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Offshore: Operators are increasingly looking to maximize recovery from brownfield projects. How do the OneSubsea offerings figure into these types of projects?
Garding: We are actively working to address this emerging market through our BrownFEED redevelopment service, a unique approach to re-engineering existing developments in order to boost production and extend field life. OneSubsea's Integrated Solutions division provides customers with state-of-the-art technical services for brownfield developments and enhanced asset recovery. The division comprises the best and brightest from the diverse fields of petrotechnical engineering, integrated asset modeling, and production assurance. Subsea multi-phase pumping technology from our processing systems division also plays an important role with boosting pumps that are field-proven to extend the production life of many of these aging fields. Furthermore, the OneSubsea Production Systems division is also consulted and works with both groups in an integrated manner to advise operators on how to maximize recovery from brownfield projects. We have already performed a number of studies for some of our most valuable customers, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
In addition to boosting, we consider other ways to increase recovery from a brownfield, such as improved oil recovery—water, gas or water alternating gas injection, or chemical injection. Although placing injection facilities on the field is not enough to increase recovery, the key is to understand the reservoir response. OneSubsea has unlimited access to petrotechnical experts and industry-leading software to assist here. We are able to provide full field optimization studies, from pore to process, as well as expertise in needed fields such as geomechanics (very important for deepwater fields) and asphaltene evaluation in the reservoir.
Offshore: As you know, many offshore field development projects fail to produce even 50% of the hydrocarbons in the targeted reservoir. How can OneSubsea help operators increase ultimate recovery?
Garding: As the industry moves toward an ever-increasing need to maximize recovery rates, multi-phase pumps are becoming more and more of a necessity; more than any other technology, they are key to increased recovery rates. At OneSubsea, we are unique when it comes to subsea multi-phase boosting in that we have been working in this field, through our Framo Engineering legacy, since the 1980s. We have installed all currently operating subsea multi-phase pumps in the world today. More than two million running hours have accumulated on the more than 85 seabed pumps delivered. The meantime to failure for these units is statistically in excess of 15 years, an impressive number that very clearly demonstrates the robustness of this technology. Combined with the cost-effective and efficient installation and intervention method, this has proven to be an effective tool to increase production and recovery rates from roughly 30 oil fields worldwide. Multi-phase pumps are a very effective tool to increase oil recovery and reduce the overall cost per barrel, and our experience with this technology makes us a leader in the quest to achieve ultimate recovery.
Offshore: What is OneSubsea's approach to asset integrity?
Garding: Condition monitoring based on real-time data is an integral part of the operational support that we provide for all of our products and systems. The OneSubsea FRIEND Remote Surveillance and Diagnostic System provides valuable diagnostic information that enables proactive support for operational challenges and early detection of potential equipment upsets, thereby avoiding interruptions to production, extending equipment life, reducing operational costs, safeguarding equipment uptime, and reducing unplanned interventions.
Offshore: Which part of your business shows the greatest prospects for growth?
Garding: We see multi-phase subsea boosting/compression and life-of-field services, including brownfield redevelopment efforts and intervention, showing the greatest prospects for growth. The industry has only scratched the surface in its use of energy creating technology on the seafloor. We are seeing incredible results and better than expected reliability with our rotating equipment on the seafloor. As more operators get comfortable with the technology, this will surely be an area of explosive growth for OneSubsea. Additionally, every operator would like to get more out of their existing wells. We are getting pulled into many brownfield activities, and our portfolio of services and products addressing this space has tremendous growth potential.
Offshore: What will be the biggest challenges to subsea oil and gas development in the years ahead?
Garding: Cost reduction and improving recovery factors are the biggest challenges facing subsea oil and gas development in the years ahead. As those in the industry know, these are challenges that have existed for many years, and now more than ever, the industry has a need to reduce costs and increase recovery rates from both mature and new fields. We are working closely with operators to reduce overall development costs by offering more standard products and processes. The adoption of industry and customer specific standards will lead to significant reductions in cost and development time. Additionally, we believe the development of new, cost-effective and efficient technologies – of which OneSubsea finds itself on the cutting-edge – and the active use of these technologies is the only way to attack these challenges; significantly reducing overall investment in field infrastructure, improving recovery rates, and maximizing return on investment. Embracing these innovative technologies will lead the industry to overcoming the financial challenges in subsea developments.
