RIASSUNTO
Abstract
This paper describes the design, development and testing of a set of diver operated subsea tooling used to resolve a unique issue that occurred during the construction of two subsea wells installed by Esso Australia in 95 metres of water, off the coast of south-eastern Australia.
By following a structured and rigorous process of qualification, verification and validation it was possible to successfully develop the required tooling on a fast track basis in order to meet the schedule constraints of the on-going diving support vessel campaign.
A Western Australia based company with design and manufacturing capability and demonstrating expertise in the development of comparable customised subsea equipment was selected to supply the required tooling. A considerable number of technical solutions were evaluated during the concept development phase prior to selecting a single optimised concept and finalising the design of the tooling.
Comprehensive onshore testing of the tooling and involvement of the diving personnel were essential steps in maximising the probability that the offshore operations could be executed in a safe and efficient manner. As a result of these efforts the tooling operated flawlessly in the field and a multi-million dollar re-drill campaign was avoided.
This paper focuses on the steps undertaken in each part of the qualification, verification and validation process, in order to use this work as an example of the activities that are typically involved in each of these steps, and thus provide a roadmap for the application of this process in other time critical, high consequence situations.