Robust Technology Implementation Process Applied To A First Deepwater Electrical Heating Ready System
Authors: March David M. , Bass Ronald M. , Phillips David K. 
Published: October 2008

The development and implementation of new technology within the execution schedule and finance model of a deepwater subsea project requires attention to design detail, and a culture of meticulous qualification and verification practice. Challenges faced by project leadership and project teams occur in the merging of new technology product(s) into the timeline allocated for delivering the more conventional parts of a subsea system in the deepwater environment.

The achievement of project delivery and production startup on time and on budget coupled with a unified and demonstrable success rating for using such technology are of increasing importance for venture teams, partners, and shareholders.

This paper addresses one process methodology adopted by Shell EP Projects to support guaranteed delivery of technology products to customers, namely Shell Exploration and Production Company (SEPCo) and BP Exploration & Production Inc. (BP) for the Nakika Project. Novel subsea technology has been applied strategically as an enabler to develop aspects of the Na Kika Project in the Gulf of Mexico in water depths between 5800 ft to 7000 ft. See Figure 1 showing the Na Kika North area subsea architecture. This process is applied to the Nakika Electrical Heating Ready System, comprising principally of the Electrical Heating Pipein- Pipe (EHPIP) system and the ready-to-deploy modular Electrical Heating Ready Intervention System (EHRIS) 1.

The Shell EP Projects Subsea and Pipelines Group comprise a broad matrix of systems; products; pipelines; and well completion engineers, and a project leadership skill base. This engineering and project execution workforce are dedicated to regional and international deepwater and ultra deep water ventures using existing and new technology. The work is completed in close collaboration with technical skills in the Shell EP Projects Civil and Marine Group and Shell Global Solutions. The strength of technology product ownership and interaction across the Group collectively delivers robust solutions. The foundation of this collaborative effort and the process adopted serves to encourage continued technology implementation by customers in deepwater and ultra deep projects. Figure 2 outlines the broad division of work.

In reviewing the application of this process, the paper describes the components of the Electrical Heating Ready System to evidence the success with which a systemic ualification and verification culture have contributed to project delivery.

Introduction

For deepwater and ultra deep developments, the suspended risers and flowlines have increasingly long offsets to reach clustered and dispersed wells. At Na Kika in the north area, the Ariel and Kepler wells are located at between 5 miles and 12 miles respectively from the Floating Oil and Gas Development System, (FDS). The properties of well products outflowing from the Ariel and Kepler reservoirs have been evaluated from data collated during appraisal. Production from these wells will be subjected to low ambient temperatures and high internal hydrostatic pressures en route to the FDS. These conditions are conducive to higher than normal susceptibility to hydrate forming conditions. The flow assurance strategies for the Na Kika North Area are briefly discussed and more references are made in detail by Hudson et al 2.