The future is in the water, but is it in subsea processing?

To meet rising energy demand, the world needs to develop all available energy resources. Despite substantial growth in renewables, hydrocarbons will continue to play a dominant role. 

As the days of easy – onshore – oil and gas are over, the locus of E&P activities is increasingly shifting to the offshore. During Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference on 28 & 29 October in Amsterdam RAI, the Netherlands, exhibition visitors and conference delegates can expect to learn about the latest solutions in offshore E&P activities.

New technologies make it possible to develop deep water and ultra-deep water fields as well as stranded shallow plays. The conference theme for this year “The future is in the water” is aptly chosen. Topics covered at the conference include the future of global oil and gas, emerging markets, innovative technologies as well as above-ground risks and concerns. Speakers represent operators, OEM’s, EPC companies, suppliers, service providers and investors.

Subsea Processing

Offshore Energy stays on top of new developments and with the session on subsea processing the conference addresses a key innovative area. Subsea processing provides an alternative to production equipment located on a fixed or floating platform. This session will discuss the latest developments in subsea processing solutions including water removal and re-injection or disposal, boosting, gas separation and gas compression. Experts from frontrunners in subsea processing such as ExxonMobil Research Company, FMC Technologies and Aker Solutions will present the viability of subsea processing for both green fields and brown fields.

Kjell Olav Stinessen, first chief engineer in subsea power & process division at Aker Solutions has been involved in the development of subsea compression. Subsea gas compression allows addressing declining gas reservoir pressures, offering an attractive combination of economic and environmental benefits. After several years of technology development and qualifications, Aker Solutions is currently delivering the world’s first full scale subsea compression project for the Åsgard field in the Norwegian Sea. In addition, innovative solutions are under development, in order to further optimize this system and extend its applicability to a broader range of gas fields world-wide.

Ed Grave, ExxonMobil’s Upstream Fractionation & Separation Advisor. Together with his team he developed and qualified ExxonMobil’s subsea conventional and compact separation system. During the subsea processing session Grave will detail the steps taken in designing the subsea separator for solids, the qualification of the components used, and the results of the sand handling tests. The sand handling trials were used to evaluate the performance and identify potential failure mechanisms of the sand handling internals and the sand handling system. In addition, the oil-water separation performance was measured during the trials to determine the effect of the sand removal operations for the shallow water separator.

As a director of the Separation Innovation & Research Centre, Reda Akdim is globally responsible for research, development and qualification of separation technologies within FMC Technologies. Akdim will describe several subsea processing examples and how they positively or negatively impact oil or gas production. For subsea processing applications the footprint, weight, costs are important driving factors. The application of conventional, bulky gravity separation equipment can in many cases be a show-stopper for the development of an oil or gas field. Many oil fields that are interesting for future exploration are found in deep waters. Subsea processing can play an important role in bringing those reserves on stream. The question that Akdim’s presentation addresses, is “What is required for “subsea processing” to become generally accepted instead of entering a silent valley of death?”

Offshore Energy Exhibition

Offshore Energy is the fastest growing gathering of offshore industry professionals. Founded in 2008 Offshore Energy convenes annually at the Amsterdam RAI, breaking attendance records year after year. Taking place in the easily accessible and attractive city of Amsterdam, Offshore Energy expects to attract over 10,000 visitors from around the world. Over 500 supply chain companies will showcase their products and services. Companies such as Fugro, Palfinger, Bluewater Energy Services, Technip-EPG, Van Oord, Keppel Verolme, Boskalis, Ulstein, Royal IHC, GEP AFTP, Parker Hannifin and Heerema have already booked their stand. More than 90% of the exhibition space has already been sold.

For more information on the full program, speaker faculty, the exhibitor list and to register go to: www.offshore-energy.biz