The dry subsea completion described in this paper is not the first, but is the initial non-experimental "off the shelf" installation of a deep water one atmosphere air, shirt sleeve environment, dry habitat subsea completion.1–4 The following is a chronological account of this installation from the selection of the dry system to the commencement of actual oil production from the well. The selection of the total production system, the testing at a dry land test site, simulating underwater conditions of the complete system including the platform facilities and the TFL pump down system, the drilling and completion of the actual well, the installation of the wellhead cellar, the flowline connection, the underwater assembly and the start up of the actual production are included.
It is the author's intent that this paper will convey to operational engineering personnel a fundamental understanding of how this project was successfully accomplished. This paper is not a detailed technical treatise of the dry system for the scientific reader as what information is available elsewhere; However, if the reader wishes to delve into details of specific aspects of the system's various components, the many, vendors who contributed to this project are named to provide a means for the reader to obtain this information.
As exploratory drilling advanced into ever deeper waters, the need for sophisticated production systems to produce reserves in deep water became essential. However, the industry has very little experience in deep water production. Deep water is defined as below any depth divers can function effectively. Therefore, in 1974, Union Oil Company of California's management created the "Deep Water Subsea Completion Project" with the following goals:
To complete and produce a well on the sea floor that world enable the company to gain experience and expertise in deep water production.
To simulate, in an existing shallow water field, conditions below depths that divers can function effectively.
To utilize functional hardware and methods whenever possible using "off the shelf", rather than experimental hardware or methods. Functional is defined as having been successfully used in the field.
The project's primary purpose was to gain deep water subsea production experience, not to begin a research and development program. The entire project was planned and implemented by the company's Gulf Coast Regional Operations personnel, not by a research or staff study group. The project was divided into the following phases:
A study of- the "state of the art" of available systems.
Selection and procurement of equipment.
Dry land testing.
Offshore installation.
Well production.
