DeepStar, MMS work toward HIPPS acceptance

HIPPS technology could open possibilities in the GoM

High-pressure/high-temperature drilling conditions characterize the Gulf of Mexico. HP/HT challenges are particularly significant in deep wells on the shelf and in deep and ultra-deepwater. Ironically, these exploration areas are also the most active segments in the GoM.

Operators evaluating potential deepwater GoM prospects are seeing expected pressures and temperatures that are likely to exceed current industry development capabilities, which top out at 15,000 psi. A newly developed subsea high integrity pressure protection system (HIPPS) could be a key enabling technology to safely and economically develop these high-pressure fields.

HIPPS in the GoM

HIPPS is a safety instrumented system that isolates lower pressure rated pipelines and risers from an overpressure. For example, using HIPPS would allow a new high-pressure field to tie in to existing lower-pressure-rated infrastructure, a capability that opens up significant possibilities in the Gulf that otherwise could not be developed. In addition, a HIPPS could facilitate development of deepwater discoveries by reducing the operating pressure of the flowline and riser.

According to John Allen, vice president of strategic business development at Vetco and chairman of the vendors committee at DeepStar, “Deepwater field developments like Thunder Horse and Tahiti are already pushing the technical limits of pipeline technologies. Applying a HIPPS would reduce the flowline and riser complexities and deliver a cost savings to operators.”

The first hurdle in using a HIPPS in the GoM is that the US Minerals Management Service has not yet approved such a system. The system’s potential for the GoM is one of the catalysts for DeepStar’s involvement with the new technology. DeepStar has a regulatory committee that works out issues with the MMS, Allen says.

Allen and Christopher Lindsey-Curran, senior subsea engineer, exploration and production technology group at BP, co-chair the HIPPs component of that committee.

According to Lindsey-Curran, the need to bridge the technology gap is critical to continued development in HP/HT conditions.

“Technical challenges remain for HP/HT systems in deepwater. We can’t make the steel, we can’t weld it, and we can’t install it. We have to find another solution,” Lindsey-Curran says. In deepwater high-pressure fields, the physical barriers are insurmountable without HIPPS, he says.

Although HIPPS hasn’t been used in the GoM, it has been successfully used elsewhere.

According to Lindsey-Curran, “There have been six HIPPSs installed in the North Sea, and a seventh is on its way in Southeast Asia.”

The successful application of HIPPS in other regions is one of the primary reasons the technology is being considered for the GoM. Proving that the system meets safety criteria will be a critical step toward MMS acceptance. Education and communication are vital to securing MMS approval for using HIPPS in the Gulf.

“In the North Sea, regulations are based on risk. In the US, on the other hand, regulatory bodies are prescriptive,” Lindsey-Curran explains.

That is the reason that communicating with the MMS is critical. A firm understanding of system architecture must precede acceptance.

MMS’s role

Mike Conner, chief of the technical and assessment operational support section for field operations at the MMS, agrees that communication is vital. Conner’s group tracks new technology that goes into the Gulf and reviews all of the deepwater operations plans. They also participate in meetings with DeepStar, API committees, and other organizations that are trying to get new technology accepted for use in the Gulf.

“Nowadays, everything is so complex that if we don’t work with DeepStar or industry, we at MMS will be unaware of all of the risks involved,” Conner says. And lack of information is a hurdle to regulatory approval for new technologies.

There are many advantages to MMS participation in technical discussions. The agency can head a project in the right regulatory direction, Conner explains, so that MMS obligations to human and environmental safety can be met.

“We’re not threatening in any way,” Conner says, “but we draw a line in the sand, so to speak. We make sure industry understands what our requirements are and that they cannot cross the line.”

It is important, though, Conner says, to remember that all of the participants are working toward a common goal.

“On all deepwater issues, MMS has to take a team approach and actively take part in discussion, which we have been doing,” Conner says. “It used to be that we didn’t interact; we mainly observed. Now, we are actively participating.”

