the production equipment on the seafloor rather than on
a fixed or floating platform.
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Subsea processing can encompass a number of different processes with the intention of reducing the cost and complexity of
developing an offshore field. It is made up of a range of technologies to allow production from offshore wells without the
need to have surface production facilities. It was conceived originally as a way to overcome the challenges of extreme
deepwater situations. Now more often, subsea processing has become a viable solution for fields located in harsh conditions
where processing equipment located topsideintroduces higher risk to operating personnel, as well as increased cost (OPEX).
Moving production facilities to the seafloor has the potential of increasing production rates from subsea wells, offers
reduction in the need for chemical injection and reduction in spills due to hurricane damage [1], and frees up space on the
topside facility. In addition, subsea processing has also emerged as an attractive alternative application to develop and
increase production from mature or marginal fields.

The main features of subsea processing include treatment of produced fluids upstream of surface facilities, separation of oil,
gas and water, reinjection or disposal of produced water, multiphase pumping or adding energy to the wellstream, gas
treatment and compression, multiphase metering, flow assurance, and mitigation against formation of hydrates, wax, scales,
asphaltenes etc.. All of which are already performed at the seabed.

However, for ease of reference, subsea processing activities can be perceived as forming two main components – subsea
boosting and subsea separation. Most other features then will belong to or be part of the two main components. The subsea
boosting component consists of all form of seabed boosting including single and multiphase boosting, seawater injection and
gas compression as well as downhole boosting. The subsea separation component would consist of seabed separation (two- or
three-phase separation) or different kinds of caisson separation solutions (below seabed). Most subsea separation projects will
also require some kind of boosting in addition, either single or multiphase. This relationship is best represented as Figure 1
below. For simplicity, this paper will not discuss either downhole boosting or caisson separation as the focus of the paper is
to highlight achievements of subsea boosting in particular.

2
Figure 1 - Main components of subsea processing (after Infield Systems)

Subsea Boosting
Subsea boosting technologies address problems associated with slugging and high backpressures on the wells, thereby
increasing the rate of flow and the uniformity of that flow. Boosting the well flow results in increased temperature in the
pipelines, thus, reducing the formation of hydrate and wax [1]. The homogenizing effect of multiphase pumps (e.g. the
helico-axial pump) also means that slugging downstream of the boosting system is very much reduced. With subsea
multiphase boosting technology, there is even the potential to eliminate pre-processing (e.g. satellite platforms) as the pump
can boost the whole unprocessed wellstream to a host facility. This is already demonstrated in a number of fields worldwide.

In 1994, the predecessor of what is now OneSubsea was among the first to develop systems for subsea boosting of
unprocessed well flow (multiphase flow). Initially, the goal was to enable economical production rates from new, often
marginal subsea fields that are tied back to existing production facilities [3]. It has now become a mature and proven
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technology with its use steadily increasing with increasing power and water depth [4]. Today, a significant number of
operators, including many of the majors have either installed subsea boosting systems or are seriously considering this
technology for their new developments [3]. As of March 2013, there are at least 60 listed subsea processing projects in
different stages of development and operation with subsea boosting technologies being the backbone of these developments
[5]. From the seabed multiphase pumping point of view, there are three main types of pumps being used: piston type, twin-
screw and helico-axial. Out of the three, the helico-axial pump technology has been the established industry leader [1].

Helico-Axial Multiphase Pump Technology

The helico-axial pump technology was developed by the IFP (Institut Francais du Petrole) in partnership with Total and
Statoil in the late 1980s [6]. The pump uses roto-dynamic pumping principle which has similarity in operating principle as a
conventional pump or axial compressors. It uses rotating impellers to increase the fluid’s kinetic energy and diffusers to
convert this kinetic energy into pressure. The impellers and the hydraulic design in the pump are unique such that gas-liquid
separation and gas locking phenomenon can be avoided. This enables the pump to operate with high gas fractions Gas
Volume Fraction (GVFs) of up to 95% or 100% mechanically. Compared with twin-screw multiphase pumps, helico-axial
pumps have a simpler mechanical design. Therefore, it can be more compact for the same flow condition and have greater
flexibility in terms of flow rate [6]. The open spaces in the impeller-diffuser design as shown in Figure 2 also means that it is
more tolerant to solids, e.g. sand – one of the contributing factors to its successe. In project deliveries, the pumps are
packaged as a complete subsea boosting system.

