Seabed compressor ready for tests
Statoil said the world’s first subsea wet gas compressor station is ready for final testing before being installed next year at Gullfaks C field in the North Sea.
It said subsea compression, combined with conventional low-pressure production in a later phase, will extend the productive life of the Brent crude reservoir. Output will grow 10%, or 22 million barrels of oil equivalent, to 73%.
Statoil developed the compressor in cooperation with One Subsea (formerly Framo Engineering). It consists of a 420-tonne protective structure, a compressor module with two 6700 hp (5 MW) compressors, and all necessary topsides equipment and controls. It will be installed at 440 ft. (135 m) and tied into existing templates and pipelines 9.3 miles (15 km) from Gullfaks C.
The unit was assembled and mechanically commissioned at Radøygruppen’s yard at Radøy. One Subsea will perform final system integration tests at Horsøy, near Bergen.
Statoil said seabed compression is more effective than a conventional topside compression and saves weight and space on a production platform. It said a wet gas compressor does not require any treatment of the gas, permitting smaller modules and a simpler construction on the seabed.