Operators in North America have benefitted from Viper’s V-LIFE insulation resistance (IR) recovery technology in a number of locations across the continent, with a major Operator now leading the charge in the Gulf of Mexico.

This case study looks at how V-LIFE was used to avoid a threat to 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 show strong and consistent IR results; providing a value-added solution.

As part of their asset management process, an Operator in the Gulf of Mexico was keen to activate V-LIFE to help recover the electrical integrity of the umbilical; helping to avoid loss of communication after experiencing low IR levels of 460kΩ.

The subsea control system Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) was tasked with installing the V-LIM hardware topside into the subsea production control system. V-LIM, Viper’s line insulation monitor, is an accurate and precise sensor which monitors electrical cable integrity and allows activation of V-LIFE via software config file. No subsea intervention is required.

Due to excellent collaboration between the Operator, the OEM and Viper, along with detailed planning and bespoke procedures prepared for the task, this process was completed efficiently and seamlessly with V-LIFE activated after only 2 hours.

The activation of V-LIFE resulted in an IR increase of almost 100 times on the same day, with the initial reading of 460kΩ increasing to 43.8MΩ within hours. Within a week, this had doubled again to over 200 times the initial readings, reaching in excess of 100MΩ. These strong results remain stable and consistent, avoiding the need for costly subsea repair or total umbilical replacement.

Following the success of the initial results, the Operator took the decision to continue using V-LIFE as part of their asset management strategy to mitigate the costly risk of loss of a production. 6 months later, the channel continues to provide strong and consistent IR results.