Paradigm Flow Solutions Boosts Production for Supermajor With New Technology to Unblock Subsea Pipelines
HOUSTON, August 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
- Deepwater Potential to be Revealed at Houston Event -
Paradigm Flow Solutions has undertaken work which increased production for a supermajor by over 3,000 barrels of oil per day using new groundbreaking technology.
The Scotland headquartered company will be revealing how it has this summer cleared subsea pipelines that had been blocked for over a decade, at the Deepwater Intervention Forum, Houston, August 16th - 18th.
Managing Director of Paradigm Flow Solutions Rob Bain will describe the campaign at a lunch session sponsored by the company. The project happened this summer and took less than a week to unblock multiple flowlines in the central North Sea field. He will give his views on this major industry challenge which can cripple production and outline the opportunities for Pipe-Pulse in the Gulf of Mexico and further afield.
He said: "The operator had tried various other conventional methods to tackle the issue, but due to the remote location of the blockages from the host platform, access to the pipelines and the subsea infrastructure proved very difficult. Using Pipe-Pulse, our engineers unblocked flowlines and a subsea wax inhibitor chemical umbilical in less than a week."
Paradigm believes there are huge opportunities for its innovative technologies in the US and has appointed an in-country manager to kick-start growth in the region with plans to launch a recruitment drive later this year.
Pipe-Pulse is a remote, non-intrusive method of locating and removing blockages in long distance pipe-work up to 30 miles. The system is designed to be connected on the topsides of the host platform through either the pig launcher or the umbilical termination unit to remove the blockages.
The Pipe-Pulse unit delivers high energy and volume pressure pulses into the pipeline or subsea umbilical, which are transmitted to the blockage several miles away.
Prior to Pipe-Pulse, these problems were usually remediated by expensive methods such as deploying a coiled tubing system from a rig into the pipeline, or undertaking subsea interventions using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) or saturation divers.
Mr Bain added: "Having previously worked for operators in the Gulf of Mexico, I believe there is a significant market opportunity for Pipe-Pulse in deepwater operations as it delivers dramatic cost savings. In the case of chronic blockages which have gone unresolved over a number of years, the only solution has often been to replace the umbilical or pipeline which can cost millions of dollars, rendering it economically unviable."
Paradigm Flow Solutions, a subsidiary of Netherlands based Paradigm Group, recently invested $1.6 million in a move to new headquarters in Aberdeenshire. The company has secured in excess of $1.6 million of contracts for its Pipe-Pulse technology this year, enabling client's production to be re-established and also safeguard integrity of their subsea facilities.
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