Shell recognized the need for an electrical system to be used for flowline remediation during hydrate blockage or for use in a preventative capacity if hydrate formation is foreseen.

Usual methods of hydrate remediation include chemical injection, hot oil circulation or mechanical means (coil tubing).

Shell had been developing an electrical pipe-in-pipe heating system. Their first application was installed in the 6"/10" Serrano/Oregano flow lines using an electrical end feed. In this application, high voltage power was fed into the flowline through an end-fed insulated joint on the Auger TLP. The proven technology was then extended into the NaKika Field in which INTEC's electrical engineers played a major role in developing the electrical system. This system will use subsea midline electrical power connections and a transportable power supply system rather than end (topside) feed from a permanent power source. The power system is normally stored onshore and mobilized onto a vessel of opportunity when required.

The NaKika Development is located approximately 140 miles southeast of New Orleans in water depths ranging from 5,800 to 7,000 feet. The project is a subsea development of five independent fields located in the northern and southern areas. The fields produce to a centrally located host facility. Fields in the northern area produce through a flowline loop with two risers. This loop comprises 6 flowline segments each defined by bulkheads and equipped with midline electrical assembly.

The flowlines are of 10-inch x 16-inch pipe-in-pipe construction with electrical/thermal insulation between the carrier and outer pipes.

The heating spread includes skid-mounted components as follows:

• Duplicate diesel driven generators - rented when required from contracted supplier
• Power control module - contains 11kV and 480V switchgear, control PLC, operator facilities, topside step-up power transformer
• Load balancing module - used to balance the single phaseheating load and reduce negative phase sequence currents imposed on generators
• Power umbilical with reel - carries the subsea transformer module
• Subsea transformer module - includes pressure compensated step-down transformer; mud mat together with low voltage ROV wetmateable power harnesses

The system consists of a variable voltage source using generators and multi-tapped windings on the topside power transformer to feed an umbilical. The umbilical delivers high voltage power to a subsea transformer where it is reduced to a low voltage/high current for application to a midline assembly on each flowline segment. From the transformer, low voltage terminals and 2 flying electrical leads connect to the pipeline. This connection is performed by an ROV, which unspools the leads from the transformer frame, flies them across to the pipeline and plugs them in. A current of 1100 amps is applied to the circuit formed by the inner pipe, bulkhead fittings and the outer pipe.

In the automatic mode, control of the voltage adjustments is accomplished through a programmed logical controller and HMI.

For effective heating, it is essential that the electrical integrity of the insulation between the inner and outer pipe is maintained and monitored. Prior to remediation and to avoid connecting power to a faulty circuit, the pipeline integrity is checked using time domain reflectometry. Application of this technique for use in these water depths is a first, and was developed by marinizing a standard industrial TDR unit in a pressure container. The TDR system, including ROV operated test leads, is mounted onto an ROV and delivered subsea. Ahigh frequency pulse is sent in two directions along the pipeline, through the above mentioned midline power connectors, and the waveforms are analyzed by computer software and compared with base traces.

INTEC was involved in this project from the very beginning, and our role included:

• Development of the Shell patented concept into a practical and technically sound operating system
• Developing the basic system components, as mentioned above, and preparing specifications for procurement
• Developing the midline electrical assemblies with Hydrotech; coordinating the design; assembling, testing and managing the interfaces between Hydrotech and Tronic, who supplied the electrical hardware
• Specifying the selection of the wet and drymate electrical connectors and managing the qualification and FAT
• Preparing bid specifications, documents and recommendations for contract award
• Approving interfaces and design documentation produced by Framo Engineering (main contractor)
• Management, supervision and coordination of TDR system to carry out subsea electrical pipeline testing prior to use of the remediation equipment
• Organizing onshore water tank testing of the TDR equipment
• Compiling the operation manuals for the TDR procedure and Remediation Spread system

ith the development of fields in the Gulf of Mexico in ultra deep waters, the major oil companies recognize the increased risk of hydrate formation and the need for methods of remediation. Over the past 4 months there has been an increased interest shown by oil companies and recognition of INTEC's role in this specialty.

