Recapping The First Year Of Subsea, Power & Automation Technology Partnership

Phil Black - PII Editor 03/05/2017

105 2 minutes read

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In April of 2016, ABB and Aker Solutions announced that we were partnering to improve oil and gas production for the global energy industry

We believed our combined strengths in subsea, power and automation technologies could make previously impossible extraction of gas and oil fields possible – and reduce risks and costs in the process.

Now that it’s one year later, we have made several advancements, innovations and improvements that we’re ready to share with the world. We’re excited to already be helping customers to develop innovative new projects.

Our shared vision

The big idea behind our cooperation is to integrate Aker Solutions’ pioneering subsea capabilities and ABB’s subsea power and automation system expertise to bring customers more effective, reliable and flexible solutions.

We believe that, together, we can enhance how production equipment on the seafloor is powered and controlled by applications on the shore or on platforms. Doing so will help to lower costs and enable economically viable production at fields far offshore from existing infrastructure.

What we’ve been up to

We’re finding ways our solutions can enhance each other, and how they can combine in new ways to solve production problems as well as enable new opportunities for customers

One example: We’re working to increase the step-out distance that gas, oil and hydrocarbon operations can leverage, allowing companies to reach reserves that were previously unreachable. By safely extending subsea power capabilities, we’re helping keep equipment operating that’s both further and deeper offshore than ever before.

Currently, our project implementations can reach up to 150 kilometres out (which is far more than the average step-out of today’s operations) – and we expect to beat that number many times over. We’re the first team in the industry to enable this kind of capability for producers.

It doesn’t stop there, either. We’re working to build smarter, safer wet mateable connectors, too. And we’re exploring how automation can enhance subsea applications such as Christmas Tree Wells by enabling advanced safety and operational features that, for example, intelligently check the condition of subsea equipment – and intelligently shut down malfunctioning equipment in case of an emergency.

This is only the beginning

As our industry becomes increasingly digitalised, we’re working to make subsea operations more connected, safe, effective and efficient – with a seamless interface between topside and subsea operations. And powerful, intelligent applications that help you control and manage all of it easily and securely.

We’re helping to reduce risk, lower costs and ensure smoother projects for everyone involved.

As ABB and Aker Solutions continue to collaborate and innovate together, we’re excited about the customer challenges we can address and the new possibilities we can enable. If the first year of the partnership is any indication, our combined capabilities will continue to deliver great value to our customers.

Best of all, we’re just getting started, and we’ll be sure to share new insights and success stories as our efforts continue.