Figure 2 – The helico-axial pump hydraulics showing the impellers and diffusers. The open spaces between the
impeller and diffuser blades provide enough clearance for solid particles to pass through without significantly
damaging the pump.

Subsea Boosting System Description

Most of the subsea multiphase pumps are electrically driven units with power and control functions supplied via a dedicated
umbilical. In the past, the pumps had been integrated with the subsea tree or installed on the manifold. However, it is
common these days to see the pumps installed as a complete self-contained pump module on the seafloor with associated
piping and valves to allow remote operation of a one- or two-pump system from the host facility. As more of the processing
technologies are moving to the seabed, the self-contained pump module may also act as a compact subsea production and
testing system serving one or multiple wells, complete with manifold, subsea control module, subsea transformer (as
required) and subsea multiphase flow meter, or even, a subsea sampling interface. Typically, such a pump system may
comprise the following main elements [3].

1. Subsea Pump Module

As in the case of a subsea helico-axial pump system, the module consists of the multiphase pump and motor unit itself,
process piping and isolation valves as well as the control pod for valve operation. A step-down transformer can be included
for long tieback applications. Typically, the module will be supported on mud mats or secured with a single pile. Figure 3
shows a typical subsea pump module during installation. The process piping will include flowline connections to upstream
and downstream flowlines. There will also be a bypass line to enable pigging as well as natural production with the pump
out of operation. Isolation valves upstream and downstream the pump are included for maintenance purposes. The valves
may be remotely or ROV-operated.
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Figure 3 – A typical stand-alone subsea pump module during an offshore installation.

The pump itself in this case, is a vertical helico-axial design with the motor cartridge on top and the pump section incased in
an integrated flow mixer in the lower part (Fig. 4). The pump and motor are integrated into a common pressure casing, with
no dynamic seals towards the environment. The pressure casing is designed for up to 5000 psig and recently, even up to
15,000 psig for ultra-deepwater applications. This pump unit contains all parts susceptible to wear and tear, including pump
internals, instrumentation, electric and hydraulic connectors, as well as mechanical clamp connectors, and it is fully
retrievable by light intervention vessels.

An oil-submerged electric motor drives the pump directly through a flexible coupling, with speed governed by topside
variable speed drive (VSD). A barrier oil system provides lubrication of bearings and mechanical seals, as well as cooling of
the electric motor. The generated heat is then transferred to the surrounding seawater through the cooling coils. In addition,
the barrier oil provided over-pressure against process (pump discharge) where its pressure is held at an elevated pressure to
avoid process leaking into the motor section.

Well fluid enters the pump section through the inlet port and into the integrated flow mixer which homogenizes the fluids and
eliminates slugging. The pressure in the homogenized flow is then increased through the helico-axial pump stages before
being discharged through the outlet port.

2. Combined Power and Control Umbilical

Umbilicals usually contain three-phase power each per pump, arranged symmetrically to minimize electromagnetic forces,
signal lines and auxiliary power, as well as hoses for control fluids and barrier oil.

Subsea termination of the power and control umbilical is either directly on the pump module or on a separate umbilical
termination unit adjacent to the module. Individual wet-mateable and ROV-operated power, signal and hydraulic jumpers
further connects to the relevant parts of the subsea pumping system.

3. Power and Control System

The power and control system is usually provided via a self-contained power and control module (PCM). It includes the
frequency converter with associated transformer, pump control system and the barrier fluid supply unit. The frequency
converter, commonly referred to as the VSD, is central to the topside installed power and control system. It enables smooth
starting of the subsea pump and full flexibility to operate at optimum conditions as dictated by the production parameters.

The pump control system is based on remote control from the platform or FPSO control room. Parameters that are normally
monitored include pump suction and discharge pressures, barrier fluid pressure, temperature and consumption, pump running
speed and motor current. The PCM is usually located topside on the host facility.
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Figure 4 – The retrievable integrated pump and motor cartridge.

