Wellman: The subsea intervention system

Abstract

In 1984, the Norwegian oil company Statoil and the Asea Group of Sweden, entered into a general technical cooperation agreement The purpose of this cooperation was to explore the possibilities for advancement within offshore technology by combining the competence and resources of the two companies Subsea technology was recognized as a major area of importance as there are plans for more than 100 subsea installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf alone over the next 10 years On a global basis, this number might exceed 500, of which more than 100 could be installed in water depths of 350-1000 m, thus the potential market and the need for cost-effective solutions was deemed to justify a product development effort Obviously, improved techniques to install and service such subsea installations would in themselves boost the market by reducing costs and simplifying offshore operations Within this context, a joint working group concluded that remotely operated intervention systems offered substantial cost savings and their development would comply with Asea's vast experience in robot technology and design of remotely operated systems With this background, the two companies developed Wellman, a diverless, versatile easy-to-handle and costeffective intervention system The name Wellman (= Wellhead Manipulator) was chosen to indicate the system's flexibility and versatility The initial development project started in 1985 with conceptual engineering, it proceeded through detailed engineering and manufacturing and was completed following sea tests in Norway during the winter of 1986/87 This paper will highlight the design philosophy, system configuration, tests and further development of Wellman Its cost-effectiveness will also be illustrated.