Innovation: Adding prime time offshore: Pumping system could prolong lives of oil and gas fields and cut development costs

BRITAIN'S North Sea oil reserves could be increased by 20 per cent and energy self- sufficiency maintained into the next century if technology being developed by an Essex engineering company comes into operation.

Alpha Thames Engineering of Upminster also claims that its underwater oil and gas processing and pumping system could transform the economics of smaller, marginal fields and extend the life of large depleting fields.

Furthermore, it could counter environmental concerns by removing the need for unsightly platforms.

The company says research has shown that utilising the system can cut field development costs in half by removing the need for new platforms - allowing oil companies to make a profit in areas previously considered uneconomic to develop - and prolong the producing life of fields already operational.

David Appleford, managing director, said a key feature of the product, which would sit on the seabed rather than a platform above the surface, was an innovation enabling oil and gas to be pumped much greater distances - up to 50 miles. As a result, small fields could be 'tied in' to existing platforms. Meanwhile, further cost savings could arise from inshore wells being connected direct to facilities on land rather than going via platforms.

'We're solving a transport problem. There's only a certain distance that the mixture will flow before the gas comes out of solution and you get a pocket like an air block in a central heating system,' he added.

Alpha Thames claims the product, known as the PRIME system, can reduce the risk of blockages through separating the gas from the oil and water. In addition, because the system comes in a modular form, it can be easily installed and parts replaced by remote control from the surface.

This has a wider function than cutting costs. With EC regulations restricting the use of divers expected soon, it could be vital to the development of future fields, which are increasingly in deep waters.

At the heart of PRIME are three interlinked but separately retrievable modules that separate the gas from the oil and water mixture, pump the oil and water mixture and control the system. The separated gas flows under its own pressure back to the existing platform or land base.

Separation of the gas from the bulk of the water also minimises the formation of waxy deposits called hydrates, which can build up in pipelines and so cause blockages.

Alpha Thames has completed the development of the system with the financial and technical support of several oil companies. It is also one of a number of projects supported by the Department of Trade and Industry's Offshore Supplies Office.

About 35 research and development projects worth a total of pounds 12.4m have received funding of more than pounds 3m from the DTI in the past year. The department said it was not looking for a particular rate of return, but hoped they would contribute significantly to the offshore business over the long term.

Alpha Thames is now looking for help with the pounds 22m cost of building the system. Just over half will come as payment in kind from the contractor that carries out the construction. It hopes the rest will come from a venture capital company.

A separate firm - Alpha Thames PRIME - has been set up to deal solely with the development of the system. It is hoped it will be operational in two and a half years.

The system will initially be offered to UK operators, but it is intended to be used by companies from other countries and in offshore fields in other parts of the world.

Alpha Thames's existing base in an unprepossessing suite of offices in Upminster's main street is 'pure accident', according to Mr Appleford. The company moved there when he led a management buy-out from another consulting engineer two years ago; most of the staff lived in the area. It is likely that Alpha Thames PRIME will be based in the UK offshore capital of Aberdeen.

Mr Appleford, who has been involved in the design and development of machines for various industries since 1965, has worked in the offshore business for nearly 20 years and holds several patents for subsea equipment.

Although the company started with a loss when it became independent two years ago, Mr Appleford said it had become profitable by bringing its design ideas to the market through manufacturing licence agreements.

Its first important product - a remote pipeline connection system - is now being manufactured under licence by Babcock Energy in Renfrew, Scotland.

Turnover is improving, from pounds 250,000 last year to more than pounds 750,000 this year, and profits are re-invested in the business to fund research and development.

The company has prospered by diversifying into other areas where its technological know-how can be utilised, such as transport and products for disabled people. As Mr Appleford said: 'Our prime purpose is to develop the PRIME system and products related to it. In the short term, we undertake other engineering design and management jobs. It's adapting knowledge into similar fields that will give a good return.' For example, it has used its expertise in producing watertight components to develop a bath with a door in the side for use by disabled people.

(Photograph omitted)