Work

Optimisation of offshore oilfield development including the risk of failure of subsea manifolds

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: A technical, economic and safety optimisation model is provided in this paper. The robust approach integrates the risk of the subsea manifold and pipelines, considering the manifold slot size and pipeline structural material, with the surface and subsea production system requirements and investment planning. A worst-case scenario has been identified and incorporated to deal with the system's intrinsic unpredictability, allowing a more tractable formulation for robust optimisation. A model verification process and a case study based on empirical data drawn from a real-world industry context are described to verify and evaluate the system's solution. The most significant managerial insight offered by the novel model is that the manifold and its corresponding slot size can directly influence the search for the most viable production system from a technical, economic, and safety perspective. This information may be considered a high asset during the offshore production system's development because the adoption of the manifold has a direct impact on the subsea layout design.

Source: Ocean Engineering

DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2025.120668

Authors: L.M.R. Silva, C. Guedes Soares

Institutions: University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior Técnico

Language: English

Topic: Offshore Engineering and Technologies

Subfield: Ocean Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,150