Benefits of subsea boosting

In general, the benefits of subsea multiphase pumps are related to enabling and/or increasing production rates as well as
increasing recovery, and can be summarized as follows [3]:

1. Accelerating production
In most cases, subsea multiphase pumps provide the additional energy to accelerate the rate of production from naturally
producing wells. This may enable prolonged plateau production, and in many cases, actually increases overall recovery.

2. Increase reach of remote fields/wells

Today’s subsea multiphase pumps can easily be installed up to 100 km from the receiving facilities. This allows for
production boosting from locations that would otherwise not have been within reach from the same facilities. Currently,
studies and trials are being conducted with subsea frequency drives. Successes with the implementation of this technology
will allow extending tieback distances beyond 100 km.

3. Well kick-off
In instances where subsea multiphase pumping can generate the required drawdown at the wellhead, it can be used to kick off
a well that cannot produce naturally. This one time installation eliminates the need for downhole intervention that is usually
applied on a campaign basis to achieve the same effect.

4. Flexibility in installation
The modularized subsea multiphase pump allows easy integration with other production facilities or infrastructure. It can be
integrated into a subsea tree as well as being a freestanding pump module with integrated valves and multiphase flow meters
making it a compact subsea production system all on its own. Such flexibility allows the pump system to be retrofitted into
brownfield developments or to be included in new or greenfield developments.

5. Flexibility in operation
Depending on set-up, application and operational requirements, the pump system can be used to boost just single or multiple
wells. The ease of operation also allows for production boosting flexibility with just a click of a mouse.
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6. Ease of installation
Installation and intervention is made easy by the modularized vertical compact design. This design allows installation or
intervention with light intervention vessels due to the fact that the weight of the retrievable pump and motor cartridge is
typically less than 30 tons. Should pump replacement be required, the task can be completed with or without guide wires in
as little as one or two days from arrival at the location.

7. Comparatively low investment

Subsea multiphase pumps can potentially eliminate the need for pre-processing or having a satellite platform, because raw
wellstream can be boosted directly to a host processing facility. This represents a significant CAPEX saving potential. Fields
that are supported by a multiphase pump typically see an increased oil recovery rate which in many cases results in payback
time of the installed pump systems of months rather than years.

Typical Applications of Subsea Boosting

Applying seabed multiphase pumps will generally draw down the flowing wellhead pressure to a level at which the wells can
produce at optimum rates. At the same time, they provide the necessary discharge pressure to compensate for frictional
losses and static backpressure in the downstream flowline and riser system. The pump may also be used to initiate the flow as
in kicking off dead wells. Systems for both conditions are already in operation.

Each pump is designed to specific field requirement taking into consideration its operating conditions. Thus, factors such as
reservoir pressure, gas oil ratio (GOR), water cut (WC) and production rates must be accommodated in the pump design.

Typically, these are the conditions where seabed multiphase boosting can offer significant benefits [3]:

1. Medium to long tie-back distances

The original vision of subsea multiphase boosting was to enable tieback of remote fields to existing or new central processing
facilities. Now the pump also assures compensation of frictional and static losses. In addition, the increased fluid velocities
in the flowline will stabilize the flow regimes, thus limiting or eliminating slugging.

2. Medium to low GOR

GOR below 500 - 1000 scf/bpd provides excellent conditions for multiphase boosting, even at quite low pump inlet
pressures. GOR higher than this can also possibly represent good operating conditions, but the pump inlet pressure and/or the
WC will also need to be higher. This may be the case for deep water fields.

3. Increased water depth

Static backpressure on the wellhead increases with the increase in water depth and increasing water cut. This introduces the
potential for multiphase boosting. Seabed boosting can also be very attractive when installed at the riser base as this is where
the majority of the back pressure occurs.

4. Limited gas cap

These reservoirs often have limited GOR and pressure support by water injection. With increasing WC, the amount of free
gas remains moderate even with decreasing pump inlet pressure.
However, as each field poses its own specific challenges, it should be emphasized that there will be many deviations from
these simple guidelines. Generally, it is preferable to install the multiphase pumps as close to the wellheads or manifold as
possible where the effect of transients is limited. However, this is not an absolute requirement and examples of other
installations exist.

