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technology is aimed at felds contain- power for the pumps and conditions ing 3-30MMboe recoverable, in 60-600m the CO so it is ready for the subsea 2 well and condition the CO to meet water depth, with a capacity for up to 2 subsea well operating parameters.

20,000b/d total fuids and 20,000b/d water injection, with any suitable num-

Vessels

ABT Oil & Gas ber of production and injection wells tied

ABTechnology is part of a joint in via subsea manifolds.

venture (JV) called ABT Oil & Gas, The production buoy, which is over with Manchester-based explora- 60m-high and up to 30m-wide, consists tion frm Enegi Oil. of a semi-submerged hull and topsides

The ABT JV has partnerships structure, with a 4500-tonne dry weight, with Wood Group PSN for engi- which is taut-moored to the seabed. neering on its unmanned produc- Production will be based on a conven- tion buoy design, which it has said tional thermal stabilization approach, says would typically cost US$140 mil- the frm. Control and process equipment, lion to construct and install, and will typically consist of a two stage sepa- oil and gas consultancy RMRI. ration system, to remove water and gas,

The JV also has an agreement located on decks within the buoy, which with GMC to look at unmanned has an access tower for maintenance. self-installing buoyant platform Internal power systems will be feld- designs for use in the North Sea specifc, ABT says, and will be fuelled by (OE: December 2013), agreed in associated gas, with excess gas fared.

2013. The company also has an The production buoy will be linked by agreement with Ocean Resource, fow lines and fexible risers to the subsea which could see it use the frm’s production wells. An autonomous shut-

Ocean Resource’s production buoy concept

SeaProducer technology. down control system is housed inside the under construction.

The company’s most advanced buoy and remote intervention is possible project is the Antrim Energy- using radio, microwave or satellite com- operated 9MMbbl Fyne oil feld, munications, ABT says.

in blocks 21/28a in the central Crude oil is transferred and stored

North Sea. in a 100,000-300,000 bbl seabed stor-

Early April, ABT Oil & Gas age system, made from steel, which is submitted an environmental state- secured by piles driven into seabed, and ment, for Fyne, which revealed from where the oil will be offoaded to a the frm is planning to use a GMC shuttle tanker.

self-installing tower design on In a recent statement, the JV partners the feld. Following approval for said: “In order to maximize the opportu- the three-well development (two nities to develop marginal felds, Enegi producers and one water injection and ABT are reviewing the structure of well) from the UK Department its JV, ABT Oil and Gas, and expect to of Energy and Climate Change make an announcement on this in due (DECC), it will in late summer sub- course.” mit a feld development plan, earn- The frm added: “We are in discussions ing Enegi and ABT 50% interest in with a number of players about utilizing the feld, as part of an agreement both our buoyant technologies on their

Ocean Resource’s production buoy concept made with Antrim last year. First assets. We also announced that we have schematic.

Images from Ocean Resource.

production is anticipated prior to farmed into the Helvick oil feld and designed to avoid high hydrostatic load- 25 Nov 2016, a date agreed with agreed Dunmore discovery last November and ing, instead using the hydrostatic pres- with DECC. work has started on evaluating the feasi- sure differential to minimize additional Late last year, ABT agreed a farm in bility of implementing buoyant solutions energy requirements to pump out the oil. deal with Providence Resources and its to develop both.”

Control and monitoring could be from partners on the Helvick and Dunmore oil The frm is also planning to apply for a remote host platform or a land-based discoveries, in the North Celtic Sea basin, further licenses in the 28th licensing station through UHF, VHF and satellite offshore Ireland. round. communications. The terms were for ABT to carry out an

Unmanned Production Buoy

Ocean Resource has also been investi- assessment of the commerciality of using gating use of a buoy for carbon sequestra- its buoy technology on the felds, and to Founded eight years ago, Aberdeenshire- tion for enhanced oil recovery. then to provide a feld development plan based Unmanned Production Buoy (UPB)

SeaSequestor would be able to store for the scheme. says it has a £756 million European feld 45,000-tonne of liquid CO in a subsea development program using unmanned 2

ABT’s buoy tank and then pump it into the seabed to buoy technology.

ABT’s own unmanned production buoy The plan involves three units, to support EOR. The buoy would provide

May 2014 | OE oedigital.com 142 138_OE0514_Vessels4_unmanned.indd 142 4/19/14 10:34 AM