Subsea Insulation Resistance Maintained During FPSO Downtime
August 1, 2024
How Viper Innovations maintained subsea electrical integrity during FPSO disconnection using V-LIFE and V-SLIM, safeguarding offshore production.
The Challenge — Maintaining Insulation Resistance Without Topside Power
During routine maintenance, a Canadian offshore operator was required to disconnect its Floating Production, Storage & Offloading (FPSO) vessel, removing the primary topside power source used to maintain subsea electrical systems.
The subsea umbilicals, critical for transmitting power and control signals to subsea equipment, relied on Viper Innovations’ V-LIFE technology to maintain insulation resistance (IR) — a key measure of electrical integrity that prevents leakage currents and system faults. Without continuous IR maintenance, the performance of these cables would degrade, increasing the risk of subsea control failure and potential production shutdown.
In the absence of topside power, the operator faced a critical challenge: how to maintain IR and protect subsea infrastructure during the disconnection period without resorting to costly and complex vessel-based power solutions. A reliable, rapidly deployable alternative was required to ensure continuity of operations.
The Viper Solution – Integrated Subsea Systems
Viper Innovations, J+S Subsea and Verlume delivered three subsea battery-powered control systems to maintain IR without topside power. Each system combined:
- Viper V-SLIM for continuous insulation resistance monitoring
- Viper V-LIFE to maintain and rejuvenate insulation performance
- Verlume Charge battery system, providing up to 90 days of autonomous subsea power
- J+S Subsea control unit, enabling deployment and integration with subsea infrastructure
The systems were deployed in a two-in-operation, one-in-rotation configuration, ensuring continuous coverage while allowing one unit to be recharged either offshore or onshore. Electrical Flying Leads (EFLs) connected the systems to the subsea network, with all equipment housed in DNV-compliant frames suitable for offshore operations.
This integrated approach ensured insulation resistance could be continuously monitored and actively maintained, even with no topside power available.
Results & Benefits – Maintaining Integrity, Avoiding Operational Risk
The solution successfully maintained subsea insulation resistance throughout the FPSO disconnection, ensuring:
- Continuous IR maintenance with no degradation of subsea umbilicals
- Up to 90 days autonomous operation via battery-powered systems
- Zero production disruption, avoiding shutdown scenarios
- Removal of the need for costly vessel-based temporary power solutions
By deploying Viper’s technologies within a collaborative system, the operator maintained full confidence in subsea electrical performance during a critical operational period.
Intelligence installed in Action
With Viper’s expertise and intelligence installed through V-LIFE and V-SLIM technologies, the operator maintained full confidence in the performance of their subsea electrical system throughout the FPSO disconnection. What could have introduced significant operational risk was managed through a reliable, cost-effective solution that ensured continuous insulation resistance without the need for complex intervention. Through close collaboration with J+S Subsea and Verlume, subsea infrastructure remained protected, production was unaffected, and the requirement for temporary vessel-based power was avoided—demonstrating the real-world impact of intelligent, expert-led solutions and the power of collaboration in maintaining critical offshore operations.