OT5301 Subsea Systems

A/Prof Loh Wai Lam

 Subsea System Architecture
Terminology – Tieback

A tieback is a common term used to refer to a connection of a subsea well or cluster

being connected via production and control lines to a production facility.

The term is usually used where there is a pre-existing offshore platform and a new
field or well is being added
Terminology – Drill Centre

A drill centre is simply a location where a number of wells will be drilled. This is a location
selected to access an area of a reservoir. The development would normally use directional
drilling to reach a wider area of the reservoir from the drill centre.
Terminology – Satellite System
The term satellite in subsea developments refers to a field that is located separately from
existing field systems.

This field may be at some distance from the existing facilities, and is characterised by a
single flow and control connection to existing facilities

A satellite development may be

comprise of one well or it could be
a cluster of wells that are
connected together to form either
a fully independent production
sub-system or one that links in via
a subsea connection

If the connection to existing

facilities is subsea, then it is
usually connected in at a subsea
manifold

We will cover manifolds later in

this lecture
Single Satellite Well Tie-back

Surface Facilities
Flow-lines

Subsea Trees
Satellite Well Tieback System Features
Main Aspects:

 Tied back individually to surface facilities

 May be production wells, but might also be water injectors

 Can be a means of connecting in new successful exploration wells

 Another application is to connect in wells too far distant for economical

directional drilling

 Might utilize simple control systems but not always

 Eases ROV access for inspection and maintenance

 May facilitate use of flexible flow-lines

However:

 Rig moves are time consuming and costly

 Can lead to messy field architecture

 Smaller flowlines cool faster

Inline Well Connection Systems

 Inline wells are sometimes called “daisy

chained”. If two lines are run by each well, the
system is sometimes called “looped”.
Surface Facilities
 Reduction in field flow-lines and riser
connections to the host platform

 No saving on items such as rig moves, which

might be achieved with deviated drilling)

 A dual line system can provide the flexibility in

operations that a manifold can provide plus
flow-lines that can be heated with hot oil
during shutdown and can also be pigged.

 Eliminates the need for manifolds to

accommodate lower cost simple straight well-
bores.
Daisy Chained Looped
 Suitable for simple oil production systems
Inline Wells - Issues
 It can be difficult to lay out flow-lines past each
well especially in deeper water
• mooring spread issues
• large radius of curvature (flow-lines are
sized larger) Surface Facilities

 Larger flow-lines may cause turndown (low

flow) flow assurance problems

 Installation of inline tees can be a problem with

short interconnecting flow-lines and in curved
sections

 Not very common solution due to above

technical constraints

 No ability to establish where production flow is

actually coming from as flowmeters not easy to
fit in
Daisy Chained Looped

With these issues in mind, in-line systems are less

commonly used than manifold and template systems
which we will cover now.
 Subsea Manifold Systems
Manifold Cluster Systems

Surface Facilities
Flowline

Manifold

Subsea Trees
Manifold Cluster Functions
 Provides isolation to allow
downstream to be de-pressurised

 Collects produced fluids from

individual sub sea wells

 Can be used to distribute fluids (water

and gas and chemicals) and hydraulic
control system elements

 Can provide flow control for produced

and injected fluids

 Supports and mechanically protects

integral pipe work and valves

 Provides a connection interface for

production pipeline, injection (water
or gas) pipelines, well flow- lines,
chemical supply and test lines, and
the control umbilical

