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02 Pipeline welding enhancements 04 New riser technologies 05 Precision performance on Pazflor 06 Groundbreaking geotechnics 07 Cutting-edge simulation 08 Mechanically lined pipe extends reach Subsea hydrocarbon sampling skid 09 Swaged end connection for reel-lay pipe-in-pipe 10 Fleet development update 12 AIV commercialised New multipass and backfill ploughs
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Pipeline performance is currently being challenged on a number of fronts not only by high demands on the performance of pipeline welding processes and the assurance of the integrity of girth welds, but also by the increasing usage of higher strength steels, clad/lined and solid corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) pipe. Subsea 7 is implementing a welding methodology which meets the following criteria: Adoption of a common approach to welding processes and equipment across all fabrication sites Use of welding processes which allow the heat input to be controlled precisely to optimise weld mechanical and corrosion properties whilst ensuring weld soundness Use of mechanised welding whenever practical in order to minimise welder intervention. Subsea 7s reeled pipeline production facility at Vigra in Norway, accommodates the latest mechanised welding technology, and
To find out more about any of the technologies featured in this issue contact John Mair, Technology Development Director at john.mair@subsea7.com or email communications@subsea7.com
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demonstrates how careful assessment of project requirements and production factors can deliver cost-effective welding solutions. The new technology is about to be deployed in Brazil, and will thereafter be rolled out to Subsea 7s other fabrication sites worldwide. In the case of larger-diameter carbon steel pipelines, the use of the mechanised Pulsed Gas Metal Arc Welding (PGMAW) process is now established as the welding method of choice for both riser and flowline applications. The process utilises low-heat input which results in excellent mechanical properties in the girth welds. The process can be deployed using either single torch, or in the case of larger diameter pipe, dual torch welding in order to improve productivity. This system is highly mechanised so that the role of the welding operator is simply to supervise the process with minimal intervention required. Since the current welding system was introduced to Vigra in early 2011, about 400km of carbon steel pipeline have been fabricated, with productivity and quality exceeding targets. The overall weld repair rate, which is a key quality indicator, is less than 0.5%. Subsea 7 has further developed the PGMAW process for use in the fabrication of metallurgically clad pipe. Welding of clad pipe requires the use of dissimilar welding filler material, i.e. Alloy 625. Subsea 7 has carried out extensive welding trials to optimise pulsed welding parameters and shielding gas composition. The qualified PGMAW solution makes use of the Controlled Metal Transfer (CMT) process for root welding, an advanced PGMAW technique which allows the weld root to be deposited very precisely, giving good control of the root bead quality and profile. These features are essential to maintain the corrosion
performance of the clad pipeline. During production, an internal camera and laser profiling device is utilised to perform an assessment of the quality of the root bead. The developed welding solution will be implemented in production this year for a number of pipeline projects, which will involve over 70km of metallurgically clad and mechanically lined pipe risers. For smaller diameter pipes (4-inches and below) a mechanised welding system has been developed by Subsea 7 and implemented at Vigra. A key benefit of this system is to provide a more precise control of the heat input in order to maintain the optimum mechanical and corrosion performance. This solution, initially deployed on a 2-inch duplex stainless steel service line, was based on the use of the orbital Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process using the Polysoude welding system. Production welding has been in progress since November 2011 with weld quality and productivity meeting expectations, and has confirmed that this technology can be successfully deployed on a global basis. The 2-inch duplex line was also a Vigra first for the use of an automatic arc monitoring system on the firing line to capture and record the essential welding parameters. Operations will begin in 2013 at Subsea 7s new Global Welding Development Centre in Glasgow, which will incorporate 18 welding bays including facilities for J-lay and S-lay pipeline welding, and will act as a central technical authority for the development and qualification of all welding procedures for all Subsea 7 pipeline fabrication bases around the world. This major initiative by Subsea 7 will give clients the assurance of quality and delivery of pipeline welding performance at a competitive cost. For further information contact eric.law@subsea7.com
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Jumper
Buoyancy
SCR
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manifold followed by the operation of a jacking system to slide the 400t, sixstorey high SSU towards the manifold to mate three connections simultaneously. The Seven Eagle performed the SSU umbilical installation and the tie-in of the first pair of four multi-phase pumps. The landmark project, in which first oil was achieved ahead of schedule including the development and installation of new technology, underlines the importance of effective interfaces between suppliers, contractors and client. Subsea 7 continues to develop new deployment systems including fibrerope and active-heave compensation that are deemed essential in the deployment and retrieval of sensitive rotating machinery and processing systems in ever-increasing water depths of the future.
