The Remarkable Growth of Integrated Subsea Projects from 2016 to 2019

Abstract

The international offshore oil and gas industry started numerous efficiency initiatives in 2014 and 2015 as a response to the global down-turn in field development activity. Additionally new and innovative ways of doing business were conceived and investigated. One of these was integrating the work scopes involved in subsea production and processing systems construction together with associated pipeline and controls infrastructure. The mechanisms by which integrating the subsea hardware and offshore delivery scopes yields value have been studied and compared with traditional approaches of segmenting the various elements. Previously executed projects, it was discovered, would have been delivered with different results and imporved cost performance within an integrated structure. Similarly prospective projects costed and priced using a traditionally segmented approach showed a higher cost and schedule compared with those designed from the early stages of the project by an integrated design team of equipment and installation specialists. These effects were observed on projects of different sizes and in various geographical regions. (This paper will provide anonymous examples of these cases to provide context). Our industry currently has more than 15 integrated projects underway and offshore oil and gas operators are starting publicly share their experiences of this new way of working. The result is that potential field development projects are integrating traditionally segmented subsea scopes earlier in the economic lifecycle of the project. (This paper will illustrate this trend). As the project execution phase progresses different systems and mechanisms are used to ensure that the value is captured and an acceptable project risk profile is maintained. The market for integrated subsea project delivery has grown from 8% of the market in 2015 to 35% or more in 2018 and seems unlikely to diminish in 2019. Integrated subsea delivery has emerged as an enabler of different project outcomes for international oil and gas companies and is setting new standards for efficiency in our industry.