HIPPS and DeepStar

DeepStar commissioned a study to examine the HIPPS architecture options and technology status for developing a typical GoM high-pressure field to address the technical challenges of high-pressure deepwater fields. Identifying technology gaps that need to be closed has helped DeepStar define the need for and value of a HIPPS system.

One of DeepStar’s goals is to share information about new technologies with the MMS. The hope is that the results of DeepStar research coupled with an initiative that is pursuing cooperation with regulatory agencies will soon allow HIPPS to be used in the GoM.

Conner sees that cooperation paying off and is optimistic that HIPPS will be approved for the GoM. In his opinion, “HIPPS is the only cost effective way to drill in HP/HT conditions in the ultra-deepwater GoM. If you look at a general risk matrix, HIPPS is about the only way I can see that you can go,” Conner says.

The MMS supports Conner’s view. “Chris Oynes, MMS regional director, has already said he would entertain the concept of HIPPS in the GoM,” Conner says. “We are actively working toward that and anticipate three or four applications this year.”

Allen believes DeepStar is benefiting from its work with the MMS.

“We’ve already performed a study with the MMS on subsea processing. We’ve gone through all of the different ways this can be done with the regulatory agency,” Allen says. DeepStar reduced the regulators as a barrier to applying the technology in the Gulf and is now working on doing the same thing for HIPPS.

“What DeepStar is trying to do in conversation with the MMS is to make them aware of what a safety instrumented system is, how we do layers of protection analysis, and how we do all of the risk-based work to get to a system that is safe,” Lindsey-Curran says.

Risk is a critical component of this initiative. In particular, the perception of high risk is an obstacle to approval of new technology.

“A barrier to adopting new technology is the perception of high risk,” Allen explains. “Reducing the risk perceived by the regulatory agency is as powerful as technology verification.”

Verification has been a significant component of this initiative, and for good reason. The MMS is, understandably, risk averse and is not likely to approve a new technology for the GoM without evidence that it is safe.

Lindsey-Curran strongly agrees that the risk of system failure has to be tolerable. “It is possible that we could be going to a flowline where the shut-in pressure of the well exceeds the burst pressure of the flowline. If the safety systems fail, we could end up with a leak,” he explains.

Obviously, the likelihood of that possibility needs to be thoroughly understood and evaluated before the MMS approves the safety system.

That is one of the reasons that DeepStar’s case for HIPPS is bolstered by risk-based assessment. “Risk-based assessment provides numbers that can be reviewed to evaluate the safety level provided by the system. Testing for HIPPS is based on industry data,” Lindsey-Curran says.

Looking ahead

DeepStar has done a lot of work to date, but more lies ahead. “We should have an understanding of what the system architecture should look like and what the testing regimes for HIPPS and flowlines will be by year-end,” Lindsey-Curran says. This is a significant milestone and nudges the technology a bit further along the path toward MMS acceptance.

According to Conner, deepwater challenges open the door to many new technologies for the Gulf. “HP/HT is one of our big issues, but subsea processing is coming. I see the MMS working with DeepStar on every single one of the technology issues upcoming in the GoM,” Conner says.

Conner believes the team approach his group is taking is working well with DeepStar and is convinced that continued cooperation will open up the ultra-deepwater GoM.

“Everything with DeepStar has worked great. I wouldn’t change anything,” Conner says.

John Allen is corporate vice president for strategic business development at Vetco. He graduated from Surrey University with an honors degree in physics and an associate degree in oceanography (from the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences). He has a masters degree in engineering from the University of London and an Executive MBA from the University of Bath. Allen is part of the DeepStar senior management team. [email protected]

Christopher Lindsey-Curran is a senior subsea engineer with BP’s exploration and production technology group where he focuses on managing the controls R&D program and developing HIPPS systems for the GoM. He has 27 years’ experience of subsea systems, concentrating primarily on subsea production systems. Lindsey-Curran has a degree in physics from Bristol University and is the founding Chairman of the Society for Underwater Technology’s Houston branch. [email protected]