All Electric XT Pilot

The control of subsea oil and gas wells by electrical actuation, is the way forward for the oil and gas business, leaving hydraulic actuation and its limitations behind. The first article was designed, built and tested according to subsea standards and operators requirements. This was a first step to prove the technology readiness for large scale projects. All-electric technology brings a series of advantages throughout the different phases, from system design to operations, such as: #The all-electric systems give higher degree of flexibility during system design # Higher flexibility and better performance #Higher operational performance by accurate and flexible operation of the system, providing real-time data to the operator #More effective operations, e.g. reduced time delay for valve operations and execution of function testing without affecting injection. #Cost reduction opportunities: The all-electric system will reduce CAPEX as it requires less equipment both subsea and topside as well as reduce size and weight of the subsea hardware, including umbilical's which usually is an expensive part of the investment. In addition, OPEX will also be reduced as hydraulic fluid systems will be removed. There will be also the possibility to run predictive maintenance and as the technology enables better understanding of the process and asset integrity, it also gives the opportunity for operators to take faster and more precise decisions. #More environmentally friendly No hydraulic fluid leakage to sea or topside and less consumption of materials. #Enabling digitalization The all-electric systems will make it easier to monitor functionalities in the system. It will enable a higher degree of condition monitoring and provide more data to topside, which will serve as a basis for more accurate operational decisions and data acquisition for future developments. In addition operational reliability is increased without compromising safety integrity. From a global perspective the reliability of the entire XT functions is similar or better than electro-hydraulic XT, due to the level of redundancy of electronics and the utilization of simple and robust mechanical components.

With the successful conclusion of this project and having tested the technology according to the subsea rigorous standards and operators requirements, it is understood by the market, meaning future customers, that the technology is ready to be applied in tenders moving forward. Some Oil & Gas operators are including the technology as a base case in their call for tenders. The All Electric Technology is a key enabler for a low carbon footprint, hereby also addressing the upcoming future markets of CO2 Injection. The operators have a higher degree of flexibility during their system design phase and enables easier field expansion and tie-backs. The new systems are estimated to reduce CAPEX compared to today's electro-hydraulic systems. It requires less equipment both subsea and topside and simplifies the umbilicals. The OPEX for a field is estimated to be lower due to removal of the hydraulic fluid and infrastructure. It allows for continuous monitoring of valve position and condition of the asset and consequently a more efficient control of the SPS. The system is more resilient towards equipment failures, without losing production critical functionalities. Based on actual condition of the equipment, maintenance activities may be planned.

The All Electric XT Pilot project is covering engineering, qualification and demonstration of a standardized all-electric XT including all valves and control system elements. The test will move the all-electric XT up to a TRL 4 and so achieve the needed technology maturity for the first deployment. It is the next step for the components developed in the following projects: - Petromaks2 project 281917 “Certified battery shut down system” to prove a cost competitive battery driven FSC system as an alternative to using mechanical springs. - DEMO2000 project 296653 “Mechanical driveline for All-electric FSC actuator”, targeting qualification of the mechanical driveline - DEMO2000 project 309732 “Control Unit for All-electric FSC actuator” targeting qualification of the control system of an intelligent actuator system that merges the subsea control module functionality and the actuator control functionality - DEMO 2000 project 313765,"Power and Communication Gateway Module" for intelligent systems The benefits are many: Increased safety and robustness (operate actuators individually), more power (operate actuators simultaneously), increased maintainability (retract/fix/maintain actuators individually), Plug-Play testing (pre-built/pre-tested parts as stand-alone units). This gives higher availability and up time while lowering cost. Aker Solutions and partners are committed to realize the first build and test of the All Electric VXT on WH in Norway.