U.K. combine pushes subsea processing

Hardy Oil & Gas plc, London, has formed a venture with two U.K.-based Halliburton Co. units to use and promote a new subsea oil and gas processing technology. Hardy will deploy and license Alphaprime technology, developed by Alpha Thames Engineering Ltd., Upminster, U.K., under an agreement with Halliburton Energy Development and Brown & Root Energy Services for which Hardy will be operator.

June 29, 1998

3 min read

Hardy Oil & Gas plc, London, has formed a venture with two U.K.-based Halliburton Co. units to use and promote a new subsea oil and gas processing technology.

Hardy will deploy and license Alphaprime technology, developed by Alpha Thames Engineering Ltd., Upminster, U.K., under an agreement with Halliburton Energy Development and Brown & Root Energy Services for which Hardy will be operator.

The Alphaprime technology comprises a seabed oil and gas processing module, designed to be light enough for deployment by a wide range of vessels for deepwater, remote satellite, and redevelopment projects, and to be cheap enough to make marginal developments viable.

Hardy said Alphaprime incorporates a number of unique and patented features, including new choke and valve technology operated with electric actuators, eliminating the need for heavy-duty hydraulic equipment.

What makes it different from other subsea processing technologies, according to Hardy, is a patented multiple pipe connector that enables the entire processing and separation module to be disconnected and removed for maintenance or upgrading without the need to shut down production.

John Walmsley, chief executive of Hardy, told OGJ that Hardy's motivation for setting up this venture was to make itself a more attractive partner for field development projects. Where Hardy involvement in a project is inappropriate, the partners will license the technology to other operators.

The technology

The combine is developing a module capable of handling 30,000 b/d of well fluids, but Walmsley said these modules could either be used in parallel or the design could be tailored to suit particular field requirements.

The modules weigh 50 tons and have 14 connection slots for wells, pipelines, and control umbilicals. They are being developed for use in water as deep as 2,000 m and at distances up to 80 km from a host platform or production ship, although Walmsley sees no reason they could not be used deeper or further away.

"There is no hard and fast cost for the modules yet," said Walmsley, "because they would need to be tailored to particular circumstances. Broadly, each module would cost $10-20 million, with the cost being towards the upper end at first."

Walmsley recommends using at least two of the modules on any given field to provide 100% redundancy of equipment. The modular design enables the unit's processing equipment to be lifted to the surface for repairs, leaving the module frame in place, without the need of a specialist vessel.

Alhough Hardy has not lined up Alphaprime technology for any of its own developments yet, Walmsley said Australia's Woollybutt discovery, where it plans to drill an appraisal well in the third quarter, may become the first application.

"If the well proves up the volumes we're hoping for," said Walmsley, "this technology will become a serious development option, though, given that Woollybutt is not in very deep water, a fixed structure may also be competitive.

"The classic uses for Alphaprime would be in deep water, for remote tie-back projects, or in offshore redevelopments to extend the life of mature fields. It will also be competitive to use instead of or in conjunction with FPSOs (floating production, storage and off- loading vessels) and will be beneficial for marginal fields."