Petrobras Marlim - Oil and Water Subsea

Separation

Brazil, Campos Basin

Landmark: World's first system for deepwater subsea separation of heavy oil and water that includes
reinjection of water to boost production in a mature field development
FMCs scope of supply consists of a subsea separation and pumping system. The subsea separation module will
separate heavy oil, gas, sand and water at a water depth of 2,950 feet (900 meters). The system will apply
FMCs separation and sand management technologies, utilizing a novel pipe separator design, licensed and
developed in cooperation with StatoilHydro. The separation system also includes cyclone modules that will
perform water treatment before reinjecting the water back into the reservoir.
The system will be jointly engineered between FMCs operations in Brazil, Norway and the Netherlands. Final
manufacturing and integration activities will be performed at the companys Rio de Janeiro facility, with
deliveries projected to begin in 2011.

StatoilHydro Tordis

Norway, Tampen Block 34/7

Landmark: The worlds first full-scale commercial subsea separation, boosting and injection system.
FMC has delivered a full-scale separation facility to enable re-injection of bulk water into a non-hydrocarbon
reservoir and send hydrocarbons through a multiphase pump back to Gullfaks C.
The system including boosting pumps has been designed to handle high amounts of sand (50-500 kg per day)
with its sand management system. Along with other upgrades to the field infrastructure, the recovery factor for
the Tordis field is expected to increase from 49 percent to 55 percent (approximately 35 million barrels).
The PLIM was installed during the field shutdown summer 2006. The water injection tree was installed early
2007, and the subsea separation, boosting and injection system summer 2007.
Tordis Subsea separation Boosting and injection station is now onstream.

System Description:
Pipeline Inline Manifold (PLIM)
The PLIM will be installed summer 2006 to interconnect the flowlines from the Tordis Subsea Manifold to the
Gullfaks C platform, allowing rerouting of the Tordis well stream to Gullfaks C via the Subsea Separation
Station.
The PLIM allows full bypass of the Tordis Subsea Separation, and will be installed during a planned
maintenance shutdown of the Gullfaks C Platform.
Water Injection Tree
The Water Injection Tree is a simple Xmas Tree consisting of a 12 ball valve. A conventional internal tree cap
is installed in the vertical entry section of the tree, allowing for workover of the well. The reinjected water is
pumped through this Xmas Tree through a 13-5/8 casing direct into the Utsira water reservoir. This is a
nonhydrocarbon reservoir with ambient pressure.
Subsea Separation Boosting and Injection (SSBI) Station
The Subsea Separation Station separates the water from the wellstream which is reinjected through the largebore Water Injection Tree. After separation, gas and oil are mixed and pumped via a multiphase pump back to
the Gullfaks C platform. The SSBI Station was installed in October 2007.

The Separation Station contains the following main elements:

Foundation Structure and Manifold
The Tordis SSBI Station has an independent conventional, overtrawlable foundation structure supporting the
manifold, the separation module and all other components. The structure has four suction anchors, one in each
corner for foundation and leveling.
The manifold module provides connection to the flowlines via the Rovcon connection system and interconnects
the various modules. The estimated installed weight of the Subsea Separation Station with manifolds and
separation modules is approximately 900 tons.
Separation Module
The well fluid from the Tordis field is first routed into the separation tank. The inlet cyclone separator in the
tank does a first separation where the majority of the gas is separated out and routed through a separate pipe
outside of the tank, thereby minimizing the size of the separation tank. The remaining water, oil and gas are
separated through the gravity principle inside the tank. The water is the heaviest part, which is pumped via a
water injection pump directly back into the Utsira reservoir through the Xmas Tree. Oil and gas are remixed and
pumped through a multiphase pump back to the Gullfaks C platform. Any deposit of sand inside the separation
tank is handled by the sand removal system.
The Separation Module is retrievable as a separate unit.
Sand Removal System
Any sand from the wellstream will deposit at the bottom of the separation tank. A flushing system with
specially designed nozzles has been developed to flush out the sand at certain intervals. The sand is transported