 Provides support for ROV intervention

operations
Subsea System - Flow Path
Satellite & Manifold Systems

Satellite Systems Manifold Cluster Systems

• Tied back individually • Reduced riser requirement
• Generally small field • Ease flow assurance
developments
problems
• Useful for complex geology
where reservoir is highly • Longer utilisation of subsea
compartmentalised infrastructure
• Usually straight wellbores • Offer circulation and
• Rig move time consuming and “communal” service, bulk
costly chemical, and well-test line
• Utilization of exploration and possibilities
delineation wells
• More complex subsea
• Smaller flowlines cool faster system architecture
• Might utilize simple control
systems • Flow and pressure balancing
can be a challenge
Decision Points for Manifold Concept Selection
 Number of well connections to be made
 Single or dual production flow lines
 Design Life (25 years, 50 years?)
 Flow assurance (thermal)
 Startup operating and shutdown plan
 Fabrication site location, required capacities
 Location/work vessels available (mobilization of
heavy lift vessel may be prohibitively expensive)
 Schedule & cost
 Potential for external damage loads
 Service and flushing lines
 While multiple clusters systems have been the
dominant deep water approach, templates are
getting more attention in deep water
Manifolds – General Design Considerations
 System specified through development
of a design basis detailing operational
requirements, fluid compositions,
intervention strategy, design loads, soils
data, appropriate specifications, etc.

 Structural loads to be considered,

including installation, abandonment,
dropped objects, snag loads (e.g. fishing
nets), thermal loads (differential
expansion) & intervention loads

 Pressured piping – normally to ASME

B31.3 (production and gas injection),
ASME B31.8 (water injection)

 Piggable lines 3D bends (separated by 3D

straight sections), butt welded or
clamped, designed to avoid debris
collection and dead legs (as far as
possible)

 Valves to API 6A or equivalent, usually

metal to metal seals, oriented to
minimize sand and hydrate problems
Example: BP - Thunderhorse Manifold Cluster
Gathering Manifolds
As well as being a means of connecting wells to a production
flowline, manifolds can also be used to gather flows from a
number of clusters to feed into a main subsea production
flowline

This example shows the Forvie manifold connecting two

field flow-lines together with its outlet going to the
Host production facility.

The design principles are similar, except that

the flow rates and pipe dimensions will
Be greater
Industry Standards for Manifold Design
Manifold Safety Isolation Functions

 Manifolds are often part of a safety system that

isolates the production system in emergency

 The equipment must therefore be designed such

that it meets a minimum safety integrity level

 Isolation valves create a barrier to meet regulatory

requirements

 For safety critical functions, a second Isolation

valve is used such hat there are dual barriers to
the environment

 Implications:
• Valves have to be certified for safety use
• Safety isolation valves require remote actuation
from the host facility
• Subsea control system is required to operate
Flow-line valves
Subsea Valves Come in All Shapes and Sizes

Choke Valve

Manifold Isolation Small Bore Chemical

Valve Isolation Valve
Subsea Production Manifold Valve Types

Generally two types of valve as far as production

valves is concerned

• Fail-safe valve – closes on loss of pressure

• Fail as-is valve

The operation of both types of valve is the same and the

system will include both types
Subsea Isolation Valves – Mandatory Requirements

• In the event on an Emergency Shutdown

Command (ESD), primary barrier hydraulic
circuits are to be configured such that control
hydraulic pressure is released. This release of
pressure shall initiate a valve closure which
over-rides all electro-mechanical control
elements

• All fail-safe valves must incorporate a spring

closure mechanism with at least one spring
element to guarantee sufficient valve closure
force in the event of an emergency shut-down.
In many cases dual spring closure is required.

• These primary barrier valves will normally be

part of the SIL (safety integrity level) classified
safety instrumented system (SIS).
Mandatory Requirements – Implications
These safety related requirements have significant implications to the
hydraulic system design:

• Hydraulic control valves must be

designed such that they release on
loss of hydraulic pressure

• Hydraulic system must be capable

of being collectively vented on ESD

• Spring force required must be

capable of fully closing the valve
under worst case conditions –
significant issue for slab (gate valves
when valves at each side may
already be closed)

Subsea Ball Valve with Spring closure and ROV over-ride

These constraints bring additional complexities to the subsea hydraulic system.

