Norway's Kvaerner has been given backing from Newfoundland's Research & Development Corporation (RDC) and Statoil Canada to carry out a research and development project for subsea separation and storage facilities.
The project's aim is to come up with a system to secure subsea oil separation and storage in waters where weather and ice conditions make traditional surface storage facilities unsuitable.
The project was awarded to Kvaerner after the firm submitted a proposal as part of Statoil's initiative "Arctic R&D Step Up". It also follows RDC's ArcticTECH program, a private sector-led research and development initiative in Newfoundland and Labrador to address global technological gaps in arctic and harsh environment oil and gas development.
Kvaerner will apply its expertise in oil and gas offshore projects in deep waters, and sub-Arctic and Arctic environments.
The research will look into concrete subsea tanks concepts, which will, when installed on the seabed, enable separation of gas and water from oil produced from an offshore field, and subsequent storage of oil during the production process.
"We are very pleased that our R&D proposal was selected by RDC and Statoil. It shows the continued relevance of concrete as a building material for the oil and gas industry, and is an opportunity to research the application of concrete in subsea developments. Concrete is particularly attractive now that the industry moves further north in harsh, ice infested and inhospitable environments," says Bjørn Gundersen, executive vice president of Kvaerner's Concrete Solutions business area.
The work will be carried out by Kvaerner's organization in St.John's, Newfoundland, supported by Kvaerner's subject matter experts in Oslo, Norway. The project will start immediately and be completed by Q1 2015.