Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
LONDON, Aug. 14 -- Statoil ASA has installed the 1,250-tonne Tordis subsea production unit near Gullfaks field in the Norwegian North Sea, using the Saipem S7000 heavy-lift crane vessel.
The system is said to be the world's first subsea installation to separate water and sand from oil wells and pump them directly into the bedrock from the seabed, a process that needs no energy-intensive detour to a surface platform.
The project will improve oil recovery on Tordis to 55% from 49%, essentially producing an additional 35 million bbl of oil (OGJ Online, Aug. 3, 2007).
Marine operations in Tordis field will continue over the next few months, Statoil said. The seabed separator will be tied back now with pipelines and control cables to the Statoil-operated Gullfaks C platform, and subsea separation will begin this autumn.
Although the unit was successfully installed as planned, a man from Saipem fell overboard and died during the process when the Tordis structure was at a depth of 180 m. Statoil has launched an investigation.
Oil is transported from Tordis by pipeline to Gullfaks C, 11 km to the southeast, for processing, storage, and export.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].
