Recovering the Electrical Integrity of Subsea Circuits.
V-LIFE is a preventative and active ‘healing’ solution for low Insulation Resistance (IR) caused by water ingress.
The most common cause of subsea electrical failures is the ingress of water into the cable insulation, which decreases the Insulation Resistance (IR) and may produce short circuits or leakage to the earth. These faults often lead to loss of power and/or communications to subsea equipment and potentially halt production from subsea wells.
Before V-LIFE became available, expensive subsea fault-finding interventions and the replacement of cables, equipment, and umbilicals were the only solutions to this problem. For over a decade, V-LIFE has been helping operators around the world to avoid costly umbilical replacement, mitigate loss of production, and maximize asset yield by extending the life of subsea control systems. Widely used by 30+ operators across six continents, V-LIFE is the leading alternative to subsea interventions.
Watch our V-LIFE technical overview video to find out more.
Why V-LIFE?
Increases Insulation Resistance (IR) without subsea intervention.
Recovers multiple IR failures throughout the system.
‘Buys time’ whilst a new umbilical is procured.
Extends the life of failing umbilicals and electrical distribution equipment.
Used as an alternative to installing new, costly, and long-lead time umbilicals.
Used to delay early field abandonment.
Increasing Low Insulation Resistance.
The V-LIFE effect is achieved by the application of a low voltage passivation signal, which generates and sustains a solid precipitate at the location(s) in the subsea circuit where seawater has ingressed. The precipitate produced is electrically insulating, and its propagation at the source of the fault results in an increase in the Insulation Resistance of the circuit, often by more than 200x.
A V-LIFE application involves the installation of a V-LIM line insulation monitor (the hardware) and enabling its V-LIFE passivation signal by uploading a software config file. V-LIM and V-LIFE can typically be installed and commissioned within 2 to 3 shifts offshore. The installation work is all topside; no subsea intervention is required.
Additional support is provided as part of the V-LIFE service in the form of condition reports, trend analysis, and engineering recommendations.
Providing a 200 Times IR Increase for Operator in the Gulf of Mexico
In this case study, discover how V-LIFE was used to avoid a threat to the continued production of a subsea production control system, resulting in a 200 times increase in insulation resistance (IR) within a week. Six months later, the channel continues to provide strong and consistent IR results; providing a value-added solution.
Product Features.
- Compatible with comms on power systems
- Provides all the features of a Line Insulation Monitor including IR measurements and configurable alarms/trips
- Compatible with power and/or signal lines
- A range of installation options to suit all field applications
- Displays IR measurements graphically in real time
- Compatible with single or three phase systems
- Graphical touch screen LCD
- Advanced control and configuration via USB and Ethernet interfaces
- Typically recovers IR from kΩ to MΩ within a few days
- Increases IR without subsea intervention
- Recovers multiple IR failures throughout the system
- Extends the life of failing umbilicals and electrical distribution equipment
- ‘Buys time’ whilst a new umbilical is procured
- Used as an alternative to installing new, costly and long-lead time umbilicals
- Used to delay early field abandonment
- V-LIFE “finds” the points of water ingress, no diagnostics required.
- Electro-Hydraulic Subsea Production Control Systems
- Mission critical IT (unearthed) electrical distribution systems
V-LIFE Technical Video.
V-LIFE.
- Winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2016
- Winner of the Technology Innovation of the Year category at the National Private Business Awards 2014
- Winner of the Subsea UK 2014 Innovation Award.
- V-LIFE is enabled on a V-LIM.
- A range of standard interface panels and cable harnesses are available for retrofit V-LIM applications in all major SPCS vendor Electrical Power Unit (EPU) cabinets.
- A portable peli-case solution is available for temporary V-LIM installations outside the EPD cabinet if required.
Please complete the V-LIFE product questionnaire under the resources tab and email to sales@viperinnovations.com to allow us to provide a tailored quotation to match your specific project requirements.
Get in touch with Viper Innovations.
Contact us to find out more about how our products & services could help maximize the operational life of your controls and electrical distribution equipment.
Our expert teams are equipped with the relevant experience and skills to provide support and to answer your technical queries, email us at enquiries@viperinnovations.com or via our contact form.