Subsea Valves – Valve Components
Isolating Gate Valves – Sealing Arrangements

Slab Gate Valve Wedge Gate Valve Split Gate Valve

Example of Isolating Valves in a Manifold

• One aspect of line isolation valves is that they can be very large

• This dimensional constraint drives the height of a subsea structure,

which then influences weight due structural requirements

• If weight is an issue it may be necessary to split the manifold up into

multiple structures to reduce the lift weight.
Manifold Valves – Inlet Isolation
 Valves are incorporated that isolate an inlet,
allowing the inlet to be disconnected and
isolated
 If not part of a safety system, these may be
ROV or diver operated
 Quite often dual production flow lines are
used, so connection to two headers would
be required to allow connection to either
manifold flow path
Manifold Functionality - Pigging and Circulation
 Inspection, liquids removal, corrosion inhibition, deposition
removal
 Pigging better done frequently than on ad hoc basis
 Hot oil circulation
• on as needed basis
• Planned or unplanned
• Time is of the essence – pipeline is cooling
• Decision required on failure mode of pigging crossover
valve ( open, closed, or as-is)
Pigging Crossover Valve

 Normal function is to isolate the two manifold

segments (headers) such that the two flow-lines
are independent
 Valve can be opened to facilitate pigging from
surface
 Secondary function is to allow hot oil circulation in
the event of a production shutdown to mitigate
hydrate & wax issues
 Failing closed may not be best solution if
requirement is to circulate oil after unplanned
 Matches header diameter leading to large size and
very large actuator if other than fail as-is
Manifold Pressure Retaining Requirements
 The manifold is part of a pressure
retaining process system

 It has to be designed in the same

way that a pipeline would be, such
that the piping can withstand the
maximum pressure that can be
applied to it

 The maximum operating pressure

(MOP) is normally derived from the
highest wellhead shut-in pressure
with an allowance for corrosion and
operating margin.

 The manifold test pressure is higher

than the MOP and is the pressure
that the manifold will be tested to
during construction

 This will be lower than the design

burst pressure for obvious reasons.
Manifold Structural Foundation
 Foundation requirements are specific to each field
development and this will be a further driver in
determining the type and size of manifold
 Accurate site-specific Geotechnical data is required to
establish the design requirement for the structure.
 Manifolds, templates, skids etc. have integral
foundation members to spread load on seabed such
that the structure is stable, resists settlement, and
arrests any thrust created by other components
 Mud mats with shear skirts or piles used depending
on magnitude of loads and soil characteristics
 In some cases, the foundation sub-structure is the
dominant component in the subsea structure
Subsea Structure Interaction with Seabed
 When a structure is placed on the seabed,
it will exert a distributed load across its
footprint.

 The seabed will provide an equal and

opposite reaction to the load such that
the structure rests stationary on the
seabed

 The average pressure on the seabed is

equal to the effective force/surface area
of the structure foundation

Weight in Water
 However this is a simplification and
things are not this simple in real life.

Subsea Structure  What other effects would potentially

come into play?
Seabed

Ground Reaction
Subsea Structure Interaction – General Case

 In reality, the structure interacts

with depending on the soil type
and ability to accept stress
levels, the soil may be displaced Weight in Water

 The mechanism is a strass

gradient that is highest tat the
centre of the structure base
flowing to the outer periphery,
displacing the soil

 This effect is much more

pronounced n soft
Plastic
unconsolidated silt conditions
deformation Ground Reaction
and light clays
Subsea Structure Interaction – Extreme case

 In very low strength soils, the Weight in Water

structure may sink fully into the
seabed, which would be highly
undesirable

 In cases where this is a potential

problem, it may be necessary to
incorporate additional measures to
prevent such an occurrence.

 There are a number of techniques

that can be employed that can
mitigate such issues
Deployment of Structures with Mud Mats
 Where soil conditions are too soft to
support the pressure applied by a
structure directly, it may be necessary to
spread the weight of the structure over a
wider area.

