As part of Trident Energy’s plans to enhance production on our Pampo field, we have now completed our first Brazilian subsea campaign to connect the MA-34 production well to the P-08 semi-sub. We successfully delivered this milestone by navigating our own path in just 25 days offshore, and as a result, the MA-34 is now producing 4,400 bopd.

The mission

Trident Energy set to relocate two existing flowlines from our old MA-1 X-tree (one production flowline and one gas/service line) to the adjacent new MA-34 X-tree. This required the line to be disconnected and recovered to the surface where the vertical connection module (the connector between the flowline and the X-tree) could be reinstated in good condition and fully tested prior to being redeployed to MA-34.

In addition, a new subsea control umbilical was installed between P-08 and the X-tree to provide full functionality of the tree. Thanks to the valuable teamwork from our offshore team onboard P-08, as well as the installation vessel, Normand Frontier, we were able to ensure the effective and timely delivery of this project.

Simon Lorelli, Subsea Manager said: “The support from the offshore team onboard P-08 has been outstanding, everyone has been working together to provide out of the box ideas to ensure the delivery of this project. This is a true testimony of our core values.”

The challenges

Trident Energy began this project in late 2020, and since then numerous challenges had to be overcome. The Brazilian offshore industry has been thriving for years, which leaves limited space for small projects to be executed. Therefore, one of the main challenges was securing an offshore installation contractor as well as sourcing a suitable installation vessel.

These challenges led us to execute this project ourselves, managing each part singlehandedly, such as chartering a vessel with ROVs and survey services, setting up a laying spread onboard, hiring offshore crew and being our own offshore service contractor.

Andrew Simpson, Senior Project Engineer said: “Over 11 contractors and suppliers were brought together to execute the project offshore, and thanks to their hard work and professionalism the MA-34 well now exceeds production expectations.”

The future

After having completed the pressure tests of the flowlines and the integration of the new umbilical into the control system of the platform, we moved on with the start-up of the well to unlock its full potential.

After one week of ramp-up and stabilization, it produced nearly 4,400 bopd (+2,400 bopd over the budget estimate) and became the best oil producer across our operations. While the well remains in transient conditions, it is expected that production will decline towards the base case estimates in the coming months. However, it clearly demonstrates the remaining potential that exists in just one of the many reservoirs across our Brazilian assets.

This project is a first of its kind within Brazil and we are excited with all the opportunities that will be identified following this achievement. Well done to everyone involved from supply chain, import/export/logistics, contracts, production, inspection, well integrity, subsurface and the projects team!