George Morrison is managing director of Aquaterra Energy and creator of the “Well Start” specialism (photo: Aquaterra Energy)

Aquaterra Energy, a global offshore engineering solutions provider, has won a major contract to supply subsea high pressure riser (HPR) equipment and services for a subsea abandonment project in the central North Sea.

The multi-million pound deal will see Aquaterra facilitate the abandonment of ten subsea wells via deployment of a subsea HPR system from a jack-up rig. The scope of work could be extended to include two further subsea wells bringing the total number of abandonments to 12.

Riser analysis was completed in-house by Aquaterra and validated by Bureau Veritas. It has confirmed a 50-year return storm operating envelope after HPR and rig optimisations were implemented. This has simplified the project operationally and reduced costs to the operator overall.

Aquaterra’s Initiation Engineering or “Well Start” specialism has been implemented on the project to deliver a one-stop shop for extensive expertise to optimise well activity by taking responsibility for the entire first phase of the well. This approach minimises third party interfaces across a client’s project and addresses supply and equipment requirements, before the introduction of a blowout preventer. It can also mitigate risk and cut down on costly logistics, capex/opex, the number of crew involved and therefore, helicopter and accommodation needs.

George Morrison, managing director of Aquaterra Energy, says, “Aquaterra has built a successful track record of jack-up and subsea high pressure riser operations over recent years using similar systems. The use of jack-ups can potentially mitigate the heavy loading implications and weather constraints often associated with semi-submersibles in shallow water and thus, extend the operating envelope and productive time through a reduction in waiting on weather.”

With global rates for semi-submersibles averaging around USD 250,000 per day in 2016, day rate rental charges for jack-ups in Europe and Asia remain considerably cheaper.

Morrison adds, “A change in the default mindset is needed to consider jack-up drilling units equipped with a HPR for shallow water subsea drilling, completion, intervention and abandonment activities as they can significantly reduce risk and lower operational costs when compared to a semi-submersible completing the same operation. Our project history and ‘Well Start’ service has shown that we are more than just an equipment provider but are a trusted turnkey solutions company. We can manage the risk and interfaces associated with jack-up subsea conversion packages to ensure it is safely and efficiently carried out. The cost savings, technical benefits and greater operational up time that this translates to, particularly during these challenging times, is key.”

The project is expected to be completed by Q4 2017.

Tags: Aquaterra Energy