Offshore staff
FORNEBU, Norway — Equinor has asked Aker Solutions to supply a Submersible Wireless Installer for Tubing (SWIFT) system for 18 tubing hanger installations at the Johan Castberg Field development in the Barents Sea.
The program starts in June 2024 and should last for two years.
This will be the first commercial campaign for the SWIFT remotely operated tubing hanger (TH) tool. It involves 18 umbilical-less tubing hanger installations.
Aker Solutions co-developed SWIFT with Envirex and the system will be manufactured in Bryne, Norway. According to the company, the tool offers multiple opex and carbon-footprint savings for operators by providing umbilical-less TH installations and retrievals that streamline operations.
Conventional systems power, control and monitor TH installations and retrievals, the company explained, by using heavy and expensive topside equipment.
SWIFT is said to provide the same functionality subsea from an in-riser control module integrated into the Drill Pipe Landing String (DPLS) and controlled topside from a laptop. At Johan Castberg use of the tool should eliminate the need for 60 t of topside equipment along with associated maintenance and transport.
The compact system also offers substantial battery and pump capacity, the company claims, and its dual-valve design allows it to apply alternating pressure on individual function lines.
In automatic mode, Aker Solutions added, SWIFT is designed to cut the risk of human error by eliminating handling in the hazardous area known as `the rig red zone’.
6/12/2023
