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TOTAL S.A.
Capital stock: 5 945 861 837,50 euros
542 051 180 RCS Nanterre
Exploration & Production Paris
Tel.: +33 (0)1 47 44 45 46
2, place Jean Millier La Dfense 6
92078 Paris La Dfense Cedex France
Exploration & Production Pau
Tel.: +33 (0)5 59 83 40 00
Avenue Larribau 64018 Pau Cedex France

Design and conception: Dixxit | Photo credits: Th. Cron, M. Dufour, Th. Gonzalez, L. Lemaire, P. Livermore, P. Marie, L. Pascal, O. Robinet, M. Roussel, D.R., Total | Infographic: FMC Technologies, Techniques Effects, J.-P. Donnot, Dixxit | Mapping: ID | TOTAL August 2014. Certied paper

www.total.com

STRATEGIC SECTORS

DEEP OFFSHORE
A TECHNOLOGICAL AND HUMAN ADVENTURE

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

A flagship industrial adventure

Total, a world-class player

In the face of the worlds growing demand for hydrocarbons, the oil and gas industry set out to conquer the deep
offshore, an extraordinary industrial adventure in a context that until recently had remained beyond its grasp.

Total, already renowned for its pioneering role in deepwater development, is pursuing an ambitious exploration strategy
to consolidate its position in this sector. The Group is today the leading deep offshore operator in West Africa and the
UVWWRPRQHWL]HWKHGHHSZDWHUJDVUHVRXUFHVRIWKH1RUWK6HD

he deep offshore is believed to harbor more

than 5% of the worlds oil and gas resources, equivalent to 300 billion boe. In
some regions of the globe (West Africa, North
America and South America), deepwater reservoirs
account for more than 75% of the productible volumes discovered in recent years.
First undertaken in the 1980s, deepwater exploration began to pay off in the early years of this
century. Since that time, the production of oil from
deep offshore reservoirs has increased steadily.
By 2035, it is projected to reach 9 million barrels
per day (Mb/d), equivalent to 11% of global oil
output.

OVERCOMING NUMEROUS
CHALLENGES
The main challenges to deepwater production
relate to the extreme conditions of the abyssal
environment:
cold: the ambient temperature is around 4 C
pressure: increases by 1 bar for every 10 m of
depth, meaning 150 bar at a water depth of
1,500 meters a force equivalent to 6 tons exerted on a surface area the size of a credit card.
In this context, crude oil would congeal immedia-

tely in an ordinary pipeline. Solutions had to be

found to prevent the oil from cooling and ensure
LWV XLGLW\ RYHU WKH WKRXVDQGV RI PHWHUV LW PXVW
travel to reach the surface.
Through its twenty years of experience, Total has
successfully developed game-changing technologies tailored to these conditions. While the
focus today has shifted to optimizing project economics, raising recovery factors and preparing
for the aging of its facilities, the Groups expertise
is also driving it to invest in new deposits even
PRUHGLIFXOWWRDFFHVVRUFRQWDLQLQJSDUWLFXODUO\
complex oils.
LIMITING THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT:
A PRIORITY
Environmental performance is a priorty over
the entire life cycle of every deep-water project.
Regular monitoring and audits are carried out to
guarantee strict compliance with the most stringent standards for produced water discharge.
Efforts to curb greenhouse gas emisions are
served by optimizing the energy efficiency of
)362V DQG UHFRYHULQJ RLHOG DVVRFLDWHG JDV
(for liquefaction or reinjection)

Fields operated by Total

NIGERIA

In production
In development

Port-Harcourt
Akpo

CAMEROON
Egina

Gulf
of Guinea

EQUATORIAL
GUINEA
GABON
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Atlantic Ocean
Dalia eld development scheme, Block 17,
Angola

Brazzaville
Pointe Noire
Cabinda

Moho -Nord Marine

Moho -Bilondo
MILESTONES

Kaombo
Rosa

The unsuspected diversity of deepwater ecosystems

Before the oil industry began to focus on the deep
offshore, little was known about life in the abyss.
Total teamed up with experts on marine life to carry out
an inventory of these unique ecosystems, which have
proved to consist of much more abundant and varied
species than anyone had ever imagined.

