DOT: Wireless communication technologies enhance subsea production monitoring

Daniel McStay and John Mulholland,FMC Technologies Ltd.

The oil and gas industry faces growing demands to improve the efficiency of production and to increase the amount of oil recovered. The industry also faces challenges from the growing awareness of the need for enhanced reliability and integrity monitoring of subsea installations, and from increased environmental awareness and legislation. The environmental challenges are particularly pertinent in deeper water applications and for installations in environmentally sensitive regions.

The development of Intelligent Energy systems for hydrocarbon production and integrity management is one of the technological innovations that can allow the industry to address these challenges. Intelligent Energy systems rely on the flow of information from hydrocarbon production equipment, and comprise a broad spectrum of technologies capable of collecting and transmitting completion, production, and reservoir data. The authors contend that the amount and quality of the data is critical in the overall effectiveness of such systems, and discuss the possibilities of and requirements for wireless communications in enhanced production monitoring.

Alternate: 14.30-15.30 - ROOM E103