Shifting the cost curve for subsea developments

A steadily increasing challenge in offshore oil and gas field developments in the Norwegian part of the North Sea is to design, construct, and install offshore installations that give an acceptable return of investment Deeper water, limited reservoirs and a low, fluctuating oil price make the task even more demanding. Saga Petroleum has recently faced this challenge with its last field development project. Attention in this paper is focused on the Vigdis subsea production system. However, the considerations and cost reduction elements are valid for offshore field developments in general. The main cost reductions are obtained by: Maximum use of industry capability; Application of new organization principles; Focus on functional requirements; Shortened project execution time; Technological development. In addition this paper presents thoughts on further cost reduction possibilities for future subsea field developments