Aquaterra Energy has been awarded a high-pressure high temperature (HPHT) subsea riser contract for the Babek project on Azerbaijan’s Umid gas field.
The Norwich-based engineering group secured the contract with Umid Babek Operating Company (UBOC), the operator of the project and a unit of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).
The Umid-Babek block is located in a deepwater area of the Azerbaijani Caspian Sea, around 46 miles from Baku. Reserves at Babek are estimated at around 400 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas and 80 million tonnes of condensate.
Aquaterra Energy will deliver its 15,000 psi subsea riser system, which uses the company’s AQC-SR connector range, as part of UBOC’s drilling program for the BX-01 exploration well at the Babek field.
The contract will see it provide an end-to-end service, as a fully independent riser system and connector OEM, which will be operated via a jack-up MODU, in water depths of 62 metres.
The system’s AQC-SR connectors enable gas tight metal-to-metal seals and a back-up elastomeric seal.
In addition, the ability to pressure test each connection upon make-up provides enhanced environmental reassurance against well bore fluid discharge, the company said.
The award, the value of which was not disclosed, was secured following a competitive tender and consultations.
In a statement, UBOC said the consultation was “second to none” on this project and allowed it to explore options that it would not traditionally examine.
“Together we will be able to reach operational deadlines, whilst also taking environmental considerations into account. The team’s innovative approach has been instrumental in making this project viable and we are very much looking forward to continuing our collaborative relationship,” the company added.
Aquaterra Energy’s engineering teams advised using a jack-up rig instead of a semi-submersible to maximise safety and efficiency, while minimising cost and rig-time. Semi-submersible rigs can suffer more downtime and can take up to 20% additional time to complete the same operation, as opposed to using a jack-up in shallower water depths.
Innovation director Ben Cannell said: “We’re delighted to be working with UBOC on this project and to continue demonstrating our HPHT riser system expertise in locations such as Azerbaijan. We see huge potential here for our team to provide intelligently engineered solutions, whilst also supporting industry decarbonisations efforts.
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