OREANDA-NEWS. GE Oil & Gas [NYSE: GE], today, introduced a series of innovative offshore solutions to lower cost, improve reliability and reduce downtime of offshore operations.  The technologies, launched at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, underscore the creativity of industry in finding myriad types of solutions to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.

“The solutions we announced today showcase this industry’s level of laser focus in becoming more resilient, more efficient and in maximizing operations,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, GE Oil & Gas President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are exploring all possibilities and pulling ideas from many other industries across GE to provide our customers with a spectrum of innovative solutions to optimize offshore assets and operations, including the most advanced digital technologies available today.”

GE Oil & Gas’ innovative offshore solutions and customer partnerships introduced today include:

  • Rosneft subsidiary to use latest design in new compressor technology, High Pressure Ratio Compression (HPRC) unit: smallest, lightest design to date

GE Oil & Gas will supply UEC-Gas Turbines JSC, an integrator and supplier of high-efficiency power equipment, with three compressor trains equipped with GE’s innovative HPRC units, including gearboxes and dry gas seal consoles.  The three trains will be used as part of the reinjection in the BCS Srednebotuobinskoe oil field in East Siberia, Russia, operated by Taas - Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha LLC, a Rosneft subsidiary. The compressors will be manufactured in Florence, Italy. The three trains will be delivered from GE Oil & Gas by December 2016.

GE’s HPRC unit, its smallest and lightest compressor yet, requires fewer units per train, significantly reducing overall footprint by up to 50 percent.  The HPRC has a shipping weight up to 30-percent lighter and has lower power consumption with 5-percent less installed power. These combined innovations allow for easier installation, increased reliability and reduced operating costs compared to traditional compression trains.

  • SeaPrime™ I Subsea BOP Control System, recognized at OTC with a 2016 Spotlight on New Technology award

The SeaPrime BOP Control System translates electrical controls from the surface to hydraulic controls subsea that operate Blowout Preventer (BOP) systems. Designed to operate as deep as 12,500 feet below sea level, SeaPrime is the first fault-tolerant design with the ability to re-route hydraulic functions while remaining subsea, preventing costly stack pulls. This allows drilling contractors to continue drilling, reducing BOP downtime.

By simplifying access to critical components, utilizing only two pods, leveraging smart redundancy and re-routing hydraulic functions within a POD, the SeaPrime I system delivers three times more availability than existing systems without increasing maintenance.

  • Next-generation Wellstream composite flexible risers are 30 percent lighter and reduce total installed costs by 20 percent.

GE Oil & Gas’ Flexible Pipe business is undertaking a significant investment to develop and manufacture the next generation of flexible risers by utilizing composite technology to create a 30-percent lighter flexible pipe solution.  Composite Flexible Pipe expands the reach of flexible risers and flowlines into deeper waters and more challenging environments while delivering a 20-percent saving on total installed cost.

This light-weight solution is a step-change as global offshore resources shift to more remote locations with extremely complex and demanding conditions. Flexible risers have been fundamental to the development and advancement of offshore exploration by enabling the widespread use of cost-efficient floating production units, enhancing the versatility of subsea layouts and providing benefits around installation and logistics plus effectively handling dynamic motion.

GE Oil & Gas is at the forefront of developing the standards and practices for the incorporation of carbon-fiber thermoplastic composites into flexible pipe. This development incorporates industry-wide collaboration on standards with certification agencies, joint industry projects and GE’s leading industrial network of Global Research Centers.

“Today’s industry is shifting from a focus on increasing production to one of maximizing productivity, lowering operating costs and maintaining operating flexibility,” added Simonelli. “Our customers want more for less and our new HPRC, flexible risers and SeaPrime BOP system deliver just that – more operational capability and flexibility for a lower cost using less space or lighter weight.”