Examples of Successes in Subsea Boosting

Lufeng, South China Sea

Statoil was the first operator to install five-off subsea electrical driven pumps at the CNOOC Lufeng field in the South China
Sea in 1997. This field was fully dependant on subsea boosting due to the low natural pressure and heavy oil. It was also a
pioneering project, tying back to a FPSO called the “Navion Munin” which provided the facility for intervention [3]. The
pumps (five-off) as shown in Figure 5 were integrated into the five subsea trees in 330 m water depth. In their first six years
of operation beginning 1998, the pumps had been operating continuously and had boosted 40 – 50 million barrels of oil [7].
Originally, the Lufeng marginal field was only capable of about 2000 bpd from its five wells and was expected to cease
production after about 3 years time. Upon installation of the pumps, it was producing about 10,000 bpd, a truly remarkable
achievement. In fact, in the words of the operators project leader, “Without the booster pumps in operation, there would have
been no production from the field” [7]. The field was finally decommissioned in 2011, effectively enjoying almost 10 years
OTC 24934-MS 7

of extended field life and elevated production, thanks to subsea boosting operation. This is a testament to the capability,
durability and reliability of the technology.

Figure 5 - All five subsea pumps sitting on the deck of the FPSO prior to installation. All installation and intervention
were done from the FPSO itself using the aft crane.

Topacio, Equatorial Guinea

In Equatorial Guinea, a satellite oilfield called Topacio operated by ExxonMobil benefitted from subsea boosting by
retrofitting the subsea multiphase boosting technology in tackling the challenges of water depth and reservoir condition (Fig.
6). The Topacio field sitting in 550 m water depth, is tied back to the Zafiro producer through a 9 km long pipeline. In this
case, the multiphase booster was retrofitted on a piggable manifold structure in July 2000, requiring a production shut down
of only 4½ days including connection of power lines. Since start-up in August 2000, the 2 x 1 MW pumps have provided a
rise in oil production to the producer, an FPSO, to as high as 10,000 to 15,000 bpd [3]. This amounts to more than half the
production from this field as opposed to natural production.

As an added benefit, the pumps have also provided suppression of the flow transients through the pipeline. The 9 km long
pipeline to the FPSO had experienced severe slugging before the pumps were installed. It now has a stable flow thanks to the
slug suppressing characteristics of the pump system, primarily caused by increased flow. This had a very positive effect on
the topside process system. In addition, the multiphase pumps at Topacio also provided kickoff of “dead” wells [3].

Barracuda, Brazil
The Barracuda project, operated by Petrobras is another development which has benefitted from subsea multiphase boosting.
The Barracuda and Caratinga fields, 12.5 km apart from each other, are located at the Campos Basin in water depths ranging
from 600 m to 1350 m and were developed in two phases. Upon completion of the second or definitive case, it was decided
to introduce a complimentary project involving production of a distant block of the Barracuda field. This block is located in
1040 m water depth and is about 10 km away from its intended host, a FPSO called the P-48. In addition, the oil in this
distant block is heavier than the rest of the project [6].

The single subsea multiphase pump has been installed in a module sitting in 1040 m water depth, 330 m away from the
production well and connected to the subsea tree through a six-inch production line and a control umbilical. Connection to
the P-48 FPSO was through a single 10.5 km long 6” production line and approximately 14 km long integrated umbilical
(containing control, electrical power, barrier fluid and chemical injection lines). It is also connected to a 10.5 km long 4”
service/gas lift line from the P-48 FPSO [9].

The Barracuda pump started operation on 14 July 2012 and has performed as expected, operating with a differential pressure
of 60 bar and having a liquid flow rate of approximately 3000 m3/day with a GVF of 45% at the pump intake. At these
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conditions, the pump lead an average oil production gain of approximately 1000 Sm3/d or about 6290 bbl/day. This
corresponds to about 40% of the well potential pit without the pump [6] as illustrated in Figure 7 below.

Figure 6 - The pump station retrofitted to the Topacio piggable manifold structure, and the corresponding PCM
located on the FPSO.

