Submarine Rescue – The NATO Submarine Rescue System

15 March 2012 London Evening Meeting

Chairman Bob Allwood, Chief Executive, SUT

 

Flyer

 

Overview

Submarining in peace and war is widely acknowledged as one of the most hazardous arms of the services. The first modern submarines came into service in the last decade of the 19th century and many were lost due to poorly understood engineering and operational limitations. Despite the dramatic technological advances in World War 2 and its immediate aftermath, there have been a surprising number of submarine losses since then. Submarines usually sink with the loss of all on board and the nature of submarine operations means that these events have not been in the public eye. However, since the publicity surrounding the sinking of the Russian Submarine Kursk and the aftermath of the event, conducted in the stark glare of the western publicity machine, public interest has been stimulated. The UK is part owner of the NATO Submarine Rescue System and enjoys a peerless reputation as the world leader for its skills both as operator and manufacturer of submarine rescue vehicles. How has this come about? What are the true figures for submarine accidents and losses? How have things improved? What key systems and technologies make up a Submarine Rescue System? This presentation gave a short history of the subject and then approached these questions from the point of view of the acceptance into service of the NSRS and its subsequent exercises. It discussed the problems encountered and their solutions. It also described the likely sequence of events in a rescue attempt and the difficulties of co-ordinating the efforts of many countries that in their normal affairs are hardly on speaking terms and differ widely in their approach to the subject.

The presentation was given by the retired naval Commander Jonathan (Jonty) Powis who has been involved in the subject since 1995. Jonty was in the navy from 1974-2006 during which time he specialised in submarines and navigation. He saw action in the Falklands Conflict as the Navigating Officer of HMS Conqueror and subsequently commanded HM Submarines Unseen, Resolution and Victorious. He was serving in the MoD during the Kursk tragedy and was closely involved in the rescue attempt by the UK. Thereafter he was the Royal Navy’s operational commander of the rescue system and on leaving the service joined the Rolls-Royce team as the Rescue Manager in charge of bringing NSRS into service. He is now working to sell the same system to envious nations that crave the same assurance of reliable rescue for their submarine crews.

 

Decommissioning

13 June 2012 Aberdeeen Branch Evening Meeting

Chairman Brian Nixon, Chief Executive, Decom North Sea

 

Flyer

 

SUT+ and Pre-Talk

SUT+ Pre-Talks are targeted at developing professionals and newcomers to industry, with the aim of providing attendees with additional background subject knowledge to enhance the main SUT Presentations which follow. 

For the evening’s first SUT+ pre-talk on decommissioning, the presentation topics included:

• Overview of current international and UKCS decommissioning requirements
• General impact of decommissioning on operating assets
• Current issues and concerns facing UKCS operators.

This evening’s pre-talk started at 17:15. There was a 15 minute break between the end of the pre-talk and the start of the main meeting.

 

Presentations

Chairman Brian Nixon, Chief Executive, Decom North Sea

The North Sea oil & gas industry has a reputation for successfully extending the economic life of offshore production facilities.  However, there is now a growing recognition that the sector is facing a significant ramp up in decommissioning activity, leading to an expected market of over £1 billion per annum for the next thirty years.  Decom North Sea is leading the industry development in the decommissioning sector to support operator’s programmes and to assist companies to secure the associated business opportunities.  Brian Nixon provided a short overview of current activity.

 

Jim Niven, Stakeholder Manager (Brent Decommissioning Project), Shell

The Brent field was discovered in 1971 and production began in 1975. The Brent field has been in service for the UK for more than 35 years. Formerly Shell’s flagship asset in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), it is a household name in the North East of Scotland and much of the UK, as well as providing a benchmark for crude oil pricing around the world.

Brent Delta platform ceased production at the end of 2011 and engineering down of the platform is now underway in preparation for topsides removals in a few years time. The rest of the field (platforms Brent Alpha, Bravo and Charlie) continues to produce oil and gas although these platforms too will shortly reach their cessation of production.

Studies for the decommissioning of the Brent facilities commenced 2006 and the project is expected to take over a decade to execute.