FOCUS
Preventing hydrate formation
A hydrate is a crystal solid with a structure similar
to ice. Hydrocarbons form hydrates with water in
conditions of low temperature and high pressure
precisely the environment encountered in the ocean
deeps. Hydrate blocks are liable to plug production
lines and therefore constitute a major risk. For this
reason, preventing hydrate formation has been one
of the major thrusts of deepwater research.

250 km

Clov
Pazflor

Girassol-Jasmin
Dalia

Luanda

ANGOLA

The Group is today the leading deep offshore operator in West Africa.

otal has earned its place in oil-industry history as a deepwater pioneer. As early as
1982, the Group achieved a deep offshore
feat in the Mediterranean with the successful drilOLQJRIWKHUVWH[SHULPHQWDOZHOOXQGHUPHters of water.
But the true showcase for Totals innovative
prowess has been the Gulf of Guinea. First oil on
WKH*LUDVVROHOGZDVDFKLHYHGLQMXVWVL[
years after discovery. The conquest of the deep
offshore had begun.
Since then, there has been no turning back.
Totals record of achievement has earned the
Group operatorship on eleven developments cur-

rently in production, under construction or under

study in the deepwater sectors of the Gulf of Guinea (Angola, Congo, Nigeria) and the North Sea.
A DECADE OF TECHNOLOGICAL
INNOVATION
Deepwater operations have come to symbolize
Totals capacity for innovation. With each new
project, the Groups R&D teams manage to
invent solutions to overcome increasingly stringent constraints.
For the Girassol project in 2001, for example,
Total invented a new riser concept which consisted of housing all the riser pipes within three

1.5-meter-diameter towers, 1,250 m tall. In 2006,

LQQRYDWLRQ FHQWHUHG RQ WKH H[LEOH ,QWHJUDWHG
Production Bundle (IPB) risers for Dalia.
,QODWHWKLVWLPHRQWKHKXJH3D]RUSURMHFW
in Angolas deepwater acreage, Total became the
UVWLQWKHZRUOGWRLPSOHPHQWVXEVHDVHSDUDWLRQ
of gas and liquids (oil + water) under 800 m of
water. This step-change in technology resolves
the challenge of producing the heavy, viscous oils
RIWKUHHRXWRIWKHSHUPLWVIRXUHOGV
With CLOV coming on-stream, on time - June
2014 - and within budget, Totals daily output from
the high-yield Block 17 will ramp-up to 700,000
barrels per day when CLOV reaches its plateau.

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

Deepwater know-how

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

Mapping complex geologies

EXPERTISE

EXPERTISE

A key factor in Totals success in the deep offshore has been its understanding of turbidite reservoirs the complex,
KHWHURJHQHRXVVHGLPHQWDU\V\VWHPVVSHFLFWRWKHGHHSZDWHUHQYLURQPHQW7KH*URXSLVDSSO\LQJFXWWLQJHGJHWRROV
of geophysics to enhance the reliability of its geological models.

ost deepwater reservoirs are a type

of formation known as turbidite deposits. When Total discovered Girassol
in 1996, little was known about these systems,
which thus became a major research focus for the
Groups geoscientists. A large-scale study program
called ZaiAngo (for Zaire, Angola and Congo) was
conducted jointly by Total and the French oceanographic institute Ifremer from 1998 to 2001.
Its series of nine surveys in water depths from
500 to 5,000 m revealed the submarine fan
of the Congo River. This huge system spreads
over an estimated 300,000 km, of which some
200,000 km of the total area was successfully mapped. The ZaiAngo program provided an
under- standing of modern sediment deposition
phenomena and a basis for developing reliable
models applicable to similar Tertiary reservoirs,
the targets for oil production.

