Oil States has introduced an industry-first Low Impact Workover Package (LIWP), announced this week at the SPE/ICoTA 30th European Well Intervention Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Oil States brings more than four decades of engineering expertise to the international oil and gas industry and is known for supplying advanced offshore systems including drilling and completion risers, subsea connectors, subsea control packages, flexible joints as well as riser analysis. With a deep understanding of the complexity offshore operations related to historic, fragile well systems, the LIWP is specifically engineered to empower operators to safely and cost-effectively plug and abandon aging subsea wells while minimizing wellhead loads and streamlining operations.
The fully integrated LIWP system features a uniquely positioned FlexJoint™ connector as part of the Low Riser Package (LRP), providing a 30-40% reduction in wellhead loading compared to conventional intervention systems that rely on tethering systems. This innovative design allows for a 15-degree emergency disconnect angle—enabling direct pull and disconnect of the Emergency Disconnect Package (EDP) during drift-off scenarios without complex, expensive connectors. The complete LIWP system includes the EDP, LRP and workover riser interface, and arrives pre-assembled and tested as one unit with a diameter under 49.5 inches, allowing for direct deployment through the rotary table. The LIWP eliminates time- and cost-intensive moonpool assembly and subsea tethering operations, saving 24 hours during installation and 12 hours during retrieval—and as much as $2.5 million per deployment.
“Oil States continues to pioneer innovations that promote safer and more cost-effective operations,” commented Garry Stephen, Oil States’ Vice President, U.K. and Asia. “The LIWP is an important solution that allows operators to meet today’s P&A requirements while increasing operational efficiency and enhancing the safety of workover system deployment.”
