Lucius Subsea-Production-System Design and Installation

Abstract

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper OTC 26016, “Lucius Subsea Design and Installation,” by Timothy Dean, Anadarko; Paul Haines, Wood Group Kenny; and Marsha Carlstrom, EXP Engineering International, prepared for the 2015 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 4–7 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed. This paper describes the architecture of the Lucius Gulf of Mexico subsea production system and the drivers behind it. Novel technologies are detailed, and innovative installation techniques and highlights are described, including a “strong-back” system for rigid jumpers. Difficulties and lessons learned are also shared. Introduction The Lucius field is located in water depths ranging from 6,800 to 7,100 ft. Lucius has been developed with six initial subsea wells split between two 8-in.-nominal production loops, each with a six-well manifold. The system is designed for a maximum-allowable operating pressure of 9,300 psi. An early discovery well is located away from the well clusters and is daisy chained into the west-manifold flowline loop. Two other delineation wells are produced back to the east manifold with short-stepout flowlines. The step-out wells add some flow-assurance complexity. Unfortunately, permitting restrictions drove the location of one of the step-out wells. The other was drilled by another operator and later was captured by the development with unitization. It is expected that all future wells will be located adjacent to one of the two manifolds. System Overview The system relies heavily on the operator’s subsea-hardware supply-chain alliances for standardized building blocks. A flow test was used to obtain additional reservoir information to help move the project forward to sanction. The discovery well was completed with a stock tree and controls for the flow test. This well and the equipment are now part of the completed system.