Since joining the electrical group, Mark Carroll has focused on assessing and evaluating all electrical heating methods for flowlines. He has captured several studies for potential subsea electrical heating applications.

Several operating companies are also considering future applications for long step-out electrical subsea multiphase pumping systems, another field in which INTEC has extensive experience.

The Past:
The first Interface Management article, which appeared in the 2002 Spring edition of the INTEC quarterly magazine, summarized in a single paragraph:

"The importance of the role that Interface Management plays in a project is recognized by INTEC, and we are committed to providing a first class package, including experienced personnel to the offshore oil and gas production industry who will assist our Clients in this critical aspect of project execution."

INTEC has since lived up to its commitment by investing in the development of a series of tools capable of maintaining and controlling large amounts of information including technical attributes, interface responsibility details, schedules, document and issue tracking to name but a few items that are very important for the good management of multi-contracting projects.

The Present:
INTEC has engineers responsible for interface management on a number of projects. Their experience to date has indicated that interface management requires the early identification, prioritization and quick resolution of interfaces to avoid any negative impact to a project's cost, schedule and quality. It has also been recognized that a good interface management process relies heavily on Planning, Interface Identification, Interface Assessment, Interface Monitoring and Control, Interface Close-out, and interaction with other Company and Contractor processes.

With these criteria in mind, INTEC discipline engineers, aided by the experience and knowledge of our in house IT department, managed the rapid development of INTEC's interface working tools that are now recognized as the most advanced in the industry. The tools were first displayed during the 2003 OTC here in Houston and subsequently led to a large amount of individual presentations to oil and gas production companies at their request.

The Tools:
The ideal Interface Management Tools (IMT) are designed to provide a process that facilitates rapid exchange of information to identify and help resolve external interface issues that exist between contractors, suppliers and vendors associated within a project. The IMT also include an interface database identifying the responsible interface contacts, technical attributes and responsibility requirements along with tracking, forecasting and a reporting mechanism for interface actions.

Tool 1 - Web Interface Management System
This unique system works across the Internet, improving communication for a project and especially interface activities. All software is located on the project server and accessed via dial-up or LAN network connection through the Internet. This tool has the following key functions:

• Global Operating Base
• Early warning and notice of interface clashes
• Warning of potential reduced schedule float
• Resolution of interfaces at the working level
• High level graphic user interface (GUI) for quick location of project interfaces
• "Traffic Light" status for clear presentation of interface, project management and contract issues
• Adaptable search tools for database interrogation
• Ability to export schedule data to and import from standard schedule systems such as MS Project and Primavera
• Flexible reporting

Tool 3 - Experience Catalogue
Discipline engineers with interface management experience have compiled a database of unique technical information related to recognized interfaces taken from a number of diverse projects. This considerable catalogue of sketches, technical data and list of completion tasks is invaluable, not only from the lessons learned aspect, but also to form a basis for future interface related projects.

Tool 4 - Interactive Database and Reporting Mechanism
This tool is basically the database that contains all the relevant technical data, communications, responsibility requirements, schedules and project documentation used in the management of individual or groups of interfaces. The tool is accessible from the project Web Site and is configured in a series of friendly search and report information layers. This particular area of information control is quite versatile and can be fashioned to suit the Client (or project) needs.

Color-coded "Traffic Lights" are one of the most valuable contributions of the IMT. A yellow light alerts the interface team than an interface activity has the potential to affect the project schedule negatively by reducing float. A red light signals an activity will delay the schedule. A green light means the activity is on schedule. Although separate from the project master schedule the interface schedule has certain high level links that can forewarn the Interface Manager and the Project Manager simultaneously of forth coming events likely to cause delays to the project. This early warning gives the management team time to analyze the problem and find a solution before the issue reaches a critical stage and begins to incur penalties.

The Future:
INTEC has personnel with extensive knowledge of interface management and the interface tools. As a company, we also have experienced discipline engineers who understand interfaces and can quickly be tutored in the tools and processes to provide superior interface management services for complex energy industry projects.

With the full backing of INTEC management, Interface Management is an integral and growing part of INTEC's portfolio of services to Clients.