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Groundbreaking geotechnics
In 2011, Subsea 7 commenced accelerated development in the field of Geotechnics in two areas of great significance for our clients deepwater operations, how seabed soils and pipelines interact, and how an enhanced appreciation of soil behaviour and failure mechanisms can optimise foundation design, particularly for very soft deepwater clays. Pipelines Subsea 7 actively participates in the Safebuck series of JIPs - currently in its third phase - but we have also internally funded work investigating the dynamic embedment (and hence friction and stability) of pipes laid on soft clays which are typically found at the deepwater sites where we work. Another key challenge being addressed is an improved understanding of the behaviour of carbonate sediments which are widespread in some developing oil and gas-rich regions such as Australia. Carbonate-rich soils exhibit different behaviour to their non-carbonate counterparts, so Subsea 7 undertook a study to investigate the response of carbonate soils to cyclic pipe loads by model testing in a geotechnical centrifuge.
Apparent friction derived from cyclic axial friction tests
Foundations In our subsea construction business, there is constant pressure to optimise foundation design to be as efficient as possible in terms of installation without compromising functionality. Subsea 7 has produced recent research at the highly respected Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems at the University of Western Australia into an optimised design methodology that has led to the possibility of reducing the size of shallow foundations such as PLET mudmats by 20%, or alternatively able to withstand larger jumper loads. The geotechnical engineer is always interested in finding the most critical failure mechanism of a foundation. Subsea 7 has teamed up with the university to develop a new 3D analysis tool which could potentially halve the engineering hours spent designing foundations under complex loading.
Looking to the future Emerging challenges in the geotechnical industry are likely to include: developing and improving the constitutive model for carbonate soils and applying it to foundation and pipeline design how to quantify the degrading effects of solid hydrate and hydrate dissociation on soil properties further optimisation of foundation designs as large and heavy processing facilities are moved subsea developing design methods for ultra-deepwater soils where soil strength is more dominated by viscous behaviour than traditional shear strength finding novel and effective ways to protect subsea infrastructure in the Arctic or ice-prone regions.
The results of this study are counterintuitive to those predicted by classical soil mechanics, and the work represents a significant step forward in evolving a new constitutive model to describe the behaviour of carbonate soils.
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Cutting-edge simulation
Subsea 7 has developed one of the most powerful installation simulation packages ever built, including unique finite element analysis (FEA) capabilities, and successfully installed the hardware on board construction vessel the Seven Seas for effective on-site operative training. The programme was developed over a two-year period for the Block 31 project offshore Angola. An unusual aspect of this deepwater project is the mid-water pull-in of the flexible risers that connect the vertical risers to the FPSO. These operations are carried out at an average depth of 200m, which presented uncommon problems. Unlike most pull-ins, the tasks are performed in a situation where everything in the scenario is mobile. The Upper Riser Assembly (URA), while weighing several hundred tonnes, can be easily moved and rotated should the ROV push it. When the flexible risers are attached to the subsea winch wires and the load transferred from the vessel crane to the winches, the URA, which in itself is dynamic, tends to follow the riser lay direction for many metres which has the potential to compromise the minimum bending radius (MBR) of the flexible. The situation was risk-assessed, and it was decided that the risks could be mitigated by building the nine different scenarios (there are nine flexible risers) in a simulator. This would allow procedures to be checked, and also facilitate pilot training. The simulation predictions were shown to correlate well with measurements taken before and during the actual offshore operation. The development of the simulator though 2010 and 2011 pushed the pilottraining software and hardware well beyond their existing capacity, due to the large number of flexible and moving objects in each scenario. Most simulation training takes place at Subsea 7s site in Aberdeen, but for this project it proved more effective to train the ROV pilots, superintendents, and
bridge supervisors on board the Seven Seas, in an environment with which they are already familiar. The simulations feature: Variable sea conditions which can produce realistic motions of the Seven Seas (Subsea 7s construction vessel on Block 31) Sea currents that can be varied in both strength and direction at different depths to replicate the currents throughout the entire 2,100m water column Two Hercules ROV systems, each with fully working manipulators and three selectable onboard cameras Real-time FEA package calculating loads on, and MBR of, the flexibles Two subsea winches complete with working line-out meters and load cells.
