Pompano Subsea Development - Testing Program
Authors: Nelson Ron , Berger Ron , Tyer Clay 
Published: June 2014

System reliability is essential for the economic success of any subsea oil and gas development. Testing programs can be developed to prove system reliability while still adhering to cost and schedule constraints. This paper describes a three tiered equipment testing program that was employed for the Pompano Phase II subsea system. Program objectives, test descriptions, procedure development and test execution are discussed in detail. Lessons learned throughout the tests are also presented

Introduction

Pompano Phase 11 is deepwater subsea oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi Canyon B1oek28. It consists of a diverless ten-slot template with retrievable manifold, equipped for Through FlowLine (TFL) tools to service the wells. The template / manifold is tied back to the Pompano platform in Knoll Block 989, where the prediction is processed, metered and exported through sales pipelines. The template / manifold was installed in August 1995 in a water depth of 1850 ft. Testing Program Objectives. Proving subsea system reliability and operability was essential because of the high potential value and inaccessibility due to water depth, A rigorous three-tiered program was developed to economically test the system within the project's fast-track schedule. The test program objectives were:Prove that the subsea production system was fit forpurpose upon installation. This included:Proving system function and operability.Proving component fit-up with multiple equipment contractors from several continents.Verification of individual equipment pressure ratings.Proving ROV access and tool fit-up.Maintaining fluid cleanliness in a solids-sensitive control system.Train drilling superintendents, production operators and other personnel. Training is critical to the system's successful operation. The system's future users were encouraged to understand and contribute to its development.Practice offshore installation and service operations in a Low cost environment. Because of high offshore operating costs on drilling and installation vessels, the project team concluded that testing onshore to verify procedures and interfaces could reduce offshore time and ultimately save money.

Test Program Overview

The the-tiered test program consisted of Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Wet Testing and System Integration Testing (SIT). The FAT was generally used for pressure, tit and function tests of the individual components supplied by the different vendors. The wet testing program was developed to verify ROV operability of subsystems whose designsnew or mechanically complex. Finally, the SIT served as a 'dry run' system assembly that verified system operability, sub-component interaction, worst-case stack-ups, installation procedures and ROV access.

Systems and Suppliers. The major components of the subsea system, listed below, were engineered and supplied by more than 12 industry contractors. The huge number of contractors contributed to the need for an extensive system testing program to verify the interaction between all the various interfaces.