Cutting edge technology unveiled at Subsea Europe '08

Cutting edge technology that has the capability of saving the oil & gas sector significant expense will be the centrepiece of a major subsea event next month. Subsea Europe, which takes place in London on 30 October 2008, will highlight the best of the UK’s subsea industry.

AGR Subsea Ltd, part of the AGR Group, will showcase groundbreaking seabed intervention technology at the event. AGR Subsea says that the 'ClayCutter X^®' system offers considerable savings by allowing pipe to be laid across uneven seafloor areas where pipelay was previously impossible or only feasible with extensive rock installation work.

ClayCutter X^® is the result of a seven-figure investment by AGR Subsea Ltd in hardware and fluid flow design work. The technology enables companies to pre-trench and remodel sections of seabed that were previously impenetrable. Central to the pioneering system are three containerised high pressure pumps which deliver precise, powerful jets of water that cut through seabed clay and soft rock at high, controlled rates. Each pump is powered by a 3,000 hp marine diesel engine, and the pumps have been designed so that they can be utilised on other applications when not performing ClayCutter X^® projects.

John Sands, Managing Director of AGR Subsea Ltd said, “This technology provides a new way of excavating the seabed and although the equipment was primarily designed for clay we can cope with widely varying seabed soils. This opens up a huge number of possibilities for routing pipelines through difficult seafloor areas where previously lines would have skirted around obstacles. Reducing the total length of lines plus reducing or eliminating other seabed interventions such as rock dump is very attractive to installation contractors and operators alike.

“It’s our job to get the message out there that this technology not only works but opens up vast swathes of seabed that used to be off limits. Subsea Europe is the best place for us to formally introduce the ClayCutter X^® technology to the sector. Almost all of the key industry players will be there."

The company completed its first subsea project using the new ClayCutter X^® technology for the Southern Extension of Shell’s Ormen Lange Gas Field, located on the Norwegian continental shelf. This excavation project took place in 870 metres water depth. AGR Subsea was contracted directly to StatoilHydro, the operator for the installation phase of the project. During the project, executed in July 2008, the system cut more than 38 days off of the planned 55 day excavation schedule. ClayCutter X^® was able to achieve an average excavation rate of 23.8m³/hr and excavated a total of 3,368m³ of soil from 10 sites.

The technique builds on a number of previous attempts over the last thirty years or so to use water to trench in stiff clays. In developing the ClayCutter X^®, AGR’s engineers have employed the lessons learnt from earlier systems to refine the technology and ensure that the ClayCutter X^® offered maximum flexibility, with the ability to reconfigure the cutting equipment while deployed subsea. In addition, the development work on the pump set has delivered seamless and reliable delivery of high pressure, high volume water to the tool.

The system works by directing many high pressure water jets at the seabed, through the ClayCutter X^® manifold system. The position of the equipment is dictated by the position of the vessel from which it is deployed. Physical contact with the seabed is not required, as all the cutting work is performed by the high pressure jets or, in softer soils, with high-volume water cannons mounted on the ClayCutter X^® body. Key to the success of the system is the ability to vary the tool’s configuration while it is in use and the use of high-power centrifugal pumps which can range from high pressure to high volume without the need to change out pump liners.

Almost 40 companies from the subsea industry will be exhibiting at Subsea Europe. It is the first time that the highly respected event has been held in London. The exhibition and conference which brings together key players within the subsea sector will showcase the wealth of opportunities and technologies in the booming subsea sector with a focus on the European and West African oil and gas markets.

Subsea Europe will take place on 30 October 2008 at the Business Design Centre in Islington. The event is organised with the support of Oil and Gas UK and BERR (Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) and will be preceded by a networking dinner at the London Aquarium on 29 October 2008.