THE CHALLENGE OF SUBSALT IMAGING

In many areas, the sedimentary systems that
contain hydrocarbons are covered over by
enormous dome-shaped salt bodies that act as
a barrier and scatter the seismic waves normally
used to build an image of the subsurface. To overFRPHWKLVGLIFXOW\7RWDORSWHGIRUDQHZJHQHUDWLRQ
acquisition technology called Wide Azimuth
Towed Streamers (WATS) to illuminate the
JHRORJ\ RI %ORFN  .DRPER HOG $QJRla), which is deformed by numerous salt
bodies. By combining the shots of a given point taken along various azimuths
(directions), this mobile set-up revealed geologic structures that had formerly been hidden. The
data set from this acquisition was processed by
Totals experts and the result was a subsurface
image that provided a much more reliable depiction of geologic reality

A WATS seismic acquired on Block 32, Angola.

CONTINENTAL SLOPE, GULF OF GUINEA (CROSS-SECTION)

FOCUS
Promising new reservoirs
In addition to being in the forefront of expertise in
turbidite reservoirs, Total is working on identifying
other geological structures liable to contain large
accumulations of oil and/or gas:
microbiolite reservoirs: formed by microbes
in shallow water depths, these microbial carbonates
have gradually become buried as a result of tectonic
movements;
stratigraphic traps: these reservoirs are the result
of lateral changes in rock permeability and porosity.
For example, oil and gas can become trapped when
a porous, permeable reservoir rock (sandstone)
transitions to an impermeable seal (shale).

Installation of exible pipes on the seabed for the Dalia Project.

KHQWKHFRORVVDORLOHOGVDQGXQVXVSHFWHGSRWHQWLDORI:HVW$IULFDVGHHSRIIVKRUHDFUHDJHZHUHGLVFRYHUHG
in the late 1990s, virtually everything had to be invented from scratch to permit access to these deepwater
UHVHUYHV 6RPH RI WKH JUHDWHVW FKDOOHQJHV ZHUH WR XQGHUVWDQG WKH UHVHUYRLUV GHQH VXLWDEOH GULOOLQJ WHFKQLTXHV
and well design, qualify subsea production systems, and develop tools for learning about and preserving abyssal
ecosystems.
Since those early discoveries, sprawling subsea networks have been installed in waters more than 1,000 m deep
a feat driven by a powerful innovation machine and a series of technological breakthroughs.
Through its large-scale projects off the coasts of Angola, Congo and Nigeria, Total has pursued a bold industrial
VWUDWHJ\ZKLOHNHHSLQJLWVVLJKWVVHWUPO\RQVDIHW\DQGWKHHQYLURQPHQW
4

MILESTONES
The complex architecture of turbidite reservoirs
Turbidite reservoirs form when sediments accumulate at the mouth of major rivers or alluvial systems. This buildup periodically triggers subsea landslides, whose recurrence eventually leads to the formation of vast sedimentary
bodies that contain numerous sandstone reservoirs. Such submarine avalanches transport sediments over
hundreds of kilometers into the deep ocean plain, where they are deposited in large lobe-shaped expanses.

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

Optimizing production

Preserving marine biodiversity

EXPERTISE

EXPERTISE

The challenging constraints of the deepwater context coupled with the high cost of the related infrastructure call for
ever-greater optimization of production. Total deploys a variety of development schemes designed to ensure high well
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Protecting ecosystems effectively from any potential impacts of production operations requires an awareness of the
species involved. For this reason, Total is involved in study programs dedicated to advancing knowledge of abyssal life.

o be economically viable, deep-water

GHYHORSPHQWVUHTXLUHQHWXQHGPDQDJH
ment of drilling operations, due to their
extremely high cost.
The number of wells must therefore be kept to a
minimum while achieving maximum productivity
up to 40,000 barrels/day (b/d) in each one.
To optimize recovery from the reservoirs, drilling
long horizontal (or sharply deviated) wells is imperative. Well path design and drilling operations
are crucial and demand extensive integration
of geological and drilling expertise. Sismage
makes such integration possible. This seismic
interpretation tool developed in-house by Total
is unmatched in the world. Its performance is
enhanced by its additional modules, Well Design
(which designs and checks the technical feasibility of well trajectories) and Geosteering (for
real-time optimization of borehole trajectories
according to the geological layers encountered).
FLOW ASSURANCE
.HHSLQJWKHXLGVRZLQJLVRQHRIWKHPRVWFULtical challenges of the deepwater context, where