Note from Willem Timmermans:
It is of utmost importance that a project is well planned prior to its execution, but as many of us know through experience, pressure to get started means there is usually insufficient time to be as thorough as we would like in the preparation of a Project Execution Plan. In some cases this leads to details being missed or scopes not as well defined as we would wish.

The problems are even greater when the project is of the Multicontract type, and there is a lack of communication between those who agreed with the client to do something and those who are expected to do it. In these circumstances it is better that the client makes his expectations clear at the outset so that everyone involved in the Project can better understand their role and expected contributions.

INTEC's Houston office just passed its ISO-9001 registration audit, and thereby will shortly join our offices in Buenos Aires and London who received their certificate earlier this year. I would first like to congratulate all who worked hard in all these offices to pass this threshold. Most of the effort went into developing work processes that capture our best practices and represent the way we believe we should conduct our business. Since ISO doesn't just deal with how we execute projects, but with the entire business process, getting the quality system defined and documented in a language that avoids "quality speak" was a major achievement. The first quality system INTEC had, I wrote myself in the late eighties, focusing on design and project engineering, but the company rapidly outgrew that modest set-up. Trying to get a group of single minded project engineers to follow a common process and (heaven forbid) document what they did and leave a trail, was a challenge even then. It was clear that we didn't have a choice in developing an industrial strength quality system, not because our Clients demand that we get ISO registered, but because correct and efficient project execution of ever larger projects requires a great deal of structure, and frankly is good for the bottom line.

It is not enough that we say our quality objective is to meet Client expectations. We have to demonstrate that we make an effort to find out what the Client actually wants, and check regularly to make sure we are still on track. This sounds obvious, but from time to time we find ourselves in trouble when the expectations on both sides diverge, either because we assumed incorrectly that we understood it all, or because the Client was not specific himself, or changed his mind. This is clearly good business practice, but yet we don't always practice the obvious. Another objective is that we get better all the time. Continuous improvement is another objective that nobody can argue with, but accomplishing this in a measurable way is not that simple. Yet we now have committed to do just that. In my view, another advantage of the ISO registration is that it creates external pressure through the audit process to comply with the quality plan; its formal nature makes it easier to get compliance from within the organization. It is like saying publicly that you will do something, thereby using the potential embarrassment of failure to create external pressure to follow through.

This works on the Client's side as well. To many of our Clients, the need for a quality plan and dedicated project staff to see to its implementation is self-evident. Other times a Client rejects such ideas claiming that we are supposed to produce quality work anyway, without

Our more structured Clients understand that a project quality plan and the project staff to help implement and monitor such plan is indispensable, as it defines up-front what we are going to do in terms of personnel resources, time and deliverables, and often outlines the manner with which to accomplish that. This clear definition of a Client's expectations is one of the defining elements of quality. Sometimes, however, we are asked to just provide good people to assist a Client in executing a project. This is not a problem as long as it is clear whose quality system the team is supposed to operate by. Unfortunately it wouldn't be the first time that such an "away" team is expected to correctly guess the objectives of the project, and to make it happen without the structure of "home office support", acting like supermen gifted with the collective knowledge of our whole company. We need a system of peer review, checks and balances and good documentation in all cases, even if this is not specifically visible in the project organization. What we committed to do is to practice a culture and not a program that can be turned on or off depending on the circumstances.

We have several other offices where the ISO registration process has been initiated, and the plan is for all of INTEC to be registered by the end of 2004. It will improve our ability to move projects and resources around the world in support of our Clients, based on a common quality culture and project execution approach. Using the convenience of our Virtual Private Network it will enable us to spread lessons learned around the globe, and ratchet up our collective knowledge based on a worldwide body of experience. Our centers of excellence are not always at the place where the expertise is needed on projects, so it will be important to move knowledge, and to a limited extent people, to where the Client needs the work done. A company-wide quality system will make it easier to do this in a seamless way. Many of our Clients still have trouble with the notion that good work can be done out of their sight, but at the same time would like to see costs reduced. We intend to demonstrate that the solution is to rely more on virtual teams, and I am certain that our quality system will be an important factor in making that a reality!

W. J. Timmermans
President