Energy

One of the sponsors of Viper Subsea’s Join Industry Project (JIP) to develop the company’s V-IR Subsea Integrity Monitoring System, has committed to deploy V-LIM line insulation monitor units into a number of North Sea fields. The commitment, which will see V-LIM deployed by the partner in June, will enable an immediate benefit through improved umbilical condition monitoring and will enable easy integration of the V-IR subsea monitoring hardware. This commitment illustrates the level of belief shown by the JIP partners in the Viper Subsea V-IR project.

The Joint Industry Project began in October 2013 and has attracted BP, Chevron, Shell, and Total as key partners sponsoring the development of the V-IR technology. The system is expected to be ready for field trials later in 2015.

“The early commitment to V-LIM illustrates the degree to which our partners are committed to this project and convinced of the long term benefits of the V-IR system,” explains Neil Douglas, Managing Director of Viper Subsea. “V-IR will be used to identify and locate faults in remote subsea electrical distribution systems, and is one of a suite of patented products we have developed to solve problems and create efficiencies for operators within the oil and gas industry. As operating efficiency becomes increasingly critical, so our innovative systems are gaining traction within the industry. By committing to V-LIM at this early stage, the operator is putting in place the first key components to enable a complete V-IR solution.”

The V-LIM line insulation monitor can be readily integrated into topsides equipment either as part of a new development or retrofitted to existing installations. The V-LIM accurately monitors the insulation resistance, polarization index, voltage, current, power, and the capacitance of the umbilical and subsea equipment with high accuracies, and will be an integral component in the V-IR system, acting as the topsides modem.

Viper Subsea is carrying out the development for the V-IR system at its Research & Development facility in Portishead near Bristol, while the JIP partners are contributing funding and will ensure the products are optimized for field use. The establishment of the JIP has been facilitated by the Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF).