SUBSEA ENGINEERING

AND TECHNOLOGY

Prepared by: Engr. Dexter B. Tanabe

Source: Subsea Reference Book
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
In deepwater field developments the great challenges
are providing a stable platform on which to mount the
production facilities and transporting the production
fluids to and from those facilities.

Subsea production systems provide a cost competitive

development option that lessens, or in some cases
completely eliminates, the need for surface mounted
production facilities.
The scope of this study is to provide an overview of subsea production
systems technology.
Key topics to be covered include the following:
• A general description of the main components of subsea
production systems and their functions.
• Interface requirements for subsea production facilities.
• Overall field architecture considerations for subsea developments.
• Identification of areas of risk and risk management issues.
 II. SUBSEA PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT
Subsea production equipment here is meant to
include subsea wellheads, subsea production
trees, subsea manifolds, subsea well templates
and the ancillary equipment associated with
these.

Subsea developments within diver accessible depth are so routine as not

to merit much comment these days. For this discussion we are assuming deepwater
to begin at water depths well beyond the practical range of saturation diving, within
the reach of current generation ADS (Atm. Diving Suit) equipment and extending to
depths that require methods other than human intervention, such as remote control
or ROV intervention. This covers a range of roughly 300 to 2500 meters. It should
be noted that 2000 to 2500 meters represents the approximate limit of current well
completion experience, although exploration drilling activity continues to push into
deeper waters.
A. Subsea Wellheads
or Marine Wellheads

- typically used for drilling wells from a floating drilling rig.

- sometimes employed on subsea production systems is

the mudline suspension system.
Drilling a subsea well from a floating drilling rig or completing a well subsea requires a
subsea wellhead.
Subsea wellheads serve several purposes:

• to support the subsea blowout preventer (BOP) and seal the well casing during drilling
• to support and seal the subsea production tree
• to support and seal the well casing.
• to support and seal the production tubing hanger.
A Typical BOP Stack Being
Deployed

The subsea wellhead together with the BOP or the

production tree provides the means to safely contain
reservoir pressure during oil and gas drilling and
production operations. It rarely sees actual reservoir
pressure but is rated to withstand this pressure in case of
loss of well control during drilling or a breach of a primary
pressure barrier during production.
Standard API pressure ratings in use are 5,000 psi,
10,000 psi, 15,000 psi. and more recently
20,000 psi.

The subsea wellhead may also be designed to

accommodate a surface tie back system to a
surface completion on a TLP, spar or, more rarely, a fixed
platform.
Subsea wellheads generally come in one of the following sizes:
• 13-5/8 inch
• 16-3/4 inch
• 18-3/4 inch
• 21-1/4 inch

The 18-3/4 inch subsea wellhead is currently the most common.

With the development of the 18-3/4 inch x
10,000 psi (10M) BOP, the well could be drilled to final depth with one BOP and
the 18-3/4 inch x 10M wellhead became the standard. Wellhead pressure ratings
are trending higher, with 18-3/4 inch x 15M wellheads becoming the new
standard, though manufacturers still offer 10M models. 18-3/4 inch x 15M BOPs
are not as common, but the 15M wellheads are compatible with the 10M BOP
connectors.
A. Subsea Wellheads
1. Wellhead Connector Profiles

All subsea wellheads have an external profile for

mechanically connecting and sealing the
BOP or tree to the wellhead.

The Cameron ”hub” and Vetco H4

“mandrel” profiles are most common.

The gasket provides the seal between the wellhead

and the BOP connector. It is the ultimate
barrier between the well and the environment.
 A. Subsea Wellheads
2. Tubing Spool Adapters

It is necessary that the wellhead connector on the BOP be compatible with the wellhead on
the planned development well. Fortunately BOP wellhead connectors can be changed out
relatively easily. Operators may therefore specify the wellhead type and profile of choice,
taking into account compatibility with other existing wells or their preference for the well
completion equipment. If an operator wishes to complete a well with a tree having a
connector that is not compatible with the wellhead, a wellhead conversion can be installed.
This wellhead conversion is called a tubing spool adapter, and consists of a forged spool
piece having a connector matching the existing wellhead on the bottom and a profile
matching that of the tree’s connector on top. These conversions are sometimes referred to
as tubing head adapters.
A tubing spool adapter can also used to provide a new wellhead seal surface if the existing
one is damaged. This is not an uncommon occurrence with exploration wells that are
ultimately completed and turned into production wells.
They can also be used to land the tubing hanger into, and this is often done for conventional
style trees.
A. Subsea Wellheads
3. Casing and Tubing Hanger Interface
a. Typical Well Casing Programs

Depending on the soil conditions the hole may be started with a large
conductor such as 42 inch or 36 inch or, if a template is being used it may have
a large sleeve pre-installed.

Then a conventional 30 inch conductor is usually installed. Again depending on

the anticipated loading this may have a 1 inch, 1-1/2 inch, 2 inch, or larger wall
thickness.

Most subsea wells are started by driving, drilling or jetting-in the ‘surface’
conductor with the low-pressure housing attached to the top. The well is then
drilled ahead through this conductor.

