Under the master contract, Aker Solutions’ first service order will be to provide front-end engineering and design (FEED) of a subsea compression station, which will be designed to enhance the recovery of gas from the Jansz-Io field.
The subsea compression station for the Jansz-Io field will be powered by the electricity distributed from the onshore field control station.
The Norwegian engineering company will also be responsible for the FEED of an unmanned power and control floater in addition to taking up overall field system engineering services.
Aker Solutions claimed that compared to a conventional semi-submersible compressor solution, a gas compression system will improve recovery of gas more cost-effectively and with a lesser environmental footprint.
In 2015, the company supplied what was the first subsea compression system in the world to Equinor’s Åsgard field located offshore Norway. With the latest contract, Australia is set to become the first place outside of Norway to deploy the subsea compression technology.
According to Aker Solutions, compression will help sustain plateau gas production rates even as reservoir pressure comes down over time. The company further said that while such compressors have been typically placed on platforms above sea level, installing them on the seabed and near the wellheads enhances recovery rates and brings down capital and operating costs.
Aker Solutions CEO Luis Araujo said: “Aker Solutions has worked closely with its partners MAN Energy Solutions and ABB to reduce the size and cost of the compression system.
“We are excited to work with Chevron Australia on our compressor-technology to boost recovery at the Jansz-Io field.”
The Jansz-Io field is located nearly 200km off the north-west coast of the Australian state and is contained in a depth of 1,350m below the surface.
Originally, the Jansz-Io field comprised the two fields – Jansz and Io, which were unitized in May 2009 by the Chevron-operated Gorgon Project joint venture.
Put together, the Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields are estimated to have more than 40 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas and are anticipated to have a production life of at least 40 years.
