| Popis: |
The Stones project is located in the Walker Ridge (WR) area approximately 200 miles due south of New Orleans in 9,500 feet of water. The host facility is a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel with a disconnectable buoy that allows the FPSO to move off site in a hurricane event. Subsea wells are located in daisy chained drill centers that tie back to the FPSO via dual Steel Lazy Wave Risers and subsea flowlines. Other key subsea infrastructure includes two production manifolds, eight subsea trees, umbilicals and an artificial lift system. Produced gas is exported through a lateral pipeline which ties into the Walker Ridge Gathering System located in WR 457. This paper provides an overview of the subsea and flowline system, overall flow assurance strategy, a description of the gas export pipeline, and challenges encountered during execution of the project. Key challenges include the water depth at the site, furrowed seabed, metocean conditions, slope stability along the Sigsbee escarpment, the disconnectable buoy, flow assurance and changes mid execution due to deep and difficult wells. |