The 18-¾ inch high-pressure wellhead (housing) with 20 inch/18-¾ inch or

similar sized casing attached is then run through it, into the pre-drilled hole,
landed in the low pressure housing and cemented in place. The subsea BOP
stack is then run onto and tested on the high-pressure wellhead housing.
Further holes are progressively drilled ahead and the appropriate sized
casing is then installed through the BOP and wellhead.
These are selected from a variety of sizes.
The following sizes are the most common; 20 inch, 18-¾ inch, 16-¾ inch,
13-3/8 inch, 10-¾ inch, 9-5/8 inch and 7 inch. The progressively smaller
selected casings are suspended in the
wellhead. Most wellheads can accommodate 3 or 4 hangers. If more
casing is required, it can be suspended farther down the well bore as a
‘Liner’.
It is still routine practice to include an extra hanger slot
available in the wellhead ‘just in case’. Tubing hanger
adapter spools can be added above the wellhead to
accommodate the tubing hanger and although rarely
done, more casing hangers if required.
b. Casing Hanger
At the top of each casing (and the production tubing) is a
forging with an external, tapered shoulder that lands on a
mating shoulder within the wellhead and transfers the weight
of the casing to the wellhead. These supporting shoulders are
called Hangers. There are different designs of hangers for
suspending casing or production tubing. The casing hanger
also provides a machined surface to seal against. Once the
casing is landed and locked in place, the annular cavity is
sealed by a Pack-Off or seal assembly mechanism.
4. Wellhead Guide Structures
a. Guideline Drilling and Completions

Most subsea wells employ the use of a permanent guide base (PGB)
mounted to the low pressure conductor housing.
The PGB is a fabricated structure with guideposts and wire
rope guidelines for guiding equipment onto or into the wellhead, or it may be
a guidelineless style, which employ large funnels for guidance.
The nomenclature “permanent” is used to distinguish it from the “temporary”
guide base (TGB), at one time traditionally used for starting the well,
although modern equipment has made the TGB largely unnecessary.
The TGB is typically a gravity-stabilized guide structure normally with a 42 -
46 inch diameter central hole that is lowered to the seabed on four guide
wires. The TGB lies on bottom at the angle of the seabed and holds the
guide wires in place to enable the 30-inch conductor to be easily guided
through the central hole.
The housing at the top of the 30 inch has the PGB attached to it, to take
over the guidance function after the 30 inch conductor has been secured.
The term “temporary” in the name is misleading in that it is a permanent
fixture to the well once deployed.
PGBs can be designed to be retrievable while leaving the well intact for future
use. This offers the advantage of not having to purchase a new guide base for
every well.

This style of guide base is more expensive than one that is not retrievable, but
pays for itself after use on very few wells. These types of PGBs are often
referred to as RGBs – Retrievable Guide Bases.

If it is known beforehand that the well is to be a production well, the guide base
may incorporate piping, flowline connections, and tree piping interface
hardware. This type of guide base is generally referred to as a completion
guide base (CGB), or a flowbase. Virtually all CGBs are application specific
designs. Sometimes a CGB is deployed on top of an existing PGB if it cannot
be easily removed.
4. Wellhead Guide Structures
b. Guidelineless Drilling and Completions

Guidelineless PGBs are used in deeper water where guidelines become

cumbersome and less effective. They are usually deployed from
dynamically positioned drilling vessels. They can be used at shallow
depths but are not normally used in less than about 2,000 feet. They
typically have a funnel-up design for capturing the guidelineless BOP or
subsea tree and guiding it onto the wellhead. Guidelineless funnel-down
trees are sometimes used to complete wells in shallow water that have
no installed guidebase.
5. Loads on Wellheads
Wellheads must be designed for high structural loads imposed during drilling, workover,
or well completion operations. The wellhead must support the weight of the BOP, drilling
riser loads, casing weight and forces imposed by internal pressure. In general,
wellheads are of such robust construction that, as far as external loads are concerned,
they are rarely the weak point of the wellhead system.

The 15M wellheads can generally sustain greater external loads than the 10M
wellheads. For deep water and other special applications, manufacturers must engineer
the wellhead equipment to meet the specified load requirements. A heavy duty
deepwater wellhead with a heavy duty connector engaging two profiles instead of the
one for more strength.

To improve the transfer of loads from the wellhead to the low-pressure conductor
housing and reduce fatigue stresses and fretting at critical wellhead interfaces, a rigid
lockdown system may be employed. This mechanism locks the wellhead housing
securely into the low pressure conductor housing. It may be engaged automatically with
the installation of the wellhead (passive), or it may require an externally applied preload
(active).
6. Description of Typical Subsea Wellhead System

For the purposes of this discussion, a wellhead system

consisting of the following
components will be considered:
• 30 inch conductor housing joint,
• 18 ¾ inch wellhead housing joint,
• 20 inch casing
• 13 3/8 inch and 9-5/8 inch centralized casing hangers
• Associated packoffs.
6. Description of Typical Subsea Wellhead System
a. Subsea Wellhead Features:

The following are features that should generally be expected in wellhead equipment:

• The ability to test all the seals and locking arrangements.

• Protection for all permanent seals during running and the seals are remotely
energized after landing.
• The ability to clean component seal surfaces after cementing operations and prior to
setting the pack off seals.
• The casing hangers have ability to be locked in place.
• The flow path for cuttings and cement returns without excessive build up of pressure,
blockage or reduction in velocity through the flow-by holes and slots.
• The use of a minimum number of seals and components installed subsea.
• The primary metal-to-metal seals with elastomeric secondary system for all
permanently installed seals.
• Weld overlay surfaces with a nickel-based alloy (Inconel 625) at the wellhead's gasket
seal surface.
• Reliable and robust suite of versatile running tools.