 This reduces the pressure at the seabed

interface to a level at which the soil can
withstand the pressure without
deformation and sinkage

 In the top example the mud mat is a

separate structure that is first deployed,
and the manifold structure is then
installed on top of the mud mat.

 In the lower example, the mud mat is an

integral part of the main structure.

 The decision is a balance between

complexity of structure and the lift weight
for the crane operation.
Subsea Structure/Pipeline Interaction

Weight in Water
Another issue is flow-line thrust which
has a loading effect on the subsea
structure and its foundations

Subsea Structure
Flow Line
Cold state
Ground Reaction

Weight in Water

Subsea Structure
Flow Line Thrust Friction
Hot state
Ground Reaction
Use of Mud Skirts
The mud mat can be supplemented by use
of a mud skirt.

This skirt is a vertical steel shear plate

attached to the bottom of the mud mat.
Main Structure
The main function is to create thrust stability
to prevent the structure from laterally
moving in the event of a horizontal force Mud Skirt
being applied.

The mud skirt can also help to manage the

shear gradient in the soil under the structure
by preventing the mud from flowing directly
over the side of the mud mat

The skirt thickness & depth and the weld

bracing must be calculated based on the
specific soil parameters and expected thrust
loading
Manifold Systems – External Corrosion Management
• Manifold structures will be permanently
installed for up to 50 years, depending on
the specific project

• Structural members are carbon steel

• Main method of external corrosion

protection for the steel structure is
through subsea paint coatings

• protection for uncoated surfaces is via

Cathodic protection using aluminium
magnesium anodes (see image)

• Anodes must be sized to impress a current

on the structure for the lifespan of the
structure with life extension allowance

• Beware of issues such as local differential

material corrosion and hydrogen induced
stress cracking
Practical Issues With Manifolds
 Manifolds can be very large and heavy
structures

 When considering manifold configurations and

options, an important consideration is size

 One aspect of size is where the fabrication yard

is located and whether there is a means of
transporting the completed structure to a
suitable vessel load-out point

 Another aspect is the weight and the road

infrastructure required to transport such a load

 Another consideration is the weight of the

structure and the vessels that are available that
would be capable of installing the structure.

 This issue is of particular importance in more

remote regions with less heavy lift barge access

 The implication her is vessel selection is part of

subsea manifold system considerations
Effect of Bottom Trawling on Subsea Systems
 A common romantic perception of fishing is a small boat at sea which looks benign
and harmless. Unfortunately this is not reality

 Modern bottom (benthic) trawl fishing systems are huge and can do a lot of harm if
impacting a subsea structure
 The trawl net is ballasted with chains or steel
wires that run along the seafloor.

 These bottom wires are tensioned using

hydrodynamic trawl doors that can weigh up
to 5 tonnes each

 A 5 tonne trawl door hitting a rigid structure

at 7km/hr is going to be a major impact on a
manifold structure causing serous damage

 In theory fishing exclusion zones would

prevent this…

 However structures attract fish, and fish

attracts fishermen, regardless of regulations –
numerous incidents, never rely on regulation!

 System design to prevent damage is required

Trawl Protection Structures
So, in shallow water, benthic trawl fishing is a major
hazard for subsea structures and flowline
equipment. There are three main issues:

o Impact damage to production equipment

o Foundation loading during the impact event and
subsequent impact on integrity
o Displacement of structure causing damage to
connections

Commonly structures deployed in shallow water (in

some cases up to 1,000 metres!) are designed to
survive trawl interaction and to try to get the trawl
wires and chains to ride over the structure rather
than snag on it
Cartridge Type Manifold Structures
Where deployment weight or dimensions are an
issue, in some cases it my be feasible to split the
manifold into two main sections

• Foundation section
• Process section

This has two advantages over a single structure:

• The installation is done in two lifts, each

with a lower total weight

• The foundation sub-structure can be

built in a separate yard which does not
have to have facilities that fabrication of
the process section may need

This construction method allows flexibility over

the construction location and reduces the
dimensions and weight for transportation and
installation.
Lift and Lower Installation

Heavy Lift
Vessel

 Good for shallow water deployments but increasingly difficult in deeper waters
 Deepwater deployment systems can utilize man-made fibre lift lines to reduce self-
weight that steel wire lines would suffer from
 Load stability is a major consideration for deep water installation
Considerations for Deepwater Lifts
Challenges :

 Static weight at crane tip increases linearly with

lift wire length.

