Subsea Manifolds With Removable Modules for Non-Disruptive Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing subsea manifolds require expensive and disruptive recovery for maintenance, and in-line tees lack the benefits of traditional manifolds, leading to inefficient and costly infrastructure adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A subsea distributed manifold system with removable modules and flow control means that allows selective routing of production fluid through multiple pipelines, incorporating flow access hubs and functional modules for flexible integration with existing infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional subsea manifolds are used, then fluid control and measurement capabilities are provided, but maintenance requires expensive and disruptive recovery operations with large vessels
Solution Approach 1:
The manifold system is divided into modular components: permanent subsea manifolds with flow access interfaces, removable flow access hubs, and detachable flowlines. This segmentation allows individual components to be replaced or maintained without recovering the entire manifold system, reducing maintenance cost and disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow control and measurement equipment is extracted from the permanent subsea manifold and placed in removable flow access hubs that can be detached and replaced independently. This extraction enables maintenance of control equipment without disrupting the main manifold infrastructure.
2Ease of manufacture
If in-line tees are used for future tie-ins, then initial expenditure is reduced, but the system lacks the benefits of traditional manifolds and requires disruptive adjustments
Solution Approach 1:
The subsea manifold system is designed with universal flow access interfaces that can accommodate multiple types of connections (permanent and temporary, different flowline configurations). This multi-functionality allows the system to provide both the cost benefits of simple tie-ins and the full functionality of traditional manifolds through removable modules with various capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static in-line tee configurations to dynamic configurations with removable flow access hubs that can be added, removed, or replaced based on operational requirements. This dynamic adaptability allows the system to evolve from simple tie-ins to fully functional manifold operations.
3Ease of manufacture
If in-line tees are used, then initial cost is reduced, but any equipment failure requires recovery of the entire manifold
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the manifold into permanent infrastructure (subsea manifold body, flow access interfaces) and removable components (flow access hubs, flowlines, control equipment). This segmentation reduces recovery complexity by allowing failure-prone components to be replaced independently without recovering the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The design enables selective recovery of only the failed or obsolete removable modules (flow access hubs, flowlines) while leaving the permanent subsea manifold infrastructure in place. This selective recovery approach reduces both cost and complexity compared to recovering entire traditional manifolds.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a subsea oil and gas production installation, methods of installing the installation and methods of use. The installation comprises a subsea production system comprising a first production pipeline and a second production pipeline, a first subsea manifold in fluid communication with the first production pipeline comprising a fluid access interface and a flowline connector, a removable module fluidly connected to the fluid access interface of the first subsea manifold and configured to receive production fluid from one or more subsea wells and a second subsea manifold in fluid communication with the second production pipeline. The first subsea manifold defines a first flow path between the fluid access interface and the first production pipeline and a second bypass flow path between the fluid access interface and the flowline connector. The first and the second subsea manifolds are fluidly coupled to one another by a connecting flowline which is connected at a first end to the flowline connector of the first subsea manifold. The removable module comprises a flow control means operable to selectively route the production fluid from one or more subsea wells into the first production pipeline via the first flow path defined by the manifold, and/or into the second production pipeline via the second bypass flow path, the connecting flowline and the second subsea manifold.