Saipem and Curtiss-Wright enrich subsea playbook with new all-electric tool to prolong oil & gas assets’ life

July 30, 2024, by Melisa Čavčić

Italy’s engineering, drilling, and construction services provider Saipem has pooled resources with the U.S.-based Curtiss-Wright Corporation to bring into play an all-electric seabed barrier fluid-less pump, marking a new milestone for the subsea applications toolbox.

Following an exclusive collaboration agreement Saipem and Curtiss-Wright inked in 2018 to develop new technology, a 3 MW full-scale prototype was manufactured and tested in water through what the companies deemed “an extensive specific program, eventually confirming the expected performance, robustness, and reliability.”

The Italian and U.S. players’ latest subsea processing milestone comes on the scene with the completion of the qualification process of an all-electric seabed barrier fluid-less pump, which was developed based on proprietary solutions inherited from the nuclear sector.

According to the duo, this technology, described as “unprecedented,” will enable the subsea injection of treated seawater into a reservoir, extending the lifecycle of subsea fields. Saipem and Curtiss-Wright explain that the latest tool in their arsenal is based on a design where the subsea pump is cooled and lubricated by the seawater itself with the motor protected by a canned casing suitable for deepwater applications.

While the conventional pumping system features a barrier fluid that serves as coolant, lubricant, and insulation, the absence of the barrier fluid is perceived as a way to avoid the need for its constant replenishment and the risk of seawater contamination.

Combined with the Italian giant’s all-electric strategy, the new technology is said to make the replacement of conventional hydraulic umbilicals with power/control cables possible, curbing costs with the first seal-less, barrier fluid-less subsea pump with such high power.

As the new solution is certified for several Saipem-proprietary subsea treatment technologies, such as SPRINGS – the subsea desulfation technology owned by the Italian giant, TotalEnergies, and Veolia – the certification is described to represent “a fundamental goal,” validating the achievement of technology readiness level 4 (TRL 4).

“With this milestone, Saipem confirms its investments in innovative solutions available as industrialized products to extend the life of assets in the subsea sector and to make offshore operations increasingly safe, sustainable and convenient,” highlighted the Italian firm.

Witnessed and endorsed by Petrobras and TotalEnergies, the subsea tool is seen as the start of commercialization on a global scale. The latest feat in the subsea sector innovation comes shortly after Saipem’s Hydrone-R underwater intervention drone reached uninterrupted subsea operations for nearly six months.

The drone performed remotely operated works and autonomous missions on Equinor’s Njord oil and gas field offshore Norway, which was also expected to be the location of the first launch of Hydrone-W, the full-electric heavy-duty subsea drone supplementing Hydrone-R for tandem operations and simultaneous underwater works necessary to serve the entire Norwegian field.

The company will supervise and provide subsea intervention services for offshore and onshore sections of a natural gas pipeline connecting Libya and Italy through the Mediterranean Sea. Recently, the Italian firm won multimillion-dollar assignments on two projects off the coast of Saudi Arabia, which should enable Aramco to maintain long-term oil production from the three fields the two projects cover.