In this evening’s talk, Jim described the scale and scope of the Brent decommissioning project as well as some of the complex challenges being addressed in preparation for the Decommissioning Programme.

 

Pieter voor de Poorte, Development Engineering & Projects Manager Shelley Decommissioning

An overview of the Shelley decommissioning project. A small subsea field (2 ESP production wells and manifold) tied back to the Voyageur, a  Sevan 300 FPSO. Gas to fuel and flare and oil export via shuttle tanker. The main focus being the decommissioning sequence and phasing of the work programme. A  CAPEX overview and demonstration of the re-use potential that may be feasible based on sufficient planning and focus for the recovered equipment.

 

Joe Quarini, Professor of Process Systems, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol – Ice Pigging: the pig that cleans the parts other pigs cannot reach!

The ice pig consists of a high ice fraction slurry with rheological properties which makes it ideal to use as a pig capable of cleaning the most complex topology, without any risk of it getting stuck. The technology is being rolled out throughout the world in the water supply industry, beginning to be used in the nuclear industry and being trialled in the food manufacturing sector. It requires no special launch or receiving station, is environmentally very friendly and can be easily made from sea water. The ice pig represents a paradigm shift in pigging technology. The presentation gave background information, how the ice pig is made, stored and deployed. It focused on the needs of the hydrocarbon recovery industry and identify its operation envelope; capable of pigging pipes of varying diameters (from 1mm to 300 plus mm) and varying lengths (up to 3.5km), of complex process equipment from valves to heat exchangers and of course removing loose deposits and oils from discarded complex topology ducts.

 

Deep Sea Mining

23 May 2012 North of England Branch Evening Meeting

Chairman Andrew Pople, Principal Consultant (Subsea), Atkins

Sponsored by Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) 

 

Report

 

Flyer

 

Presentations

Deep Sea Manganese Nodule Mining – The Next Wave of Research

Jon Machin, Director, Geomarine Ltd

During the 1970s a sum of around USD1 Billion (at today’s value) was spent  on manganese nodule research & development, including three integrated mining tests, two deep sea collector tests, several airlift and other pumping tests, numerous laboratory scale tests of slurries and collectors, and much design, engineering and analysis testing. The basic technology was proven but not commercialised due to changes in the global economic outlook for commodities. The economic winds have changed once again and many believe that Deep Sea Manganese Nodule mining could be the industry’s next wave. Several consortia are currently planning new research and development programs which will use the original findings, but now in conjunction with 40 years of deep sea equipment and riser development expertise transferred from the oilfield.

This talk reviewed the history of Deep Sea Manganese Nodules and attempts to take a look at their future.

 

Deep Sea Mining: The Emerging Market and Progress on Design & Build of Subsea Production Tools

Stef Kapusniak, Business Manager (Mining), SMD; Keith Franklin, Delivery Manager, Nautilus Minerals Inc; and Nick Ridley, Principal Engineer, SMD

Opportunities in the emerging sub-sea mining market will be discussed with reference to a variety of mineral opportunities. Additionally, progress with the design and manufacture of three subsea production tools for Nautilus’ Solwara copper-gold deposit will be described. This seafloor massive sulphide deposit is a mile below the surface of the Bismarck Sea, off Papua New Guinea. SMD’s previous success with trenching machines at similar depths and Nautilus’ subsea exploration expertise have enabled this unique project to move closer to reality. Successful mining in 2013 will open up a market with amazing potential – similar to previous moves in oil and gas from land-based to offshore operations. As base metal prices continue to rise, remote subsea vehicle technologies are being adopted and enhanced to allow economic access to deeper reserves.

 

Deep Sea Mining

23 May 2012 North of England Branch Evening Meeting

Chairman Andrew Pople, Principal Consultant (Subsea), Atkins

Sponsored by Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) 

 

Report

 

Flyer

 

Presentations

Deep Sea Manganese Nodule Mining – The Next Wave of Research

Jon Machin, Director, Geomarine Ltd

During the 1970s a sum of around USD1 Billion (at today’s value) was spent  on manganese nodule research & development, including three integrated mining tests, two deep sea collector tests, several airlift and other pumping tests, numerous laboratory scale tests of slurries and collectors, and much design, engineering and analysis testing. The basic technology was proven but not commercialised due to changes in the global economic outlook for commodities. The economic winds have changed once again and many believe that Deep Sea Manganese Nodule mining could be the industry’s next wave. Several consortia are currently planning new research and development programs which will use the original findings, but now in conjunction with 40 years of deep sea equipment and riser development expertise transferred from the oilfield.

