Oil and gas tech company Pivotree tests “groundbreaking” integrated subsea production system

(WO) – Oil and gas technology company Pivotree has built and tested a full-scale prototype of its integrated subsea production tree and vessel mooring system.

Inventor and Pivotree Managing Director Chris Merrick said the Pivotree technology has the potential to revolutionize offshore energy development, making previously marginal and stranded oil and gas fields both profitable and sustainable.

Designed and built in Perth, Western Australia, the 44-tonne full-scale prototype combines traditional subsea tree technology with several new elements that allow it to swivel, providing 360-degree mooring capability for offtake vessels.

“In combination, the Pivotree and FPSO represent a fully functional and self-sustaining field development concept that requires no additional infrastructure such as spread moorings, platforms, flowlines, pipelines and manifolds,” Merrick said.

“All that extra equipment is taken out of the design, which means upfront CAPEX drops significantly and time to first oil is much faster.

“Once the well is drilled and completed, the FPSO can self-install the Pivotree flexible riser and swivel assembly upon entering the field. No additional equipment or construction spreads, such as crane vessels, are required to start production.”

Merrick said Pivotree has the lowest physical impact on the seabed of any offshore development concept, with no subsea infrastructure to decommission.

“Being reusable and having a smaller physical footprint means less equipment to install and maintain during installation, operation and decommissioning, further increasing Pivotree’s environmental credentials. Once production is finished, the Pivotree can be removed and redeployed to another location quickly and efficiently with minimal seabed disturbance.”

The Pivotree concept is designed to operate initially on smaller fields of less than 25 million barrels, in water depths of 50 to 500 metres. The system is designed for tankers generally weighing less than 50,000 deadweight tonnes.

Pivotree has multiple potential applications in the oil and gas space including:

• Fast to market development of commercial but stranded oil fields
• Low-cost option to generate cash flow ahead of full-scale development of larger fields
• Early production assessment for difficult-to-appraise reservoirs
• Extend the life of ageing assets and defer decommissioning costs
• Reinject CO2 into offshore reservoirs for permanent storage

The company has identified scores of fields globally that could benefit from the use of Pivotree technology, including in the UK North Sea, Norway, Brazil and Malaysia ¬¬– all areas with considerable numbers of stranded oil fields.

To date, Pivotree has signed a number of sales agreements, including with:

• IPB Petroleum (ASX:IPB) – MOU for WA-424-P focused on the proven Gwydion oil and gas discovery offshore Western Australia;
• Harvester Energy – MOU for Block 29/7b (Curlew A) and Block 22/12b (Phoenix) offshore Aberdeen, UK North Sea.

In addition, the Pivotree system is being considered for offshore CO2 geosequestration. Sea-Quester Offshore Pty Ltd, the exclusive licensee of the Pivotree technology for CO2 sequestration, is currently assessing its potential use for injection of aggregated CO2 from Perth’s Kwinana Industrial Area into the offshore Perth reservoir.

Earlier this year, Malaysian oil and gas services company Olio Group made a strategic investment in Pivotree as part of the company’s Series A investment round. Olio Group Executive Chairman, Dato Ramli Md Nor, said Pivotree is a must-have technology for early adopters in the oil and gas industry. 

“Now owners and operators can unlock and monetise previously stranded or marginal assets quickly and for a fraction of the cost,” Dato’ Ramli said. “Pivotree’s ability to harvest the low hanging fruit really is a game changer. I see huge potential in our region and beyond.”

Pivotree Executive Director & Co-Founder Marcus Christian said technology qualification certification from Det Norsk Veritas (DNV) is expected in the coming weeks.

“In preparation for market-readiness, we have engaged with customers in Australia and internationally, with a pipeline of more than 30 operators and explorers,” Christian said.

“There are literally hundreds of potentially commercial but currently stranded reserves identified globally that could find a pathway to market using the Pivotree system, and within a comparatively short timeframe.”