Page 104: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2014)

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pumping systems have and operation of the Troll been in various develop- subsea separation pilot, a mental stages since the late study conducted by Douglas- 1960s. In a 1969 OTC paper Westwood Energy Research

Subsea “Production Processing Group indicated that indus-

Prototype for Submerged try enthusiasm towards this

Operational Test,” the technology was on the rise. authors explain that the Although actual industry world’s ? rst prototype sea- participation in the develop- ? oor separation module was ment of subsea processing tested in 1969 offshore Abu was still relatively insigni? -

The Espirito Santo FPSO is a key component of Shell’s Parque das

Conchas(BC-10) project. Photo from Shell.

Dhabi, and was successfully cant, the Douglas-Westwood used for three years before report revealed that 90% of being decommissioned. Another separa- such a large scale. However, as the need operators expected to utilize this technol- tion system was successfully tested in the to drill in deeper waters became more ogy within 10 years.

Gulf of Mexico between 1972 and 1973 apparent, so did the economic and logis- These predictions began to material- (Burris, Hill, and Lowd). tical advantages of subsea separation.” ize with the successful start-up of the

However, despite these successful The industry’s interest in the potential world’s ? rst full-? eld subsea separation early prototypes, a lack of clear under- advantages and opportunities provided by system on the Statoil-operated Tordis standing regarding the cost and bene? ts subsea processing and SSUs did not truly ? eld in 2007. Because of subsea process- of this technology has prevented the gain momentum until the implementation ing advantages, operators in the Tordis industry from deploying it on any sort of the Norsk Hydro Troll C pilot in 2002. ? eld were able to increase recovery by of signi? cantly large scale until very Based on ABB Offshore Technology’s 35MMbbl while extending the expected recently. “The ? rst subsea separation sys- Subsea Separation and Injection System, ? eld life by almost 20 years. tems were conducted on an experimen- this pilot was able to remove and dispose Soon to follow was Shell’s Parque tal level,” states Rune Mode Ramburg, of the water produced by Troll subsea das Conchas project (BC-10) off Brazil,

Chief Engineer of Subsea Technology & well templates before piping the gas and which has the distinction of hosting the

Operations at Statoil ASA. “For the ? rst oil as a mixed stream to the Troll “C” world’s ? rst subsea system with gas- few decades, there was not an immediate platform for continued processing. Three liquid separation and boosting. This incentive to pursue this technology on years after the successful installation system was developed with 13 subsea

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