Page 50: of Marine Technology Magazine (April 2012)

50MTRApril 2012ClampOn has two major orders for this product, one for a BP field life extension project in the Gulf of Mexico and one for Total in the North Sea. RoxarRoxar, a Norwegian company acquired by Missouri- based Emerson Process Management in 2010, has its own innovative take on optimization and regulation of subsea production. Its Flow Measurement division has developed a collection of intelligent sensors addressing the various challenges of subsea operations, Roxar focusses on reser- voir management and instrumentation to facilitate increased recovery and accelerated production at lower costs. With a view to facilitating tool renewal and retrieval, and avoiding the major costs associated with shutting down production to retrieve a subsea installation from the seabed, Roxar has developed a subsea ROV retrieval system for tools and sensors. It has worked in col- laboration with major operators including BP, Chevron, Shell, Total and Statoil. Tools for monitoring temperature, pressure, erosion and corrosion can be switched out from subsea christmas trees, manifolds and process systems in as little as two hours, without impacting operations. Roxar´s system uses a pre-installed permanent mechani- cal interface on the subsea structure, designed to accom- modate different types of tools. Tools are switched out of the mechanical interface using an ROV retrieval tool, which uses a collet connector to create a leakproof con- nection to the hub. The system also includes a sensor/transmitter with a probe carrier, electronics canister and power/communications cables, which transfers data from sensor to the control module, and a skidded ROV equipped to transfer and install new tools on the subsea structure.The company is also working to bring to market a 3rd generation subsea multiphase flow meter, the Roxar subsea MPFM 2600FX, based on the existing platform ofa topside meter. Roxar´s goal is to bring this platform to the subsea environment, and to address specific market demands for high pressure and high temperature moni- toring, as well as salinity and GVF (gas volume fraction). Roxar sees integration with both multinational and national operators as critical to future success, and is working on the flow meter in a Joint Industry Project partnership with Statoil, Total, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips. A complementary second-generation subsea wetgas meter is also in the works, although without the explicit backing of a JIP. Roxar intends to qualify both products by the end of 2012. An illustration showing Roxar´s subea ROV retrieval system in action, using an ROV arm to safely switch outsubsea tools.