The 2009 Offshore Technology Conference in its Spotlight on New Technology awards recognized 14 innovations that provide benefits beyond existing technologies. To qualify for the award, companies have to have proved out the technology through either full-scale applications or successful prototype testing.
Award recipients included:
- 2H Offshore for the INTEGRistick dynamic curvature sensor to monitor the condition of deepwater subsea structures.
- Schlumberger Ltd. for the subsea subC-strip and subC-collar to monitor the condition of subsea flowlines.
- GE Oil & Gas Co. for the VetcoGray SemStar5 subsea electronics module to control subsea production.
- Baker Hughes Inc. for the TORXS expandable liner hanger system.
- Baker Hughes for the Frac-Hook multilateral system to facilite hydraulic fracturing.
- Weatherford International Ltd. for the OneTrip StarBurst multilateral system.
- Cameron-Nautronix for the NASMUX acoustic system to control subsea blowout preventers.
- Reelwell AS for the Reelwell Drilling Method (RDM) to facilitate managed pressure drilling.
- US Synthetic Bearings for polycrystalline diamond radial bearings for installation in mud motors, turbines, power generation, and rotary steerable tools.
- Welltec AS for the Well Cleaner PST power suction tool for cleaning sand from wells.
- ProPure AS for the compact one-shot ProSalt mixer system, used in desalting crude.
- Technip for the amplitude-LNG loading system.
- Schlumberger’s WesternGeco unit for coil shooting that acquires full-azimuth marine seismic data continuously with a circular geometry, using one vessel.
- Specialized Products Co. for pulse technology-battery maintenance, conditioning and charging.
Structure, flowline monitoring
Two awards went to technologies for monitoring the state of offshore structures and flowlines.
2H Offshore’s INTEGRistick dynamic curvature sensor incorporates several strain gauges inside a corrosion-resistant metal housing to measure biplanar curvature changes to subsea structures to a resolution of 1 µstrain, creep free.
The company says it can be used as a standalone battery-powered unit or as a permanent online system, such as deployed on the Chevron Corp. Tahiti steel-catenary-riser (SCR) monitoring system.
Schlumberger’s subsea subC-strip and subrC-collar is another technology deployed on Chevron’s Tahiti project. The 600-ft optical sensors continuously monitor the flowline for buckle shape, pipe axial, and hoop strain and temperature, providing a picture of buckle response to operational production cycles.
Data transfer is via a field umbilical using a low-power optical modem communication system to the topsides data acquisition system.
Subsea production control
One award went to VetcoGray, a GE Oil & Gas Co., for its SemStar5, a subsea electronics module for controlling subsea production. The SEM has an open architecture IP enabled communication capabilities, a modular design, and subsea plug-and-play capabilities.
The SEM supports industry-standard interfaces SIIS 1-3 and IWIS as well as full sensor interface capability.
Well completions
Three awards went to technologies to facilitate well completions.
The Baker Hughes TORXS expandable liner hanger system has a variable-diameter swage and enables the running tool to expand the liner hanger before displacing cement. Expansion of the hanger does not reduce the system’s annular flow area. Packer setting occurs after displacing cement and is not dependent on plug bump. The company says the liner hanger uses balanced hydraulics so that one can safely rotate the liner and circulate down, without risk of premature activations.
Baker Hughes’s other award was for the Frac-Hook multilateral system that allows operators to pinpoint the placement of hydraulic fracturing jobs, providing greater access and control of laterals, according to the company.
Weatherford International Ltd. received an award for its OneTrip StarBurst multilateral system, which the company claims is the industry’s first one-trip Level 4 multilateral system.
It says the system because of the faster installation time is particularly well suited for wells in mature fields with declining production rates.
Drilling
Four awards concerned drilling technologies.
Cameron-Nautronix’s NASMUX is an acoustic system for controlling subsea blowout preventers (BOPs) and is an alternative to multiplexed control systems. The system replaces the command, control, and monitoring aspects of a control umbilical with an acoustic system that minimizes topsides equipment, the company says.
The Reelwell Drilling Method (RDM) allows accurate pressure management and improved well control through closed loop fluid circulation, making it especially attractive for managed pressure drilling, according to Reelwell.
US Synthetic Bearings says its diamond radial bearings lengthen the bearing life of drilling mud motors and turbines compared with tungsten carbide or other hard metal bearings. The company uses its patent process to form and machine the polycrystalline diamond pads.
These bearings are for bit bearing applications such as in mud motors, turbines, power generation, and rotary steerable tools.
Welltec says its Well Cleaner PST power suction tool is for cleaning out sand from wells and can replace coiled tubing or slickline bailer sand cleanouts in high angle wells. The StatoilHydro and Royal Dutch Shell Group sponsored technology, run on electric-line, can lift sand into long bailer sections and has a 1 tonne/run bailing capacity compared with a 4-9 l./run capacity of slickline bailers, the company says.
Processing
One award went to a new crude desalting process.
ProPure AS’s compact one-shot ProSalt mixer system combines freshwater injection and crude-fresh water mixing by imposing a homogeneous shear stress of the dispersed fresh-crude flow.
The company says that this desalting process provides a homogeneous freshwater droplet size distribution, resulting in a more separable freshwater-crude mixture and correspondingly better use of injected fresh water.
LNG
Technip received an award for its amplitude-LNG loading system that allows the transfer of LNG in dynamic offshore conditions and involved the development and qualification of a new heavy-duty cryogenic flexible pipe systems.
The company says the flexible pipe is the key component of the loading system and expands the methods for transfer of LNG in offshore and near shore marine conditions.
Seismic
One award went to a seismic acquisition process. The WesternGeco coil shooting method acquires full-azimuth marine seismic data continuously with a circular geometry with a single seismic vessel.
Coil Shooting enhances current multi and wide-azimuth acquisition techniques that are used in complex geological areas, the company says.
Batteries
Specialized Products received an award for its pulse technology-battery maintenance, conditioning and charging that helps prevent battery failure caused by battery plate sulfation and related failure modes.
The company says that it has proved that the technology extends battery life by up to 5 times.