Offshore advances - [Control subsea]

The article discusses how as the search for oil moves into deeper waters and harsher environments production is moving onto the seabed. Offshore oil and gas production has seen a significant trend in recent years: the elimination of offshore surface facilities, with the entire production system for some of the more advanced fields located on the seabed and connected back to a terminal on the shore. The Ormen Lange is a good example of this approach, and is significant because it will supply 20 per cent of the UK's gas consumption in coming years. Remote control plays a vital role, since the subsea hardware is out of reach for manual intervention, but closed loop control is playing an increasing role as the projects become more sophisticated.