New subsea concept aimed at cutting costs, boosting efficiency

Called Cap-X, it is designed to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
"Once again we aim to drive subsea technology development on the Norwegian continental shelf together with our industry partners," said Margareth Øvrum, Statoil’s executive vice president for technology, projects and drilling. "The potential for increased efficiency and reduced costs can make this the next standard within subsea templates. With Cap-X, Statoil is one step closer to a 'plug-and-play' solution on the seabed."
A combination of existing and new technology, Cap-X is one-fourth the size of today’s subsea templates and enables more operations from vessel instead of rig, according to Statoil. It said the technology increased the efficiency of horizontal drilling in shallow reservoirs as the main structure could be produced in a shorter time by a larger number of suppliers, with potential for local production.
The development of Cap-X was initiated in 2013 to increase the commerciality of potential resources in the Barents Sea.
“We as explorers need to find resources that can be developed at a lower cost and with lower emissions," said Jez Averty, Statoil's senior vice president for Norway and UK cluster exploration. "Cap-X can potentially have a significant impact on developing the resources in the Barents Sea and in other areas with shallow reservoirs.”