Pushing deeper into offshore frontiers, OneSubsea, a joint venture backed by SLB, Aker Solutions and Subsea7, has cleared a critical path for deepwater development through a joint industry project with France’s TotalEnergies, Norway’s Equinor, the UK’s BP, and the U.S.-headquartered Chevron to master all-electric subsea technology designed to operate 3,000 meters below the surface.
OneSubsea has completed the Brazil All-Electric Joint Industry Project (JIP), a collaboration with TotalEnergies, Equinor, BP, and Chevron, supported through the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) research and development regulation, to advance fully electric subsea production technologies for applications at water depths of up to 3,000 meters.
The subsea player emphasizes that electrification can create new options for designing and operating future deepwater fields by replacing hydraulic actuation with electric systems and connecting subsea equipment, well completion technology, topside controls, and digital capabilities.
The Brazilian project qualified electric components and control systems for deepwater applications and demonstrated an integrated architecture extending electrification beyond the subsea tree, connecting subsea production equipment with electric well completion technology, topside controls, and digital capabilities.
Representatives from the participating companies recently gathered at the OneSubsea manufacturing facility in São José dos Pinhais, Brazil, to celebrate the completion of the project through technical presentations, demonstrations of subsea and downhole all-electric technologies, and a tour of the facility where electrified subsea equipment will be assembled.
Darcy Ryan, Product Manager at OneSubsea, commented: “Completing this project is an important step toward expanding the role of fully electric technology in future deepwater developments. By working closely with operators to define requirements and qualify the technology, we are creating new possibilities to simplify subsea infrastructure while providing greater control, monitoring and access to data.”
As subsea developments move into deeper water and increasingly complex environments, OneSubsea points out that operators are looking for new ways to simplify infrastructure, improve control, and create greater flexibility in how future fields are designed. Since traditional hydraulic systems require extensive distribution infrastructure to operate subsea equipment, adding complexity as developments extend farther from existing facilities, the company believes that this is where all-electric can make a difference.
“Conventional subsea production systems use hydraulic pressure to actuate valves and chokes, requiring hydraulic distribution infrastructure across the field. All-electric technology replaces hydraulic actuation with electric motors, eliminating the need for hydraulic fluids and reducing associated infrastructure,” elaborated OneSubsea.
The firm explains that the Brazilian project demonstrates how electrification can move beyond individual components toward an integrated production architecture that connects subsea equipment, well completion technology, topside controls, and digital systems.
Aside from qualifying components for applications at depths of up to 3,000 meters, the project pinpointed interfaces with newly developed and qualified SLB electric completion technologies.
OneSubsea underlined: “A purpose-built master control station connects the subsea equipment with topside control and digital systems, enabling an integrated approach to monitoring and operating the production system.
“This architecture can simplify field layouts and reduce overall system complexity while giving operators greater flexibility when developing longer tiebacks, more remote fields, and increasingly autonomous operations.”
The company states that the completion of the project builds on more than 15 years of experience in subsea electrification and more than 5 million operating hours with electrified subsea systems.
The firm’s all-electric portfolio is advancing along two complementary paths, with all-electric subsea production technology moving toward commercial deployment through Equinor’s Fram Sør project in Norway, which includes 12 all-electric subsea trees.