A Standardized Qualification Approach for Subsea All-Electric Drop-in-Place Actuators

Abstract

Electric actuation technology represents the future of subsea production systems. So far there are no standardized generic requirements documented for electrical actuators. A recent Joint Operator Specification attempted to address this lack of information, but it provided only a few details about how electric actuators could meet subsea industry requirements. Recently, there has been a visible increase in the use of electric actuators, especially on less safety-critical valves. Considering the UN sustainability goals, companies will likely implement more all-electric technologies to reduce the CO2 footprint of the upstream sector in the near future. Hence, large suppliers and smaller companies see their chance to establish corresponding products in the marketplace. This paper proposes the development of a documented qualification program for subsea all-electric actuators based on a foundation of existing industry standards. To clarify and enhance those standards, comprehensive research was conducted and requirements were derived and documented based on customer specifications as well as engineering and project organization experience. The proposed program outlines specifications and documents a wealth of information based on project organization and engineering experience. This comprehensive list of requirements will serve as the basis for a generic comparison and qualification program, which has already been carried out for various drop-in-place actuators and has, so far, led to smooth acceptance of the technology by the operators, wherever it has been implemented. This paper will serve as a further step in advancing an all-electric approach for the industry. The methods outlined herein will help operators compare different products on a uniform basis and will give suppliers the opportunity to compete fairly. To this end, the paper presents the above-mentioned approach for obtaining the requirements and identifies the main sources as well as the procedure for developing a generic qualification approach.