This talk reviewed the history of Deep Sea Manganese Nodules and attempts to take a look at their future.

 

Deep Sea Mining: The Emerging Market and Progress on Design & Build of Subsea Production Tools

Stef Kapusniak, Business Manager (Mining), SMD; Keith Franklin, Delivery Manager, Nautilus Minerals Inc; and Nick Ridley, Principal Engineer, SMD

Opportunities in the emerging sub-sea mining market will be discussed with reference to a variety of mineral opportunities. Additionally, progress with the design and manufacture of three subsea production tools for Nautilus’ Solwara copper-gold deposit will be described. This seafloor massive sulphide deposit is a mile below the surface of the Bismarck Sea, off Papua New Guinea. SMD’s previous success with trenching machines at similar depths and Nautilus’ subsea exploration expertise have enabled this unique project to move closer to reality. Successful mining in 2013 will open up a market with amazing potential – similar to previous moves in oil and gas from land-based to offshore operations. As base metal prices continue to rise, remote subsea vehicle technologies are being adopted and enhanced to allow economic access to deeper reserves.

 

Subsea HP/HT Production Technologies –
Current Status and Future Trends

17 May 2012 London Evening Meeting

Chairman Alex Hunt, Engineering Technology Manager, BG Group

 

Report

 

Flyer

 

Overview

Worldwide gas demand is increasing, driven in part by increased demand for LNG in Asia. Despite relatively low prices recently, the oil & gas industry is beginning to look again at the exploitation of High Pressure / High Temperature (HP/HT) accumulations. As well as the overpressured reservoirs in areas such as the central North Sea, advances in seismic acquisition and processing have enabled opportunities to be identified in deeply buried reservoirs, in some cases at reservoir depths exceeding 10,000 metres. However, many of these are also in deep water and subsea technology will be required if these are to be brought into production.

HP/HT fields are classified under one of the following tiers:

• Tier I – High; 689 bar (10,000 psi) ▪ P ▪ 1034 bar (15,000 psi) or 149°C (300°F) ▪ T ▪ 177°C (350°F)
• Tier II – Extreme; 1,034 bar (15,000 psi) ▪ P ▪ 1379 bar (20,000 psi) or 177°C (350°F) ▪ T ▪ 204°C (400°F)
• Tier III – Ultra; 1379 bar (20,000 psi) ▪ P ▪ 2068 bar (30,000 psi) or 204°C (400°F) ▪ T ▪ 260°C (500°F)

The current status and future trends of subsea HP/HT technologies have been the focus of a project by a group of Cranfield University students. The following areas have been reviewed:

• SCSSVs and wellheads
• Trees, chokes and sand management
• Multiphase meters, controls and high integrity protection systems
• Manifolds, flowlines, risers and jumpers
• Umbilicals and flying leads

The work has just been completed as a Group Project that forms part of the M.Sc. in Offshore and Ocean Technology – option in Subsea Engineering. At this evening meeting, members of the team presented their findings.

 

Presentations

Review Team, Cranfield University

Al-Ameen (Toby) Abdullai, Japheth Joel Charima, Gurinderjit Singh Dosanjh, Chimene Elechi-Amadi, Filimon Gonidakis, Noor Hafiz Kamaruddin, Olusola Oguntuberu, Michael Okeligho and Julian Richter

This project has reviewed current HP/HT fields, either in production or under development. The current status of subsea HP/HT technology has been assessed. Possible technology gaps have been identified and a number of recommendations were presented.

 

Dr Fuat Kara, Course Director and Head of Offshore Technology, Cranfield University

Group and individual projects and reviews offer benefits to both industry and academia. The elements required for successful collaborations were discussed, along with current focus areas.