The simulation FEA calculates the minimum bending radius of the flexible during ROV operations
The on-board simulator uses the existing Hercules 23 control console, with an additional six powerful PCs. A switch disconnects the topside control system from the ROV and changes operations from normal ROV control to simulation mode (this is only done when the vehicle is on deck!).
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The full programme was performed in accordance with DNV Qualification (DNVRP-A203) and was previously awarded the certificate for fitness for service.
S-N curves showing the number of fatigue cycles reached to date on three test strings (RF1, RF2, RF3). No failure of the pipe or liner seal welds has been recorded at the DNV class C.
An extensive NDE validation programme was conducted between Subsea 7 and BUTTING to qualify the inspection technology (DNV) and demonstrate the capacity to detect any minute defects in the pipe end overlay welds and seal weld at the transition between liner and overlay. The combination of the high-quality manufacturing process and inspection technology is fundamental to ensure the in-service reliability of the technology. For further information contact gregory.toguyeni@subsea7.com
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FE analysis
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Subsea 7 has been awarded a contract to provide a 550t top-tension PLSV for Petrobras for delivery in 2014. This top-tension capability gives the vessel Subsea 7s highestperforming flexible pipelay capability in the fleet, and among
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Seven Inagha
Subsea 7 has an impressive track record in developing innovative equipment, and this is confirmed by a new vessel joining the fleet in 2012. The Seven Inagha started her life in 2011 as a high-capacity Gulf of Mexico liftboat. During her construction, she was purchased by Subsea 7 and began her conversion into an extremely capable platform for hook-up operations in West Africa. The Seven Inagha is effectively a vessel with legs, and, unlike most conventional jack-ups, can mobilise to a work site under her own power. She has an impressive lifting capacity with two 295t cranes fitted, and will commence operations offshore Nigeria. With enhanced facilities able to accommodate up to 150 people on board, she will provide utility services and support to hook-up teams on offshore installations. The three eye-catching tubular 97.5m legs have pairs of racks which allow the 36 planetary motors to jack the hull at a speed of 2.4m per minute, elevating the hull to a maximum height of 88m above the seabed in water depths of up to 76m when operating in hook-up mode.
Seven Viking
Due for launch in late 2012, the Seven Viking is designed as a next generation Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) vessel, with enhanced seakeeping qualities and environmental performance. The Seven Viking will enter a long-term frame agreement with Statoil for operations in the North, Norwegian and Barents Seas. The Seven Viking incorporates a number of design features to minimise mobilisation times and optimise transit speeds, most notably an innovative hull shape which offers increased foreship volume and slender waterlines. As well as offering improved seakeeping capabilities (fully operational in 5m significant wave height), this design also provides a larger working deck area, with a raised freeboard and working stations enclosed in a heated indoor hangar to enable IMR operations in rough seas and extreme temperatures. Other innovations which facilitate harsh weather operations include a skidding module handling system to store and move up to eight different modules into the moonpool, eliminating the risk of hanging loads, and de-ice facilities and a strengthened hull for operations in Arctic areas.
Seven Havila
The state-of-the-art diving support vessel, the Seven Havila, which is owned by Subsea 7 and Havila Shipping and is widely considered to be the most advanced vessel of its type in the world, has achieved a world first by simultaneously deploying eight saturation divers from a single vessel. The advanced diving system on the vessel includes a ten-chamber, 24-men fully computerised saturation suite, with a double bell handling system capable of working down to 400m and up to 6m significant wave height.
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Backfill Plough 2
Our new Variable Multi-Pass Plough (VMP), as the name suggests, has the capability to perform a number of passes through the seabed to achieve the specified depth. However, where the VMP has a significant advantage over other ploughs is in its ability to alter its cut depth without recovery, thereby reducing operational timings. Another design innovation is the VMPs fore-cutter, in front of the main cutting tool, which enables this plough to function in stiffer soil conditions. The VMP already has a proven track record, completing an extensive variety of pre- and post-cut trenches in varying soil
The ploughs have already been deployed by another recent addition to the Subsea 7 fleet - the highly versatile Skandi Skansen which, with a 250t heave-compensated crane, a 300t A-Frame and a bollard pull of 350t, is ideally suited to support many field installation operations, including ploughing campaigns. For further information contact farquhar.mitchell@subsea7.com
www.subsea7.com
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Subsea 7, 2012. Information correct at time of going to press.