Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Paradigm Flow Services, which provides blockage removal for the oil and gas sector, has developed a subsea umbilical flushing unit (SUFU) that the company said eliminates environmental issues and reduces cost for operators. The technology has recently been deployed in mature UK continental shelf fields in pilot projects worth more than £1 million ($1.6 million).
SUFUs can be used to flush chemical or hydraulic subsea umbilical cores, and uses a containment system to allow onshore disposal and compliance with environmental regulations.
Rob Bain, managing director of Paradigm Flow Services, said, “Conventional approaches to subsea umbilical flushing demand that a dive support vessel is on location for days. The SUFU eliminates this need, saving operators in the region of £1 million per flushing operation based on average vessel rates. The other alternative would be discharging into the sea, which poses major environmental issues. We developed this technology to provide a financially and environmentally viable option for oil and gas companies.”
Connected to any part of the umbilical distribution system or tie-in points, SUFUs also incorporate a non-return valve to eliminate migration of flushed fluids and debris back into the cleared line. The manifold features a “sample whip” that can be used to contain a sample of the clean fluids to confirm that the line has been successfully cleared post-flushing.
02/05/2014
