Offshore staff
ZURICH, Switzerland – The world’s first subsea gas compression system has completed five years of service at the Åsgard gas field in the Norwegian Sea.
It comprises two subsea HOFIM motor-compressor units from MAN Energy Solutions, which have run up 80,000 operational hours since September 2015 with an availability approaching 100%.
Randi Elisabeth Hugdahl, vice president of Åsgard Operations at Equinor, said: “Putting the compression system on the seabed near the wellheads improves recovery rates, and reduces capital and operating costs. Moreover, it has essential advantages in the form of improved safety for our employees and a significant reduction of the carbon footprint.”
She added that the HOFIM compressor systems had operated at full load since start-up, with overall performance exceeding expectations.
Equinor commissioned the equipment as pressure in Åsgard’s reservoirs would otherwise have been too low for stable flow.
The two 11.5-MW motor-compressor units operate on the seafloor at a depth of 300 m (984 ft).
According to MAN, the technology should extend the reservoirs’ productive life by a further 15 years, ensuring around 306 MMboe of production.
09/23/2020