low temperatures, high pressures, and poorly

consolidated reservoirs can all lead to blockages
in production lines.
7RQGVROXWLRQV7RWDOKDVGHYHORSHGDYHULWDEOH
center of excellence that pools the complementary expertise of physicists, chemists and equipment designers. Innovations that have come out
of this collaborative effort include Leda Flow,
DQHZFDOFXODWLRQFRGHIRUPXOWLSKDVHRZVDQG
hydrate prevention solutions such as Spaceloft,
a new-generation insulating material originally
developed for astronauts spacesuits.
ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE
OF FLOATING PRODUCTION VESSELS
The FPSO (Floating Production Storage and OfRDGLQJ FRQFHSW ZDV GHYHORSHG IRU GHHSZDWHU
sites distant from existing export networks. These
RDWHUVDUHHTXLSSHGRQERDUGZLWKDOOWKHIDFLOLWLHV
required for operations such as processing, storage and export of the production. For the past
ten years, Total has contributed to the continual
design optimization of these giants to improve their
RSHUDWLRQDOH[LELOLW\DQGPHFKDQLFDOVWUHQJWK

FOCUS
Latest-generation drillships
The drilling rigs used for deepwater development are
actually large ships with the capacity to bear the weight
of very long risers. The most recent drillships can work
in water depths of more than 3,000 meters. Moreover, the new-generation vessels are generally equipped
with a double derrick, which cuts drilling time by 10 to
20% depending on the phase of operations.
The Pride Africa and Pride Angola, built in 1999
and 2000 respectively, were the rst drillships that
Total deployed to Angolas deepwater zone. In 2010,
these two vessels received additional support from the
Saipem 12000.

MILESTONES

hat types of species inhabit the ocean

deeps? In the late 1990s, no one yet
could answer that question. Total
played a role in discovering these life forms via
the BioZaire study project launched in partnership
with the French oceanographic research institute Ifremer in 1999. This project was dedicated to
abyssal (or benthic) ecosystems off the coast of
Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo).
The study has continued based on data gathered
in 2008 by the environmental component of the
ERIG 3D (Evaluation of Risks and Geohazards in
3D) project carried out in the vicinity of the Usan
site (Nigeria). Here, the aims are to broaden the
inventory of benthic fauna and characterize the
geology and geochemical nature of the habitats
of this zone.
THE LATEST IN ENVIRONMENTAL
MONITORING
Total complies with the most stringent international regulations and innovates to keep close track
of the environmental performance of its offshore

operations. In June 2010, the Group undertook

a large-scale environmental monitoring campaign off the coast of the Republic of the Congo to
assess the effectiveness of various innovative
means of evaluating deep-sea status:
analysis of foraminifers, microorganisms (10 to
500 m) that inhabit the sediments of all marine
HQYLURQPHQWV
passive sensors designed to detect target subsWDQFHVHYHQDWYHU\ORZFRQFHQWUDWLRQV
biomarkers, as indicators of the toxic effects of
RQHRUPRUHFRQWDPLQDQWV
ecotoxicology testing by tracking the development of oyster larvae cultivated in sediment taken from the site.
By conducting a baseline inventory of all environmental parameters before beginning work on
any project, Total is determined to ensure optimal
protection of the biodiversity near its operating
facilities. This effort remains consistent from the
start of drilling through the complete dismantling
of the production facilities

CLOV, Totals second all-electric FPSO.

CLOV, the rst to benet from Variable Speed
Drive technology, which helps to optimize energy
consumption.
The hull is more than 300 m long and 60 m wide,
and contains immense oil storage tanks (and other
equipment), with capacity on the order of 1.8 Mb.
Their decks support hundreds of tons of topsides:
operational systems and living quarters for the personnel;
They have production capacity of up to 160,000 b/d.
Pazors sprawling subsea production and injection network comprises almost 260 km of pipelines
and umbilicals.

Aerial view of the platforms used during the NKossa (Congo) monitoring campaign.

