Subsea Manifold Segmentation for Well Isolation and Pigging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Deepwater hydrocarbon production is costly due to expensive fixed facilities and uncertain reservoir performance, necessitating a low-cost subsea manifold system for efficient production, maintenance, and evaluation of multiple subsea wells without disrupting fluid flow or requiring frequent disconnections.
Innovation Solution
A subsea manifold system that connects multiple subsea trees to a common riser system with jumper valves and control devices, allowing for fluid control, isolation of individual wells, and efficient pigging, while maintaining continuous production and enabling well workover without disconnecting the riser.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed facility is used for deepwater hydrocarbon production, then production capability is ensured, but development cost becomes enormously expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the production infrastructure into separate functional components: subsea trees at well locations, a manifold for fluid aggregation and control, and a common riser for surface connection. This segmentation eliminates the need for expensive fixed facilities while maintaining production capability through modular, relocatable equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The manifold acts as an intermediary device between multiple subsea trees and the common riser system. It provides fluid control, aggregation, and directional flow management, enabling cost-effective subsea production without requiring expensive fixed facilities by mediating the connection between wells and the surface through a flexible, relocatable platform.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple subsea wells are connected to a common riser system, then drilling costs are reduced, but fluid flow control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manifold divides the complex fluid control system into separate, independently controllable sections, with individual valves on each jumper and flowline. This segmentation allows simple control of each well stream while managing multiple wells through a common riser, reducing overall control complexity despite the number of connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The manifold serves multiple functions simultaneously: it aggregates fluid from multiple wells, provides individual well isolation through valves, enables directional flow control to different risers, and supports pigging operations. This multi-functionality consolidates complex control requirements into a single versatile device, managing fluid flow complexity while connecting multiple wells to reduce drilling costs.
3Measurement precision
If individual well isolation is enabled for production evaluation, then reservoir performance can be quantified, but manifold complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manifold incorporates individual valves on each jumper connecting subsea trees to the system, creating segmented flow paths. This segmentation enables isolation of any single well for production evaluation while maintaining connections to others, providing precise reservoir performance measurement without requiring complex manifold structures beyond simple valve integration.
4Productivity
If continuous production is maintained during well workover, then productivity is maximized, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manifold's segmented design with individual valves on each jumper allows isolation of a single well for workover while maintaining continuous production from other wells through the same system. This segmentation enables production continuity during workover operations without requiring complex redundant systems, as the modular valve architecture provides simple well-by-well control.
Data Source
AI summary
An improved subsea manifold system that is capable of being used in an early production system for producing hydrocarbons from a plurality of wells from a common riser system. The subsea manifold is able to control the fluid from a multiple of subsea wet-tree wells while at the same time giving the operator the option to isolate production from a single subsea well for production evaluation. The subsea manifold also includes a pigging loop which enables efficient pigging of the flowline(s) of the early production system.