SRP Subsea
Withstanding pressure
Formed in 2008 as a spin-off from the globally successful 2H Offshore company, which carries out global riser analysis, Acteon company Subsea Riser Products (SRP) set out to develop and produce high pressure risers. The company has a range of skills and capabilities in subsea engineering and procurement with experience in mechanical and structural engineering, fatigue, remotely operated vehicle equipment, metalsealed equipment and coated and corrosion-protected equipment. Its expertise lays strongly in high-strength steel forgings, machining and welding, fatigue-loaded connections, highly pressurised components, high-pressure subsea and surface drilling riser joints and completion and workover risers. This extensive knowledge and expertise has allowed SRP to become known for developing innovative and bespoke solutions for the offshore industry.
Based in the UK, SRP has grown to become a global company, with supermajor oil companies, tier one EPIC and service and equipment contractors forming its client list. Not only is it the high quality products the company produces that draws clients to SRP, but also the attitude and level of service it offers. Speaking to Energy, Oil and Gas back in September 2014, head of business development Mike Ridgeway highlighted the company’s strengths in such a competitive market: “We have a straight-talking approach, which I believe our customers respect, and a real desire to deliver what our customer really wants – cost efficiency, on-time delivery and best-in-class quality. On top of this, our size allows us to be agile and responsive to requests, whether simply for information or for changes to project requirements; we also look to continuously improve in all areas. We recognise that we are a niche supplier that is operating in a specialised field; however, our very strong track record for delivering technically challenging projects is allowing us to develop highly strategic supplier relationships with some of the major players in the oil and gas industry.”
Where the company also excels is in its innovation to meet specific demands within the industry. One particular example of this is the Rocksteady Mooring Connector, an auto-latching subsea structural connector designed with long-term reliable performance in mind. Advanced locking mechanisms within the Rocksteady give it unparalleled fatigue performance. Combining the simple design with the company’s commitment to service leads to a product that is easy to install, less expensive to operate and quick to deliver. Following successful qualification and fatigue testing in 2013, the SRP Rocksteady was first delivered to Carnegie Wave Energy (CWE) for its CET05 project off Western Australia.
The project provided a wealth of engineering challenges due to demanding load conditions, as SRP was required to provide three Rocksteady connectors with a breaking load rating of 2000 tonnes at a depth of 30m. Successful completion of the project, however, served to demonstrate the company’s ability to respond to key criteria and customer demands, as well as illustrate its commitment to developing innovative solutions.
Following on from the success of the Rocksteady subsea connector, SRP has developed the Rocksteady handling tool usingthe same high capacity collet locking mechanism to lock into machined grooves in the bore of the riser. The mechanism gives a more efficient load path, and offers higher load and pressure testing capabilities. The tool can be used for shallow water subsea wellhead jack up drilling, dry tree systems and marine rise deployment, with advantages coming in the form of fast and reliable horizontal and vertical installation, and a robust and flexible design adaptable to a range of bore diameters and operations.
SRP’s core business lays in the design and manufacture of risers. Its central portfolio includes the Nimway connector for highcapacity, quick-make-up completion and workover riser applications, riser flanges, handling tools and spiders. The Nimway connector eliminates the need for traditional bolted flanges by using a preloaded sleeve. The system thus eliminates the need for torque leading to high reliability with high make-up accuracy and enhanced fatigue life. In simple terms the Nimway provides the security of a flange with far fewer components and simplified make-up. In the spirit of the company’s focus on innovation and continuous improvement, the connector is subject to further development for high pressure and dynamically loaded permanent subsea connections.
As a member of Acteon group SRP is a key part in a team of companies that are able to work together and integrate to offer worldclass subsea services. Synergies occur across the group, and with SRP’s development of the Rocksteady Mooring systems, a natural collaboration has formed between it and sister company InterMoor which provides innovative mooring and installation technologies. Acteon’s approach is to bring together the best-in-class expertise, products and services and tailor its capabilities to the customers needs. Its group of branded services include survey, monitoring and data systems, risers and moorings, seabed foundation technologies and wide ranging project support. By bring these together the group is able to share innovation and expertise, which ultimately reduces cost, risk and complexity for operators, drillers and contractors. Being part of such a group puts SRP in a strong position to achieve its goal of becoming the ‘go-to’ company for high-pressure riser projects and subsea products.
Working within the offshore industry, maintaining a safe working environment is a top priority for SRP. The company sets its own commitment to preventing any injury or harm to anyone working in conjunction with the company, which conforms to the ISO 18001 health and safety management system. Quality also sits at the heart of the businesses operations under ISO 9001. The certification manifests itself in the company’s focus on continualimprovement of every product or process, ensuring each product is fit for purpose and meets clients’ needs for reliability, safety and product longevity.
Over the years SRP has established itself asa strong player in the riser industry. Whilst being part of Acteon has been a contributor to this success, the company’s own commitment to quality and service is fundamental to achieving this position. Equally as important is its strong engineering ethic and resourcing the right people ensuring it is fully prepared for demands in the industry both now and in the future. “We can offer people a much wider experience than larger organisations because we don’t put our personnel in one area of the business and instead actively encourage crossteam working, movement and promotion within the organisation. This results in a varied, and unusually high, workload, but it means we have the flexibility to move personnel to support projects when they spike in activity,” explained Mike in the last feature. Ultimately, with its sights set clearly on continuous improvement and innovation whilst remaining equally committed to its people and clients, SRP look set to enjoy more of the growth and success it has experienced over the last few years.
SRP Subsea
Services: Design and manufacture subsea risers for drilling
Issue 121 June 2015