Aker BP streamlines subsea work with Optime SCILS

Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP has simplified its subsea work using Optime Subsea’s subsea control system SCILS.

The system is said to simplify installation, maintenance and plugging of subsea wells, according to Aker BP.

Through SCILS Aker BP can reduce its costs for control systems in well operations by more than 50 percent, the company said.

SCILS is an abbreviation for ‘Subsea Controls and Intervention Light System’, which is an advanced control system used to control well functions. It can carry out a number of well operations without complicated and heavy equipment, and it can be used with different suppliers, Aker BP said.

Aker BP signed a framework agreement with Optime Subsea to use SCILS and associated systems in January 2019. The agreement is valid for two years, with options for two additional years. It was the first agreement signed with the start-up company based in Notodden in Norway.

Mads Rødsjø, Aker BP’s Vice President Operations in Drilling and Wells, said: “At Aker BP, our goal is to be at the forefront of implementing new technology. Our cooperation with Optime Subsea is proof of this. Solutions like SCILS will allow us to solve our operations in a simpler, safer and more cost-efficient way. Continuous improvements in operations will help make us more competitive in the future”.

Aker BP has used SCILS in three operations. The first was in connection with plugging two wells on Jette in the North Sea in the summer of 2019. Later, it was used in the completion of the Skogul well and the Kamelon Infill Mid well in the Alvheim area in 2020.

“On the Kamelon Infill Mid well, we used SCILS in connection with starting up the well. We’ve estimated savings of more than 50 per cent, compared with a traditional well control system setup – a so-called WOCS”, said Rødsjø.

He adds that, with the current activity level, Aker BP projects that the use of SCILS will contribute to a cost reduction of about NOK 15-20 million per year for the company.

Aker BP is planning to use the system for additional wells moving forward, the company said.

Work is also under way to make SCILS wireless by removing the umbilical and instead communicate acoustically, according to Aker BP, which said that this would make make the system even more flexible.

“Aker BP is always on the lookout for technology that can help create continuous and lasting improvements in our operations. The technology will force a cost reduction on the Norwegian shelf, and this is important for our value creation. We see a considerable potential in SCILS and our ambition is to use it in more operations and from more rigs in the future”, Rødsjø concluded.