Oil and gas technology company Pivotree has built and tested a full-scale prototype of its integrated subsea oil and gas production tree and vessel mooring system.
Inventor and Pivotree Managing Director Chris Merrick said the Pivotree technology had the potential to make previously marginal and stranded oil and gas fields both profitable and sustainable.
Designed and built in Perth, the 44-tonne full-scale prototype (pictured) combines traditional subsea tree technology with new elements that allow it to swivel, providing 360-degree mooring capability for offtake vessels.
Merrick said: “In combination, the Pivotree and FPSO (Floating production storage and offloading) represent a fully functional and self-sustaining field development concept that requires no additional infrastructure such as spread moorings, platforms, flowlines, pipelines and manifolds.
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“All that extra equipment is taken out of the design, which means upfront CAPEX drops significantly and time to first oil is much faster.
“Once the well is drilled and completed, the FPSO can self-install the Pivotree flexible riser and swivel assembly upon entering the field.
“No additional equipment or construction spreads, such as crane vessels, are required to start production.”
Merrick said Pivotree has the lowest physical impact on the seabed of any offshore development concept, with no subsea infrastructure to decommission.
“Being reusable and having a smaller physical footprint means less equipment to install and maintain during installation, operation and decommissioning, further increasing Pivotree’s environmental credentials.
“Once production is finished, the Pivotree can be removed and redeployed to another location quickly and efficiently with minimal seabed disturbance.”
The Pivotree concept is designed to operate initially on smaller fields of less than 25 million barrels, in water depths of 50 to 500 metres and with tankers weighing less than 50,000 deadweight tonnes.
Earlier this year, Malaysian oil and gas services company Olio Group made a strategic investment in Pivotree as part of the company’s Series A investment round.
Pivotree Executive Director & Co-Founder Marcus Christian said technology qualification certification from Det Norsk Veritas (DNV) is expected in the coming weeks.
Christian said: “In preparation for market-readiness we have engaged with customers in Australia and internationally, with a pipeline of more than 30 operators and explorers.”