Figure 7 – Demonstrates the difference in flow rate with and without pumping, since start up

Subsea Seawater Injection

Seabed or subsea seawater injection system utilizes almost the same technology as single-phase boosting. The main
components being the subsea pump module, subsea control and monitoring system, subsea umbilical, and topside pump and
control module with barrier fluid hydraulic power unit. However, instead of boosting well fluids to the host facility, it is
actually injecting seawater into the reservoir. Hence, the minimal additional equipment required includes a water intake
system, a subsea filter and a back-flushing system.

A large field called Albacora, located at the Campos Basin off the Brazilian coast has applied this technology. The field
covers an area approximately 235 km2 and in water depths ranging from 250 m to 1100 m.
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In the case of Albacora, there are a total of three subsea water injection (SWI) systems to be deployed in three different
locations in the field, with currently one already in place. The topside drive and control system is positioned on the
production platform, whilst the pump modules are installed in water depths ranging from 370 m to 400 m and tied back to the
production platform ranging from 4000 m to 10,000 m away using umbilical [9].

Each pump module in the SWI system is equipped with one filter (Fig. 8). Water is taken from the sea at approximately 100
m above the seabed, through a water intake system before it enters the filter. The water intake system is equipped with
strainers for rough filtration to avoid big particles or fishes from coming into the system. The filter consists of 46 cylindrical
rods located in two circular patterns, filtering at 50 microns. This means, particles larger than 50 microns are caught on the
filter walls. Smaller particles will pass through and enter the pump unit through the inlet port. The flow then exits the pump,
and with chemicals introduced downstream of the outlet port, will be injected together into the reservoir through the injection
wells. Embedded larger particles from the filtration are continuously removed by back-flushing.

Figure 8 – The subsea seawater injection system‘s pump module (in white) as installed in the Albacora field, sitting
on the connection module (in yellow).

When fully operational, the three SWI systems will be able to inject 16,500 m3/day in seven wells in order to increase the
reservoir pressure. This will increase oil recovery, accelerate oil production, and generate significant economical benefit [8].
It was estimated in design phase that this translates to approximately 45,000 bpd of extra production from this field. As has
been seen in Albacora, the SWI system contributes to the critical development of alternative technology to improve
waterflooding method. In the future, perhaps this technology can play an important role in enabling or increasing seawater
injection in some fields; specifically mature ones [8].

Subsea Pumps in Subsea Separation Projects

Subsea separation can be either liquid-liquid separation or gas-liquid separation. In liquid-liquid separation, the goal is
generally to separate oil from water and only produce oil to the host facility. The produced water can then be re-injected to
provide pressure support for the reservoir or injected into dump reservoirs, as in the case for the Troll C Pilot and Tordis in
the North Sea. For mature fields, main factors for oil and water separation could be the level of produced water and the
existence of heavy oil.

A gas-liquid separation on the other hand, can be implemented in order to ensure a hydrate strategy. Fields where gas to oil
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ratios are high, positioned a long distance from host, and of low reservoir pressure and temperature, may lead to hydrate
formation and cause pipeline blockage. In this case, subsea separation can even be regarded as a flow assurance mechanism.
Gas-liquid separation can also be implemented to allow for phase splitting upstream of required boosting due to high static
pressures [10]. Overall, increased water depths and the number of fields to be tied back to a hub are usually the key factors in
determining whether to deploy either liquid-liquid or gas-liquid separation.

In the context of the relationship between subsea boosting and subsea separation, there are now four subsea separation
projects in operation where seabed boosting is a key enabling technology - Troll C Pilot, Tordis, Pazflor and Marlim
projects. The next paragraphs will highlight the roles the seabed pump played in ensuring the success of some of these
projects and the increase in recovery as a result of these initiatives.

Troll C Pilot, Norway

The Troll field, operated by Statoil is located 50 miles west of the Norwegian coast in the North Sea in about 340 m water
depth. The Troll C platform, located in the northern part of the Troll field produced first oil in 1999. The Troll subsea system
was one of the world’s largest subsea developments at the time [1]. Its geology makes the Troll field especially suitable for
seabed separation.

