PROTEC was contracted by a major oilfield service and supply company to manufacture the Subsea Umbilical Termination Assemblies (SUTA) and the Subsea Distribution Units (SDU) for a deep water project offshore West Africa owned and operated by a major international oil company. The subsea field development is controlled via two main control umbilicals that transfer the hydraulic, chemical and electrical services to the subsea distribution network.  The two main control umbilicals originate from the FPSO and terminate in two main SUTA’s which in turn are connected by flying leads and infield umbilicals to a series of other SUTA’s and SDU’s and then onward by flying leads from the SDU’s to the manifolds and individual wells. There are a total of six SUTA’s (plus a Dummy UTA for mock up ROV testing) and four SDU’s which were all manufactured by PROTEC along with a specialized mounting base for each SUTA and each SDU. The internal 316 stainless steel tubing network was extremely complex and space was limited so PROTEC generated detailed 3D drawings to guide the process of tube bending and fit up. Tube welding was performed primarily using autogenous welding machines. The SUTA and SDU frames and mounting bases are free flooding painted structures with cathodic protection anodes. All stabplates and electrical connectors are designed for ROV interface and appropriate ROV grab bars are installed.

For the project PROTEC performed manufacturing, fabrication, assembly engineering and assisted with design engineering. The equipment was built in accordance with customer specifications and PROTEC’s own ISO 9001:2008 manufacturing and testing procedures. FAT and EFAT were performed at PROTEC’s facility before shipment. SIT and SRT were performed on site in West Africa with the assistance of PROTEC service technicians. The SUTA’s and SDU’s were built on time and on budget and customer has complimented PROTEC for its high level of quality and workmanship.