Aker Solutions-FSubsea joint venture FASTsubsea and Petronas’ subsidiary Petronas Research Sdn Bhd signed a joint industry project contract on Aug. 11 to develop and test a low-cost, topside-less subsea multiphase pump.

According to the agreement, Petronas Research will support the development and testing program while FASTsubsea is bringing the product to the market in 2022.

“Getting this participation from a large operator such as Petronas is a significant achievement, not least given current industry conditions,” John Macleod, CTO of Aker Solutions, said.

According to Alexander Fuglesang, managing director of FASTsubsea, the game-changing FASTsubsea technology allows operators to more rapidly extract additional hydrocarbons from existing offshore wells and installed infrastructure. End users are drawn to the technology as increased recovery now can be done in a much more sustainable way, and at up to 50% lower capex investment than conventional subsea pumping systems, which is key in this market environment.

The participation from Petronas Research comes in addition to a NOK 11 million (US$1.2 million) commitment from the Research Council of Norway and allows engineering activities to start immediately. The project is still open for two further operators to join as JIP partners, which would provide the opportunity to influence and gain early access to the ground-breaking technology.

Offshore