Worlds First Deep Water Remote Hot Tap

 

Aberdeen subsea specialist “Clear Well Subsea” have provided a unique hot tapping solution to Norwegian state oil company Statoil. As part of the Ormen Lange South Development, located in almost a 1,000m of water, Statoil required two new connections to the existing 30” gas export pipelines.

 

Two remote subsea hot taps were selected as the design solution. Hot tapping is a method of making a connection to a subsea pipeline whilst the pipe remains pressurised and without interruption to the normal flow or operating regime of the pipeline.

 

The technique has been used around the world but never at such water depths or on such challenging pipelines.

 

Development of the subsea hot tapping capability commenced when Statoil awarded a contract to Clear Well Subsea to design and develop a remotely operated Hot Tap Cutting Unit or HTCU based on a unique technology developed by Clear Well specifically to meet the challenges of the subsea deep water market.

 

Following an extensive cutting development program followed by deep water trials, the HTCU was deployed late July 2009 in a water depth of 860m and performed two remote hot taps between July and early August.

 

These two hot taps constitute the first successful use of the remote hot tapping system in deep water and were performed at pressures and temperatures well beyond the capability of existing designs enabling the team to claim a number of world firsts.

 

“The successful completion of this complex project opens the way for Clear Well’s participation in other ground breaking hot tap ventures with Statoil, such as the Åsgard Minimum Flow Project scheduled to commence in 2010” said Keith Evans MD.