into the Desander Module, where it can be remixed with the injection water and reinjected into the reservoir
downstream of the water injection pump. Alternatively, the sand can be remixed with the oil and gas flow and
pumped back to the Gullfaks C platform.
Water Injection Pump
The Water Injection Pump is a standard Framo pump system which is driven by an electrical motor powered
through an electrical power cable from the Gullfaks C platform. The pump can be retrieved for maintenance by
a separate pump-running tool.
Multiphase Pump
The Multiphase Pump is a standard Framo pump, similar to the Water Injection Pump, and is powered through
an electrical power cable from the Gullfaks C platform.
It can also be retrieved by a separate pump-running tool.
Other
The Subsea Separation Station is equipped with two multiphase flowmeters (Roxar) which will measure the
composition of the well flow to prepare the separation system settings. A level monitoring system is installed in
the separation tank to monitor water, oil and gas interfaces which again provide input to the water pump speed
and the multiphase pump speed. The Subsea Separation Station includes one subsea control module with 51
functions to control the various functions of the station and communicate back to the Gullfaks C platform.

Main Suppliers:
CDS Engineering:

Separation System Design, Internals of the Separation Tank

Framo Engineering:

Water Injection Pump, Multiphase Pump, Topside Electrical Power System

ScanRope Subsea Cable: Subsea Electro-Hydraulic Umbilical

NN:

Power Cable

Roxar:

Multiphase Flowmeters

Leffer:

Separation Tank

Grenland Offshore:

Fabrication of Foundation Structure and Manifold

Tracerco:
monitoring.

Oil and Water Level Measurement, Sand Level Measurement, Process Profile

Total Pazflor

Angola Block 17
Landmark: First deepwater subsea processing system including subsea gas/liquid separation system in West
Africa
The Pazflor project is located in Block 17, in deepwater offshore Angola. The development area is located
approximately 25 miles (40 km) east of the existing Dalia FPSO and 93 miles (150 km) from shore.
The project will target development of hydrocarbons in two independent reservoir structures;
-Miocene reservoirs, in 600 m to 900 m water depth, containing heavy oil to be recovered using subsea
gas/liquid separation and liquid boosting
-Oligocene reservoirs, in 1,000 to 1,200 m water depth, containing light oil to be developed with a production
loop including riser bottom gas lift.
The overall development consists currently of 49 subsea wells connected via subsea production, injection lines
and risers to a spread-moored FPSO. The topside control system is designed to accommodate further 21 wells
and a fourth subsea separation unit.

Shell Perdido

U.S., Gulf of Mexico, Alamos Canyon Area Blocks 815, 857 & 859
Landmark: The Shell Perdido is the first full field subsea separation and pumping system in the Gulf of
Mexico.
This is FMC Technologies' second full field development with Shell utilizing subsea oil and gas separation and
boosting, following the award of the Shell BC-10 project in offshore Brazil. The Perdido project will have a
SPAR-based processing hub moored in an estimated 7,874 ft (2,400 m) of water, making it the deepest
production SPAR in the world. The Perdido project will utilize FMCs globally managed product standards,
supporting manufacturing and supply networks and project management processes.

Shell BC-10

Brazil, Espirito Santo State, Campos Basin, Block BC-10

Landmark: The Shell BC-10 is the first subsea system with gas/liquid separation and boosting.
The Shell BC-10 block is located approximately 75 miles (120 km) southeast of the coastal city of Vitoria, in
the state of Espirito Santo in water depths ranging from 4,920 to 6,562 ft (1,500 to 2,000 meters). This
development project will be the first full field development based on subsea oil and gas separation and subsea
pumping in Brazil. The BC-10 subsea systems will be engineered and manufactured at FMC Technologies
facility in Rio de Janeiro and will utilize FMCs globally managed product standards, supporting supply
networks and project management processes.
The first phase of the project included the development of three fields tied back to the FPSO, via subsea wells
and manifolds. The fields came on-stream in July 2009.