Wireline Magazine Autumn 2020 Issue 49

Image courtesy of Blue Ocean Monitoring

decarbonisation strategies with Shell estimating that in the EU, at least 24 million tonnes per annum of CCUS facilities are needed to be installed between 2025 and 2050, at a rate of two per month. The current pipeline falls well short of this goal. A key barrier is the lack of established business models to allow adoption of the technology at scale. Xodus is developing a roadmap for CCUS commercialisation by addressing the policy, business model structures and interactions required between public and private vehicles to achieve success.” Neptune Energy commences subsea construction on Seagull project Neptune Energy and its joint venture partners BP and JAPEX have begun the subsea construction phase of the Seagull tie- back project. TechnipFMC, working under the Neptune Energy Alliance Agreement, deployed the Apache II pipelay vessel in late September to start the pipe-in-pipe installation, laying approximately 5km of pipe connecting the Egret manifold to the Seagull development. TechnipFMC’s Normand Mermaid was also mobilised in late August to provide pre-lay activities, including surveying and boulder removal. Following the pipe installation, its Normand Ranger will undertake trenching activities for the development. Seagull is a high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) development located in the Central North Sea on UK licence P1622 Block 22/29C, 17km south of the BP-operated ETAP Central Processing Facility (CPF). Proved plus probable gross reserves are estimated at 50 million boe.

using existing subsea infrastructure. Gas from the development will come onshore at the CATS processing terminal at Teesside, while oil will come onshore through the Forties Pipeline System to the Kinneil Terminal, Grangemouth. Neptune Energy’s UK Managing Director, Alexandra Thomas, noted: “This is a key milestone for Seagull – the first step in offshore execution of the project. We continue to work with our contractors and suppliers, focussing on the safe deployment of people, vessels, and equipment and managing the challenges associated with the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” Subsea commercialisation tool wins Strathclyde backing Strathclyde University has endorsed a methodology developed by the National Subsea Research Institute (NSRI) to accelerate the commercialisation of technology in support of the green recovery. NSRI, which works with underwater technology companies and academia to collaborate on bringing forward new technology, has developed a way of measuring commercial viability of a technical innovation to help fast-track getting it to market.

The tool, called CHASMAI, provides a clear indication of the potential commercial viability of early stage technology in the subsea industry that enables both innovators and investors. By measuring the viability of a technical concept through analysis of various factors including market conditions and funding requirements, CHASMAI take a systematic approach and helps identify exactly where pioneering companies should be focusing their efforts. NSRI believes it will be particularly attractive to investors, helping to speed up the investment process which will, in turn, accelerate the introduction of new technical concepts which could support the green recovery. Professor Matthew Revie, Associate Dean (Knowledge Exchange), at the Department of Management Science at Strathclyde Business, added: “Companies regularly come to us with strong engineering- based innovations, however establishing robust commercial viability is often not considered by businesses early enough in the idea generation process. The modelling framework developed by NSRI provokes companies to reflect not only on the “can we” of technology development, but also on the “should we” - will this technology development lead to a well-defined commercial solution?” “With meaningful outputs in dashboard format, NSRI’s commercialisation tool visualises uncertainties and shows exactly where efforts should be focused to drive maximum business value and return on investment.”

The development will be tied back to the ETAP Central Processing Facility, partially

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