Roxar (Oslo Børs: ROX) announced today that part of its NOK 45 million subsea contract announced to the Oslo Stock Exchange in early April will be the provision of integrated reservoir sensors and multiphase measurement systems to Petrobras America, a subsidiary of Petrobras (NYSE: PBR/PBRA) for operation in the Gulf of Mexico’s Cascade and Chinook fields. The deal is worth NOK 19.5 million.
Petrobras America will install the Roxar subsea Multiphase meter, which provides accurate and continuous on-line monitoring of the flow rates of oil, water and gas in subsea well streams. Roxar will also install a number of SenCorr SEPT combined sand erosion and pressure and temperature sensor systems to provide valuable real-time information on the subsea reservoir. The sensor is truly redundant with separate sensing elements, wiring and electronics, and can operate with high accuracy at up to 15,000psi (pound per square inch).
The Cascade and Chinook fields are located in the Walker Ridge Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing area of the central Gulf of Mexico. Cascade is located about 260km south of the Louisiana coast in 2,500m water depth and Chinook is about 25km south of Cascade in 2,650m water depth. Wells will be drilled to a total depth of approximately 8,230m.
Due to reservoir uncertainties, a phased development is underway with phase one (two subsea wells in Cascade and one subsea well in Chinook) analyzing reservoir performance to ensure increased production and flow assurance in future stages.
At such depths with high pressure and flow rates, Roxar’s solutions will provide Petrobras with critical, real-time information on the wells’ capabilities during production. Information will include water saturation and possible breakthrough, gas coning, permeability and flow characteristics, sand erosion, and pressure and temperature information.
Said Roxar CEO, Gunnar Hviding:
“Today’s announcement with Petrobras is great news for Roxar’s operations in America as we continue to consolidate our position in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the major role we are playing in guaranteeing flow assurance on the Independence Hub, our work in the Cascade and Chinook fields will further consolidate our credentials as the leading provider of robust and accurate measurement and monitoring solutions in some of the world’s deepest offshore fields.”
“We look forward to helping Petrobras move to phase two, reducing uncertainties in the reservoir, and maximizing reservoir production and increase production regularity.”
Detecting and reacting to sand will also be crucial with sand clogged production equipment having the potential to erode completion components, impede wellbore access, and interfere with the operation of downhole equipment.
The Roxar subsea SenCorr sensors are approved for ultra-deepwater installations of up to 15,000psi and can interface with all major subsea electronic modules.
The Roxar SenCorr SE sensor measures sand erosion in real-time with a high accuracy. Operating on the ER (electric resistance) principle, four independent sensing elements measure increased element resistance as they are exposed to sand erosion. SenCorr SE sensors require no calibration and are unaffected by flow and mechanical noise. The Roxar subsea SenCorr PT sensor combines the proven technology of CorrOcean’s subsea probes with an accurate and robust pressure and temperature sensor.
The Roxar subsea Multiphase meter provides accurate and continuous on-line monitoring of the flow rates of oil, water and gas in subsea well streams. The meter is more accurate than separation-based systems because it is independent of separation efficiency and insensitive to slugs, foam, carry-overs and emulsions.
The Roxar subsea Multiphase meter also comes with a subsea retrievable canister, which houses the meter’s electronics and flow computing modules. Benefits to Petrobras America include low and cost effective maintenance with limited subsea intervention requirements, high flow measurement availability, easy installation, and a simplified subsea structure design.
The Cascade field is owned by Petrobras America (50%) and Devon Energy Production Company (50%), while the Chinook field is owned by Petrobras America (66.67%) and TOTAL E&P USA (33.33%). Petrobras operates both fields. Oil (18° to 27° API) will be transported from the field in shuttle vessels to terminals of opportunity along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Mississippi and gas will be exported through a gas export pipeline.