American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2017 - 55

SpecialReport: Offshore & Subsea
of the design basis (Figure 1). The design approach started by
accumulating all available knowledge about past pump system
failures. A failure modes effect criticality analysis (FMECA)
then was undertaken to map all conceivable failures that could
occur with the system. The failure modes were ranked for likelihood and severity, and an instrumentation strategy was
assembled and rationalized. Roughly 25 percent of the pump
system instrumentation is devoted to condition monitoring.
Rather than being an added cost, the monitoring instrumentation
also is used to improve the robustness of control and improve
system integrity.
The second phase of the asset integrity initiative for the
subsea pump included qualifying a subsea vibration monitoring
system for rotating machinery, making the API 670 rotating
machinery standard for topsides applicable to subsea equipment.
That means the same degree of precision, sampling rate and vibration analysis common for surface machinery is now available
for subsea rotating machinery with pressure ratings as great as
15,000 psi. The subsea pump has a standard set of instrumentation,
much like an automobile has standard condition monitoring capabilities, so that condition and integrity monitoring has no
compromises compared with what is available for rotating
equipment on the topsides.
Despite the complexity of developing high-pressure wells in

deep water, subsea technology is allowing operators to produce
offshore projects competitively at oil prices below $60 a barrel.
Whatever the future may hold for commodity prices, a life
cycle engineering approach using condition and performance
monitoring can continue to help operators of subsea projects
reduce cost, improve system reliability and maximize performance
for greater peace of mind and more consistent cash flows. r

ERIC
SMEDSTAD

Eric Smedstad is global services manager, subsea processing, at TechnipFMC in Houston. He joined the company
in 2011, and previously served in engineering and management positons with Schlumberger and Oceaneering. Smedstad holds a B.S. in marine engineering from Texas A&M
University at Galveston.

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2017

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