MILESTONES

Life in the ocean deeps

Beneath more than 3,000 meters of water, abundant
species diversity thrives in subsea oases vast elds
of yellow and white bivalves; bushes of giant tubeworms more than 2 m tall harboring clouds of white
shrimps; tentacular sea anemones; purple holothurians, and more.
At these depths, there is no light and therefore no photosynthesis; temperatures are around 4C and hydrostatic pressure can be as high as 400 bar. In this environment, life depends on the cold, methane-laden natural
uids that erupt from the sea oor.

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

Sustainable production
for exploiting all types of reservoir
INNOVATION AND PERFORMANCE

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

Solutions for long distances

INNOVATION AND PERFORMANCE

Small individual reservoirs sometimes located very far from shore pose the greatest challenges to the future of
deep offshore development. Totals R&D is studying several solutions in an effort to guarantee the safety and improve
WKHHFRQRPLFVRIWUDQVSRUWLQJHIXHQWVVXEVHDRYHUGLVWDQFHVRINLORPHWHUVRUPRUH

n recent years, Total has added a number of

isolated reservoirs in the North Sea, offshore
Nigeria and offshore Angola to its oil and gas
portfolio. In addition to being relatively small,
these reservoirs are several hundred kilometers
away from the coast. Developing these resources,
which will account for a major share of future
growth in deep offshore production, requires
some major step changes in technology.
ELECTRIC HEATING OF PRODUCTION LINES
When transport involves long distances, no
insulation system, no matter how effective, can
VXIFHWRNHHSK\GURFDUERQWHPSHUDWXUHVDERYH
the threshold for hydrate formation. Hydrates
are solid compounds liable to plug pipes. The
only solution is to heat the multiphase lines that
WUDQVSRUWWKHSURGXFWLRQHIXHQWV
7RWDO LV LQ WKH YDQJXDUG RI WKLV HOG ZLWK WZR
technologies under development:
Trace heating: electric heating wires are wound
between the two pipes of an insulated pipeLQSLSH OLQH 7KH *URXS LV WKH UVW WR WHVW WKLV
technology on a subsea gas pipeline linking the
new Islay gas development in the British sector

of the North Sea to the subsea gas gathering

network that Total has already deployed over
the area.
Composite fabric: the Energized Composite Solutions (ECS) technology capitalizes on the properties of a composite fabric coating to heat the
OLQHV7KLVVROXWLRQLVQRZXQGHUJRLQJDTXDOLcation program and has demonstrated a number
of advantages over electric trace heating wires.
7KHVHLQFOXGHWKHOLJKWHUZHLJKWDQGH[LELOLW\RI
the fabric that enable it to conform to any geometry, a more even distribution of heat, simSOLHG UHSDLU DQG ORZ YXOQHUDELOLW\ WR ORFDOL]HG
damage thanks to the many interconnections
EHWZHHQWKHKHDWLQJODPHQWV

can extend for hundreds of kilometers. Hydrate

inhibitors will be injected continuously to prevent
hydrate formation

SUBSEA TO SHORE
)RUJDVHOGVLQQRYDWLRQHIIRUWVIRFXVRQVXEVHD
WR VKRUH FRQJXUDWLRQV HQWDLOLQJ YHU\ ORQJ VXEsea pipelines. These all electric developments
run on locally-generated power. They will include
WKHLQVWDOODWLRQGLUHFWO\RQWKHVHDRRURIJDV
condensate separation modules, facilities for chemical storage and injection, and gas compression
stations. The lines that transport the gas to shore

The development of subsea to shore

technologies is one of the keys to monetizing
gas from deep offshore reservoirs.

In Nigeria, Akpos specic development scheme allows for the recovery of gas-rich condensates.
FOCUS

lthough the major technological hurdles of the deep offshore have now been overcome, the cost of exploiting
these resources bears no comparison to that of the conventional offshore. To optimize project economics,
particularly when reservoirs are small, distant from shore, or contain oil that is harder to produce, innovation remains
the vital key to a viable future. By the same token, innovation is essential to improve recovery factors, extend the
service life of facilities and ensure their reliability over time.
These economic imperatives go hand in hand with a determined commitment to operate responsibly by effectively
managing risks and limiting the environmental footprint of deepwater developments.
8

DEPTH: a self-contained subsea plant

A production pipe coated with a self-heating composite fabric enables active management of pipe
temperature: a solution for controlling hydrate formation.

