Statoil is in the process of implementing its ambitious subsea improved oil recovery (SIOR) project which targets an average recovery factor of 55% from subsea-completed fields operated by the group in 2008—a 1,200 million barrels hike in recoverable oil reserves. A significant step towards this goal was the signing this month of a three year technology agreement with Weatherford International for the development of new fiber-optic based sensing and communication systems.
Mehta
Weatherford VP Dharmesh Mehta said, ‘This project allows Weatherford to further increase its optical sensing portfolio and integrate these sensors into a next-generation subsea communications architecture. Given the projected growth of the subsea segment in our industry, the timing of this project is an important facet of delivering on the digital oilfield vision.’
Utseth
Rolf Utseth, CTO with Statoil’s SIOR program, said, ‘The goal of the project is to develop smart sensors and subsea communication infrastructure to improve our overall reservoir and production management. This is the latest in a series of collaborative development projects involving Statoil and Weatherford, and will build on the past successes shared by the two companies.’
FMC Kongsberg
The project will provide an integrated fiber-optic communications network from reservoir to the shore, including new downhole optical sensing systems and an integrated fiber-optic subsea communication system. The system will be tested on existing Statoil brown fields as well as new green field assets. Weatherford is working with FMC Kongsberg Subsea and Nexans Norway on the secure, high bandwidth communication infrastructure.
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