Paradigm Flow Services has successfully completed its first installation of an in-riser velocity string using its Flexi-Coil technology in the Gulf of Mexico.
Flexi-Coil on the deepwater production facility in the Gulf of Mexico
Offshore staff
HOUSTON —Paradigm Flow Services (part of the Paradigm Group) has successfully completed its first installation of an in-riser velocity string using its Flexi-Coil technology, a flexible coiled tubing system developed for complex riser-flowline interventions.
The company said this artificial lift technology will benefit operators of deepwater FPSOs and semisubmersible production platforms that are looking for ways to increase oil recovery from existing assets that do not have the direct vertical access normally required for installation of velocity strings or gas injection tubing inside production risers.
The engineering, procurement and installation scope involved related to a deepwater operator’s subsea tieback to a floating production facility, located 130 miles southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Flexi-Coil’s ability to navigate the multiple pipe bends running from the platform down to the production riser via the pontoon allowed the velocity string to be hung off at surface, rather than beneath the waterline as is usually required when using conventional techniques. This eliminated the requirement for subsea construction activity in the facility’s splash zone, reducing overall cost by approximately 60% while delivering a 30% increase in oil production, the company said.