The Troll Pilot project employs a gravity based separation system at the seabed. It has a footprint of approximately 20 m by
30 m with a 3 m diameter separation vessel. The separator vessel has a design capacity for 25,000 bbls/day of oil, 38,000
bbls/day of water and 800,000 m3/day of gas. The system separates produced water from the oil and gas streams (mostly oil)
from a maximum of eight wells. The separated produced water is then re-injected into the Utsira water reservoir using a
single-phase subsea booster pump. This re-injected water represents about 8% of the total volume of produced water handled
at the Troll C platform [1].

As shown in Figure 9, the Troll Pilot benefits in seeing increased oil production capacity and lower discharges of produced
water from the platform. Based on this operating result, the project has been considered a success in increasing production
capacity on Troll C as well as improving the environments [1]. The role played by the re-injection pump has no doubt been a
key element in the success of this effort. The Troll Pilot project was put into full operation in August 2001 and is currently
still operating.

Tordis, Norway
The Tordis field, operated by Statoil is located in the North Sea in about 200 m water depth. The Tordis subsea project links
four maturing fields, and is the first commercial subsea processing system [1]. This project, called Tordis SSBI (Subsea
Separation, Boosting, and Injection) delivered in summer 2007 and is an example of a brownfield subsea processing
development. It includes a water/sand separator, a de-sander module, a multiphase flow meter and two pumps – one for
multiphase boosting and one for produced water re-injection. Perhaps the best project so far to exemplify features of subsea
processing.

The subsea separation system has a unique technology where gas will free flow to the topside host facility while oil, water
and solids will enter the separator. Oil or rather multiphase fluid is boosted by the multiphase pump to topside facility while
the produced water is drained and re-injected into the subsurface by a single-phase pump together with the produced sand.
Note that although the pump is capable of handling solids, the de-sander module only injects the sand into the reinjection
stream downstream of the water injection pump to reduce wear on the pump [1].

For Tordis, the subsea separation technology was central to the commercial viability of the whole field [2]. This is because
over time, increasing water outflow was restricting production as the old pipelines and surface facilities do not have the
capacity to transport and handle the extra water being produced by the wells. The main value driver for Tordis has been to
increase the oil recovery from 49% to a target of 55%, giving approximately 6 million Sm 3 of increased oil production [10].
As per Troll, the pumps have been instrumental in the successes of the Tordis SSBI project (Fig. 10).

Pazflor, Angola
Pazflor lies 150 km off Luanda in water depths ranging from 600 m to 1200 m and operated by Total. It has a vast subsea
gathering network,the most complex ever built in Angola, with 49 subsea wells and 10,000 metric tons of subsea equipment
tied in by 180 km of lines. On top of these, it has a gigantic Pazflor FPSO measuring 325 m long, 62 m wide and weighs
more than 120,000 metric ton – the largest in the world.

Pazflor encompasses four reservoirs. One plagiocene reservoir called Acacia and three miocene reservoirs named Perpetua,
Zinia and Hortensia. Unlike Acacia which contains light, good quality oil, the three miocene reservoirs contain heavier, more
viscous oil, making them more difficult to produce. Total has decided to combine the production of these two very different
oils in keeping with its aim to optimize the production from its deep offshore resource [11]. This represents a major technical
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challenge.

Figure 9 – Comparison of production with and without subsea separation, with reinjection capability provided by the
1
subsea booster pump (based on Michaelsen 2003) . Oil flow rate can be maintained even at higher water
production.

Figure 10 – The Tordis SSBI station on its way to site. Shown in the inset are the two pumps – a multiphase booster
and a water re-injection pump, both are identical in appearance.

The three miocene reservoirs account for two-thirds of the reserves and present a different set of challenges altogether, in the
nature of flow assurance. Their pressures, temperatures and fluid properties are just the right recipe for the formation of
hydrates. To mitigate this problem, the gas will have to be separated from the oil and water on the seabed. A gas-liquid
separation unit and pump was designed and installed in this greenfield in 2011. The lighter gas rises naturally to the FPSO
4km away while the viscous liquids are then forced to the surface using a specialized booster pump designed specifically for
12 OTC 24934-MS

Pazflor (Fig. 11). The pump is a hybrid multiphase pump, combining both single phase and multiphase hydraulics on one
shaft. It is designed to operate efficiently in a wider GVF range, providing high enough boosting pressure to cater to the two
different oil types and to force the viscous fluids to the FPSO.

