Statoil has launched Cap-X, a new subsea development concept designed to reduce cost and increase efficiency.
The Norwegian oil giant, more than half of whose production comes from some 500 subsea wells, has already been exploring ways to reduce subsea development costs, in the wake of high subsea project cost inflation in recent years, compounded by low oil prices.
This has included exploring alternative options to subsea developments, including unmanned facilities - a relatively un-tested concept on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
At the Barents Sea Conference in Hammerfest yesterday, Margareth Øvrum, executive vice president for technology, projects and drilling in Statoil unveiled the new concept, Cap-X, which has been under development since 2013 and is aimed specifically at increasing the commerciality of potential resources in the Barents Sea.
Statoil says the design "could be the standard of the next generation subsea solutions."
It is described as a combination of existing and new technology. It would be a quarter the size of today’s subsea templates, at 10x10m compared to 22x22m for conventional single slot satellites. Instead of resting on four suction cans, it would be on one steel suction anchor, supplemented by a skirt and cap in glass fiber. It would be more modular, enable more operations from a vessel, instead of a rig.
Statoil says the technology increases the efficiency of horizontal drilling in shallow reservoirs, although didn't say what it regards as shallow. Thanks to the design, the main structure of the technology can be produced in shorter time by a larger number of suppliers, with potential for local production, Statoil says.
“We as explorers need to find resources that can be developed at a lower cost and with lower emissions. Cap-X can potentially have a significant impact on developing the resources in the Barents Sea and in other areas with shallow reservoirs”, says Jez Averty, senior vice president for the exploration Norway and UK cluster in Statoil.
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