Even more ambitious goals lie ahead: Totals R&D is

studying a concept for an autonomous integrated subsea plant the equivalent of a subsea FPSO. Known
as DEPTH (for Deep Export & Production Treatment
Hub), this concept could be deployed by around 2030
to produce, fully treat and export renery-ready well
uids to shore.

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

D e e p o f f s h o r e l E x p l o r a t i o n & P r o d u c t i o n l A u g u s t 2 014

Producing difficult oils and maximizing recovery

Managing asset maturity and controlling risks

INNOVATION AND PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION AND PERFORMANCE

As the industry moves forward, it will be facing new challenges in the form of ultra deep waters, long transport
GLVWDQFHVVPDOOUHVHUYRLUVDQGGLIFXOWRLOV6XEVHDSURFHVVLQJDWHUPWKDWUHIHUVWRWKHIXOOUDQJHRIDUWLFLDOOLIWDQG
SURFHVVLQJWHFKQRORJLHVFDUULHGRXWRQWKHVHDRRUZLOORYHUFRPHWKHP

Now is the time to prepare for tomorrows aging deepwater facilities. Reinforcing their safety and reliability will depend
on careful monitoring and the development of more effective inspection and repair solutions.

RWDO OHG WKH ZD\ LQWR WKH VWUDWHJLF HOG RI

VXEVHD SURFHVVLQJ ZLWK 3D]RU WKH UVW
deep offshore development to implement
subsea gas-liquids separation and pumping of the
liquids on a large scale. Three subsea separation
units installed under 800 m of water (each consisting of a gas-liquids separation module and two
new-generation hybrid pumps) are deployed to
boost the liquids up to the surface.
:LWKWKHTXDOLFDWLRQRIDQLQQRYDWLYH+LJK%RRVW
pump developed by Framo, Total achieved a
QHZ PLOHVWRQH LQ VXEVHD SXPSLQJ RI XLGV IURP
a deep offshore reservoir, by reconciling high
SRZHU  EDU ZLWK WKH DELOLW\ WR KDQGOH XLGV
containing a large volume of residual gas (Gas
Volume Fraction, or GVF).
ARTIFICIAL LIFT, SEPARATION, SULFATE
REMOVAL
Mastering subsea gas lift has major implications
for Total. The Group is involved in developing a
HOGSLORWIRUWKHcVJDUGSURMHFWLQWKH1RUWK6HD

When reservoir pressure declines after several

years of production, gas compression on the seaRRU EHFRPHV HVVHQWLDO IRU WUDQVSRUWLQJ WKH JDV
over long distances.
Liquid-liquid separation is another decisive step
toward maximizing the recovery on mature oil
HOGV 7KH TXDQWLW\ RI SURGXFHG ZDWHU LQHYLWDEO\
LQFUHDVHVRYHUWKHHOGVOLIH7KHSXUSRVHRIVXEsea liquid-liquid separation is to remove that water
from the hydrocarbons (oil and gas) rather than
bring it up to the FPSO.
In the future, the seawater injected into the reservoirs to enhance oil recovery will be treated on
WKH VHDRRU DV ZHOO 7KH *URXS LV ZRUNLQJ RQ
a subsea seawater sulfate removal unit called
SPRINGS (for Subsea Processing and Injection
Gear for Seawater), designed to treat and inject
between 5,000 and 50,000 barrels of water/day.
Total is also focusing on expanding its use of
electrical controls, which offer distinct advantages
over hydraulic systems in terms of reliability,
responsiveness and environmental impact

The SPRINGS sulfate removal unit (for Subsea

Processing and Injection Gear for Seawater) is
under development.

