NOV is excited to announce the signing of a joint industry project (JIP) contract with Total and Equinor to launch a two-year research and development (R&D) deepwater project in Brazil for the development of a new deepwater subsea automated pig launcher (SAPL). This is a pioneering project that is qualified by the Brazilian ANP R,D&I regulatory agency and meets the RT ANP No 3/2015 regulatory requirements.

The initial design for the SAPL that was adapted for four pigs and 1000 m water depth was awarded the 2019 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Spotlight on New Technology Award (SPONT). Further research has been conducted, and a SAPL ready for 10 pigs and 3000m WD will be designed, built, and tested in Brazil through the JIP. This newly designed SAPL will target both local and worldwide deepwater single line architectures. Once completed, this game-changing technology will be available for international oil companies (IOCs) requiring an efficient subsea to topside on-demand pigging solution.

The new deepwater SAPL will provide automated, unmanned pig launching, eliminating the need for a second flowline for pigging purposes. It will limit vessel requirement to cassette changeover by enabling the operator to pig anytime remotely and on demand. It will also drastically reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 80% due to reduced vessel time and reduce OPEX due to decreasing the need for boat assistance. Based on a four-year pigging operation using a combination of the SAPL and a single line architecture, it is estimated that operating costs are reduced by $15 million over 20 years compared to a temporary subsea pig launcher solution.