UK subsea player slots deepwater oil project trio in its Brazilian workload

UK-headquartered CRP Subsea, part of AIS, has won a deal with an undisclosed energy technology company, which enables three offshore oil field projects in Brazil’s Santos Basin to find their way to the subsea firm’s order book for deepwater buoyancy solutions.

While disclosing the award of a contract it describes as significant, CRP Subsea explains that this deal entails the supply of over 300 distributed buoyancy modules (DBMs) for three deepwater oil field projects in the pre-salt Santos Basin, which will be utilized on four 8-inch flexible production risers responsible for transporting oil from subsea facilities to the floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units positioned above.

James Harrison, Key Account Manager at CRP Subsea, commented: “We are honored to have been selected by a key customer to supply DBMs for these major projects. It’s fantastic that our market-leading internal clamp technology continues to be the solution of choice. This technology is renowned for minimising installation risks and ensuring the reliable operation of deepwater flexible risers.”

While operating in water depths of approximately 1,800 meters, the DBMs are expected to alleviate the top tension exerted on the FPSOs by maintaining a carefully engineered dynamic lazy wave configuration. To this end, a high-capacity compliant internal clamp, designed to exert a controlled and uniform circumferential clamping pressure around the riser, is set to be used.

According to CRP Subsea, the clamps will not only maintain DBMs’ position and eliminate the risk of pipeline damage but also extend the field’s operational lifespan. The subsea player will design and manufacture the distributed buoyancy modules, which will be utilized on flexible pipe systems, at its production facility in the North West of England.

While engineering works are set to begin imminently, the delivery is slated for the end of 2024. This deal comes shortly after CRP Subsea announced that an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) company hired it to provide its modular buoyancy modules onboard an installation vessel, providing weight adjustments for subsea structures during installation in water depths over 2,000 meters.

The British player has tucked several new assignments under its belt recently, including the one to supply distributed buoyancy modules for a large gas field in the Indian Ocean, Western Australia, along with a contract to provide vortex induced vibration (VIV) suppression strakes and buoyancy modules destined for an ultra-deepwater oil field development project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Aside from these, CRP Subsea landed another deal for distributed buoyancy modules for an oil field project offshore Brazil, following multiple contracts related to a deepwater project in Africa.