MILESTONES
World rst: a eld pilot for polymer-viscosied
water injections
Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is aimed at improving the waters piston effect on the oil to ensure
a more effective sweep of the reservoir. On its Dalia eld
(Angola), Total achieved a world rst by injecting water
after modifying its viscosity by adding specic polymers.
The pilot unit was tested on the three water injection
wells of Camelia, one of the four Dalia reservoirs.

y 2017, Total will be operating 8 deepwater FPSO vessels, 2 FPU vessels, along
with some 450 to 500 subsea wells. Whether already on stream or under development, these
HOGVDUHORFDWHGLQDKDUVKRSHUDWLQJHQYLURQPHQW
Moreover, they are destined to produce for twenty
years or more. With time, they will require an increasing number of servicing interventions.
Totals deep offshore Inspection, Maintenance
and Repair (IMR) experts are fully mobilized to
meet this challenge. And the stakes are high.
Their job is to develop tools that can optimize the
operability, reliability and safety of tomorrows
PDWXUHHOGV

VRPHVLJQLFDQWDGYDQWDJHV
Lower inspection costs: an AUV carries out an
inspection four times faster than a ROV, and its
VHOIVXIFLHQF\ GLVSHQVHV ZLWK WKH QHHG IRU D
support ship during the inspection operations.
Pipeline integrity is improved because AUVs offer
higher availability than ROVs. Eventually, permanent surveillance systems will allow better monitoring.
$IWHU GHQLQJ WKH $89 VSHFLFDWLRQV LQ OLQH ZLWK
our needs in 2012, we invited contractors to bid
WR GHYHORS DQ$89 6SHFLFDWLRQV LQFOXGH SKRWRgraphy equipment, laser and sonar measurement
systems.

COMING SOON: AN AUV FOR PIPELINE

INSPECTION
Operators at the surface must have a comprehensive vision of the status of subsea infrastructure in
order to intervene promptly if necessary. With that
goal in mind, Total entered a partnership with Chevron to study and develop an innovative IMR system.
Equipped with navigation systems, this Autonomous Underwater Vehicle will perform both acoustic and visual inspections of pipes. It will also monitor the supporting seabed for any deterioration and
take electrical measurements of corrosion activity.
Inspections are currently carried out by Remotely
Operated Vehicles (ROVs), controlled from a vessel at the surface. Replacing them with AUVs offers

A CLOSE WATCH ON SUBSEA SYSTEMS

The integrity of subsea pipelines and other equipment is the key to safe, reliable deepwater developments. Total is running a number of programs
to research effective, economically viable solutions
in this area:
The Riser Annulus Condition Surveillance (RACS)
V\VWHPLVDQLQQRYDWLYHPRQLWRULQJWRROIRUH[LEOH
ULVHUV ,W FDQ GHWHFW DQ\ DQRPDO\ LQ WKH H[LEOH
riser annulus that is liable sooner or later to
OHDGWRDOLQHUXSWXUH
Using an ROV controlled from the surface to
inspect the hull of an FPSO vessel would enhance the safety of operations while limiting diver
interventions and the associated accident risk,
particularly in rough seas.

FOCUS
Subsea pumps for any conguration
By developing a range of subsea pumping solutions,
Total can avail itself of technologies suited to the
varying needs of its portfolio of deep offshore assets:
for articial lift of uids right from the start of
production in the case of heavy, viscous oils from
reservoirs that are deeply buried or far from production hubs;

The Pazor development plan revolves mainly around the deployment of subsea separation
and pumping installations.

10

for maintaining plateau production on mature

elds by supplying lift energy at the seaoor to
maximize the recovery volume as the reservoirs
decline.

Copyright photo : Technique Effects

11

MILESTONES

Real-time monitoring of geohazards

Slope instability, faults and mudslides are just some
of the dangers present on the ocean oor. To date,
surveys could assess these risks only during a nite window of time.
A new real-time, continuous subsea monitoring
station developed and patented by Total in late 2011
marks a global rst in this area. Known as HORUS
(for Hazards Observatory for Risk analysis by Underwater System), this station is equipped with numerous
sensors. It sets off a warning if it detects danger for
the personnel or the infrastructure.
This major innovation is set to be tested soon on one of
Totals production sites.

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manage the risks of well blowout during drilling.
The goal is to develop equipment tailored to prompt
interventions in the deepwater context and able to
control and contain the well and cap the leak