 The resonance period of the lifting system

increases with cable length.

 Dynamic forces may increase due to resonant

amplification induced by the vertical crane tip
motion.

 Only solution is to use a heavier construction

vessel to change motion characteristics

 This could be through utilisation of drilling unit to

deploy structures

 Alternative is heavy lift barge, but this may not

be available
Deepwater Oscillation Issues
Deepwater Lifting Operations Resonance
Example Case
Estimated Peak Dynamic Force at Depth
Installation with Drilling Riser
Deepwater drilling units are much
heavier than normal construction vessels
(e.g. 45,000 tonnes)

Their lower natural period of motion and

internal riser deployment draw-works
and heave compensation systems allow
much more stable deployment of
structures, reducing load resonance risk

The manifold is brought to site by

construction support vessel and the load is
transferred either on the surface or subsea
on to the riser system such that the full lift
load is taken by the riser

If the load path were to be concentrated on

a single hang-off hub on the manifold, the
structural design may be very different to a
normal four-point lift, so deployment tooling
on the riser would be a better alternative
Subsea Systems – Brownfield Developments
Brownfield is a term used where a existing subsea development is being extended or
connect a further subsea development into an existing flow path.

The systems engineering exercise is now to establish how a new production flow could
be connected into existing facilities and how this new production flow and composition
would integrate through the life of both the existing and new production assets
System engineering in these
projects often exposes a gap in
knowledge of the status of
existing facilities and to what
extent it can accept further
production flow

Other issues such as pressure

and temperature range that the
facilities can handle can also be a
challenge as can underlying flow
assurance measures

It is quite often easier to develop

the new field independent of
existing subsea infrastructure
and to tie the production lines
back to the host facility directly
 Subsea Template Systems
Subsea Template Systems

The subsea template is a structure that houses a

drilling template (anything up to 10 or sometimes
more wells), manifold valves, hydraulic, electrical
and chemical distribution etc.

Unlike clustered manifolds, the template structure

is installed on the seabed first and then the well is
drilled through the base structure

As the system is compact, it is generally easier and

less expensive to deploy and maintain

The complete system can be tested onshore prior

to deployment as a full systems integration test.

However it limits the type of access to the

reservoir – see later

Also, access to equipment for ROV systems is

more constrained
Difference between Template & Manifold Systems

Template System Manifold Cluster System

Wells Drilled Through Template Wells Drilled Around Manifold
structure support structure

 Selecting the best number of drill centres is a key element in prospect

development
 These drill centres could be either templates or manifold supported
Note:
Within the template structure there is usually a manifold subsystem so a template
also provides similar functions as a manifold plus has the wellheads and trees
integral to the structure
Subsea Template Based Well Construction

1 2

4 3
Template Considerations

Lower cost, faster, well Wells not drilled until template

connections in place
Better protection against Shallow reservoirs may
fishing, icebergs, etc preclude use
Larger piping and close Wells are in close proximity
coupling assists flow Installation in deep water may
assurance require novel approaches – can
Reduces complexity of field be costly to install with
architecture conventional methods
“Preassembled” system Access for ROV intervention
saves time in field and maintenance requires
construction, facilitates careful planning
system testing
Example: Captain Field Template

 65x18x9 metres
 1740 T
 18 wells
 16” gas line
 12” test line
 12” power water line
 12” Water injection line
 3” service line
 3” future polymer injection line
Example: Ormen Lange Field Template

44 x 33 x 15m 1150 T
Complete Subsea System with Manifolds and Templates