Anyone who has been involved in the development of new technology for the subsea sector knows that it is a long slog. There was a study done in the 1990’s by a major independent business consultancy that showed that the oil and gas industry then – and not much has changed in the intervening decades – had the longest gestation period for the acceptance of new technology of any industry. This was longer than the aviation industry and pharmaceuticals, both of which involve more direct contact with the general public, so that incomplete testing could lead to major fatalities, eg the Boeing 737 Max incidents.
So it came as no surprise to receive an email from a longtime friend – ex-TotalElf and ex-Shell Pierre-Alain Delaittre (PAD) – last week referring to a project that he was involved with back in the 1970’s. He explained that he had commissioned work on the development of a helico-axial multiphase pump (mpp) back in the 1970’s which led to the SMUBS technology project and eventually a deployment on the Draugen field.
There have been a number of applications of this type of pump since Draugen, although not many. What piqued PAD’s interest is that this type of mpp has now has been specified as part of a deepwater 20K high-pressure and temperature (HP/T) concept with the main portion of this concept due for use on a field in the Gulf of Mexico. This made PAD happy.
Of course, there should be a caveat. Framo Engineering which originally developed this mpp was later acquired by the company formerly known as Schlumberger, now SLB (another household name bites the dust!), as was OneSubsea which is working on the 20K technology. Just a bit of Pacman action there.
I would be remiss in my role as subsea historian if I failed to mention my first meeting with PAD. I believe it was my first visit to UTC in Bergen back in the late 1980’s when he was still working for Shell. It was at a post-conference drinks gathering which I was part of. Slowly folks started drifting away and I found myself face to face with PAD who I did not know. He introduced himself and then proceeded to berate me for writing in my rag (Subsea Engineering News) about the award of a template design contract that Shell had not yet announced. What annoyed the powers that be in Shell was not that the story was not absolutely correct, but that it had not yet written its ‘dear John’ letters to the failed bidders. What could I say? Guilty as charged.
To my benefit, it led to a long acquaintance with PAD and subsequently to a working relationship with Elf – later TotalElf, later Total and now TotalEnergies. I believe he is now well retired down near his last posting at Pau. Donc c’est ça, PAD!
………..
Back to the future: It is not very fashionable to talk about the oil and gas industry in any positive was, but hey, so it goes. According to analysts WoodMackenzie, aka WoodMac, deepwater production is where its at. It is forecasting that deepwater production will increase by 60% to 17mb/d by 2030. The jump is being led by activity in one of the usual suspects – Brazil where production is being accelerated by developments at Buzios – but also by relative newcomers Guyana and Mozambique plus new sectors such as Senegal (Sangomar) and Namibia (Graff and Venus). So a bit of Xmas cheer for an industrial sector which has taken a bit of a bashing in recent times.
And as for me, I wish you all a much happier and more prosperous 2023, What a dreadful year it has been. Hopefully things can only get better. And don’t forget to have a look at those Google ads to help keep me going. Cheers!