Figure 11 – The Pazflor subsea separation system. Circled is the hybrid pump module as shown on the right.

Subsea Compression
While topside compression is common, seabed or subsea gas compression can be considered an emerging technology as there
is no subsea compression in operation to date. However, this is about to change in the next two to three years. The main
drivers for implementation of subsea gas compression technology are the discovery of distant offshore gas fields or stranded
gas, increased water depths, increased step out distance from the host facility, low reservoir pressure and temperature, as well
as to overcome harsh environmental conditions. To some extent, the technology is also being evaluated for reducing acid gas
emissions and for gas re-injection systems.

There are currently two approaches to subsea compression. The first is the dry gas compression system which involves the
use of centrifugal compressors with upstream scrubbers, as is now under construction for a Norwegian field called Asgard.
The alternative is wet gas compression that deals directly with the unprocessed wellstream (multiphase) without scrubbing.
This technology is to be installed in another Norwegian field called Gullfaks South. Both are operated by Statoil. In keeping
with the theme of this paper, the author will focus only on the latter example.

Gullfalks, Norway
The Gullfaks Field is located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea and is sitting in water depth ranging from 135 to 220
m. It is developed with three large concrete production platforms; Gullfaks A, B and C, and several subsea production system
templates. The site where the world’s first true multiphase compressor will be installed in 2014 is called Gullfaks South. The
Gullfaks South fields comprise of several satellite fields tied back to the Gullfaks A and C platforms, developed in phases. To
be exact, the Gullfaks 2030 subsea multiphase compressor system (so called as the intention is to extend the production from
this brownfield development to year 2030 using this technology) will be located in the vicinity of the ‘L’ and ‘M’ templates
of Gullfaks Phase 2 [12]. The Gullfaks 2030 subsea multiphase compressor system is shown in Figure 12 below.
OTC 24934-MS 13

Figure 12 – The Gullfaks 2030 subsea multiphase compression system will measure 34m(L) x 19m(W) x 12m (H)
using a multiphase compressor (left picture) derived from the field proven subsea multiphase boosting technology.

Conclusion
It is clear that the industry is still in the midst of establishing reliable data and that the reliability of subsea processing
equipment will remain crucial in ensuring the continued success of such endeavors. However, the increasing number of
subsea processing projects today and many more in the proposal pipeline, are testament to the value created by this
technology. Perhaps in the future, full subsea processing might even be possible, rendering surface facilities obsolete.

In the meantime, thanks to subsea processing and subsea boosting to be specific, the industry now has in its toolbox, a mature
and field-proven technology to boost production, increase recovery factor, whilst reducing operating costs and enabling
production from complex and challenging locations. In addition, this technology can improve flow assurance, provide room
for expansion to rejuvenate fields, and extend the life of brownfield developments beyond topside facilities.

References
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Subsea Processing on Deepwater Environments in the Gulf of Mexico. OCS Study MMS 2008-022, Published by
US Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans, U.S.A.,
May 2008.

2. Karra.I, and Knight. R., INFIELD SYSTEMS LTD., 2010. Subsea Boosting and Processing Developments.
Offshore Magazine website: http://www.offshore-mag.com/articles/print/volume-70/issue-50/subsea/subsea-
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3. Grimstad, H. J., 2004. Subsea Multiphase Boosting – Maturing Technology Applied for Santos Ltd’s Mutineer and
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14 OTC 24934-MS

Barracuda Subsea Helico-Axial Multiphase Pump Project. Paper OTC 24217 presented at the 2013 Offshore
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http://www.statoil.com/en/TechnologyInnovation/FieldDevelopment/AboutSubsea/Pages/GullfaksVaatgasskompres
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Abbreviations
FPSO Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel
GOR Gas Oil Ratio
GVF Gas Volume Fraction
HAP Helico-Axial Pump
MW Mega Watt
NPV Net Present Value
PCM Power and Control Module
ROV Remotely Operated underwater Vehicle
SWI Subsea Water Injection
VSD Variable Speed Drive
WC Water Cut
XT Christmas Tree